Page 15 of A Wolf’s Wound

Ryder

I’m surrounded by bodies. They’re everywhere I turn.

I don’t know where I am. It’s too dark to see much. But I have the feeling I’ve been here before.

Not just any bodies. The councilman lunges at me, his lips curled in a mocking sneer. Then the man I found in the forest is in front of me, his eyes wide. I turn around and see a man I know is the third body found in the forest.

I’m sweating and stumbling in the dark, trying to get away from the macabre scene. My legs feel like they’re moving through quicksand, though, and the harder I run the slower my progress.

But finally, I make it into a dark alley and I look around at my surroundings. Am I alone? Have I dodged the men?

I hear a noise behind me and turn to see a shrouded figure.

I think it’s a man, but I can’t see his face.

He approaches and I instinctively take a step back, my shoulders tense.

All of my senses are on high alert, ready for the fight.

I look at the figure more closely, trying to determine if he has a weapon.

He moves toward me, his arms emerging from the shroud, and—

I open my eyes.

I’m drenched in cold sweat. My bedsheets are in a heap on the floor. My hands are clenched as if ready to punch someone. My heart’s beating so fast I gasp for breath.

It was just a dream. Scratch that—a nightmare. But that’s all it was.

Or was it? Everything that happened felt so real, more like a memory than a nightmare. The look on the councilman’s face. The eyes of the man I found. The gait of the third man, the way I automatically knew he was the other body found in the forest.

I didn’t feel like I was dreaming. I felt like I was reliving actions I’d taken before, situations I’d been in before, in my own life. I was seeing all three men in the moments before they died.

But how is that possible? How could everything feel so familiar?

The thought hits me like a blow to the heart: What if these really were memories?

What if I knew what they looked like, what they were doing, right before they died because I was there?

What if I was the one who killed them?

What if I’m the one who’s changing people?

“No,” I say out loud, turning on the light near my bed. “ No! ”

I get out of bed and pace my room. There’s no way I changed these men. That’s not who I am. That’s never been who I am.

And I would remember doing that. Of course, I would… Wouldn’t I?

I shake my head as if that will drive away my doubts. I don’t have gaps in my memory anymore. It’s been months since I’ve gotten blackout drunk. There are no missing hours or nights anymore, no more mornings when I wake up with chunks of the evening obliterated from my memory.

“Get a grip,” I tell myself, running my hands through my hair in agitation. “It was a fucking nightmare, okay? That’s all.” But my words ring hollow in my ears.

Finally, I leave my room in the pack house and go downstairs.

I don’t have a destination in mind, just a strong desire to get out of my bedroom.

Maybe motion will help. Maybe walking will clear my head.

But a light is on in the kitchen. Curious about who else is up in the middle of the night, I enter the space and find Gavin sitting alone at the kitchen table, a glass of water in front of him.

“Hey,” he greets me wearily. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Something like that.” I drop into the chair across from him. “You too?”

“Never even tried,” he grunts. “I don’t think I’ll sleep until we figure out why these shifts are happening.”

“If that’s what they are,” I remind him, and he nods.

“You’re right. We think that’s what’s going on, but…” his voice trails off, and he looks even more tired.

“How long would it take?” I ask as casually as possible. “For someone to shift, I mean.”

“It happens pretty immediately,” Gavin replies.

“Really? This couldn’t be the culmination of someone trying to shift, like weeks ago?” Or someone trying to shift them , I think.

Gavin shakes his head decisively. “Absolutely not. That’s not how this works. If someone is bitten by a shifter, the change is near instantaneous. It’s not like someone could get bitten and walk around all normal for weeks, or even days before the virus takes over.”

I nod, relief flooding through my body even as I keep my expression neutral. There’s no way I could be behind what’s happening, no matter how vivid that nightmare was. All three of these men died within the last few days and my recall of that time period is perfect.

Of course, that means whoever is doing this is still out there. And it could happen again.

Gavin’s watching me closely. “Why are you so curious?”

“Because this is really fucked up,” I bluster. He nods. “And knowing the timeline could help us figure out who’s doing this.”

“Might be more than one shifter,” Gavin adds.

“Good point.”

We sit silently for a few minutes. I’m tired but too flooded with emotions and questions to go back to sleep. I glance out the kitchen window and see that the sky is beginning to lighten with the sunrise.

“I’m going to go for a drive.” I push my chair back. Normally, I’d want to run and let my wolf out. But I know I will be heading into the city, and a wolf on the loose isn’t the best thing right now.

“At this hour?” Gavin quirks a brow and I shrug.

“You have a better idea?” I reply and he mimics my shrug in return. “I’ll be back later.”

“Stay safe,” Gavin says dryly.

“You too, brother.”

I pull my vehicle out of the driveway and roll down the windows. The morning air is cool and fresh. It chases away the last cobwebs of the nightmare that are clinging to my brain and wakes me all the way up.

No one else is out, which isn’t surprising. I hear a few sleepy chirps from the trees. It’s good to know that, while the animals may have fled the forest, at least some of them stuck around the area.

I turn in the direction of the town and drive slowly, the windows still open. I don’t think I have a particular destination in mind but soon find that I’m a few blocks away from Hannah’s apartment.

Was it just yesterday evening that we shared that kiss? It feels like eons ago. But I can still feel her lips pressed to mine, soft and yielding.

I don’t know why I’m so drawn to her. I don’t know how I knew she was in trouble the other night. All I know is that I want to see her so badly it’s like a physical pain.

This is crazy. And horrible timing. All of my attention needs to be focused on what’s happening to my town, my pack. I need to protect those closest to me, not chase some woman I barely know.

Yet… seeking her out feels right, on a gut level. It makes sense to me in a way I can’t even explain to myself. If any of my brothers could see me now, desperately hung up on a human woman, they’d laugh so hard they’d piss themselves.

I don’t care. Let anyone mock me and make fun of me. Let them all tell me this is the worst possible decision I could make right now. I don’t care.

It feels like, for the first time in my life, I know what I want. And that’s Hannah. No one can say or do anything that will make me change my mind. Screw reason, and screw common sense. I need to see her.

I point my car in the direction of her building and press down on the gas pedal.

I only hope this doesn’t end poorly.