Sheila was sitting in a lawn chair outside her tent. Next to her was a little folding table and another chair. Two mugs sat on the table. “Did I interrupt?”She grinned and jumped from her seat. I was swept up into a bone-crushing hug. “I was so worried about you. I can’t believe they caught you.” She released me from the hug but kept her hands on my shoulders. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you? And please for the love of the moon goddess, take me to Wolf Creek with you next time so I can beat the shit of those assholes.”“I missed you too,” I said.“Tell me you’re not going back there,” she said. “Cause I heard a rumor that I’m not fond of.”“Where did you hear this rumor?” I asked.“I guess it was more of a heads-up than a rumor. Alec says you’re going to go back,” she said. “But he’s mum on the fucking details. Since when does he leave me out of shit?”She sounded hurt and it made me think Alec probably had been honest when he told me that he’d acted alone. “Sit, sit. I hoped you

The day went by far too quickly. I was welcomed by the members of the camp. None of them asked about my time away, but I got the sense they were concerned. It didn’t feel like they were ignoring it, but rather they were afraid to upset me. I wasn’t used to others being worried about me. It honestly made me a little uncomfortable.My cheeks hurt from smiling, but I was able to sneak off alone for a few minutes as everyone prepared for the bonfire. Even Kyle was distracted by the ordeal. Like me, he wasn’t used to such spectacle, and I could see the excitement in his eyes.As the day faded into twilight, I could feel my wolf growing more restless. She knew it was time for us to make this thing official. I hoped we connected quickly and that I’d gain control of when I shifted without too much practice. After finding out that wolves shifted as early as thirteen outside Wolf Creek, it made me feel like I was already behind.From the little bench I was sitting on, I watched as the members o

Catching myself, I gasped, and blinked. Why had I just turned on sexy, flirting Lola? I cleared my throat. “Thanks.”He smirked and his eyes dropped, scanning my body. A delicious shiver ran down my spine and I could feel the wetness spreading between my legs.“I need my clothes,” I managed before walking away.Quickly, I found my clothes and pulled them on. I could smell Alec behind me before I even turned. His scent was driving me wild. It was taking every ounce of my willpower not to rip his clothes off him right here.I spun around to face him. “Did you need something from me?”“I know what you’re feeling,” he said. “I can smell it on you, I can feel your responses to me.”“Excuse me?” I blurted out.“It’s normal, don’t worry, give it about a half hour and it’ll fade,” he said.“What are you talking about?” I asked.“The desire to fuck my brains out.” He shrugged. “It’s pretty clear you’re struggling with that. I would offer my services, but I don’t think I’d be welcomed right now

My inner wolf seemed to leap inside my chest, rejoicing at being reunited with Tyler.With our mate.“No,” I said. “I don’t want to be with you.” Even as I said the words, I couldn’t make myself believe them. It was as if my mind was being overridden by the mating bond. I was reacting on instinct rather than logic.Tyler brought his hand to his chest and groaned as if wounded. “You always know exactly what to say to hurt me. But I’ll never give up on you. We’re connected, two halves of the same soul.”That can’t be right, could it?Suddenly, the whole ally was spinning around me. It was like being sucked down a drain, only I wasn’t moving. The world was spinning. Faster and faster and faster. I closed my eyes.Time to wake up. Wake the fuck up.When it stopped, I was standing out by the old, broken-down barn. There was a full moon and my wolf stirred, ready to run. Now, this was an improvement. I wouldn’t mind a dream where I got to run as my wolf. I embraced the pull of my wolf, and sh

The first day of walking had been awkward and quiet. Thankfully, the rough terrain gave us all an excuse to stay quiet. From what I could tell, our group was in decent shape, but our route was all uphill, over rough and unstable ground. By the nightfall, we were all exhausted.A fire crackled in the center of our makeshift camp. I dug through my pack and found a blanket I could use to protect myself against the cold, night air. When I pulled it out, a package of cookies came along with it. I grinned and held them up for the others to see. “I take it Greta knows what we’re up to?”“I never told her, which means, she knows everything,” Alec said.I opened the package and offered them around the group. Everyone took a few and chewed them quietly. We’d already eaten some of the food from Alec’s bag, but jerky and canned fruit left something to be desired. The cookies were a nice treat.“We should get some rest,” Alec said. “I can take first watch.”“We should have a pair on watch,” Kyle s