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KINGSTON

I tried to focus on Locke’s form as he hit the mitts I held up for him. I knew he wanted critique to improve. I should’ve been jumping on that. Getting Locke to train was usually like pulling teeth. But the attack a few nights ago had spooked him, though I knew the true motivation was Wren.

It was the same reason I was distracted today. Three days had passed since she’d gone back to work, and it felt like one of my vital organs was walking around outside my body. The feeling was beyond brutal. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it other than text Puck dozens of times each day.

Even Brix was making it a habit to eat lunch and dinner at Arcane every day, and that bastard hated being around people. The only one keeping their distance was Ender. He’d disappeared for two days and come back even surlier than before. His rudeness toward Wren had only continued.

Wren took it in stride, giving as good as she got. But something was off with her. At first, I’d thought it was just nerves at living with us. Now, I was fairly certain it was something more. I could sense her wolf’s edginess. When I suggested a pack run—something that should ease her wolf—she quickly shut me down. Something was off there, and I would find out what.

Locke’s gloved fist slammed into my mitt, bringing me back to the present. He eyed me carefully before quickly dropping his gaze. “You okay?”

“Sorry,” I muttered, dropping the mitts for a moment. “I’m distracted.”

“Wren?” he asked.

I nodded. “Apparently, she’s all I can think about. Not good when my head needs to be on the mages. And the bikers, and Red River, and?—”

“King,” Locke cut me off. “We’re a team. We handle it together. It’s not all on you.”

But it sometimes felt like it was. I was the leader of this band of misfits, and if anything happened to a single one of them, I’d never forgive myself. “I keep worrying about her,” I admitted.

One corner of Locke’s mouth kicked up as he pulled off his gloves and reached for his glasses. “Me, too. But she’s starting to snap at any of us who gets too close. I don’t think she’s used to being around so many shifters.”

She was used to going it alone, but it was more. My wolf was hounding me to push Wren, get her to tell me what was wrong, and reveal the secrets she guarded so tightly. Something told me there was an endless stream.

I studied Locke for a moment. “You feel a pull toward her.”

It wasn’t a question, exactly. It was more of a prodding. I could sense that each of us felt a pull. Even Ender, who was being a dick about it all.

Locke’s cheeks reddened. “I like her. But you know I’m not good at that sort of thing.”

Locke’s negative talk about himself had me bristling. “I’m pretty sure she likes you best out of all of us. I think she’s even said as much.”

His head dipped. “As a friend. Not as anything more.”

“A spark can light in an infinite number of ways. No two bonds are alike,” I reminded him.

Locke’s eyes flared, flashing silver for a moment. “Do you think she could be a potential mate?”

Shifters had existed for as long as humankind had, but we’d always had fewer females. We were in a better state than the dragons, whose females had gotten so rare they’d almost gone extinct, but our species still had to accommodate. It had become commonplace for a female to have multiple mates. She could even have multiple true mates.

“I know she isn’t my true mate,” I admitted, my wolf snarling at that. He already considered her ours. “I didn’t feel the mating bond when I touched her or see any glimpses of our future.”

“Me neither,” Locke admitted. “But I care for her more than I should. More than makes sense for knowing her for less than two weeks.”

I mulled that one over, trying to make sense of it all. “I’ve felt a possible mating bond twice before, and those weren’t this…intense. Maybe the bond would be stronger with her. It still feels like a betrayal not to wait to see if our true mate finds us.”

It had happened before. Wolves bonding with a potential, only to have their true mate waltz in years later. The effects could be devastating.

“I don’t know, King. She just…it feels like she fits. Like it was all meant to be. Maybe the fates are bringing her to us because we don’t have a true mate. Either way, she feels like ours. Like we’re hers.”

Locke was right. Many packs didn’t have true mates at all. But no matter what, I knew I wouldn’t be able to let Wren go.

As if I’d summoned her by thoughts alone, the door to the gym opened, and she walked in, a storm brewing in her eyes. I waited for Puck or Brix to trail in after her, but no one came. Anger surged, a fury that stole all the air from my lungs. “Tell me you didn’t walk over here alone.”

Wren sent me a scathing look. “It’s all of two blocks. I think I’m okay without the constant guard.”

Her words only stoked my rage. “It’s after ten. Pitch-black. The dark mages could’ve been lying in wait.”

Wren tossed her duffel onto the floor and waved her fingers. Blue sparks of magic rooted in the water element danced across them. “I’d sense their use of magic, remember?”

“Would you sense a bullet headed straight for your chest?” I snarled. My wolf let out a vicious growl at the thought—at Wren being unprotected.

“Doubt having Puck walking next to me would make any difference for that,” she snapped.

“Two sets of eyes are better than one,” I shot back.

“Whatever,” Wren muttered, grabbing hand wraps from her bag.

My wolf pushed at my skin, letting out a keening sound. That had me snapping to attention. He sensed something off in Wren. Something wrong. I crossed the room and got into her space. “What’s wrong?”

She glared up at me. “Back up, alpha boy.”

A low growl left my throat. “I’m not a boy , and you damn well know it.”

“I said I need some space,” Wren gritted out, her back teeth gnashing together.

“King,” Locke said softly. “Don’t push her.”

My head cocked to one side as I tried to figure out what the hell was wrong. Wren’s chest rose and fell in ragged pants as if her breathing was labored. Her face was flushed and sweat dotted her brow.

“Are you sick?” I asked, moving to place a hand on her forehead. Our kind rarely got sick, but anything was possible .

The moment my hand grazed Wren’s forehead, she doubled over, letting out a sound of pure agony. Her skin was burning up like she’d been set aflame. “I need to spar,” she gritted out. “It’s the only thing that will help.”

“Help what?” I demanded.

Her gaze flew up to mine. “Going feral.”

Locke and I froze. Had she just said what I thought she had? A million things swirled in my mind as I put the pieces together. Why she hadn’t shifted around us, the fact that she was so on edge lately. Wren was scared she would lose control of her wolf.

“Wren,” I began, keeping my voice as calm and steady as I could. “When’s the last time you ran with a pack? The last time you had touch of any kind?”

Wolves were pack animals. We needed contact with our kind. It kept us mentally healthy. If we went too long without it, our animals could turn on us.

Pain filled Wren’s eyes—so much agony it could drown us all. “Years,” she croaked.

Locke moved then. He didn’t hesitate. Of course, he didn’t. Because he’d been there. He knew what it was like to go it alone. How it could break you.

He moved to Wren and wrapped himself around her. She cried out in pain, but he whispered to her and her wolf, reassuring them both. “I know it hurts. But it’s the only way.”

Wren whimpered, shaking against him. “I can’t hold her.”

I knew she meant her wolf, and I let out a curse. “On the couch,” I ordered.

Locke lifted her into his arms and carried her to the beat-up sofa against the wall, settling her in his lap. I knelt beside them, running a hand over Wren’s face, feeling her scalding skin. “It’s been too long. If you shift, you could lose control.”

“I know,” Wren rasped, her voice more smoke than words .

“You need contact, release.” I did everything I could to keep my voice restrained and my wolf in check.

Her eyes flared, realization dawning. “You mean…”

“We’re going to give you all the touch your body’s been craving for years. We’re going to make you come, and then you’re going to let your wolf free.”