I race over some underbrush and around a tree, then put my back against it. I try to catch my breath, but my breathing sounds loud and unnatural in the sudden silence of the forest.

  Just when I begin to think maybe I’ve lost them, I hear a snicker.

  A human snicker.

  “Well, well, well,” the voice says. “What do we have here?”

  I squeeze my eyes shut and stand perfectly still, as if that will make me invisible.

  As if that will give me a chance.

  The voice laughs and I feel cold, hard hands on my chin.

  My eyes pop open.

  There’s a giant man in front of me. He’s at least 6 feet tall, maybe taller. His tan skin is muscular and even with just the thin rays of sun for light, I can tell he’s shredded. Despite his physical perfection, I feel nothing but fear when I look at him.

  “W-W-Who are you?” I manage to squeeze out.

  “W-W-Who am I?” The man sneers, mocking me. My heart crashes into my stomach. He’s going to kill me, or worse. He’s going to hurt me and destroy me and he doesn’t care at all.

  It’s one of Jeffrey’s men. I’m sure of it, but why is he naked? And how did he get here so fast? And what about the wolves I heard chasing me?

  I focus on breathing, on getting through the moment. Surely there must be a way I can escape. I just have to find it, right? Only as I’m thinking this, my hope is crashing.

  The man grabs me and hauls me through the woods. I try to kick and fight, but he punches me in the stomach and I vomit everywhere. Waves of pain pour over me and my head goes fuzzy. My eyes go black for just a second, and when my vision clears, we’re in a small, grassy clearing.

  There are four wolves there. My body tightens as I see them, and I look up at the man, questioningly.

  Is he going to feed me to them?

  “Time for some fun, boys,” he says, and throws me to them. I scream as I land on my hands and knees in front of the wolves. My hands sink slightly in the damp earth and I start to cry as I look up at the four faces staring down at me.

  I start to shake.

  This can’t be happening.

  This.

  Can’t.

  Be.

  Happening.

  I ran for so long and finally, I found a place I was happy. Finally, I found a place I belonged. Finally, I found something – someone - that made me happy. And now it’s gone, ripped from my hands before I even had a chance to get comfortable.

  The wolves move closer and I can feel their breath on my skin. I close my eyes. I don’t want to look into their eyes as they tear me apart.

  This is it.

  This is the end.

  I hope they go for my throat.

  I hope they make it fast.

  But before I die, the air around me changes, and I open my eyes.

  And gasp.

  The wolves are gone, replaced with four very big, very naked men.

  “Changers,” I whisper. They’re real. Grandmother’s stories were always just that: stories. Oh, I knew about my brother, but part of me thought he was an anomaly. Part of me thought I was imagining it. Part of me didn’t want it to be real. Her stories, though… Grams always warned me about wolves in the forest. I sometimes suspected her stories had a hint of truth to them, and the realization that I’ve definitely, undoubtedly been living with a wolf who may very well be a changer, as well, settles in my stomach.

  If only Wolfy had trusted me enough to reveal who he really is.

  If only I had believed in Grandmother enough to focus more on her stories, to realize there were more men out there like Jeffrey, that him being a wolf wasn’t just some freak accident.

  “Why?” I ask quietly. They’re going to kill me. Now that they’re changed into their human selves, I wonder if they plan to do more. Rape me? Torture me? Play with me? What are they going to do? I’m no virgin, but I’ve never been abused.

  Not like they’re going to do to me.

  Not like they want to hurt me.

  “Your brother sends his love,” one sneers, and he yanks me to my feet. I stand still, crying quietly as he rips my clothes from me.

  I don’t fight back.

  I don’t protest.

  I don’t do anything but stand there, like a frightened little kitten. A wave of disgust washes over me as I realize I always promised to fight back if something bad happened, but now I have a chance and I won’t.

  I can’t.

  They’re too big and there are too many of them. Fighting would just anger them and make them hurt me more, so I stand perfectly still as they strip me down to nothing.

  And I am bare before these strangers.

  “Don’t break her,” the first man says, the one who threw me to the wolves. My head spins around; I had forgotten he was there. The man in front of me grabs my chin and turns me back around.

  “Oh, I won’t break her,” he says, looking into my eyes. “But I’m going to make this hurt.”

  8.

  Nash

  When I wake, I’m alone in the cabin. Why am I alone? I can smell Red in the room, but she’s nowhere to be seen. She wouldn’t just leave without me.

  Would she?

  The two of us have been inseparable since I first met her, since she first arrived in the forest. I like to think she’s grown used to having me around. I like to think she needs me, wants me with her.

  So where is she?

  I shouldn’t panic, but it’s so unlike her to leave without me that I’m not sure what to do. Maybe she just stepped outside to relieve herself. Maybe she’s just on the porch. Even as I think this, I know it’s not true. I might not be the best protector, obviously, but I can sense when something is wrong.

  And something is definitely, completely, totally wrong.

  I stand up and sniff the air, remaining in my wolf form. It’s easier to get a good read on smells in this form. When I’m human, I can still smell better than any human I’ve ever met, but I’m no match for a wolf.

  There are a lot of dangerous creatures in the forest: things Red couldn’t even dream of. I suddenly realize that if she’s gotten used to being around me, she might make the mistake of thinking all wolves are friendly.

  If she encounters someone from the Silent Canines, she’s going to be out of luck. Those wolves don’t follow the same code of conduct I do. They haven’t for a long time. Not since Elise died, maybe even before that.

  I guess she’s been gone for an hour, maybe a little less, and I shift only long enough to open the door of the cabin, go out, and close it behind me again. Back in wolf form, I leap off the porch and take off running, following the smell of Red.

  I have to find her.

  She’s stronger than she gives herself credit for. After following her around for the better part of two weeks, I’ve gotten used to being around her. I’ve gotten used to her silent strength. I’ve gotten used to her quiet contemplation of the world around her.

  Nothing is simple for her.

  Nothing is easy, but she tries.

  I can tell how scared she gets at night, when it gets dark. I can tell how afraid she is of Jeffrey, her brother, finding her. I don’t know what happened when they were kids or why he hates her so much, but I know the idea of him discovering where she’s hiding is horrifying to her.

  I run through the darkness, ignoring the way it’s about to rain, the rabbits that are playing nearby, even the birds that are chirping.

  The only thing I need is to find Red.

  What if she needs me?

  What if she’s in trouble?

  She has every right to wander off into the woods on her own, but it’s unlike her. Even if she needed time to think, to clear her head, she would have come back already. She wouldn’t leave me, her Wolfy, locked in the cabin for long.

  And as much as I hate her nickname for me – I have a perfectly good real name – it makes me smile to know how much she cares.

  The truth is that I don’t want my time with Red to end. I don’t want this adventure we’ve been having to be over. When Elise died, I thought my heart had died with her. She was my best friend, my other half. I never thought I could love anyone as much as I loved my cousin, but I was wrong.

  Red showed me just how wrong I was.

  She’s sweet and quiet and kind. I love how she takes care of me even though she doesn’t owe me a damn thing. I wonder just how messed up her life must have been before she came to the forest that no one misses her.

  How could no one miss her?

  I run faster, following her scent, knowing I might be running out of time. Something is wrong. I can feel it in my gut. I had the same feeling before I found Elise, before I saw the Alpha… That doesn’t matter now, though. The only thing that matters is getting to Red, saving her, making her mine.

  I should have told her I was a shifter long ago.

  I should have shown her who I really was, should have given her the chance to love me because the truth is that I know she could. I know she could love me. She’s not the type of girl who is going to discriminate based on looks or the fact that I’m not completely human.

  No, she’ll love me for me.

  The thought gives me hope, and I run a little bit faster.

  ***

  I hear her cries before I even smell her, and I slow my steps. Every instinct in my body tells me to rush forward, to attack, to slaughter the monsters that are attacking my girl.

  Like it or not, I realize, that’s what Red has become: mine. My everything. I hate the idea that she’s in trouble and I haven’t had the chance to tell her yet. I haven’t told her how important she is, how amazing she is. I haven’t told her that without her, my life is garbage.

  Without her, my life isn’t worth living.

  I need to rush in and kill these bastards. Every ounce of my being wants to rush in and destroy them in one swoop.

  But I don’t.

  If I’m going to save my damsel in distress, I’m going to do it right, and that means making careful calculations on how this is going to play out. I position myself behind some trees and peer out. I clench my teeth at what I see, but I don’t rush forward.

  That’s how good men are killed.

  Instead, I consider the situation, calculate how I’ll attack, and watch for just a moment. Red is surrounded by wolf-shifters. They’ve got her pinned down and they’re about to…it doesn’t matter because they won’t get a chance. I’ll save her. I’ll get my girl.

  There are five of them, and they’re men I know well. Five wolves I’ve spent time with. Five wolves I’ve grown up with.

  Five wolves who are the Alpha’s henchmen, for lack of a better term.

  Why is the pack here? What do they want with Red?

  And then it hits me.

  A wave of nausea rolls over me as I realize what’s been staring me in the fact this whole time. The whole time Red has been in the forest with me, we’ve had a common goal and neither one of us knew it.

  Her brother.

  He’s the Alpha.

  He has to be.

  He never tells anyone his real name, instead insisting we all call him Alpha. It makes him feel big and powerful, I suppose, but none of us ever argued with him about it.

  Now I wish we had.

  She’s spent the entire time we’ve been together talking about Jeffrey and how evil he is, but I didn’t piece it together. I didn’t know. Surely she knows her brother is a shifter. Obviously, he’s only her half-brother, but wouldn’t she know? She has to know.

  Then I realize that my fears about her not knowing I’m a shifter were completely unfounded. She must have suspected, at least. It’s why she was so instantly comfortable with me. It’s why she wasn’t afraid.

  If she doesn’t know for sure, she’s about to because I won’t let anything bad happen to her. Not now. Not on my watch.

  Red is on her stomach on the ground. One of the men is standing behind her, his foot pressed into her back. The others are sneering as he taunts her, telling her all the horrible things he wants to do, making promises he’s just not going to be able to keep.

  I shift silently and sneak up to the clearing. While everyone is distracted by Drew and Red, I nail Johnson on the side of the head with a rock. He drops like a sack of potatoes. Literally. The other four shifters all turn to look at me. Red can’t see me from where I am, but it doesn’t matter. She’ll know soon enough and they’ll all wish they hadn’t messed with her.

  They’ll wish they’d never been born.

  I’m coming for you, baby.

  I’m going to save my girl.

  “Nash?” Drew asks. He’s a shifter who also happens to be Jeffrey’s right hand man. His chest is covered in jagged scars. Drew never backs down from a fight. His eyes narrow as I approach and he glances behind me to see Johnson on the ground. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  “That’s where you wrong,” I say simply. “You have two choices: you can leave now and I won’t slit your throats the way you deserve,” laughter erupts, but I continue. “Or we can do this the messy way.”

  Drew stays put, but the other men quickly shift and leap at me.

  The messy way it is.

  9.

  Red

  I try to slide away from the bare foot digging into my back between my shoulder blades. I wiggle, but the foot presses harder and I finally give up. I can hear the fight, but I can’t see anything from where I’m lying.

  Who is my rescuer?

  A million thoughts race through my head, but they all settle back on one thing: I should have known better.

  Did I really think I’d be able to escape? Did I really think I’d be able to hide away until I reached a reasonable conclusion?

  Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we want it to. I’ve struggled for years to be the good girl, the sweet girl, the kind girl. I’ve tried to be a good student, a good granddaughter, a good person.

  And for what?

  It certainly didn’t save my grandmother’s life and it’s certainly not saving me now. Maybe if I had been smarter, wiser. Maybe if I’d been more of a badass, things would be different. I shouldn’t have wandered into the deep, dark woods on my own.

  Not without protection.

  I think of Wolfy and squeeze my eyes shut. My ears are filled with the sounds of growling, fighting, howls. I can smell the fight: blood and fear. I don’t have to be a wolf to smell those things. Even my human nose can tell that this battle isn’t pretty.

  And it’s all because of me.

  I think of Wolfy back at the cabin and I wonder why I kept on pretending not to know what he was. Maybe it was just nice to have someone understand me for a little while.

  Maybe it was just nice not to feel so alone.

  I didn’t call him out because part of me worried that he would leave me. Then I’d be truly alone instead of just mostly alone. I still don’t know what or who he is. I still don’t know why he chose to protect me, of all the woodland creatures, but I know that right now, I’m filled with regret.

  I wonder if this is the end.

  Any moment now.

  Any moment and I’m going to feel the sharp fangs of death tearing through my body.

  Any moment now.

  I squeeze my eyes shut and focus on my breathing, trying to push out the sounds around me. Screaming. Blood spilling. Death. Fear. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to center myself on the idea that maybe things will be okay.

  Maybe my savior won’t turn out to be some killer creep.

  Maybe he really will just be a normal guy who felt like playing the hero.

  A scream sounds, breaking through my haze. I’m thrust back into reality and I squeeze my eyes shut harder. Soon the pressure on my back is gone and I realize I need to move. This might be my only chance to escape.

  I need to move.

  I hear fighting, but I stay perfectly still. I can’t breathe. Everything is too tight: the world is too close together.

  I need to move.

  I blink open and my head swims with pain.

  I need to move.

  I reach forward and claw at the ground, pulling myself forward. I have to escape. I have to move. I have to get away from here while I still can.

  Everything I’ve ever hoped for is gone. My life has faded away and become a shell of nothingness, but I won’t let this break me. I can’t.

  My mind clears enough to remind me that I have to keep going. I’ll get to the trees and crawl to a hiding place. Surely I can find a cave or a hole or a bush to hide under. There must be something. I’ve made it this far. I don’t want to let it be for nothing.

  I won’t let this all be for nothing.

  Grandmother might be dead, but that doesn’t give me a free pass to just give up. Just because I’ve lost the light of my life doesn’t mean I will stop fighting for my future.

  I won’t let her death be for nothing.

  Dirt and mud sticks beneath my nails as I slowly pull my way forward. I’m on my belly on the dirt, like a snake, and I slowly slither toward the trees.

  The sounds of battle fade away and soon it’s just me and the forest.

  I don’t stop to think about what that means until I hear a voice.

  “Red.”

  I keep pulling. I don’t know how this person knows my name or what he wants, but I can’t let him get me. I have to fight. I have to keep going.

  I might be bleeding, dying, left for dead, but I won’t give up.

  “Red.”

  The voice is firmer this time, and closer.

  I squeeze my eyes shut.

  “Go away,” I say to the voice. Go away, leave me alone, leave me here to die on my own. I reach forward, my fingers clawing at the dirt, trying to pull myself.

  Escape is close. I can almost touch it. I can taste it.

  So close.

  “Red,” the voice sounds urgent now, pained. “Red, look at me. Are you all right?”

  “No,” I shake my head. My eyes are closed. I won’t open them. Not for this stranger. Not for anyone.

  “Red. Open your eyes.”