Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (17 page)

He looked away, not speaking. A wave of hurt and

rejection poured to her from him, and she fled like a

coward in the wake of it. She left, not risking another

glance at him and was back in her own quarters in less

than a minute. Once there, she paced the carpet.

She couldn’t stop. There was something alive under her

skin. That was the only way to describe the sensation that

was driving her crazy. And this feeling seemed to be

agitated by Ryon being upset. Daria regretted hurting him,

but this was more. It was as if there was another

consciousness making itself known, or trying to, and it

wasn’t happy. It wanted something.

Wanted out.

She gasped. What was that? She was losing her

marbles. She—

During one of her passes by the window, she paused,

her attention caught by movement outside. When she saw a

silver and black wolf streak across the lawn toward the

forest, her heart clenched.

The wolf was Ryon. In a compound surrounded by

shifters, she wasn’t certain how she knew it was him. But

it was. The strange bond between them sang with fear,

longing, and sadness. The desire to run until he was too

exhausted to care.

Before she could question the wisdom of her actions,

she was pushing open her patio door, exiting the small

yard and running in the direction he’d gone. She tried

pushing her thoughts at him, but whether any of them

connected, she couldn’t say.

Ryon! Please, come back. I didn’t mean to hurt you.

Nothing.

Hey, let’s talk. We can’t do that if you’re running.

She wasn’t sure how far she’d gone or how long she’d

chased him when she stopped and braced a hand on a tree.

She couldn’t run anymore. And there was a painful lurch

in the pit of her stomach, like she had to vomit. That didn’t

happen, but sickness roiled in her belly. Spread to her

arms and legs, which were now itching like mad, and

became excruciating pain.

Crying out, she hit her knees, holding her casted arm

over her stomach. Her skin and guts were turning inside

out, and any second they were going to exchange places.

All that would be left was a gruesome pile of muscle and

bone, and they would all shake their heads in speculation

of what could’ve happened. If she didn’t know a creature

had killed the campers, she might’ve believed there was a

new disease going around, and she had caught it.

“Ryon!” Panting, doubled over, she clawed at the

ground. Then she realized that her hands were tipped with

actual claws. Black and sharp. “Shit!”

Her limbs began to move—and then one by one, they

popped. Screaming, she could do nothing as the change

she’d witnessed in Ryon just a short while ago took over

her body as well.

The agony was horrendous. She continued to scream

until her voice was hoarse—and then became a long, high-

pitched howl. The pain ended as suddenly as it had begun,

and she whimpered, frantically looking all around her. The

cast that had occupied her arm was now split and lying in

the grass. Clearly it was no longer needed, because her leg

was fine.

Other than belonging to a wolf.

First she struggled to get free of her clothing. Then

sitting, she looked down at herself, incredulous. She was

covered in silky-looking black fur and had four paws. A

tail? She tried wagging it, and to her surprise, it worked. It

brushed the ground behind her, stirring leaves. Slowly, she

tried to stand. That part went okay, but when she tried

taking some steps forward, her legs got all tangled and she

went down with a yelp.

Exhaustion prevented her from getting up, and so she

curled into a ball and whined miserably. She couldn’t

walk back yet, and the sun would set soon. How was

anyone supposed to find her? She didn’t want to be out

here alone, in a strange body, when the sun went down.

The memory of the screeching creature, not to mention

Nick’s rendition of what it might look like, made her

shake. It had slaughtered two people, maybe more. If the

beast found her out here, weak and defenseless, she’d end

up as dinner.

Despite her fears, she grew sleepy. Staying awake

wasn’t an option. Before she went under, she could have

sworn she saw a white wolf appear from behind a tree

about fifty yards away. But when she blinked it was gone.

Daria, where are you? Hold on, honey. I’m coming.

She’d probably imagined that, too. But she was too

tired to answer anyway.

• • •

In wolf form, Ryon raced through the woods toward the

compound. Toward his mate. He had heard her cry out,

and had immediately turned back when the pain felled him.

Her agony had ripped through him as though it were his

own, and he’d actually stumbled and fell. Sitting on his

haunches trying to figure out what had happened, the

realization hit him.

Daria was going through her first shift. His mind reeled

at the knowledge. Hadn’t it taken Kira and Rowan a few

weeks to experience their wolf for the first time? God, this

had happened so soon, he wasn’t ready.

She was confused, in pain. Alone. All of these horrible

things should not have happened. If he’d been a better

mate, he wouldn’t have indulged in a moment of self-pity,

leaving her by herself at the compound. Not even for an

hour, not when he knew she would need him, and not over

something as stupid as his jealousy of a man who was no

real threat to his mating.

Because he was a selfish bastard, she was suffering. He

called out to her as he ran, but she wasn’t answering. The

bond between them was blank, but not as though she was

willfully shutting him out. It was as if she was asleep, or

unconscious. He ran faster, frantic to find her.

He wasn’t sure how long he searched, but he was

starting to panic. Their bond would’ve helped him find her

faster, but he was hindered. Maybe she hadn’t even run in

his direction.

The last thing he needed was to see the glowing form of

a spirit step from behind a tree. Halting in his tracks, he

recognized the woman who’d been mutilated. This time

her image was whole, her skin unmarred by the atrocity

inflicted upon her. Sometimes this happened, the victims

reverting back to the state they were in before they died.

Maybe they couldn’t accept what had happened, much less

that they were supposed to be dead.

As the ghost moved closer, eyes beseeching, Ryon

shifted. Kneeling in the dirt, he shook his head. “I can’t

help you.”

Monster
, she mouthed.

Ryon shivered. The spirits were so seldom able to get

their woes across. Leave it to this one to be different. “I

know. I’m sorry for what the beast did to you, but we’re

going to catch him. I promise.”

This time, her voice came through on a whisper. “My

husband?”

“Everyone is looking for him. We’ll find him.” She

didn’t need to know they probably already had.

“Monster,” she said sadly, the strange, dark eye sockets

glistening with unshed tears.

Jesus. “I hope not. But one way or another, we’ll find

him.”

From her bereft expression, she must have known he’d

likely suffered the same fate. Why did the ghosts torment

him when there wasn’t a fucking thing he could do? What

good was this stupid “gift”?

“Look for the light,” he told her. “When you find it,

keep going. Maybe your husband is there, waiting for

you.”

A look of hope bloomed, and she turned without another

word. Began to walk away. In seconds, she vanished into

the trees again, and he exhaled a shaky breath.

“I’ll never freaking get used to that.” If the woman’s

husband was dead, he prayed they’d find each other. It

drove him crazy that he never knew if the spirits found

peace.

Shifting again, he resumed his search for Daria.

Scenting the air, he began to come undone. He couldn’t

locate her. Then a flash of white caused him to put on the

brakes. In the path ahead, a small white female wolf stood

with her head up, ears forward in a nonthreatening manner.

She didn’t snarl or offer any aggression. She simply

turned, glanced over her shoulder once as if expecting him

to follow, then took off.

Taking a chance, he ran after her. She could be leading

him into a trap, but he didn’t think so. Instinct typically

served him well, and whatever this wolf’s agenda was,

Ryon and his mate were not a part of it. He hoped.

At one point he lost sight of the wolf, and bounded

around a bend in the path, determined to catch up. Instead,

he found that the white wolf was gone—and a black shape

was lying curled at the base of a tree. Torn and discarded

clothes were strewn not far from the form. Approaching

cautiously, he sniffed. Scented his mate.

She was a bit bigger than the white wolf, but not by

much. His heart lifted at seeing her there, safe and

sleeping. His poor baby must have been worn out from her

first shift, and he felt bad that it had happened without

anyone there to guide her.

Shifting back to human form, he knelt at her side and ran

a hand over her silky black coat. “You’re stunning,” he

said softly. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

His touch and his voice roused her, and she sat up,

whining pitifully. “You’re all right,” he soothed. “Easy,

now. I’m here.”

Liquid brown eyes gave him a fearful stare.
How did

this happen to me?

His mouth fell open, and then he smiled. “You’re doing

it! You can mind-speak with me.”

Not with anyone else?

“No.” His smile faded with dread at the coming talk. He

knew where her questions would lead, and he couldn’t put

off the answers any longer. “Just with me.”

Why not? Is it because you bit me? And is that how I

became a wolf, like you?

Her voice in his head was rising in anxiety. “You need

to shift back before we have this talk.”

Answer me!

“Shift and we will,” he said firmly. “Imagine each part

of your body. Your arms, legs, hands and feet. Your face.

Make your wolf obey and step back.”

I don’t know if I can.

“It’s not nearly as hard as shifting for the first time, and

it isn’t as painful from now on. Go ahead and try.”

On her first attempt, her wolf remained stubbornly in the

forefront, not pleased at all about being forced into

submission again. It was out, and Ryon sensed that she

wanted to run, play, and explore. Now wasn’t the time,

though.

The second attempt was a success. In seconds Daria

was sitting on the ground, naked. Drawing her knees up to

her chest, she glared at him, making him flinch.

“You deserve the whole truth,” he began.

“Nice of you to think so.” Her lips thinned.

“I want you to try to remember that ever since you woke

up in our infirmary, you’ve had a lot to deal with. There

was no way I was going to spring all of this on you at

once.”

She hesitated; then her posture relaxed a fraction. “I’ll

give you that. But I want the whole story now, not just

what you believe I can handle. I’m tougher than I look.”

“Fair enough.” Jesus, this wasn’t going to go well.

“Yes, when I bit you, I knew that most likely you would

turn into a shifter. Like me and my team.”

“And you did it to save my life.” A statement, not a

question. She was working through it all in her head.

“Yes. As well as my own.”

She tensed again. “What do you mean?”

“Remember when I said you could mind-speak with me,

but
only
with me?”

“I remember.”

He fumbled for a way to explain that wouldn’t shock

her too badly. “Well, only certain pairs of wolf shifters

can do that who aren’t Telepaths. Non-Telepaths can only

talk in each other’s heads if they are . . . mated. Or if

you’re a powerful born shifter, like Nick. He

communicates with me really well. The others have to

push their thoughts back at me if I talk to them first.”

“Mated.” She stared at him blankly, latching on to that

word. “You mean mated, as in animals in the wild who

pair off with their special other half? That kind of mated?”

“Or shifters who find their other half, yes.” Hope rose

at her calm questioning. It quickly crashed as

understanding began to dawn, and a slow burn of anger

simmered through their bond.

“When you bit me, you
mated
with me?” she asked,

voice rising. “Like,
married
me, in a way?”

“Sort of,” he said evenly. “I had no—”

“You had no choice? No other option but to let me

die?”

“That’s the absolute truth, I swear it.”

“And it had nothing to do with your wolf half simply

taking what he wanted? Excuse me if I don’t believe that,”

she said flatly.