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Eating a packet of crackers. She leaned back and peered through the branches she had piled in front of the opening. The crackers helped to calm the ache in her stomach, but she feared nothing would help the pain in her heart.

“Why do I miss them?”

What was it about Van and Peterson that drew her to them? Yes, she missed her people already, especially her parents and grandparents. Despite her resistance, she was beginning to understand why Mitchell had made the decision that he had. Life as they had been living it was harsh. It had only grown more so since the shifters knew about their existence.

A single tear escaped down her cheek as she reflected on those who hadn’t made it through the winter, a poignant symbol of her sorrow. Memories of her little brother, gone for what felt like an eternity, flickered through her mind as she stared out at the rain. Born early and always sickly, he never had a fighting chance.

The past year had brought unique hardships for everyone. The frequent need to move had taken its toll on their entire clan, leaving them feeling stressed and drained. Hunger had been a constant companion, as there was never enough food.

“Why couldn’t they have left us alone?” she murmured, lifting a hand to wipe away her tear.

She lifted another cracker into her mouth and slowly chewed it. Mourning the past wouldn’t change the present. She leaned forward and picked up her damp shirt off the rock beside her and used it to lift the hot metal cup. She placed the tea bag into the cup and tossed the wrapper and several more pieces of bark and some sticks into the fire.

The hot tea created a soothing path down to her stomach when she sipped it. She held the cup to her to her lips, breathing in the steam. The aroma of the herbal tea teased her senses and calmed her.

Once again, she leaned back against the rock, feeling its rough surface against her back. Her mind couldn’t help but wander to Van and Peterson, wondering what they were doing at that moment. What was it about the two shifters that intrigued her, drawing her closer with every passing moment? Her mind was flooded with memories of the first time she laid eyes on them in the forest. Even then, she had sensed a mysterious connection between them, something inexplicable. The undeniable strength of the connection made it impossible to brush it aside or overlook.

They were not only good-looking, but they also had an undeniable charm. She would be lying if she said they weren’t. There was a sense of danger that surrounded them, but… she wasn’t afraid.

“Think, Jayden. What is it about them? Did they say or do anything unusual that would make me feel this way?”

The answer she kept coming back to was… no. Visions of the amusement and longing in Van’s eyes, the hunger in Peterson’s, the warmth of their touch against her body, the smile on their lips, their gentle manner when dealing with other members of her clan—the visions popped into her head, one after another, like the flashes of lightning streaking across the sky.

She had noticed every move they made from the first time she saw them in the woods to the complex. They had never acted with malice. When the children followed the two around at the complex, they had stopped to play games and chat with them. When Macon had fallen and scraped his knee, Peterson had scooped the three-year-old boy into his arms and taken him to the medical tent.

She sipped more of the tea and looked out at the forest. Her mind wasn’t on the falling rain or the slight fog rising from the ground, but on what it had been like to see them shift from one form to the other. She thought it would have been repulsive, but it hadn’t been.

The change happened in a blink of the eye. She had been expecting their bodies to twist and snap as the bones reformed. The drawings on the walls of the caves where they camped when she was little had shown images of grotesque creatures with their human-like skin pealing back to reveal muscle and bones. Their faces contorted into masks of rage.

The transformation she had witnessed had been seamless. One second there had been a shimmer, and Van’s body had flowed from his wolf form to his human form. She closed her eyes as she remembered the expanse of firm muscle. His skin wasn’t as dark as Mitchell’s, but it was a contrast next to Peterson’s. The two men were what she imagined night and day would look like in human form.

With her eyes still closed, she placed her empty cup on the ground next to her. She kept the image of the two men in her mind and slid her hand up over her stomach. Her body felt feverish and heavy again; just as it did whenever she was near them.

Sliding her hand under her clothing, she ran her fingers along the soft curls protecting her womanhood. A low moan slipped from her when she fingered the hidden nub. She scooted down far enough so she could spread her legs. The stretchy fabric of the trousers she was wearing were no match for her desperate need for release.

Living in a small clan, it was impossible to not know about sex. Soft moans of need were guaranteed to ignite the curiosity of the young. She had learned how to satisfy any need herself after her mother explained that coupling with a male could lead to a child. She swore that would never happen and had avoided encouraging interest with any of the males in her clan.

Her lips parted on a gasp as the heat inside her built. She imagined it was caused by the two men. One between her legs while the other suckled on her aching breasts. She shoved her hand up her blouse, grasping her swollen nipple and pinched it.

She bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out. Her body trembled, this time from arousal. The explosive force of her release bowed her back. Her fingers stilled, even as her vaginal channel pulsed. A shudder ran through her body and she opened her eyes.

The vision of Van and Peterson was replaced with decay. An aching denial froze on her lips as a tear slipped down from the corner of her eye as reality raised its ugly head.

She was not locked in the warm embrace of two men. That fantasy would never—could never—become a reality. She and Ella had sworn they would never bring a child into this world. Ella had broken her vow, but she wouldn’t. Besides, she now had a greater mission to fulfill.

“I had to escape,” she whispered, pulling her hand free and laying it out far enough that the rain could wash the evidence of her weakness away. “They aren’t the ones casting a spell. It is my own desires—my body—that is betraying me.”

She lifted her hand, watching dispassionately as a droplet of cold water clung to the tip of her finger before falling to her cheek. It was icy cold, unlike her tear. The cold was a shock to her still heated skin.

“I must never let them catch me. I must never go back.”

She rolled onto her side and sat up, feeling the hard stone beneath her. Reaching out, she cupped the rainwater in her hand and wiped her face, feeling refreshed. She twisted up onto her knees and scrubbed her hands with the icy water until she could no longer smell her release on them.

The chill on her skin sank deeper until she felt like a wall of ice had formed around her heart. Knowledge was power. Armed with the realization that her attraction to them may be a part of the catalyst for them being drawn to her made it easier for her to accept. After all, she had witnessed the same laws of attraction in nature. Ty and Ella, as well as Mitchell and Tracy’s joining proved that just because she was a human and they were shifters—it could happen.

“I will not fall in love with them. I will not fall in love with them,” she whispered.

With the determined chant on her lips, she hung her damp jacket and clothes to dry near the fire. There wasn’t much she could do to create a cushioned bed. She scraped as many of the dried needles that were left into a pile and fashioned a makeshift pallet using one of the ultra-thin silver blankets she had taken from the storage room and the few pieces of dry clothing that she had. Pulling her knife out, she cut away more bark and sticks from the belly of the trunk and added them to the fire.