Taking a deep breath, I walked forward. “Hello?”I was greeted by the warm glow of flickering candles sitting on every hard surface. Unlike Sheila’s mostly temporary looking furniture, Greta’s tent had an actual bed, a solid wood dresser, and a little table with wood chairs. In the center of the floor was a red and gold rug. The whole place felt warm and inviting.An older woman was sitting on one of the chairs next to the table. She rose when she saw me. “You must be Lola.”“Yes, that’s me. You’re Greta?” I asked.She smiled, creating deep creases around her eyes and mouth. Her hair was white and tied up in a bun on top of her head. A few loose wisps framed her lined face.“Come in, please have a seat,” she said.I followed her to the small table and took the chair next to hers. Without warning, Greta grabbed my face, her paper-thin skin felt cool against my cheeks and my eyes widened in surprise.“I need to get a good look at you,” she said as she held a hand on each of my cheeks.M
Greta was on her feet and out of the tent faster than I expected for someone of her age. I followed, chasing the child and Greta down the pathways, past the clusters of tents, until we reached the woods near where I’d entered when I’d arrived.A male with sandy-blonde hair was laying on the ground, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. His clothes were torn and his shirt was bloody. He was moaning in pain, his hands gripping for the ground and finding no purchase.“What happened to him?” Had someone attacked him in the camp?“Why isn’t he healing?” The child asked. “He should be healing. Shift, Daddy. You need to heal.”She ran forward and Greta caught her, then passed her to me. On instinct, I reached for the girl and pulled her into my arms.“Get the child out of here and keep her away,” Greta ordered.I looked down at the kid. The little girl had the same blonde hair as the fallen man. She was trying to stay strong but I could almost feel her fear.“Go, now,” Greta barked.I grabb
We resumed our walk, away from the cabin. There was a part of me that was a little disappointed. I sort of wanted to go knock on his door. But that was ridiculous.It didn’t take long before I could feel the air getting cooler and damper. The ground was a little softer, and the shrubs around us were greener. We were getting closer to water.A few cheers and some yelling sent birds flying. I looked up and watched them fleeing the noise and caught a glimpse of the sun through the trees. It was closer to midday than I realized. I wondered how long we’d been walking.I heard splashes, followed by more playful screams just as the lake came into view. It stopped me in my tracks.This was not a swimming hole. This was a full on, huge lake. There was a little island in the center of it and it stretched for what had to be a mile across. I’d never seen a lake this size in real life.“It’s beautiful,” I said.“And freezing. Don’t let them fool you,” Megan said, lifting her chin toward the group
In the short time I’d been here, this group of feral shifters was more like a pack than my own pack growing up. I saw signs of community, support, kindness, and joy. They shared meals and presented a united front when a problem arose. Shit, another family stepped up to help Megan when her dad was injured. Nobody once even checked on me when my mom nearly died of an overdose when I was twelve.I knew I shouldn’t get too attached and that I should be cautious, but things were looking pretty good from an outsider’s perspective. It was all the things I wished I’d had growing up that I never even knew I wanted. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but even with Alec’s weirdness, this place was better than Wolf Creek.Surprisingly, I managed to find Sheila’s tent. When I stepped inside, it was empty. Instead of risking getting lost forever trying to find Sheila, I decided I’d wait. I plopped down in one of the folding chairs and closed my eyes for a bit. My mind was too restless to settle so I open
As Alec predicted, the lake was empty when we arrived. I was still covered in the grime and dirt and blood from my last night in Wolf Creek. I didn’t care how cold the lake was, I just needed to wash the trauma away any way I could.“I’ll see if I can find you some fresh clothes,” Sheila said. “You good alone for a bit?”“Yeah, thanks,” I said. “As long as I don’t have to try to find my way back solo, I should be good.”“We gotta get you a compass,” she teased.I laughed. “Hopefully, I’ll get my bearings soon.”She waved and left me alone on the shore of the huge lake. The water was like glass. A still, silvery gray. Every so often the breeze would send ripples over the surface, making the water seem like it was shivering.I took a moment to stare out at the island. It was a peaceful sentinel in the center of the water. Covered in thick trees, it seemed a wild place. Like something out of an adventure story. I wondered if anyone ever swam or took a boat out to it.Unsure of how much t
“Lola? Lola, it’s time to wake up,” a gentle voice called.My eyes fluttered open and I saw Sheila sitting on her cot. She stretched, lifting her arms above her head. “You were out.”Surprisingly, I slept like the dead. I didn’t even remember falling asleep and I’d had no dreams. I rubbed my eyes, then sat up and stretched before standing up. “How long were we asleep?”“Few hours,” she said.My stomach growled and I covered it with my hand.Sheila laughed. “Let’s find some dinner.”I pulled on my combat boots, which looked amazing with the shorts Sheila procured for me, and then the two of us emerged from her tent. The sky was purple and I couldn’t even see the sun anymore. It was that magical time of evening right before it changed from day to night.There had been people around the common area every time I’d passed through, but as we got closer, I realized I’d only seen a fraction of the shifters who lived here.There were easily a hundred or more shifters gathered around the massiv
“You can feel it, can’t you?”I turned to see Alec, shirt off, walking toward me. His gorgeous eyes pulled me in right away and I had to fight to break eye contact. Fortunately, there was plenty to look at. All those muscles. Holy hell, he was easy on the eyes. My gaze drifted down to his rounded shoulders and his biceps, then I moved lower, checking out his six pack which took me right to his happy trail. Finally, I was staring at the bulge in his pants.And let me tell you, it was an impressive bulge.“My eyes are up here,” he said.Fuck. What was wrong with me? I looked back up at him. “I see you’re making a habit of not wearing a shirt.”“Shifting with clothes on isn’t a great idea. I’d ruin too many shirts if I did that,” he said. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”“I grew up in a pack of shifters, naked people don’t bother me,” I said.“No?” He raised a brow. “Good.”Alec didn’t waste any time unbuttoning and dropping his jeans. Turns out, the man didn’t bother with underwear
By the time the wolves started returning to human form, I had to make a choice. I could either enjoy the limited time I had here, or I could mope and make myself miserable.I’d spent too many years being unhappy. I wasn’t going to do it anymore. I knew I wouldn’t go back to Wolf Creek for anyone or anything. It wasn’t worth it. Even if I did want to make Tyler, Julian, and Kyle feel the kind of pain they’d inflicted on me. I wasn’t like them. I didn’t get off on causing harm. It was better for all of us if I vanished. Besides, Tyler would have to deal with the bond between us his entire life. That was probably a greater punishment than killing him.Sheila was back in her clothes, her face flushed and her eyes wild. “That was a great run.”“You looked like you were having fun,” I said.“I can’t wait till you get to join us,” she said.My chest tightened but I managed a smile. I knew that once I could shift, I was out of here but I didn’t need to think about that tonight.“Drinks?” Shei