“Sheba, you’ve been out of sorts for days, and I heard you sneaking out before dawn even cracked a light, so please don’t try and push us off.” Her mom wrung her hands, a sure sign she was getting worked up. “Tell us what’s wrong and we can help. Don’t we always?”
Sheba spun away, a snarl escaping without her permission. “I don’t know what’s wrong! I just feel the need to hunt all the time and I’m freaking starving.”
“Oh,”—her mom stepped toward the kitchen—“That’s something I can help with.”
“No, Mom.” Sheba stopped her. “Not that kind of hungry. I don’t want anything you can give me . . . I want prey. Lots of it. I want to hunt it down, sink my fangs into it and eat it all down and I don’t mean a rabbit or two. I mean whole damn deer.”
“What?” Her mother’s face turned ashen, a hand shooting up to her throat as she stared at her wide-eyed. “You can’t eat a full deer on your own.”
“No? Well, I did. I ate one this morning, all by myself, and I’m still freaking hungry.” Sheba admitted, glaring between her mother and Ray, daring either of them to call her a liar.
Her mother shook her head as Ray stepped toward her, his eyes boring into hers. She felt as if he were looking into her very soul as he drew closer, his hand reaching out and his fingers gently grasping her hand. “We’ll figure it out, Sheba. Whatever it is that ails you, we’ll find out what it is and fix it. But for now, I’ll come with you while you hunt.”
She shook her head, a gamut of emotion overtaking her. Her Pack needed her. Renegades were invading their land and she had work to do to protect them. The pain lancing through her would have to wait. She didn’t have the luxury of going on another hunt, not now, not when her people needed her. “No. Not right now. We need to go speak with Myla first and I want to check on Dion and see what he’s doing too. I want our land checked, checked and checked again. I will not have any of our people hurt by those bastards. You heard what happened to those Shifters from the Packs nearby, didn’t you? They had casualties, Ray. Not just injuries but dead. A woman and her pup were killed when they were ambushed in the forest right near their damn cabin. I won’t have that happen here. Not while I’m Alpha.”
Ray merely inclined his head, his eyes twinkling. “There’s my girl. Let’s go.”
“Sheba, be careful.” Her mother’s voice tinged with concern as she followed behind Ray, her belly feeling as if someone was lancing it with a silver blade.
She did her best to ignore the pain, gritting her teeth as they walked around the side of the cabin, she hoisted herself up into the passenger seat of the truck as Ray settled in to drive. His eyes flitting to her time and again as they left the camp, the silence in the cab so thick it seemed to stick in her throat as she sucked in deep breaths. Her Beta finally slowing the truck to pull over, his hand landing on her shoulder and softly shaking her.
“You know I can feel your pain, and the turmoil inside you?” Ray released her, turning to sit side on so he could watch her closely, his dark eyes boring into hers but his face was an inscrutable mask, showing no feelings whatsoever. She was grateful for that at least. She’d hate to look at him and see some kind of condemnation, or worse . . . pity.
“I know, Ray.” She ran a hand behind her neck, feeling the damp sweat that coated it and causing her hair to stick to it uncomfortably. She quickly snatched an elastic from her pocket and pulled her long red tresses into a high ponytail as she tried to think, but all she could focus on was the deep need inside her to sate the hunger that cascaded through her entire being.
“We have time, little one.” Ray’s voice cut through the pain, gentle, quiet, and full of his love for her. “I can’t stand seeing you like this. Come on, let’s go feed what ails you and then we’ll go see Myla.”
Sheba couldn’t wait any longer, her beast was already forcing her transformation. She scrambled to get out, tearing off her clothes and throwing them back inside barely in time before her white fur shot through her skin, her bones cracking and realigning as her Wolf took over and dashed into the trees moments later. She sped onwards, slaloming with grace between any obstacles in her path with one thought careening through her brain: feed the hunger. She could hear Ray behind her, his massive beast not nearly as subtle as hers as he rushed after her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t give a shit if her prey heard her coming, the thrill of the chase, taking it down and devouring it fully was all she was focused on.
A whiff of a scent touched her nostrils . . . a buck was close by and she zeroed in on it like a scud missile. She turned on a dime, spinning around a tree without breaking stride, and took off with a speed that surprised her. Sheba was fast, always had been, but right now she was hurtling through the forest so fast she could barely focus on anything around her. Trees, bushes, even
