Seth pulled away from her, taking one last look at her shimmering blue eyes. Knowing it was for the last time, he blurted out, “I’ll think of you, always.” He pulled his gaze away to focus on the journey ahead. He centered himself with a few deep breaths.
He forced himself to turn on his heel and walk forward. Away from her. He tightened his hands into fists and walked toward the mist-covered moors, which now appeared like the start of a barren, windswept journey with no definitive endpoint.
***
Hailey stepped forward, ready to call him back, aching inside as she watched him leave. He took long strides on his powerful legs away from her. She stopped—she couldn’t prevent him from leaving any longer. He’d made his choice.
The whole reason he’d stayed with her was because he had to. First, with the injury, and second, because she’d all but begged him to meet her father. He’d wanted to leave from the very beginning. It was time to let him go.
She’d had to be living in some delusional world to think she could have had anything more than that short fling with him. What the hell had she been thinking anyway after getting her father to meet Seth? It wasn’t as if it would change anything. It was only supposed to make her look good to her father, when she presented her amazing discovery.
She grunted. That hadn’t turned out well. It blew up in her face from every angle. Pissed off her father, insulted Seth. If she’d let him go on his terms, they could have had that blissful few days together and he would have gone on. Now everyone was hurt or angry.
Stupid move.
How could her father have been so narrow-minded? He’d always been so brave, a path blazer. He’d been her mentor, her hero. He’d always done what was right, despite the opposition. But now…
She was a fool about this whole thing. Once she’d gotten fixated on sharing her discovery with her father, she’d lost sight of what was important—Seth as a living being. The disappointment in Seth’s eyes when her father had recoiled had dismantled her. His wants and needs should have been what she was considering and not her selfish goals. She was wrong. Wrong about so many things.
Hailey ran from her cottage, desperate to be alone before she crumbled as fragile as a leaf trodden on the forest floor. Her quick steps soon turned into a run, as she headed for the woods. By the time she reached the tree line, she was out of breath. She couldn’t return to her cottage any time soon, knowing she’d be flooded by an overwhelming wave of memories. Every inch of her space was marked with a reminder of him. He’d slept on her sofa, they’d shared meals at the table and outdoors, and they’d tried many things in her bedroom… She groaned, remembering how he’d set her senses on fire with his kisses and his touch.
She might smell his tantalizing male scent on the sheets. How the hell would she manage to go back in there knowing he was gone for good?
She lost track of time as she skulked through the forest, each step weighted with melancholy. When she finally returned home, she avoided the cottage and entered her workspace. That was one place she could leave the outside world behind and work, slipping into her zone.
A single object stopped her—a cage.
She lifted it up. Despite the weight, she hurled it across the room. The sound of crashing metal echoed around her.
Then she kneeled beside the cage. Raw emotions churned through her like a cyclone. Dropping her head into her hands, she murmured, “No, no, no.”
At some point, she must have fallen asleep as she came to after having vivid dreams about Seth.
Finding him out there in the ocean, that had to have been fate. She’d never thought that way, but how else would he have landed in her life in such a dramatic manner?
No, it wasn’t just fate. She’d gone out seeking the mysterious wolves that she’d heard of. She’d taken action.
The same way she had to do now. She wasn’t going to wait around to see what happened next. Time to do something about the remarkable opportunity that she’d been given. But how? Seth was gone.
With the way he’d fallen in her life and disrupted her world, it couldn’t be anything other than what she needed. Even if they weren’t meant to be together, they’d meant something to each other.
Just because her father didn’t do the right thing in this case didn’t mean she couldn’t. She was her own woman, she had her own aspirations, and she didn’t have to rely on her daddy to make them come true. He’d called her naive, and that might be somewhat true. Yet, over the last couple of days, she’d discovered another part of her that came alive with Seth. Not only had he opened her eyes about things in the world she hadn’t known existed, but he’d brought out a side of her that she didn’t know lay dormant all that time—a woman who’d discovered her sensuality in the arms of the right man. One who’d brought out new desires deep within her.
Someone she could fall in love with.
She’d already started.
But he was gone. He’d said their worlds didn’t fit together.
Maybe he was right.
It was time to take a good, hard look at herself and figure out what she wanted with her life. She couldn’t be daddy’s little girl forever, and wasn’t sure she wanted to be after that monumental disappointment.
Whatever she was going to do next wasn’t going to happen if she stayed where she was, pouting on the floor beside an empty cage.
Some distance might help, starting with a good, long drive away from the estate. She pulled herself up and threw herself together. Then she dragged out an overnight bag and began to pack.
***
Seth clutched the white heather as he trekked away from Hailey on heavy feet through the desolate moors. He was beginning a journey with no visible end, now truly alone in the world, without a soul in sight. His wolf languished inside, occasionally letting out a mournful howl. Seth felt the brunt of the same pain—the loss of his mate dragged him down like a heavy shadow.
He pushed on throughout the day, continuing his journey. If he was going to start fresh somewhere else, then he ought to learn to blend in among humans. He had this one set of human clothes, but he needed more. How he’d go about that without human money would be a challenge.
He’d be better off finding another pack of wolf shifters. But if one existed near here and if they’d accept him were both a big if. Not to mention, he’d be the newest pack member. Might as well be a nobody. A nothing.
When he needed to rest, he lay under an oak tree and took a nap. His wolf stirred with a low growl that sent shivers up Seth’s spine. He looked up. It was now dusk and the moon shined through wispy clouds, full and with a bright red tinge. Fuck. Without any shield to protect him from the potent effect of the full moon, he’d be vulnerable. The magical veil over the Isle of Stone had filtered the moon’s effervescence. Even when the magic had begun to deteriorate, it still offered some protection. Maybe he’d build up a resistance to the formidable orb with time, but for his first raw encounter with it, he’d be as vulnerable as a teenaged wolf going through puberty, unable to control the bloodlust—and without the presence of his mate to calm or distract him.
Searching his surroundings for cover, he tried to target anything that would work as a shield. The forest was better than basking under the direct moonlight. Once he entered the forest, he snorted. Nothing but paper-thin leaves to protect him from the moon’s power? What, had he gone soft in the head? No chance.
Continuing to the woods out of desperation rather than any solid plan while his wolf rose on its haunches, baring teeth. It was ready. And it was hungry. Seth felt it pushing at his organs, stretching his skin, demanding its dominance. Usually, his human form was the one in control. With the moon at full potency, the power had exchanged hands.
Shite.
He made it into the woods as the wolf burst through his skin and tore his clothes with a blast of energy. The shift wasn’t a smooth transition as it was when he was in control, but an acute tearing of muscles and sharp contortions of bone. Although the comparison
to werewolves was an insult, that abrupt change was far too similar for his liking. He cried out as the wolf commanded control of them. The human cry ended as a wolf’s howl. The sprig of heather fell from his hand and was trampled when he landed on four legs.
He forgot the bag as he prowled through the forest as his wolf, sniffing at the ground. The bloodlust had him hungry to satiate it however possible. Feed or fuck. Pain and fury on separation from his mate had exacerbated his volatile state. The scent of something caught Seth’s interest. A rabbit.
He kept his snout lowered, following the trail near the soil of the forest floor. When he spotted it, the rabbit didn’t have a chance. Didn’t even sense Seth’s approach. He captured it and tore into the delicious meat, seeking to quench a hunger like he’d never known.
After he fed, he continued on, leaving the woods for some plains. The hunger hadn’t subsided despite having just fed. It was more than needing sustenance, it was a yearning. For his mate.
Unable to ignore the longing, he lay down in the soft grass and whimpered. The ache inside him had left him hollow. He sat back on his haunches and howled.
Being separated from his mate was too much for his wolf to bear. It didn’t make sense. If they’d found her, why leave her?
He released the ache inside as he continued to howl like he never had before. Mourning the loss of his mate.
It no longer made sense to Seth, either. He’d made an excruciating mistake.
He had to go back to her.
How they’d make it or where, he didn’t know, or even if she’d want to start a life with him. But he had to take a chance and offer himself to her.
His wolf reared up, grateful that Seth had come to his senses. Reversing direction, his wolf bounded back to her at a full run through the forest, eager to ease the desperate hunger with the drive to mate.
When he slowed his pace, a scent commanded his attention. Something he hadn’t tasted in far too long.
Sheep.
That potent aroma invoked the bloodlust once again. The rabbit hadn’t been enough to satiate it.
Tracking the scent through the tall grasses, his hunger reached an unbearable peak as the aromas intensified. He was getting closer.
There, right ahead in front of a rundown barn, were sheep. Dozens grazing in a meadow.
Lust for prey, for blood, for flesh, battered his insides, pushing him forward.
He stuck to the longest grass to keep them somewhat covered. The sheep chewed on the grass, unaware of any danger that approached. Inching forward, eyes on his prey, his focus shifted to the capture.
As he approached, the urge to leap forward rose. Not yet. He needed to close the gap before he startled the sheep and they ran.
A few more feet.
A burst of light flashed from his right side as a loud crack exploded in his ear.
He craned his head back. A rifle. A human male he recognized came after him. That neighbor fuck who’d come to Hailey’s asking about wolves. He raised his weapon and aimed at Seth.
Fuck.
Seth dropped lower, heading back for the forest where he could take cover behind the thickest trees. If the human reached him, Seth had no chance. The human was armed with a weapon. The hunter became the hunted.
Another shot whizzed past his left ear.
He spotted a gray road dividing the green fields. Hadn’t Hailey mentioned something about the road separating her father’s land from a farmer’s? Aye, she did. In fact, he thought he passed by it, not taking much notice through the bloodlust. That meant he was close to the Crenshaw Estate.
He had to head that way. His wolf propelled him forward, back to safety, back to his mate.
With the next explosion, something tore at his haunch. He howled as acute pain ripped through him and he fell into the tall grasses.
He’d been shot in the hindquarters. Shot by a human.
The woods were straight ahead. Warm liquid slid over the fur on this leg. He was bleeding. Hard.
He dropped as low as possible, wincing with the pressure on his injured leg as he crawled forward. The wound was painful, but it wouldn’t kill him. He had to keep moving.
Another shot. This time mere inches from him, whizzing through the blades of grass.
Move. Hurry, damn it.
The forest was right there. He leaped for it, hearing another shot as he landed on a fern bed and ran.
It missed him. He slanted beneath the cover of trees, bounding away from the hunter. Adrenaline pushed him through the repetitive pain of all his body weight landing on his wounded leg.
Run. Don’t stop.
He had to find somewhere where he could hide and heal.
Hailey’s.
He yelped softly. The last time he’d been injured, Hailey had taken care of him. This was an even more serious wound. He longed to return to the comfort of her cottage. And her soothing presence.
But it was impossible. Her father feared Seth. The only chance they had was to start someplace new together.
If he made it.
Blood oozed through his fur, but he had to keep running. He couldn’t stop until he was sure he was a safe distance from the hunter.
After several heart-pounding minutes, the adrenaline faded. Lightheadedness and fatigue followed. He couldn’t continue like this for long. He slowed his pace. The loss of blood was taking its toll. He needed to rest.
He found an area of tightly coupled pine trees and nestled on a bed of needles. Just a few moments and he’d start moving again. He was so tired.
When he glanced at the moon, it vibrated, and then morphed into an oblong shape. No, it wasn’t the moon changing, it was his vision dimming. It was like the time he’d been drowning.
He was fading.
Blinking to try to clear his vision, he fought to stay alert. It was too dangerous to lose consciousness here. He could bleed out or the hunter would find him.
Rolling onto his back, Seth gasped in short, pained breaths as he glanced at the sky. The moon reshaped into a face—the face of a skull. A dark curtain enclosing his narrowing band of vision closed in.
If he hadn’t left Hailey, this never would have happened. Fate had brought him to her in the sea and now it was keeping them apart. Right when Seth had decided to go back for her. His one regret was not being able to tell her the truth.
They were mates.
The light from the moon cast off a final glow, flickering with Hailey’s image before it faded. He slipped into the arms of the shadows waiting to greet him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Hailey bolted upright when she heard a mournful howl piercing through the quiet near her cottage. It had to be Seth. She’d been packing in slow-motion, morose since Seth left, but that sound indicated one thing—he was in as much pain as she was.
Minutes later, a shot rang out.
Seth was in danger.
When she ran to retrieve her keys, more shots followed, each one sending a fresh surge of panic through her.
She ran for her Jeep. As she sped away from her cottage, a horn startled her. Her father and brother were behind her in Liam’s truck. She braked, and Liam pulled up beside her.
“Come with us.” His father’s eyes were filled with silent understanding. “We’ll find him together.”
He knew, somehow he knew.
Recovering from the surprise, she climbed into Liam’s truck without a word. They were better off searching in a group than on their own.
Liam drove in the direction where they’d heard the howl and the shots, the same direction Seth had ventured in when he’d left. Her heart pumped with a furious thump. She willed Liam to speed up, but he could only drive so fast on the road separating their lands from Rogers’ without careening off the edge.
Her thoughts raced. Seth had to be all right, had to. But there were shots fired, so many of them. She hoped the dark fog had masked him somewhat, preventing whoever was hunting from getting a clear shot.
“You were right, Hailey.”<
br />
When her father spoke, she pulled herself out of the dark descent. “About what?”
“The way I reacted was—irrational. It’s just—I never thought creatures like him existed.”
She watched him with surprise at his turnaround, not sure how to respond.
“Liam set me straight after you left,” he added. “With both of you trying to talk sense into me, I had to stop to listen.”
She glanced at the back of Liam’s head and silently thanked him.
“Hearing those shots jolted me back to myself. I was reacting out of fear of the unknown.”
“A part of me freaked out when I saw the wolf change into a man,” Liam said. “Plus, I wasn’t happy you hadn’t confided in me after we’d found the wolf together. But then I realized what you’d said made sense. I’d have to see it to believe it. Even then, it was tough to process. It’s one thing to hear of stories like this, another to see it. But the reason they stay in hiding is for fear of repercussions, from people like us reacting negatively.”
Hailey gaped, listening to what Liam said. Sure, they’d heard stories, too, but she never thought any would live nearby—if they’d existed at all. She searched the lands before them, blended with shades of emerald and jade, wondering what secrets they held. “Do you know of shifters living around here?”
He shrugged. “Just thought it was stories until I saw him change. You know, the myths and legends people tell about the Highlands.”
Although her brain was firing with too much at once, one thought trickled through—Seth might find others like him. If he was all right.
“I’m ashamed to think of how I reacted, how I treated him.” Her father turned over his shoulder to face her. “Hearing that pained howl shattered me. Realizing someone might be firing at him out of fear—well, that made it all clear. That’s what it was, fear of the unknown, Hailey, but it was wrong. As misguided as those who misunderstand and malign our efforts.” In a lower tone, he added, “Something else that terrified me even more.”
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