"What was that all about?" I flailed my arm in the direction that Eve had gone. "Why is it my fault?"Cruz let out a deep breath, shaking his head. "I have no idea. She just needed someone to blame, and it happened to be you.""Nope. I'm not buying it. Is Nightshade looking for me for some reason?" After all, the note pinned to River said, "You're next". At the time, I had thought it had meant the pack. But could it have meant me?Cruz motioned with his head toward the elevator. "Come on. I'll walk you back to your suite."I shook my head. "No. I'll be fine. But tell me, Cruz. Was Nightshade looking for me and found River instead?"He scoffed, stopping in the center of the hallway. "Kalyssa, why would they be looking for you?" He started toward the elevator again. "The note didn't say it was you. It meant the pack.""Are you sure?" I asked, pulling him to a stop. "Eve said that it was my fault! Could Nightshade have been looking for me?"Cruz placed his fingers on his forehead, as if t
"Xander, slow down!" I said, trying to catch up. "Take a minute to calm down before you confront Sasha. She probably has a good reason for not telling you everything.""What?" Xander asked, stopping so abruptly that I nearly ran into him. "Kalyssa, what could she possibly say that would justify her not telling us the complete truth?""I have no idea!" I replied, placing a hand on my forehead. "But you need to calm down before you do something that you'll regret.""Like what?"I narrowed my eyes. "Like tearing her head off, for starters."He let out a deep breath, turning away, taking a moment to calm down. "Kalyssa, I need to talk to her, and find out why she lied to us. Trust is a virtue that we value. If someone betrays that trust, they'd better have a d*mned good reason." The elevator door opened, and he put his arm out, holding it open for me. "Shall we?"I nodded once and then walked inside. "Where's Elias?""He's going to meet us at Sasha's suite," he replied, hitting the button
"Come here." Xander pulled me in for a hug, holding me tightly to his chest. "I'm so sorry for losing it like that earlier." He pulled back and looked deeply into my eyes. "Will you ever forgive me?"Elias's head snapped up, narrowing his eyes, but Xander shook his head, silently telling him that he would tell him later. "Yes, of course," I replied. "But from here on out, try not to lose your temper with me. I'm on your side. Remember?"He nodded. "We'll talk later, but will you be okay?"I nodded. "Yes. You two go. I'll be just fine. Daphne will be here in just a minute."I gave Xander and Elias one last hug and saw them out, hoping we could get to the bottom of this before anyone else was killed. If someone wanted me dead, I wanted to know who they were and why.As Xander and Elias were walking out, Daphne walked up, carrying a leather briefcase. "Alphas," she said, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you for coming on such short notice," Elias said. "Please, take good care of our gir
I was about to run for the glass when I heard a voice behind me. "Kalyssa, no!" Elias shouted. "You'll hurt yourself! Let us help you!" I paced back and forth, a caged animal needing to be free. "Open the door, so she doesn't hurt herself!" Xander yelled, bursting into my suite. I looked over at him, and he gave me a knowing look as Daphne ran in behind him. "She changed during the reading!" she yelled, but everyone ignored her. A low growl erupted from deep within my chest as I paced in my suite.Elias stood in front of me and looked into my eyes. "Kalyssa, it's okay. You're one of us.""No!" I ran for the glass, but Elias flung it open just in time, and I leaped through the door and propelled myself off the balcony. I landed on four white paws on the soft green grass, and then ran. I had no idea where I was going or what I was running to, but I had to get out, to escape the horrors. I was a wolf, and my mother and grandmother had died to save my life, and probably my father, to
When we got back to the Compound, everything had changed, but nothing had. Then I realized that what had changed… was me.Suddenly, my sense of smell was more acute, and nothing escaped my notice. I saw details that I had never paid attention to in the past. Heard the rustle of tiny animals in the brush under the leaves. Everything was new and I felt alive for the first time in my life.Until now, I was merely a dreamer in a dream. Now, I was awake.When we neared the Compound, Elias headed toward one of the outbuildings. It was small in comparison, resembling a cabin. But when we walked through the enormous double doors, it was one big room."What is this place?" I asked, pacing back and forth along the wooden planks of the floor, looking through the enormous plate-glass windows."This is a cabin for new wolves," Elias said mentally, "a place they can wait until they gain control and can morph back into their human form.""So, it's a cage," I said in the Pack Mind."No, not at all," X
I must have fallen asleep because I woke in the transformation cabin in my human form, naked, with just a blanket draped over me, covering the vital places. "Morning." Xander smiled, sitting stark naked on a chair, watching me sleep. "Morning." I sat up and pulled the blanket up over my breasts. "Thanks for this."He shrugged. "I was trying to be a gentleman." I looked at him hard, trying to read his mind. Now, there was no chatter at all. Nothing. But in our wolf form, his thoughts were as clear as if we were speaking aloud. Xander smirked. "What are you doing?""Trying to read your mind."Xander laughed. "That's only in the Pack Mind."I lifted an eyebrow. "And you can only access the Pack Mind is only in our wolf form?""Bingo."I laughed. "Where's Elias?""He went to the Compound to scrounge some food for us," Xander replied, crossing the room to me. Then he sat on the bare hardwood floor beside me and ran the back of his hand along my cheek, looking into my eyes. "How do you f
"Don't even start," I teased, slipping into the robe he offered. "I feel so weird walking into the Compound in just a thin robe. I feel like everyone can see right through it."Elias shrugged. "It wouldn't be the worst thing."I chuckled, slapping him playfully on the arm. "I just feel self-conscious... like everyone's going to be looking at me."Xander shrugged. "They will, but it's okay by me." He pulled me to him and gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head. "They can read the menu all they want, as long as they don't order from it.""You're incorrigible." I chuckled, shaking my head. "Yes, ma'am, I am." Xander nodded playfully. "Well, let's go. But don't worry. Everyone's used to seeing people walk around the Compound in robes." He shrugged. "Actually, it's no big deal.""If you say so," I said as Xander held the door open for me. "I do." He smirked. "Shall we?" Elias smiled, taking my hand.I shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"We headed outside, and everyone that was passing by stopp
Pausing long enough to slip on a pair of tennis shoes and grab my keys and my cell phone, I headed out the door and ran down the hallway, headed toward the elevator. When the doors closed, I quickly hit L1. The doors closed right away, but the elevator couldn't move fast enough. The doors opened a moment later on the first floor, and I ran straight to the Clinic. Four shifters were waiting outside, one of whom was Eve. She growled, but I paid no attention. I walked toward the Clinic and flung the door open.Inside, Cruz stood over Xander, holding a blood-stained towel to his chest. His face was bloody, too, and Elias lay on the other table, his blond hair soaked with blood, but Baily was working on him."Report!" I yelled to her, gently moving Xander's hands aside to assess the damage. I lifted the towel, and blood oozed from his chest. I quickly covered it again. "I've stopped the bleeding with Elias, but he's going to need stitches. He was bleeding the worst when they came in. I've