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Page 69 of A Wolf’s Wound

Gavin

I hear birds chirping and slowly open my eyes. I’m lying face down on the dirt. Where am I?

A breeze runs over my skin, and I sit up. But that motion causes such pain in my head that for a moment I think I’m going to vomit. What the hell is going on?

I’m in an abandoned lot. I look around and recognize the area as being right on the outskirts of Stonehaven. I don’t see my car, though, so I have no idea how I got here.

“Think, Gavin,” I mutter to myself, cradling my aching head in my hands. “What the fuck did you do last night?”

I close my eyes and try to remember the night. I know Ryder and Hannah announced that Hannah was pregnant. I know we celebrated the news. I can recall the speeches our parents made and how excited Cody and Ben were to have another cousin.

And I remember the rounds of shots that kept coming to my table, all of which I slammed back enthusiastically. I don’t remember Ryder drinking that much, though, out of solidarity with Hannah.

Jackson and Thomas left early, taking Cody and Ben home with them.

Ryder’s presumably at his place with Hannah, where he should be.

I have a fuzzy memory of Michael taking my keys at the end of the night and giving them to Lucas.

“He’s the only sober one!” Michael had roared with laughter as he tossed both sets of keys to our brother.

“He’ll be driving both our asses home tonight! ”

That explains why I don’t have my car. And I’m immensely relieved that my son isn’t around to see me in this state, hungover and confused. That’s not exactly the example I’m trying to set for my impressionable thirteen-year-old.

I realize I’m shivering in the light breeze. I shouldn’t be this cold. Then I look down at myself and realize that I’m naked. And I’m in human form.

“Oh, fuck,” I whisper, finally figuring out that I recently shifted.

Maybe that, along with the absolutely epic amount of whiskey I drank last night, explains why my memory is so spotty.

Now I feel even more relieved that I’m here alone.

If my brothers knew about this, they’d never let me hear the end of it.

“But maybe they shifted too,” I say out loud. Well, not all of them; not the ones that went home. But could Michael be around here somewhere in the same shape I am? Could he have shifted too? I kind of hope he did because then maybe he can help me fill in some of these blanks.

“Michael!” I yell, wincing at the effort it takes to raise my voice. My throat is scratchy and sore, like I spent the entire night shouting to be heard. Well, the bar was pretty loud. I guess that’s why my throat feels like this.

A bird caws loudly, but that’s the only answer I get. “Michael,” I call again, even though I don’t expect to hear an answer. And I don’t.

The act of yelling causes another wave of nausea to roll over me, and for one horrible second I think I’m going to vomit. I drop my head back into my hands and wait for the nausea to fade. As it slowly ebbs away, I lift my head. I don’t see any houses, much less people.

Wherever I am is totally abandoned. Which is probably a good thing, given the state I’m in.

But now I’m faced with two, equally unappealing choices: walk to Stonehaven or walk home.

Under normal circumstances, neither option would be that difficult.

But being naked and hungover is a different story.

I would kill for a bottle of water. Scratch that, a drop of water. I swallow, the inside of my throat feeling like sandpaper. “I’m never drinking again,” I mutter, even though I already know that’s not true.

Epic hangovers are as much a part of being a Stone as scrapping with my brothers, after all.

Not that we’re a family of alcoholics although my other brothers and I did worry about Ryder for a while there.

But nights out, drinking and hanging out with each other and other pack members, are just a part of our life.

I make a mental note to talk to Cody when I’m feeling better.

I want to make sure he understands that as much fun as he sees me and his uncles having, these mornings-after are just as intense in their unpleasantness.

I know he’ll just roll his eyes and tell me he gets it. But I’ll still talk to him.

That will have to wait, though, until I’m home and clothed and have drunk about an ocean’s worth of water. I squint in the sunlight, still undecided about whether to go to Stonehaven or the compound. But it’s hard to concentrate on that decision because my mind drifts back to last night.

The scent was so strong on Hannah that I can still smell it. It was even stronger last night, of course, when I was in the same room as her. I know she can’t smell it, and I know it’ll fade over time. But I knew she was pregnant by the scent alone. Ryder didn’t even have to tell me.

The scent affected me. I didn’t say anything to Ryder, much less Hannah. That would have been too fucking weird. I didn’t mention anything to my other brothers either, but I think that Thomas and Lucas knew. They’re the most perceptive of us all.

Even now, in my disheveled state, my head aching from too much whiskey and too little sleep, I can still smell it. It’s somehow even more intense than it was last night. I feel like it’s coating the inside of my nostrils. I can’t breathe without getting a hit of it.

It’s not unpleasant, but it is adding to my disorientation. I want to be able to focus and get home, yet I keep getting distracted by the scent. Is this what it’s going to be like the entire time Hannah is pregnant?

I can’t figure out why it’s affecting me so much. I’ve been around pregnant humans before. I’m a father, for god’s sake! “Get a grip,” I tell myself. “You’re the fucking alpha of the pack. You can’t be acting like this.”

Some alpha I am, I think ruefully. Getting blackout drunk. Ending up naked in a pile of dirt. Addled by the scent of my pregnant sister-in-law. Yeah, I’m doing the pack real fucking proud right now.

I’m going back to the compound, I decide.

Not that it’s much of a choice. There’s no way I can go into the city like this.

At least the compound is large enough that, if I cut through the forest, I can make it to one of the outer buildings without anyone seeing me.

Then I can call my house and have Cody bring me some clothes.

I feel better having made this decision. Even though the scent is still tickling my nostrils and I still feel like crap. Having a destination, a goal, energizes me, and I stand up.

I close my eyes and stretch out my arms, sighing as some of the stiffness dissipates. I roll my neck around, wincing as it cracks and pops. But I feel better now. I open my eyes, ready to hit the road.

At first I’m not sure what I’m looking at. I squint again, but I still can’t make it out. I look down at myself and realize, to my horror, that I’m covered in blood.

Then I look around again, and the scene snaps into focus. I gasp involuntarily, cold sweat breaking out all over my body.

What have I done?

Thanks so much for reading A WOLF'S WOUND! I hope you got as much enjoyment out of reading as I did writing this novel. I would LOVE a review of A Wolf's Wound at your retailer of choice. Reviews are what keep authors motivated to keep writing, writing, writing! Mwah!