To The Wolves: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Hollow Pack Book 1)

by Camille Rae

  The day my parents died, Jude picked me up and drove me out to one of our favorite climbing spots. It was up a narrow canyon, secluded from tourism. The trees had almost finished losing their autumn leaves, and there was a bone-achingly cold wind.

  We were the only ones for miles.

  It felt like we were the last two people in the world.

  We stood on the bank of the river that wound through the canyon, the smell of fresh water and molding leaves all around, and she stood beside me, not speaking for a long time.

  Suddenly, she screamed as loud as she could, and I jumped back, shocked. I laughed, a little uncomfortable, and pressed my cold hands to my cheeks.

  She raised her eyebrows at me, staring pointedly. I could tell she wanted me to try it.

  I shook my head, still a little shocked, and she screamed again.

  The sound cut through the silent, still wilderness like a knife, and it tore straight through me, speaking to something deep in my soul. Speaking to something aching and tender and sore.

  Again, she looked at me.

  I took a deep breath.

  I shouted, stomping my foot along with it.

  She gave me a sideways look, and I knew I could do better.

  I balled my hands into fists and screamed into the quiet.

  It felt like a revolution.

  It felt like relief.

  I screamed and screamed, until my voice was hoarse and it burned my throat, and then I screamed more. I was mad at everything. At my parents, at the accident, at fate for leaving me all alone in the world.

  I collapsed, folding my knees up to cradle my face as tears streamed down my face.

  Jude sat beside me, nudging me with her hip. “You’re more than just my friend,” she said, resting her head on my shoulder. “You’re my family, and family gets through things together.”

  I nodded, unable to speak without blubbering.

  “I hope this is the hardest thing you ever go through, because you are stronger than this. You have no idea what power is inside you,” Jude whispered, wrapping an arm around me.

  At the time, I didn’t believe her, but lying in the dark pantry, her words rang in my head.

  I was stronger than this. I could get through this.

  I couldn’t let this slow me down. I had to rescue Jude. I couldn’t let one more distraction keep me from saving my best friend.

  When I didn’t even believe in myself, Jude had always believed in me.

  And now I had to believe that I could save her.

  I relaxed, trying to clear my mind, and call my power to me.

  If I could get out of the damn pantry, I could get out of the Citadel.

  If what Theo had said was true, and Loel didn’t love me, didn’t find me by accident, then I didn’t need him or the Wolves.

  I would be my own hero.

  Loel’s face flashed in my mind, the way he looked when he confessed his feelings for me just hours before. So vulnerable and strong at the same time.

  I’d save us all. I’d be all of our hero. And if that meant leaving Nos in order to keep it safe from Elestra and keeping them safe by not asking them to come with me, then so be it.

  I silently willed my power to me, feeling the electric buzz beneath my skin.

  I couldn’t lift one of my arms, but I could try with the other. Just as I was readying myself to try to shoot open the pantry door, it opened on its own.

  I gasped, seeing Flora. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  She shushed me, and waved her hand slowly over me.

  She muttered something and slid her hand down my arm, and I could feel heat seep into my skin. I felt a small pop, and then the pain in my arm ceased.

  “You… can heal?” I whispered, touching my arm in disbelief.

  “That’s not why I’m here. You have to get out before he comes back,” Flora said, putting her hand under my elbow to give me a gentle lift.

  I stood and shook out my flour-covered cloak.

  “How did you know I was here? How did you get in here?” I asked, and she gave me a small smile.

  “My dear, I have been your Guardian for twenty-seven years and you question me now?” She said.

  I tilted my head in confusion.

  “You’ve been protecting me?” I asked, and out of habit, looked down at my ring, thinking of my other protectors. “But what about the men in the shop?”

  She squinted up at me, not answering me.

  “Is that why you put a spell on the men to protect me, too?” I asked.

  She smiled warmly, taking my hands in her own, her eyes crinkling at the edges. “My darling Ever, that spell was your magic,” she said. “I just gave your magic permission to come out when I gave you the ring. You cast it without even knowing. Your magic chose the Wolves as your own.”

  I stared at her in disbelief. “My magic? Why? How?”

  “There isn’t much time,” she said, glancing over her shoulder.

  “But what is the ring?” I asked quickly, as she tugged me out of the pantry.

  She pointed to a door leading out of the kitchen. “Trust your magic,” she said, tapping the ring, and as footsteps rang in the hallway, she disappeared into the shadows of the kitchen.

  Theo entered the kitchen a moment later and looked surprised to see me standing outside of the pantry. He held a book in his hand.

  “How did you…” he said, looking around.

  I felt pleasantly warm, a gentle hum of energy running through my limbs, pulsing just under the surface.

  My power.

  I was ready.

  “I will never stop fighting you,” I cried out, screaming as a burst of bright golden light burst forth from my hands. It blasted across the kitchen and slammed into Theo, knocking him back several feet until he crumpled on the floor.

  Had I killed him? My entire body was shaking. My hands burned from where the light had come out of it, and I took a tentative step toward him.

  He was lying in an unnatural way, but I could see his chest rise and fall with shallow breaths.

  I let out a breath that I hadn’t even realized I was holding. Not dead, just stunned.

  Damn, I’d have to really concentrate on not accidentally killing people with my power from now on.

  I grabbed the bag of food and raced from the kitchen, sprinting to put distance between Theo and me. I had just made a lot of noise and it was only a matter of time until someone found him. I definitely didn’t want to be around when that happened.

  I sprinted down the hallway and skipped every other stair as I ran down to the training room. It was dark, but this time, I was certain of where I was going. I strode with purpose and unbolted the large door, pushing it open into the night.

  Only the wall between me and freedom now.

  The wall was only thirty or so feet. I knew that was the best way out because the wall surrounding Nos didn’t cover this edge of the Citadel. The land around it was flat, so the chances of ambush were minimal, but still, even I could see the oversight in protection.

  Because of that, it was typically heavily guarded, but for some reason, I didn’t see any guards patrolling the area at the moment.

  Odd.

  Still, I had to take my chance fast.

  I slung the bag of food over my shoulder and dug my fingers into the first handhold. I had climbed this wall every other day since I had been in Nos, and I relied on my instincts to get me through in the dark.

  Climbing felt like true release, like my body was built solely for that purpose. I climbed easily to the top of the wall, leaning forward on the stone to catch my breath. Coming down the other side would be more difficult, especially because I had never climbed it, and I regretted not having the foresight to at least grab my daypack and ropes.

  Too late now.

  I wiped my clammy hands on my pants and situated myself to descend the other side. A fall of thirty feet could kill me if I landed wrong, but I’d most likely only break a leg.

&
nbsp; Morbid thoughts aside, I took a deep breath, going back into the calm place that always worked best for me when finishing a route.

  Twenty feet left, then fifteen. My foot slipped and I gasped, tiny bits of gravel spilling down below me.

  Ten.

  I dropped my food bag and picked my way down, finding first a foothold, then a handhold, repeating the familiar process over and over.

  With five feet left, I looked down, then pushed off, falling to the ground and rolling out of it safely as Cash and Lach had shown me. Instead of the graceful, cat-like landing I had envisioned in my head, I fell right on my ass.

  I laid back, taking a moment to bask in freedom.

  I closed my eyes, catching my breath, but I realized I was not alone.

  I could hear panting near me, loud breaths and sniffs.

  Startled, I jerked away, gaining my footing.

  Before me were five wolves.

  I recognized Mika and Lachlan immediately, but I had never seen Loel in his shifted form.

  There were dead guards on the ground around them. Well, that explained the lack of protection on the wall, then.

  “What are you doing here?” I said quickly, taking a few steps back.

  My magic may have claimed them but they were Theo’s most trusted guards.

  And I had just stunned Theo, leaving him in the kitchen.

  With them surrounding me, I wasn’t sure of my next move.

  I felt like a wild animal backed into a corner, my heart pounding, my head racing. I defensively crouched.

  “How did you find me?” I asked tentatively, still unsure where their loyalties were.

  I had, after all, just left one of them naked and alone in my bed as I snuck out of the Citadel.

  “Loel told us,” Silas said, his voice in my head.

  “Flora told me,” Loel said.

  “Flora? How?” I asked, looking over my shoulder where the Citadel was.

  “She stopped me from finding you in the kitchen. Told me to get the others,” he continued.

  In the light of the moon, Loel’s wolf was dark. He wasn’t mottled, like Mika, but instead, as black as night.

  I saw that beside him was my daypack, and that the others had various bags and bundles with them.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, knowing that I’d be forcing them to accompany me away from their home, their lives, and all of their duties.

  Each wolf stared at me in solemnity, not a hint of doubt on their faces.

  “Pack stays together” Loel said, his voice commanding, his eyes boring into me.

  First, we had to get away from the Citadel as fast as possible.

  I grabbed my daypack and said, “Well, let’s get Jude, then.”

  I was met with general complacent looks, if wolves could show emotion. It felt more like they were fulfilling their duty than joining in with enthusiasm.

  I had run away and tried to leave them without even so much as a goodbye.

  I knew I’d have to win back their trust.

  We set out immediately, running for the cover of the nearby tree line before more guards appeared.

  It wasn’t a great plan, but I had the Wolves with me, and that was enough.

  Chapter 23

  Caia

  Cash held a finger to his lips to signal for me to be quiet. He was crouched in front of me, his hand on the sword at his waist.

  I paused, straining to hear what he could possibly be on the defensive about.

  We stayed silent for about twenty seconds and I opened my mouth to ask what the hell we were doing, when I heard a twig snap.

  I automatically glanced to the trees around us, trying to determine which of them I could climb, if I needed. If I had time.

  Cash reached back to me, crouching lower, and I could feel my pulse pounding in my temples, my breath shallower and faster.

  We had been out in the Hollow Wood for four days, traveling across the rough terrain to Queen’s City. For as much as I had complained about how sore I had been riding horses, I’d give my left arm for one now.

  We had to be careful of three main things on our journey.

  Getting caught by the Rebellion, which we had just deserted.

  Getting caught by the Queen’s Army, who had been scouting for me all over West Laeris.

  Getting caught by the Cascus, an ancient clan throughout Laeris who had already tried to attack me.

  Considering we were trying to avoid getting caught by three different groups, to say that the sound of a twig snapping was the worst sound we could hear would not be an exaggeration.

  Lachlan, Silas, and Loel had ventured into a nearby village for supplies and had been gone for most of the day. It was too dangerous for me to show my face in any village yet, so they had left Cash to babysit me. We were venturing through the woods around our camp to hunt for game, and Mika was off finding some food for herself, I imagined. We didn’t know if the others would return that night. It was already dusk, and we’d have to return to our camp soon.

  Suddenly, I was startled out of my thoughts by a voice. Two voices.

  Two men, speaking loudly.

  Not voices we knew.

  Staying in a crouch, Cash pushed me back and pointed to a thick and full juniper brush about four feet away.

  He wanted me to… hide behind the brush? Wouldn’t walking be pretty loud and obvious?

  I gave him a confused look and he gestured frantically again.

  I widened my eyes, still not understanding.

  “The shrub, yes, I see it, what the hell do you want me to do?!” I communicated with him, putting a hand on his elbow so he could hear me. Our connection wasn’t stable and strong yet, so we still had to physically touch to speak through the pack bond.

  Growing impatient, he pulled me to him by the collar of my cloak. “Hide. Inside,” he told me with wide eyes.

  I looked down to the brush. Inside? How?

  Cash rolled his eyes. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me down, then shoved me back into the brush, climbing in silently beside me, crowding me with his body.

  Sure, he had been silent, but my not-entirely-graceful shrubbery entrance had been the opposite.

  He pulled my dark hood over my head without a care for tenderness.

  Adrenaline was making my hands shake, and I tried my best to keep my head covered as I watched out of the shrub to see if the men were coming for us.

  They came into view a moment later, and looked toward the brush, but didn’t seem to notice us. I could tell immediately by their uniforms that they were Blues.

  My heart was pounding so hard, I was positive it could be heard from outside of my body.

  “Hares, eh?” said one.

  “Those would be some fuckin’ big hares,” the other said, taking a step closer to the shrub, slowly drawing his sword from its scabbard.

  I tried to make myself smaller, leaning into Cash, my hand squeezing his leg in terror.

  “Stop it. I’m hungry, my feet hurt, and this wood gives me the creeps, so I’d rather get back before it gets pitch black,” the first soldier whined.

  The man who had taken a step toward us looked over his shoulder. “Stop complaining. I heard what I heard,” he said.

  Suddenly, a third man came into view.

  “Captain Ferrick,” the guards said in unison, standing at attention.

  “What are you doing just standing around?” He said, and the other two explained they had heard a noise, a brush rustling.

  Cash tensed beside me, and I could hear his dagger slip from its sheath, though it was nearly silent. He put the dagger handle in my hands. My powers were still too unpredictable to rely on.

  “That’s what you’re wasting my time with? Hares?” The Captain said, staring at the two guards. “Get back to camp.” He pointed to his left, and the two stalked off in that direction.

  The Captain cast one last, long look towards our hiding spot, then walked off after them.

 
We waited until we could no longer hear any footsteps, and then Cash slipped from the brush, standing and brushing off his pants.

  I climbed out, pulling juniper needles from my hair.

  “You nearly got us caught,” he whispered, his voice low and threatening.

  “Yeah, well, sorry I’ve never hidden inside a brush before,” I said, rolling my eyes and shaking out my cloak.

  He balled his hands into fists and made a frustrated growl.

  We made our way back to where we had camped to find the rest of the men and Mika already there, standing in a group and talking hurriedly to one another.

  When they saw us, they looked relieved.

  Lachlan sighed. “We were so worried when we got back and you two weren’t here,” he said, shaking his head.

  I looked to Loel, but before I could catch his eye, he looked away.

  He had been giving me the cold shoulder since we had been in the Hollow Wood.

  “We had a run-in with some Blues,” Cash growled. “Not helped by Caia acting stupid.”

  “Excuse me? You pointed to a tiny shrub without direction. How am I just supposed to understand that?” I said, my voice raising in anger.

  “Guys, stop it,” Silas said, his authoritative tone overruling our bickering. “What happened?”

  We explained how we had heard the guards — at least we could all agree that they had clearly been idiots, talking so loud to one another — and how we had hidden.

  It was the mention of the Captain that made Loel bristle. “I know him,” he said, rubbing at the stubble on his chin.

  “Should we keep moving? Is it safe to stay here tonight?” I asked, and he looked away as though he hadn’t heard me.

  Wow, really helpful, Loel.

  “I’ll be careful tonight,” Silas said. He was our shield and could hide our camp from view. He had been doing so every night since we had set out from Nos four days ago. As a result, he now looked exhausted every moment of every day. The dark circles under his glasses showed even in the dim light.

  “We can sleep without a fire tonight,” I said, and everyone quietly agreed. I turned back to Silas. “That should help, right?”

  He nodded, but I could tell his agreement was half-hearted.

  The five of us ate cold food in silence — Lachlan had found fresh bread in the village, so at least it wasn’t a completely disappointing meal.