by Sadie Moss
A trickle of fear dripped down my spine as I remembered the other patients who’d been housed at the Strand complex with me. Now that I thought about it, I realized I’d been the longest-term resident there. Others had come and gone; I’d been told some of them got better and some of them didn’t.
But if what these men were saying was true, none of them had been sick.
And none of them had gotten better.
They’d all died.
My throat tightened. I couldn’t keep letting panic get the best of me like this, but I felt like I was trapped in a rushing river, smashing into rocks and boulders as I careened helplessly toward a fate I couldn’t see or understand.
Disbelief warred with a growing, grim certainty.
Even if these men were lying, I could no longer deny one truth. Something had been very wrong at the Strand complex. I hadn’t seen it because I hadn’t wanted to—I’d been so focused on my hope for the future, on following Doctor Shepherd’s orders so that my body could heal itself.
I hadn’t seen it because the one person I thought I could trust more than anyone, my mother, had showed up every week to reassure me. She had placed absolute faith in the Strand Corporation and had urged me to do the same.
The enormity of the betrayal, of the lies that had surrounded me every minute of every day for the past ten years of my life, suddenly bore down on me like a thousand pounds of rubble. I leaned over, going to my hands and knees, and retched into the grass. I hadn’t eaten anything since before my checkup with Doctor Shepherd yesterday—an event that seemed to have taken place in another lifetime—so all that flew out of my mouth was bile and spit.
Instead of yelling at me for barfing inside their little shelter, the two men sat sympathetically, letting me heave until my stomach was completely empty. My dark brown hair fell down around my face like a curtain, and as I gathered it up with a shaking hand, I felt Noah’s hand on my back.
“I’m sorry, Scrubs. We didn’t come there for you, but when I saw you in that hall, so scared and alone, I couldn’t just leave you there. None of us could. Maybe it would’ve been kinder to let you live the lie a little while longer. But you would’ve found out eventually. Once you finally shifted, the life you were living would’ve been over.”
I closed my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart as his words washed over me. My stomach still churned, but there was nothing left inside it. My heart felt just as empty too. I’d spent the past ten years living a simple, isolated life. Even though I hadn’t had much, I’d convinced myself I had everything I needed.
But I never truly had anything. And now I have even less than that.
In a moment of painful, stunning clarity, I realized the four men who had stolen me away from the Strand complex were now my only lifeline in a world that loomed too large and dangerous to comprehend.
Blowing out a deep breath, I sat back, lifting my head. Noah’s face was close to mine, his cloud-gray eyes dark with concern.
“You said…” I licked my dry lips. “You said shifters. Part human, part animal. What does that mean?”
He opened his mouth to reply, but movement in the sunlight-dappled woods caught his attention.
As if called by our voices, two large wolves prowled through the trees toward us.
Chapter Nine
They were huge.
I’d always assumed dogs and wolves were basically the same. Not that I’d seen many of either, except for in movies or TV shows. But these wolves were massive, with thick fur and huge paws. One was pure white, and one had gray markings.
They padded closer, dipping their heads to sniff the ground. The white one with amber eyes looked right at me, and I found myself rooted to the spot. There was something intelligent and assessing—almost human—in his gaze.
West and Noah didn’t seem the least bit concerned. They didn’t even flinch as the two large wolves slipped inside the makeshift shelter.
I’d seen nature shows where rabbits or other prey animals froze in place when they sensed a predator, and I’d never understood where that instinct came from. But I understood it now. My body was rooted to the spot, torn between conflicting impulses to run, hide, or fight.
The gray wolf shook out his fur, and then…
He changed.
His entire body seemed to ripple. Bones shifted beneath the skin, changing size and shape. His fur retreated, vanishing into his body until only lightly tanned skin remained. Dark hair grew on his head as his face morphed from that of a wolf to that of a man.
The black-haired man named Rhys. The one who’d run off the previous night.
Beside him, the white wolf shuddered as well, and even before the change was complete, I knew who it would be.
Jackson.
Shifters. They were shifters.
My mind reeled. I’d seen the change happen right before my eyes, and I still could hardly believe it. West and Noah hadn’t lied to me—about any of it.
The four of them were wolf shifters.
And at the moment, two of them were also completely, bare-ass naked.
My fear at being approached by two large predators splintered into a thousand other emotions. Shock. Awe.
Embarrassment.
Neither of the men paused in their stride or made any effort to cover their nudity. Jackson walked over to one of the packs that leaned against a tree-trunk, while Rhys came to a stop in front of me.
I tried. I did. I really and truly tried not to stare at the thick piece of muscle that hung between his legs, but since I was sitting on the ground, it was essentially at my eye level. And the harder I tried not to look, the more my eyes seemed to bug out of my head.
“What? You’ve never seen a naked man before?” Rhys cocked a challenging eyebrow at me.
No. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t. I knew it was late in life to have missed out on something like that, but I’d never even been kissed, let alone gotten to second, third, or fourth base.
But I’d be damned if I was going to admit that to him. I was off-center, completely uncertain about where my life was going to take me from here on out. But one thing I felt certain of was that I couldn’t let these men think they were better or stronger than me. I couldn’t let them think I was weak. Couldn’t let them know how inexperienced I was in so many ways.
“It’s not that.” I dragged my gaze up to his face before pointedly dropping it back down to his dick again. “I’ve just never seen one so small.”
There was a moment of stunned silence as Jackson stopped digging through the bag by the tree. Then all three of the other men howled with laughter. I smirked, relishing my victory and somehow pleased to have lightened the mood in the camp.
Or at least, some people’s moods.
Rhys’s blue eyes chilled, and he raked his gaze over my body, taking in my shirt and pants. Sometime while I was asleep, the guys had put the socks and boots on me too. They were a little snug, but I’d take pinched toes over numb ones any day.
“Nice clothes,” he said in a hard voice.
Noah’s laughter died out. “Hey, I’m sorry, Rhys. But wherever Sariah is, she’d want Alexis to have them. You know that.”
Rhys didn’t answer. Sadness flitted across his features, almost as acute as I’d seen last night. Did he carry this pain everywhere with him? All the time?
Brushing his black curls away from his face, he turned away from me and joined Jackson by the tree. The two men stepped into fresh sets of clothes, then Jackson pulled out two pairs of boots, tossing one to Rhys.
Sympathy tugged at my heart. Whatever grief he carried, I could understand it. My wounds were still fresh, but I had a feeling they would never stop aching.
“I’m sorry.” I hugged my arms around myself. “I don’t know who Sariah is, but… I’m sorry I’m here instead of her.”
“It’s fine.”
Rhys’s voice didn’t match his words at all, and he wouldn’t look at me.
I tried again. “Whoever she is, I’m grat
eful to her.”
“Sariah’s his sister. She was held at the same complex we were in—” West began, but Rhys turned on him with a growl.
“Don’t talk about her! She”—he jerked his head at me, lip curling—“doesn’t need to know.”
Jackson sighed, flopping down on the ground and leaning against the tree trunk to tie his boots. “Come on, man. Don’t be a dick.”
“I’m not being a dick,” Rhys ground out. “And this is not part of our plan. It isn’t anywhere close to the plan. We should’ve gotten Sariah out and been halfway to New York by now.”
“Yeah, but she wasn’t there,” Jackson countered. “So that part of the plan was already shot. What were we supposed to do?”
“Not pick up some stray who’s only going to slow us the fuck down! We need to start planning a new strategy. We need to go back!”
West scrubbed at his short black hair. “She’s not there, Rhys.”
“Then I’ll find out where she is! And I’ll get her out myself if I fucking have to.”
The other three men shared a look, and I had a feeling they’d had this discussion, or something like it, many times before. Rhys didn’t seem like the type of man who gave up on an idea easily. And he clearly didn’t give up on someone he loved easily.
I would’ve admired those qualities, if I didn’t already sort of hate the moody, coldly handsome man.
“You won’t have to do it alone,” West finally said. “We’re with you, brother. Always.”
He stood, coming eye-to-eye with Rhys. All the men towered over me, but those two were the tallest. West had slightly broader shoulders than Rhys, and even through his long-sleeved shirt, I could see his muscles rippling as he moved. His left sleeve was torn and streaked with blood from where the bullet had grazed him.
“He’s right.” Noah stood, offering a hand and pulling me to my feet too. Jackson rose too, grumbling something about having just sat down. “We’re with you. But we can’t go back there. My cover is blown. They know all of our faces. Hell, they probably have hunters out searching for us right now. We can’t just run back into the belly of the beast. We need to regroup, reorganize. And we need more backup.”
“What? Her?” Rhys shot me a scathing look.
“My name’s Alexis, not her.” I tugged my hand out of Noah’s. It was too comforting, and I couldn’t allow myself to think of any of these men as my protectors, no matter how tempting it was. “And don’t worry, I won’t burden you. I’ll…”
I trailed off. What the hell would I do?
I had no idea where I was. No clue how to navigate the world outside the Strand complex. Especially not on the run. And especially not as a… shifter.
“No way, Alexis. We got you out of that place. What kind of assholes would we be if we just abandoned you now?” Jackson smirked, raising a pointed eyebrow at the black-haired shifter next to him.
Rhys’s stormy blue eyes narrowed, but he had the decency to look a little ashamed.
“You can come with us,” he said grudgingly, and I had to bite my lip to keep from throwing the offer back in his face. As mad as he made me, I couldn’t afford to wander off on my own in a huff.
Instead, I nodded, lowering my eyes. “Okay.”
“That still leaves the question, where the hell are we going?” Jackson cocked his head, staring off into the woods and listening intently.
The movement was so animalistic that for a moment, I vividly remembered the white wolf who’d padded into the makeshift enclosure a few minutes ago. It was still there, under the surface of Jackson’s skin. I never would’ve noticed or believed it if I hadn’t just seen him shift, but now that I knew it existed, I could sense the animal inside him.
Was something like that really inside me too? Right now, I almost wished it were true. I longed for the strength of an apex predator, the instincts and power of a wild wolf.
But all I could sense inside myself at the moment was a very scared, very confused human.
“I dunno, but we need to get moving soon.” Noah followed Jackson’s gaze, his large, warm hand enfolding mine again. “I don’t know how many resources Strand will dedicate to hunting us, but that blond Terminator dude definitely looked like he meant business. And the fact that we stole their prize experiment…” He looked back at me, a surprisingly protective glint in his eyes. “Yeah, they’ll be coming after us.”
My stomach dipped. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I would’ve been thrilled to return to the Strand complex. But now? A shiver of fear raced down my spine at the prospect.
“What about the Lost Pack?” West hefted a large backpack over his shoulder, his dark eyes serious.
“We don’t even know they exist. It could just be a rumor.” Rhys looked torn between hope and despair.
“What’s… the Lost Pack?” My voice was soft. I was half-afraid Rhys would bite my head off again.
But he surprised me by turning to me and answering, his tone less openly hostile than it had been before. “The Strand Corporation has been doing experiments on humans for years. When they started the shifter initiative, I don’t think they really knew what to expect. Their security wasn’t nearly as good as it should’ve been, considering what they created. In the early days, a lot of the shifters escaped, and rumor has it, a group of them formed a pack in the Pacific Northwest.” He shifted his gaze to West. “But we don’t know if it’s true.”
“Hey, man. Beats the fuck outta sitting around here waiting for Strand to come after us. And who’d be more likely to help us bust your sister out than shifters who’ve escaped themselves? They’ll understand better than anybody.” Jackson rocked on his feet, practically bouncing on his toes.
“That makes sense to me,” I said tentatively.
I barely understood what was going on, and I doubted I’d get a vote in any of this. But Jackson’s restless energy was rubbing off on me, and I was anxious to get moving. My gaze kept darting into the woods as if at any moment, I’d catch a glimpse of bright blond hair and hulking muscle.
Rhys regarded me so intensely it felt like he was trying to read my mind, to strip away all my defenses and see right down to my soul. His eyes were a startling blue, brighter than Noah’s, like an infinitely bright blue sky.
I didn’t blink, didn’t look away, as his gaze devoured me.
“Is that what you want, Scrubs?” He used Noah’s nickname for me, but it sounded different rolling off his tongue. Less affectionate and more like a quiet threat. “You want to meet more of your kind? More people like us?”
My heart was beating too hard in my chest. How did he—how did all of these men—put me off balance so quickly? I felt like a bumbling idiot around them, awkward and unsure.
But I nodded, forcing my chin up and down. “Yes. I do.” I hesitated, then added, “And if they might be able to help get your sister back, that’s a chance worth taking, right?”
He ran a hand through his wavy black hair. It’d been tied back in a low ponytail yesterday, but now the ends of the dark strands brushed his shoulders. Finally, he nodded decisively.
“Like Scrubs says, it’s worth a shot.”
“Exactly what I said! Now quit eye-fucking her, and let’s go.” Jackson swiped a bag from the ground and set off through the forest, his laugh lingering behind him.
I flushed all the way from my toes to the tips of my ears, and to my surprise, Rhys’s cheeks reddened a little too. He tore his gaze away from me, bending down to pick up the pack West had pulled Sariah’s clothes from yesterday. He tossed the bag in my direction, and I hastily disentangled my hand from Noah’s so I could catch it before it hit me in the chest. Noah made a sound low in his throat, almost like a growl, but Rhys ignored him.
“If you’re coming with us, you’re gonna have to pull your own weight, Scrubs. No free rides here. This isn’t a fucking vacation,” he said, before grabbing a pack of his own and heading off after Jackson.
And just like that, I was back to hating the moody asshole.
Chapter Ten
I stared after Rhys’s retreating form, a riot of emotions banging around in my chest.
“Here, Scrubs. Let me help you.”
Noah tried to take the bag from me, but I held onto it with an iron grip. “No! That’s okay.”
It was the same size as all the others and surprisingly heavy, but I refused to let Rhys be right about me—I wouldn’t be a burden or a freeloader. I shoved my arms through the straps and hefted the backpack higher on my shoulders, following after Jackson and West. They trailed behind Rhys, hanging back to wait for us.
I hoped at least one of these guys knew where we were going, because I certainly didn’t. I had a vague idea that east was behind us, where the sun hovered low on the horizon, but that was about all the sense of direction I possessed.
As we caught up to the two men, they parted to make room, and I found myself walking between them.
Jackson shot me a look out of the corner of his eye. “So, you must have about a million questions, huh?”
I thought about that for a second as we tromped through the underbrush. I did have questions, but there were so many it was hard to articulate any of them. And there were several I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the answers to. But if he was volunteering information, I shouldn’t waste this opportunity.
“Yeah.” I looked up at him, squinting against the morning light. “I guess I do.”
“Then ask away. I’m an open book.” He grinned. His nose had definitely been broken before, and with the teasing tilt of his lips, he looked dangerously handsome and wild.
I ripped my gaze away from his face before he could catch me staring, blurting out the first question that popped into my mind. “Does it hurt when you shift?”
He swept a low-hanging branch out of the way, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “A little. It hurt more the first few times, but now I’m just used to it. It’s like if you crack your knuckles over and over—eventually you don’t really feel it at all.”
