- Riven I run my finger down the length of my wound, which is already starting to scar. The only thing that leaves me concerned is the fact that it still aches after all this time. I don’t know what that bitch Kera used to try and take me down, but whatever it is, it’s leaving a lasting effect. Footsteps move toward me, and I jerk my head up as I spot Niles walking toward me. He’s wearing a smile, something he’s been doing more often ever since I became a pack leader. He even invited me to come and stay in the pack leaders’ cabin, but it felt weird to leave my own space. But I know another reason that I haven’t wanted to move in to the pack leaders’ cabin, and it’s because I can’t picture Kate slipping into a cabin with Niles, Monica, and Harrison in it and sliding into my bed. She said that she wants to put things on hold, but my mind won’t let me move on. I don’t think that things are over between us. If things were that simple, we would have been able to leave each other alon

- Kate It feels like electricity is shooting up and down my spine. He’s kissing me with so much want, so much need, that I feel like I might disappear into him completely. As my lips move against his, my mind is still tugging me toward thoughts of what the pack leaders might think. They probably saw him walk into my cabin. If he’s in here for too long, then they might start to talk about separating us. I pull back and I soak in the look in his eyes, the longing that he’s making no effort to hide. Riven is as tough as nails, but in this moment, he needs me to want him back. He needs me to forget that we’re looking for Marcel, or that we captured someone, or that we’re still trying to avenge Rico’s murder. He’s kissing me like he needs me. I let my tongue tangle with his, and something surges through me, racing all the way down to my fingers and toes. What is this feeling? I’m bracing myself for more thoughts about the pack, about what people will say, but they won’t come. I g

- Kate “You don’t know how to control your power yet, but I bet it will be useful.” A groan escapes me as my eyes flutter open. The aged wood of the cabin’s ceiling rests above me. I blink, and inhale, fully expanding my lungs. What the hell? I shake my head and gnash my teeth together as I pull myself into a sitting position. I relax the muscles in my jaw, and my mouth hangs open as the bitter taste of medicinal herbs settles on my tongue. Memories sail into the front of my mind. Riven, the silver tipped blade, and Payna’s soft smile as she blotted a towel against the sweat-slicked, cold skin on my forehead. Marcel. “Power…” I glance at the fingernails on my right hand. They’re perfectly normal, deceptively human-looking fingers. There are no remnants of the long claws that rested there before. I open my mouth and slip a finger against my canines. The sharp points are gone. What’s happening to me? My head snaps toward the door as it creaks open. Payna steps inside

- Kate “What the fuck was that?” My head snaps toward the sound of a branch being crushed under a heavy boot. I picture a solid, black boot attached to someone that’s been watching me from the darkness. My heartbeat quickens and my muscles tighten as I narrow my eyes and scan the darkness. A doe looks at me curiously, her round, black eyes are also searching for threats as we look at each other. She cautiously lifts one leg, waiting for me to move, then she takes off. I exhale and shake my head. If I had been thinking straight, I could have gotten dinner for the night. Riven wouldn’t have hesitated to kill that deer and have it served. Him being so proactive is part of why they made him a pack leader for now. I let a long sigh that I’d been holding onto since I left squeeze past my lips. Riven. Every time I stop moving my feet, an image of him rises to the front of my mind. I picture the set way his jaw sits, and his eyes as he soaks me in. When will someone look at me like

- Kate His smell is strong here. I’ve been walking for a while, but the smell of Marcel’s scent comes and goes. Ever since the sun rose higher in the sky, my sense of smell has waned to what it normally was. Damn it. I can’t help but feel a little discouraged as I make my way through the woods. I’ve never been here before, and as I get swallowed up by all of the green around me, I can’t help but feel a sense of dread that has glued itself to my skin. The hairs on the back of my neck practically stand up as I walk further into the woods. My eyes fall on a family of rabbits. My stomach trembles. The bagel that I had earlier feels like a lifetime ago, because I’m starving. I sigh as I slowly lower myself to the ground. I snatch one rabbit off the ground, careful and quick like Riven would have, and I snap its neck. The other rabbits scatter, and I go to a fallen tree trunk. “I just need something to skin this with,” I mumble. “Do you need a knife?” “What?!” I jump n