Marissa slammed her eyes shut, her mind playing tricks on her. Maybe if she refused to look at him she could pretend he wasn’t there, because if he was, and he managed to subdue her then her life was well and truly over. Another tear broke free and slid down her cheek, her heart tearing apart in her chest.
No. No. And hell no. Marissa shook her head. Refusing to believe this was happening. She couldn’t have gone through this, managing to escape that hellhole only to be dragged back again. Please, no.
Shade’s Wolf flew through the forest like his tail was on fire. Royce and Ash right behind him as they ran at full speed. His beast seemed to know where he was going and ran with an urgency that spoke of life or death.
“Alpha, do you know . . .”
Shade cut Ash off before he continued, small talk wasn’t on the agenda. “No, he knows where he’s going so just try and keep up.”
His friends struggled to keep up as his beast’s speed increased. He sped along as if Demons from Hell itself were chasing them, a frenzy rampaging through him like nothing Shade had ever experienced before. It was unsettling but he also felt more alive, his heart pumping furiously as his claws threw up dirt and leaves, finding purchase before leaping high to clear any obstacles in their path. On and on they ran, the trio ranging to the outer limits of Pack land where his Wolf veered left, heading along the edge of their land but still seemingly on a course to where, or who, Shade had no idea.
He could feel his beast’s urgency though, loud and damn well clear. His Wolf knew something he didn’t, his paws scrambling for purchase over a muddy embankment, a snarl escaping as he fought to reach their destination. He tried to communicate with the frantic beast. “What’s wrong?”
“Needs us, danger.”
Shade couldn’t help but feel the despair running through his Wolf, mixed in with a large dose of fury, but he had one last question. “How do you know all this?”
“Goddess.”
Was his answer. Well, if that were the case who was he to disagree? Shade no longer argued internally with his Wolf, feeling his delight at that as he raced through, around, and over anything that stood in their way. A flash of a vision sprang into his mind of a woman, young with long dark hair and eyes like pools of dark chocolate, her beauty taking his breath away a moment before her fear slammed into him.
She wasn’t just scared. She was filled with absolute terror, and she wasn’t alone. Who was there with her wasn’t clear but whoever it was had this young woman so scared she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and he could feel her pain. It was as if her heart were physically tearing apart inside her chest. The agony of it ripping free a roar from his throat to reverberate around the forest, causing limbs in the trees to tremble and leaves to flutter to the ground. His rage consuming him as he streaked onwards in a desperate bid to reach her before . . . he wasn’t sure. But he knew in his gut she was in deep peril and he was her only redemption.
His beast darted around several large trees, a sweet and tangy aroma wafting toward them, but it was marred with the scent of fear. Shade knew, without a shadow of doubt, that his was who they sought. This scent was her, the woman he’d caught glimpses of, the beauty who was terrified. The one they had to save. This scent that assaulted his senses, settling inside him as if it had always been there was unmistakably the one the Archives spoke of.
This was no wild goose chase. This was not nonsense, or drivel, or the thousand other words he’d come up with. Fuck, no. This was real, she was his mate, and she was in trouble. She needed him. Now.
The feelings coursing through him were . . . outlandishly scary and he couldn’t begin to understand them. He hadn’t even met this girl, didn’t know her fucking name, anything about her. Yet he knew he’d fight to the death for her. How the hell was that even possible?
Only hours ago he was dead set against the idea of a soulmate. Yet here he was stampeding towards only the Goddess knew what and ready to battle anything that was a threat to the woman he’d barely had a glimpse of. Hell, he’d tear anything, and anyone, limb from limb for harming a hair on her head, and he didn’t even know her name.
“Alpha,” Royce interrupted him, his voice growing urgent. “Alpha! Slow down. I can hear voices ahead.”
Damn it. If he’d not been so focused on his internal thinking, he would’ve heard them too. Their voices loud in the silence of the forest, more than one, and the sound of soft whimpering: his mate!
Despite Royce insisting he slow down, Shade sped up, crashing through bushes and sliding to a stop when he saw a group of men. One holding the woman he’d seen in his head, her feet dangling off the ground. Her face white with fear but her eyes full of defiance as she spat in the face of an older Wolf standing in front of her. They hadn’t yet noticed his arrival, the man raising a hand to strike the young woman as he snarled.
“You’re a bitch and you’re coming back with me and you’ll do as you’re told.”
Shade transformed quickly, striding forward, his voice rumbling a threat. “Stop!”
All eyes turned to him, five men in total. The oldest, the one who was about to slap
