Twilight Hunter

stir inside him, and a grin spread across his face.

Jace grabbed the wolf by the scruff of his neck and threw him off. Alejandro skidded across the stage; his back legs fell off the platform, and he desperately clawed his way back up. But Jace was already on his feet. He crouched into a low stance and focused on the feeling inside him. He felt the beast stir again, and he latched onto the feeling in a desperate attempt to draw it out.

Alejandro ran toward him, fangs bared and covered in blood.

All the muscles in Jace’s body strained. He clenched his fists. He could feel it. It was working. He let out a ragged yell. A surge of power pulsed through him as Alejandro dove for him.

The energy pulsed through Jace’s veins. Then everything faded to black.

* * *

FRANKIE STUMBLED BACK as a pulse of blue light and energy hit her full force. Screams and yelps echoed through her ears. She nearly hit the floor but managed to keep her balance. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the platform. Her breath caught, and before she knew what she was doing, she was shoving her way through the crowd and running toward the stage.

Jace. She had to get to Jace.

David was at her heels. As the energy dissipated, a number of members of the pack howled and shifted into wolf form. But Frankie could only focus on Jace.

She threw herself down at his side and wrapped her arms around him, but he didn’t move. He was kneeling in the middle of the platform, as still as a statue. She distantly heard herself screaming his name.

Lines of blue light gleamed on his body, as if he were covered in glowing tribal tattoos. His eyes had transitioned from their normal emerald green to the gold of a wolf’s eyes. He stared toward the sky, unblinking.

She shook him as hard as she could. “Jace, wake up. Jace!”

“Frankie, get off him.” David grabbed her arm and pulled.

Another pulse of energy flooded the room, emanating directly from Jace. It hit Frankie hard. Her head fell back, and pain boiled beneath her skin. The familiar feeling of her bones cracking and rearranging overtook her, and she felt herself involuntarily begin to shift. Within seconds she lay on the ground, transformed completely.

Hunkering to the floor, she whimpered. Her eyes darted around the room to the other pack members. The only human left was David, who couldn’t shift. Howls and the sound of keening rang out as they all waited for the next aftershock. She covered her head with her paws to block the sound from her ears.

Another wave of energy shot from Jace’s body. He jerked forward and rose onto his knees. Even in wolf form, Frankie stopped breathing.

A replica of the symbol they’d seen in Manhattan Square Park glowed between Jace’s shoulder blades. Frankie howled as recognition washed over her.

She knew that mark. She had blocked the memory for the last three years, but now, God help her, she remembered.

* * *

JACE’S EYELIDS FLICKERED open onto a haze of shining blue. Slowly he pushed himself off the ground, drinking in his surroundings. It was as if the world had been engulfed in a cerulean haze. He stared and could faintly decipher the outlines around him.

A forest. He was in the middle of a damn forest.

He wracked his brain to remember how he’d gotten there but came up with nothing. What had happened? And why was everything like an amorphous blue shadow?

He listened for some sign of life, but heard nothing except silence.

Where the hell was he?

He stood and scanned the area. A flash of what looked like an animal’s tail rounded a nearby tree. Inching forward, he moved toward the elm and stared into the blue forest. A large wolf was peering around a bush, its eyes beckoning him forward. Like everything else, it looked like nothing but a shadow, an outline of what a real wolf would have been.

Shit. This was all wrong. Either he was dead or dreaming, or he’d swallowed one hell of a dose of LSD.

The animal turned and ducked behind the bush again. An invisible string tugged at Jace’s chest, and though his mind briefly protested, he soon found himself trailing behind the wolf. Weaving in and out of the twilight trees, he followed it through the forest.

After what felt like an eternity, the wolf disappeared. Jace stepped forward into the edge of a clearing. He tried to call out, but he couldn’t hear his own voice.

No need to use words here. Thoughts are far more valuable on this plane. The voice sounded as if it were coming from inside Jace’s head. He spun around. A man stood engulfed in the shadows. He stepped out from the trees and stared Jace in the eyes.

Jace moved his lips, but the words refused to come. What are you?

A smile curved the shadow man’s lips. A Skinwalker—a Berserker—as are you.

The words sounded oddly familiar, but Jace couldn’t place where he’d heard them. A Skinwalker?

The shadow man stepped forward, and Jace stepped back. You have no reason to fear me, though your thoughts are right. I am more powerful than you.

Jace dropped into a fighting stance. What do you want with me?

The shadow man continued to move forward. My job is to direct you to the right path. I’m your spirit guide.

If this had been real life, Jace’s jaw would have dropped. Instead, he just stared at the man in front of him. Spirit guide? You’ve gotta be fucking with me. What sort of drugs did I take?

The man frowned, the first human expression Jace had seen him make. I assure you that I am not “fucking” with you.

Jace straightened to his full height again. Then who and what are you?

The Norse called me Heimdallr, guardian of Bifrost—the gateway to what you call heaven—and I’m exactly what you are.

What the hell was going on? Jace closed his eyes, hoping he would wake up. When he reopened them, he found himself still stuck in the blue haze. I’m not following your thoughts here. What is this place?

The man beckoned him closer. Come. Follow me. The shadow man turned and disappeared into the trees. The same pull Jace had felt with the wolf tugged at his chest again, and he walked forward involuntarily.

The shadow man moved through the forest with ease, as if he knew every tree, every branch. I’m your spirit guide, Jace—the spirit of the wolf.

Jace regained control of himself and stopped walking. Wait, so you are the wolf?

The shadow man turned around and met Jace’s gaze. The wolf’s eyes stared back at him. Yes. The wolf and I are one. Then the man turned into the forest again and wandered deeper into its depths.

Jace never took his eyes off the man in front of him. Why am I here? What is this place?

You’re in the spirit realm. We are past Midgard, or what you know as Earth. We are near Bifrost, the bridge between your world and the realm of the gods, the holy Asgard, where I make my home.

Jace wanted to curse, but still no words would come out of his mouth. So I’m dead?

The shadow man ran his hand down a nearby tree, almost caressing the redwood bark. No, you still reside among the living, though few are capable of entering our world. You are one of the