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The scientist who tortured me for years has my mate.

The realization sends renewed rage coursing through me. My vision blurs momentarily as I fight to maintain control of my wolf, which is straining against the confines of my human form, desperate to hunt, to track, to kill.

Not yet, I tell it silently. We need to find her first.

I drive for miles, scanning the roadside for any sign of the car, any hint of Maya’s presence. The road narrows as it climbs into the mountains, the forest closing in on either side. Fewer vehicles here, mainly logging trucks and the occasional tourist.

No black SUV.

I’m beginning to fear I’ve missed them when I catch a glimpse of something through the trees—a dirt road, barely visible, branching off from the main highway. Fresh tire tracks mark the turnoff, too recent to have been made before the rain we had around lunchtime.

I slow down, making the turn cautiously. The road is rough, clearly not meant for regular use. It winds deeper into the forest, climbing steadily. After a mile or so, it opens into a small clearing where a dilapidated cabin stands, its windows boarded up, its roof sagging with age.

Parked beside it, partially hidden by overgrown bushes, is a black SUV.

I kill the engine immediately, coasting to a stop well before the clearing. Getting out silently, I move through the trees, circling to approach from the rear of the cabin. Every sense strains for information—sounds, scents, movement.

Maya’s scent is strongest, tinged with fear and something chemical I don’t recognize. Mathew’s is here, too, along with three others, all unfamiliar. No voices, but footsteps inside the cabin, moving between rooms.

I creep closer, finding a position where I can see through a gap in the boarded-up windows. The interior is dim, but my enhanced vision makes out several figures in what appears to be the main room of the cabin.

One of them is Maya.

She sits on a wooden chair, her hands bound behind her, her head lolling slightly as if she’s struggling to stay conscious. Mathew—or whatever his name really is—stands beside her, one hand resting possessively on her shoulder.

“—won’t hold them off forever,” one of the other men is saying, his voice tense. “We need to move her now.”

“Not until I get what I need,” Mathew replies, his tone entirely different from the cheerful assistant I’ve observed in the lab. This voice is cold, calculating, with an edge of mania that sends chills down my spine. “She’s the key to everything. The formulas, the calculations—they’re all in her head.”

“We have the antidote,” the woman argues. “Isn’t that enough?”

“The antidote is just the beginning,” Mathew says, moving to crouch in front of Maya, forcing her to look at him. “She’s going to give us the formula for the enhancement serum next. Aren’t you, Maya?”

Maya’s voice, when she speaks, is slurred but defiant. “Go to hell.”

Mathew laughs, the sound devoid of genuine humor. “Always so spirited. No wonder the king is in love with you. But he can’t help you now.”

“He doesn’t love me,” Maya mumbles, and the pain in her voice cuts through me like a blade.

“So sad,” Mathew mocks, stroking her cheek in a perverse caricature of tenderness. “Poor little Maya, abandoned by her wolf king. But don’t worry—your work for us will change everything. Humans will finally have the power to fight back against your precious shifters.”

I’ve heard enough. Maya is in immediate danger, and whatever they’re planning goes far beyond simply stealing the antidote. It’s time to act.

I reach for my phone to text Erik our location, but before I can, a twig snaps beneath my foot.

The sound, slight as it is, draws the attention of everyone in the cabin. Mathew’s head whips around, his expression hardening.

“Someone’s here,” he hisses. “Check the perimeter.”

I duck back into the trees as the cabin door swings open and two figures emerge, weapons drawn. There’s no time to wait for Erik now. If I don’t act, they’ll move Maya, and I may never find her again.

Decision made, I let my wolf surge forward, the transformation rippling through me in a wave of pain and release. My clothes tear and my bones reshape, fur sprouting across my skin as I drop to all fours.

The shift complete, I charge toward the cabin, a roar tearing from my throat.

Let them see me coming. Let them know exactly what awaits them.

I am the king of the Human Wolf Kingdom, and they have taken my mate.