I stumbled across the scent barrier, my feet scrabbling for purchase, stirring up the scent-infused ground.
Get away, get away!
Why the scent was there, who had left it, those weren’t questions for my brain right now. All I knew was if who and what was responsible found me, I was a dead dog. If I was lucky.
“Say it!”
I whimpered as I ran. I couldn’t say anything without a human mouth.
“You wish you were a wolf. You’re nothing but a pathetic dog, Wyatt. Say it!”
A keening sound filled my ears. I no longer saw the forest before me.
I was surrounded by gray walls. The only furniture in the room was a full-sized bed, the mattress thin and old, the springs beating bruises into my back when I was—
No, don’t think of that. Think of anything but that.
I cowered in the corner as a leather boot swung at me.
I jumped to the side to avoid the boot, but slammed into a tree instead.
The boot is in the past, Wyatt. It’s not real.
Uriel Stanislav grabbed a fistful of fur and flesh and hauled me into the air, smiling maliciously at my yelps of pain. “This is your reality, dog. Little Wyatt, the prince of the homeland, my ass. You’re just as worthless as any omega. Good for one thing and one thing only. And you’re not even any good at that.”
He was dead. He was dead. He was dead. I’d heard the shot. I saw the blood on Artem’s shoes. Uriel was gone. They said he was gone.
Suddenly, I was no longer in the forest. Houses loomed over me, giant skeletons leering down in flashes of lightning. I skittered around a car and nearly ran into a young human boy carrying a bag of trash. With a look of shock, he flailed, throwing the trash bag and falling to the pavement. I veered away, running down the street.
“Mom! Mom! A wolf nearly ate my leg!” He didn’t sound actually scared, but then a bloodcurdling scream struck at my heart. “Mom! Another animal! It’s—”
Uriel’s alive! He’s coming after me!
I pushed myself faster, but my legs were exhausted.
Hide. I had to hide.
I bolted down the next side street. Not the first house. Not the second house, too many lights. There! The third house was dark. Maybe they’d have a shed or a doghouse or—
A porch. It was low to the ground, with barely enough space for me to squeeze underneath. I scooted my butt against the house so I could see all three sides of the porch surrounding me. Uriel would find me; I couldn’t stop him. But he was big, both shifted and human. He couldn’t possibly get underneath the porch. Not without tearing it apart.
But what if he tried? His legs were long and his nails were sharp. Was he strong enough? If he managed to get to my hiding place, would I be able to slip out the other side?
The dirt was cold and damp against my belly, and my breath puffed like bellows in my ears. Could he hear me?
Huff. Huff.
I stopped breathing. I swore my heart stopped beating.
My limbs shivered as two massive paws appeared at the edge of the porch. Then a large, wet nose over long, sharp teeth. Those weren’t wolf paws. That wasn’t a wolf snout. It wasn’t Uriel. Of course it wasn’t—it couldn’t have been. But why chase me?
Run or wait? Fight or flight?
“Mate?”
The deep, gentle voice in my mind was nothing like Uriel’s, full of disdain and rotten pleasure.
“Are you okay?”
The same words, the same inflection as the alpha outside the administration building.
And his scent… danger and home… In bear form, the scent was so much stronger. The heavy musk filled the space around me, warming my body, calming my tremors. It said home more than danger now.
“Who are you?” Thankfully, I didn’t have to use my lungs to speak while shifted, because even with my body calming I was out of breath.
“My name is Jordan. I work at The Haven Center. I promise, I don’t mean you any harm. I’m here to protect you.”
Old fears warred with new instincts. Fear said not to trust any alpha. Instinct said I could trust this one.
“What’s your name?”
I wasn’t sure if I should believe my instincts. I’d never felt anything like this before.
But the alpha showed no sign of aggression. He backed up several steps and flopped to the ground with a huff. Now I could see his big, fur-ruffed face. Not well, even with my night vision, but enough to tell he looked nothing at all like Uriel.
“Wyatt.”
“Wyatt’s a beautiful name. Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”
My reflexive answer was no, but at his question, I realized my entire right side ached, and my paws stung, too soft from years of indoor living and unused to dirt and rocks. In answer, I whined.
“Will you come out? I can help you if you do.”
Right then, nothing was more terrifying in the world than the idea of exposing myself to this alpha, and yet I found myself creeping out. My eyes locked on his as I belly-crawled to the edge of the porch. Yet no matter how much I wanted to trust him, to crawl the rest of the way out, he was too big. Too dangerous.
“Come on,” he encouraged gently. “Would it help if I was in human form?”
How could I reply with words when I didn’t know what my answer was? Another whine escaped me.
“Let’s try it.” He shifted.
I hadn’t gotten a good look at him before, outside the administration building. Heedless of the leaves and dirt plastered to his skin from chasing me through the woods, he crouched in the grass. I could only see him in shades of gray, so I had no idea what color his hair or eyes were, but I could easily see the definition of his muscles.
Wide shoulders, thick arms, and pecs that could pinch a pencil. At any other time, his appearance would have screamed danger at me. But looking at him, I saw protector.
I pulled myself the rest of the way out and belly-crawled up to him. Jordan. He held out his hand, and I stretched my nose to inhale.
Yes. Safe. Home. Mine.
“Jordan?”
It took me several seconds to remember he couldn’t hear me in human form.
I should shift back, too. I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to call my human self into my body, but it was like holding water. Fuck, I hated being me. Why was everything simple so damn hard?
“Can I touch you, Wyatt?”
Eyes wide, I looked up at him and nodded.
He touched my fur lightly at first, and sparkles danced along the fur he touched. When my tail thumped happily behind me, he dug his hands deeper into my fur, and I moaned, surprising both of us.
“Did I hurt you?” His eyes crinkled in worry.
I thumped my tail to reassure him. My reaction hadn’t been pain… it had been pleasure.
Jordan smiled shyly down at me. “Are you still afraid of me?”
I twisted my head to the side, considering the question. No. But fear still resided in my body. Was it because of him, or the lingering storm, or something else?
Since I couldn’t answer in words, I shuffled further forward, pressing my nose against his thigh. He smelled… ah. Perfect. I glanced between his legs. Nobody could judge me for peeking. When you’re literally a foot or two away, and it’s right there, who wouldn’t look?
Sadly, the shadows covered anything interesting.
Thunder rumbled softly in the distance. The rain had slowed to a mere sprinkle. Not that it mattered—we were both soaked already. And covered in mud.