Chapter 1
The streetlights come on behind me as I rush through the darkening alley. My heart pumps a steady staccato as my feet pound the tarmac. Anchorage isn’t a big city, but I know every square-foot of it.
“Logan, there’s no point in running.”
I can hear the cops behind me, but I don’t stop. They have a shoot-to-kill order, and I’m not about to test it.
The alley behind the supermarket reeks of rotten fish, and I hope it’ll disguise my scent as I heave myself up a wall and scramble off over the rooftop. My sneakers don’t make a sound on the concrete roof.
“Logan,” they taunt again, but their voices sound further away.
I hate that I’m running. It’s not in me to give up, but Leah wants it this way. We’ve been locked in this battle for over a month, and now the cops have the upper hand.
We don’t have another choice. They won’t lock me up - they’ll kill me.
My zigzag path takes me closer to the warehouse district, but I make sure to lose the cops before I reach it. They are on my turf now.
As the light fades, so does the temperature. It’s the first week of October, and the warmer weather of summer has long gone. I shiver in my light windbreaker and hurry down the long side of a warehouse.
The wind howls through here, channeled by the big buildings on either side, and I duck my head against my chest as I run. At the end of the warehouse, I turn a corner down a passage.
The wind immediately drops, and it’s quieter. I fumble for the key in my pocket and then unlock a battered door to my right. It leads to a small storage unit I’ve rented for the past five years.
All sound ceases as I close the door behind me, and I briefly lean against it, catching my breath before switching on the light.
Everything I need to survive is right here, but I can’t stay for long. I must take what I need and leave as soon as possible. I promised Leah.
The square room, with its shelves on three sides, is dusty. The single, bare light bulb hanging from the center casts a harsh glare over everything.
I haven’t been here in a while, but I know the essentials are in their place and ready to go. All of us have a place like this - for emergencies - it’s our nature, and living in Alaska has made us this way.
My chest shudders one last time as I shake off the sadness of leaving my family behind. It’s for the best, I guess. My sister can be persuasive, but, heck, I will miss her, especially over Christmas.
Our kind is not meant to live alone - we need family in our life. We need a pack. If I can find a way to return, I will, but for now, I need to get as far away from the cops as I can.
I push myself off from the door and take the folding cot out of the corner. I will sleep here tonight, pack my things, and then leave in the morning.
The tiny gas cooker whooshes when I light it, and I put a small pot with water over it to make coffee. While I wait for it to boil, I rummage along the shelves.
First on my list is my light-weight hiking rucksack. Everything goes in there - sleeping bag, clothes, food, first aid. I pack systematically, knowing my weight limitations.
My passport goes into a hidden, waterproof compartment under the top flap. I’m taking it with me, but I doubt I’ll use it - it would just be a way for the cops to track me.
The coffee is hot and doesn’t taste quite right with the powdered milk, but it warms me. Everything is ready for tomorrow…except me. My heart aches at the thought of leaving.
I’ve lived in Anchorage all my life, roamed the wilderness and the mountains around it, and the only time I ever left was to visit an uncle in Juneau for a week.
My coffee cup is empty, and when I check the time, I realize that roundabout now you’d be able to hear the wolves howl, and I hate the fact that I am stuck in this concrete prison.
The metal cup crashes against the wall as I throw it in frustration, and I have to remind myself why I am running. Leah, Hazel…my sister and my mother are the most important people in my life. And the rest of the pack.
Maybe what I did was foolish, but I did it for them…for Leah. I can’t help the growl that rises up my throat, and it vibrates along my vocal cords, straining them.
Because of my actions, I now have the Anchorage Police Department hunting me. More specifically, detectives Johnson and Moore, and if that’s not playing dirty, I don’t know what is.
Well, the die for my fate is cast, and, for now, I have to make the best of it. I enjoy the relative comfort of the folding cot for the night, for I don’t know what will await me tomorrow night.
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I yelp in fright as a strange dream wakes me even before my alarm goes off. It’s pitch black in the storage unit, and all my senses are on high alert as I try to orientate myself.
“Get it together, Logan,” I tell myself.
As I switch on the light, I try to forget the yellow eyes that hunted me in my dreams, which took my family from me. My hands still shake as I dress and then shoulder my rucksack.
If only it didn’t make me feel like such a coward for running from the cops. My growl builds from deep within my stomach and rises up my throat. It hurts as it roars out of my mouth.
I wish I could stay and fight.
“Argh.”
The small storage unit explodes into noise as my fist connects violently with the steel shelving, sending it crashing to the floor around me.
Anchorage used to belong to us – the Turners used to rule Anchorage. Then the Barkers came - filthy rich investors - and they brought the cops with them. We don’t stand a chance.
Leah and I spent hours going over this. We fought so much. Our mother was just sad. Either way it ended, it would mean our mother would lose a child. Now, I am the one on the run.
If only that bloody Barker’s asshole had left my sister alone. She said no. Why didn’t he get the message?
With a final sigh, I lock the door behind me and step out into the cold morning air. It’s still dark, and the tangy saltiness from the ocean hangs heavy in the air.
My heart aches as my feet crunch over the loose gravel on the side of the road as I head out of town. The mountains ahead still lie in darkness, and the city behind me glitters with lights.
I shouldn’t have done what I did, but it cannot be undone, and now I must pay the price. The road ahead of me is long and lonely, but if I don’t leave now, the Alaskan winter will catch me before I get a chance to get away.
It’s about four hundred miles to the Canadian border. It will take me a few days hiking offroad and remaining off the grid, but I can slip through undetected.
That’s the plan, anyway. My strides lengthen as the sun rises over the mountains, blinding me. I put my sunglasses on and doggedly forge ahead to my new life, hating the Barkers with every stride I take.
I know this wilderness, but I’ve never had to navigate it by myself - I’ve always had my pack at my back. Now, they are better off without me because I was foolish, rash. Because I let my emotions get the better of me.
The growl rumbles up my chest, vibrating in my throat. I can’t help it - it’s second nature - but if I am to survive alone, I will need to learn to control that, too.
The partly overgrown dirt road I am on stretches into the distance ahead of me; muddy puddles dot its surface. The scent of pine and salt and a promise of rain lingers in the air, keeping me company.