Samuel Blackridge, the alpha of Blackridge pack and Dustin’s father, claps my dad on the shoulder before hollering at Dustin to ‘snap out of it’ and follows him out. I note the twinge in Dustin’s shoulder and could feel his shifter’s aura seething below. I know better than to ask my father outright about what they’d discussed in front of the other pack alphas and Elders. I’d learned early in my life that until my father announced a successor, I was not seen as anything more than just another shifter in Starfall Creek. Not that I was a nobody, being the eldest child of Alpha Maverick had its advantages, but the buck stopped at the door of the council.

  My father says his goodbyes, shaking hands and smiling while he nods politely. The other pack sons all regard me with the same look: heated and curious, and it was starting to get on my last fucking nerve.

  Outside the borders of Starfall Creek, in the human world, a girl had her literal pick of the litter. I’d heard stories from Ranger about the dating apps, about the mixers and events and largely populated towns, and I envied the idea of the anonymity it must bring. Going to a bar, meeting some fresh faced guy and taking him back to some sleazy apartment and banging the hell out of him, and literally never seeing him again. Starfall Creek was the exact opposite of that.

  I’d grown up alongside all the packs here—Blackridge, Alder, Knight, and Elmwood—and that meant I knew all the eldest children, including the sons who would likely succeed their fathers in becoming their pack alpha one day, as well as the daughters who would become an alpha’s mate. While relationships were always encouraged, I’d managed to stay out of the drama of teenage pack politics. Which meant I was highly revered as grade A ass. The less you give in with a shifter, the more they want to chase you.

  Fortunately for me, I’m fast as fuck.

  I wait until the last pack clears the room before I open my mouth. I cross my arms, shifting my weight from one leg to the other.

  “Why were all the sons looking at me like I’m suddenly a buffet of wings and beer, Dad? What did you do?” I couldn’t help the onslaught on my words, my inner wolf doing her anxious pacing beneath the surface.

  Dad runs a hand over his face, and I could see the lines at the corner of his downturned eyes.

  Remorse.

  My muscles tense, as I know what he’s about to say is likely going to piss me off.

  “The council has decided to announce my successor…” he wraps his arm around my shoulder in that way he always does when he knows I need comfort. His aura envelopes me, feeding my anxious wolf exactly what she needs. Support. Love. Understanding.

  “Walk with me,” is all he says. I follow him outside to the dirt path behind the building, the one that is surrounded by dogwood trees and planted flowers that leads into the forest, and all the way out to the lake.

  My heart skips a beat.

  I knew this day would come eventually. After all, my dad was nearing the end of his lunar cycle.

  He hadn’t shifted in almost a complete year, not since the accident. He’d been hit by a car, of all things. In the human lands. The human doctors did their best, and he was alive but the injury had left severe nerve damage in his leg, which made shifting unbearably painful and difficult for him.

  There comes a time in every shifter’s life when the very thing that keeps us alive starts to slowly kill us. Shifting is like breathing for us—we need to do it to live, otherwise, the dual existence of the animal inside of us would drive us fucking bananas, but at some point the human part of us, the body we reside in starts to deteriorate, and when that happens the dual existence becomes harder to control. The body is no longer capable of holding the spirit, and shifting can literally kill you.

  Which is why it is imperative that a successor be named before the inevitable happens.

  The last shift. The one you make when you know you won’t come back.

  Outside, the cool forest air kisses my tawny skin, the sunlight warm on my face. For a minuscule moment, I close my eyes, forgetting everything but the place I call home.

  I open my eyes and walk with my father along the dirt path behind the cabin that holds the community offices. Birds chirp sweetly, and the tree branches bristle in the wind, tiny dogwood petals flurrying in the breeze, raining around us like soft rain. He stops, only a slight distance from me as I do the same.

  “The council has announced Dustin as my successor, honey.” His words hit me like a rock.

  “What?” My throat feels tight, my heart beating loudly in my chest.

  “It is time to make peace with the Blackridge Pack. This rivalry has gone on long enough, sweetheart.” I shift out of his paternal warmth and turn my gaze on him.

  No, this can’t be happening... Of all the choices they could make... why couldn’t it be Ranger? Why did it have to be Dustin? My heart tightens in my chest, and I feel the instant panic.

  “But he isn’t strong enough to be a Hollow,” I spit out. My dad raises an eyebrow at me.

  “He’s passed every trial, Jade.” My father has the audacity to defend him, and that only aggravates me more.

  “It should be me.” My voice is angry.

  “Jade…”

  “It should be me leading the Hollow Pack, not some…. Some… Second rate—”

  “Sweetheart, you know that can’t happen. It goes against our very nature.” His voice is soft, even-tempered, yet full of authority.

  “Well, maybe nature doesn’t always know best.”

  He sighs in exasperation.

  “It wasn’t my choice, you know that. If things were different…” I can see the sympathy in his eyes, and I hate it. My inner wolf twitches beneath my skin, begging me to shift, to run. To let out the energy, work through all the conflicted emotions swimming in my brain right now.

  I start pacing instead.

  Dad’s eyes follow my every move.

  “It is done, Jade. You will be his wife. You must accept this.” My father switches tactics, from supportive, understanding father to pack alpha in under a second.

  He is right. There is nothing I can do about it. Even being the alpha’s eldest child and daughter doesn’t give me the right to challenge the council or my pack leader. I simply have no choice but to obey. And that pisses me off more than the actual notion that my fate has finally been decided.

  I know it is foolish to want things that I can’t have. Things that defied my very existence, but hell if I didn’t want it. I wanted it in the worst way.

  I want to be the leader of Hollow Pack. I want to make my own way, my own destiny. I want to bring Starfall Creek into the twenty-first fucking century.

  But all I can do is obey.

  Obey my leader, my father, and the way of my kind.

  So instead of dissenting, I turn my back on my father, and I run.

  I run as far as my legs will carry me into the forest, and I do the only thing I can do to ease the pain.

  I let the wolf inside of me out of her cage.

  Chapter 3

  Reverie

  I sit on the cool floor for what feels like hours when really it’s probably been only a few minutes. The fear of my father returning or more customers coming in is high on my list, but for some reason, being eaten by a giant wolf is holding that number one spot.

  “Look, man, I’m really sorry, but I promise this is for your own good.” Ranger’s words are soft and understanding. It’s quiet for a moment and I hope he’s turned around and walked out the door but I didn’t hear the bell ring.

  Ranger heaves a growl and next thing I know, the door is kicked in. I scramble to my feet and back up into the corner. Ranger steps in looking to the left first and when he finds nothing, turns his head to the right, his eyes landing on me. His face is covered in deep gashes and there is blood trickling down his face and neck. His shirt is soaked deep red, so much so that it’s sticking to his body like a second skin. There are probably more gashes there but I can’t tell.

  He looks like hell.

  “Oh my God, are you okay?” I manage to choke out. He does not look okay. Not at all.

  He shakes his head. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I promise I’m not going to hurt you, but we really need to get out of here.”

  “Y-you look like you need a hospital. D-do you want me to drive you?” As terrified as I am, I do care about this man. He’s the only person I call a friend.

  “I’ll be fine.” His tone is impatient. “We have to go, Rev. Now. He will be back and he won’t be after me next time. You shouldn’t have seen this. I need to get you to safety.”

  He offers his hand out and for some reason, all I can think about is that stupid ass carpet in my bathroom. The soft feeling of it under my feet, how it’s always warm, no matter what.

  Why in the world did I think buying a stupid, furry fucking rug would change my life? My eyes are glued to his hand, seconds pass until I finally take it. Make changes, Reverie.

  “Let’s go to your place,” he says.

  After helping Ranger into the passenger seat of his truck, since he’s getting paler and weaker by the minute, I round the vehicle and heave myself up and into the driver’s seat, hands already shaking at the thought of driving this beast. It’s huge. I’ve never driven anything bigger than the little sedan I’ve had since I was sixteen.

  Granted, I’m only going down the road a few blocks, but a lot could happen in a few short moments. I’m not even sure this thing will fit in my driveway and I certainly can’t park it on the street. It’ll take up half the road.

  I put the key into the ignition and it roars to life, the entire truck vibrating beneath me and I’m not going to lie—it feels weird as hell.

  Ranger is still bleeding as I squeeze into the driveway behind my small Toyota, still not convinced he doesn't need a hospital. He was either sleeping or unconscious the whole time so I couldn’t berate him about his choice. The silence was welcomed, though. All I needed was him to add to my already ever growing anxiety over this situation by complaining about my driving. I hope Ranger has enough energy to squeeze himself out on his side. If not, he may be looking at bleeding to death in this truck.

  I really hope my father doesn’t get back to the store before I do. He’s going to ask a million questions and one thing I’ve never been able to do is lie. To him or to anyone. I’m just bad at it.

  The iron stench of blood is strong in the truck, and to be honest, I can’t wait to get the hell out. My skin is starting to crawl at the thought of Ranger’s bodily fluid being on me.

  Now’s not the time to be thinking of stupid things, but all I can think is… aren’t wolves supposed to be able to heal themselves or something? Why is he bleeding so much? I guess this is what I get for watching too many movies.

  He’s sitting with his head leaned back against the seat, his eyes shut and his breathing labored.

  “Hey, y-you okay?” I ask him. He doesn't move.

  Oh, hell no. He is not about to die right now!

  “Ranger!” I shout, giving him a little shove. I pull my hand back and find spots of blood, I hold back the gag that threatens to escape. Blood hasn’t ever really bothered me before, not the sight of it anyway, but something about touching it is giving me the heebie jeebies, and I don’t like it. It’s quickly drying on my skin, turning sticky right before my eyes. I quickly wipe it away.

  He groans at my interruption of his rest and I take note of how weak he sounds and how pale he still looks. I don’t need to be a doctor to see he is not fucking okay, no matter how many times he assures me he is.

  “We need to get you inside. You’re going to be okay,” I say, not believing a single word. He needs a damn hospital.

  I’m barely able to swing the door open without hitting the neighbor’s fence. As I slip out the tiny space I’m given, I realize the ass end of the truck is in the street, but I have no more room to pull in. Oh well. Quickly, I get to the passenger’s side door, open it up and do my best to help him out without hurting him further. He’s already in rough shape as it is. Thankfully, my driveway is mostly hidden. Having a man covered in blood and gashes walking into your house would not look well to one of these townspeople. I stand by the opening of the door, shielding him from any passersby. It’s a small town, everyone knows everyone. This would surely be the talk of the town in a matter of minutes if someone saw. My phone would be ringing before I even got the front door open, no doubt with my mother on the other end.

  I throw his arm around my shoulder and kick the door shut. Fumbling for my keys, I finally get the one I need to unlock the house door. It isn’t simple while simultaneously holding up a man that is easily 250 pounds of pure muscle. He’s weak and limp and my knees feel as if they may buckle with our combined weight.

  I’ve just gotten the door closed when Ranger starts mumbling something I can’t understand.

  “What?” I ask, bringing my ear closer to his mouth.

  “L-lie d-down.” The words are so quiet, yet so forced. Fuck, I really hope he isn’t dying.

  I don’t know why I didn’t take him to the hospital. I probably should. Maybe I should just call an ambulance.

  “No. No, y-you can’t.”

  Okay, so I said that out loud.

  “Ranger, if you die…”

  He lifts his hand and waves me off. I grit my teeth and practically drag him to the couch before dropping him onto it.

  Well, there goes that. I can practically feel the blood seeping into the cushions.

  He seemed… okay at the shop. He kicked the door in for fuck’s sake. On the other hand, he has lost a lot more blood since then.

  Towels. I need to get towels. Hold them on the wounds. Stop the blood flow.

  Without saying another word to Ranger, I rush to the bathroom and grab as many towels as I can, trying not to think of how everything in this house is about to be contaminated with blood.

  Someone else’s blood.

  Ranger is lying on the couch exactly where I left him a moment ago. On his back, one arm and one leg hanging off the couch. I kneel down, placing some of the towels on his lap, and start to peel his shirt up, wanting to assess the damage and stop the bleeding.

  I practically jump out of my boots when he slaps my hand away.

  “The hell you doing, man?” He coughs and I half expect blood to come shooting out of his mouth and cover my face, like how it does in the movies.

  Fuck, I really need to get a life.

  I cringe.

  “I got towels. To, you know, stop the bleeding?” He opens an eye and gives me a weird look. “What? You’re bleeding all over the place,” I say.

  He shakes his head, a slight smile on his face.

  “Need sleep. One hour. I’ll… be fine.”

  I get to my feet and take a step back, dropping the pile of towels to the floor.

  I don’t think this is something he can just sleep off, but what the hell do I know?

  Well, I’ll be damned. One hour and seven minutes later and he’s walking into my kitchen like he owns the damn place. I almost can’t believe it. Actually, I can’t believe it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lunged at me like a zombie or something. That’s how he looks. Tattered clothes, covered in blood, crazy look in his eye, still a little pale—though I guess that look in his eye is just his look anyway. It’s the grin on his face that gets me, though. I don’t know what to make of it. He almost dies and now he’s… fine?

  Zombies. They can’t be real. But if he turned into a wolf, and I know what I saw, then are zombies really that much of a push?

  I need a drink.

  Something really strong.

  “You’re sure I can’t take you to the hospital?” I ask, hoping he’ll just say yes so I won’t have his death or infection, or loss of limbs on my conscience.

  “I’ll be fine. Just need to get back home.” He pulls his shirt over his head and tucks it into his back pocket.

  “How did—” I shake my head, looking him over. “Nevermind, I’m not even going to ask.”

  “That’s probably for the best,” he responds. “Keys?”

  “I don’t think you should drive.”

  He raises a brow at me, almost in challenge. Right in this very second, another cough rattles in his chest and it’s my turn to raise a brow.

  “I’ll drive you,” I argue, taking in his appearance again. He’s still covered in blood, all of it dried to his skin. He isn’t actively bleeding any longer, but the wounds are still there.

  “That’s not—”

  I get to my feet. “I don’t care. You bled all over my couch, ruined numerous towels, and did some weird as hell shit in my parents’ store. Pretty sure I get to call the shots on something. So let’s go.”

  I turn and head for the door and I swear I hear him laugh a little. A few minutes later and we’re both in the truck and I’m seriously regretting demanding to drive. How the hell am I supposed to back this giant thing up?

  Chapter 4

  Jade

  I run until I hit the falls. The wind curls around me like a mother cradles its young, and I feel at peace.

  When I come to the clearing, I sit up straight, and my tail curls around me like the regal animal I truly am. The roar of the falls is different to my wolf’s ears—louder and more pronounced than my human hearing will allow. I can also hear the sound of the fish splashing below, the distinct chirps of the birds miles away, the chitter chatter of the squirrels in the trees. The world around me plays a symphony of nature that would sound like utter noise to anyone else, but to me it is the sounds of home. The sounds of truth.

  I lie down, feeling the overwhelming awe I always do when I am with my wolf. In this moment, in this place, I can just… be me.

  Everything seems so much simpler when I let the wolf take over. There is not a care in the world when she is in charge.

  My ears twitch; the sound of snapping twigs and deep breathing alert me, but I could smell him a mile away, the scent of cedar and pine tickling my nose, one I am entirely too familiar with.