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I've never really been afraid of the dark, instead finding a strange comfort in it. When I was younger, I wasn't afraid of anything until Harlow; then it was fire, but not anymore. Anyone could have hurt me with any elemental magic; the only reason it was fire is because that's what she had.

So why does the idea of dropping into those woods make my palms sweat and my heart race?

‘Who just wanders around in the woods in the middle of the night?’Ryker’s question from all those months ago rings in my head, and I almost laugh. I hadn’t been wandering back then, but I sure as hell am now.

I can feel him, though I can't see him; all I need to do is drop down, and he'll be there. I know it the same way I know my own name, so why the hell am I still in the air?

Serena...

My breath catches, and I choke on it, unable to draw in oxygen as I plummet to the ground. Thankfully, shifters are more durable. Not to mention, I'd descended a bit while arguing with myself. I'd wanted to land, but not like this.

As if my lungs didn't already burn, I hit the ground hard enough to force any remaining air out of them.

Fuck, that still might leave a mark.

My vision fuzzes out like static on an old TV, and I blink hard a few times until it clears. Dead trees and darkness surround me as I push myself up on my elbows, heaving in deep breaths in an attempt to stop the burning in my lungs.

It's not until I'm sitting upright, my legs sprawled out in front of me from my super graceful landing, that I remember why I'm here.

I feel him behind me, his presence too much to ignore, almost as if he calls to me.

His low, rumbling growl vibrates through the air. It’s a warning, a threat. I've never been on the other side of this. As a part of his pack, it's never hit me the way it would have other shifters or animals we encountered. I always knew Lyle was formidable, but now I can feel it.

My chest is tight, breathing ragged as I shake, unable to help myself. Everything inside of me tells me I need to move, to run, or at the very least turn around. It's not smart to have my back to a predator like him, not right now at least, but I can't bring myself to turn and face him.

I close my eyes tight, fighting against the tears I can feel gathering and the memory of those cold white eyes.

Fuck, I shouldn't have come.

I can't...

Serena...

Before I can stop myself, I turn, scrambling on my hands and knees. The sound of his voice in my head rings like a bell, echoing around until I'm not sure if I imagined it or not.

I had to, right? Lyle is a monster right now, incapable of speech, and he's not my mate, which means there's no way for us to communicate through the bond...

Right?

With a gasp, I fall back on my ass and look up at him. He's not far, maybe ten feet from me, but he's so damn big. I force my gaze up, over his dark brown coat on his chest, past his muzzle and the sharp-ass teeth that are bared at me, and up to those dead white eyes that bore into me.

With a growl, he drops down onto all fours, and the ground shakes. I should move, fight back, something… anything.

Instead, I stay exactly where I am as he moves toward me. Unable to so much as look away until he's close enough that the drool from his bared teeth drips down onto my leg as he breathes in my scent.

He's in there; he has to be...

My eyes are fixed on his teeth as he opens his mouth and lets out a growl loud enough that my ears ring. For a moment, I can't hear anything at all. Spit hits my face, and I force my eyes closed as I flinch back from him and the sheer volume of his roar.

Fuck, that hurt. One of the few downsides to being a shifter.

Serena...

My eyes snap open as he begins to back up, thrashing his head from side to side as if trying to shake something off. He lets out a howl, the sound so full of pain that it cuts through me and pushes past my fear, letting me force myself up to my feet and to him.

"Lyle..." I reach for him but stop short of touching him as the memory of that night plays through my head.

There's no Ryker here to save me this time. I need to be careful.