Instantly, sound and scent engulf me, refreshing all my senses. The thick pine smell mingles with the damp air, and the soft noises of small animals as they move through the forest make me feel so alive. My emotional turmoil falls away as I immerse myself in my wolf.
I can hear Lexa bounding along behind me, and in this state, divorced from my higher thinking, the sensation of having her with me is pure bliss.
Running with my mate… this is how it should be. How it always should have been.
Echoes of memory shiver in my mind, like reflections rippling on water. I see myself standing over her in the pale morning sun, watching her for a moment before I slipped out of there like a thief and left the love of my life sleeping alone.
I had to! It was all I could do to keep her safe!
But what if I had run… like I am right now.
Joy surges through my wolf’s soul, and it can’t be contained inside my chest. I hurl my head back and howl, a sound of pure happiness. Behind me, Lexa howls, too, and I know the good feeling inside me is being shared by her.
It’s as if both of our wolves know the same truth—that if I had chosen her, in that moment, we would have shifted and run into the forest, never needing to look back.
My wolf mind can’t contemplate the complexities of human situations, and the bubbling press of those thoughts dilutes my focus. I shake my head briefly, letting the unwelcome images fall back into the hidden part of my mind.
I turn my eyes up to the sky, seeing the stars beginning to come out. They flicker like diamonds under white light, reflecting back in the full spectrum of colors. The sight empties my head of thoughts, and I push up towards the ridge, enjoying the way the physical exertion feeds my primal soul.
It takes some time to get up the steep rock walls as we leave the hills, and I look behind often to see how Lexa is coping. Every time I look back, she’s leaping fiercely from rock to rock, bounding up the hill and keeping pace with me.
When she sees me looking back, her ears prick up and her eyes brighten. She bursts out with a happy bark, and I answer her, my tail wagging in wide circles as I turn back around to tackle the hill again.
We’re almost at the ridge when ugly thoughts begin to slither beneath my wolf mind again. Even in my animal shape, I can sense them, and they are so intense, it almost shocks me back to being human.
I have to tell her the truth.
I can’t tell her the truth!
I want to ask her for more details about how and why she left town. It’s something I’ve always wanted to know. But now, it’s absolutely vital.
If she knows her mother was killed by the death squad and that they were coming for her, would she even be here right now… with me?
Iris Porter may have assured her safety or given some other kind of guarantee. Maybe Lexa wants justice—or revenge—for her mother.
If she knows it all, she could be playing me—right now.
The thought is not a comfortable one. The idea that she is gathering information, waiting for an opportunity to use it, and attack other pack members, fills me with fear.
Not just that someone could get hurt, but that she could look right into my eyes and lie to me.
But that’s exactly what I’m doing to her.
A soft growl rumbles through my teeth, and I shake my head back and forth, putting more energy into my run. The sight of Laura’s broken, bloodied body rises in my mind, and I can’t get free of it. I can even hear my own words echoing in my mind as I demand that Grandfather give her a decent burial.
He didn’t confirm or deny that the death squad was responsible!
The realization hits me hard. Now that the conversation has surfaced from the depths of my mind, I can clearly remember that he never took the blame for it.
Maybe he didn’t care, or just assumed his goons did it. He cared more about the fact that I failed to do it.
When we lowered Laura into the earth, only three of us were there. Myself and two of her friends from town, Poppy and Jinette. They had no idea what had become of Lexa, and after I became alpha, they helped me search.
But I lost contact with them… I don’t even know if they’ve heard she’s back. But it’s been almost a full day… surely the gossip has gone the full rounds by now.
When I finally burst through the trees and leap up onto the high ridge, I’m trembling from the exertion of running so fast and hard. To my surprise, Lexa is right beside me, and she still looks fresh and full of energy. Her ears are pricked up, and her eyes sweep across the town, reflecting back the myriad of lights laid out before us like crystal shards scattered on black velvet. She hurls back her head and howls, and the sound comes from so deep inside her, it feels like it echoes through my bones.
My own howl spirals from my chest, my entire body consumed by the sound and the emotion behind it. Our voices mingle together and become one. A new song, one made by both of us.
