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Saturday morning, Zara waited for Tris to change into what she referred to as “scrounging clothes” so she could accompany her on another forage trip. Zara had such a good time with Nancy that Tris said she wanted a chance to see what was around the territory too. The foraging book and log were in a bag she’d found out shopping with Crew. It had several interior pockets, which held her foraging tools and her book plus mesh bags for any plants they found.

The golf cart’s little engine whirred noisily as Tris took the corner, coming into the gravel driveway and zipping toward the house.

“I wear these boots when I’m mucking in the barn,” she said as she got out, adjusting the baseball cap she said she’d stolen from Khyle. “They’ll be great for a hike in the territory.”

“Definitely,” Zara said. “Do you need to be back by any certain time? I thought we could walk around until lunch if you’re not busy.”

“Nope, I’m free for the day, at least until we need to get the big dinner going. And you’re not going to help since it’s your special night. Everyone is pitching in so we can have a fun evening, and you’re just going to enjoy yourself.”

“You all are so sweet,” she said.

“Before I forget,” Tris said, “lemme see the ring!”

Zara’s cheeks pinked as she recalled how amazing last night was. Not only had Crew set up a very romantic dinner, but he’d proposed to her at sunset and then he’d rocked her world on the dock and at the farmhouse. She’d practically passed out from pleasure and fallen into a deep sleep snuggled up in his arms.

The ring was beautifully perfect, with a pink center stone ringed with white sapphires. Pink was her favorite color, and she wasn’t sure how he’d known exactly what she would have picked out for herself, but he did amazing. He’d even gotten it engraved on the inside: Forever Soulmates.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Tris said. “I love the stone. Congratulations!”

“Thank you, I love it too.”

They walked away from the farmhouse down the path that Zara and Nancy had gone, setting her step counter to zero on her phone so she could track where they were if they found anything good.

“The mint was awesome,” Tris said. “What else do you think you might find?”

“I’m not sure, there’s no way to know what’s around unless we see it. I was surprised to see blueberries and blackberries growing wild, and the mint was a surprise too.”

“Khyle built me a mini herb garden last spring so I could grow some of my favorites,” Tris said.

“Like what?”

“Basil, thyme, rosemary. I use it all in cooking.”

“I love how rosemary smells.”

“Me too! I have a blue cheese and rosemary sauce for pasta that’s really something special. I’ll make it sometime.”

“Sounds awesome.”

As they walked, sticking to the tree line to avoid the already-hot summer sunshine, they discussed living in Little River and being surrounded by nature, and all the fun things they could forage or grow in their gardens.

“You seem really happy,” Tris said. “Much happier than when you first came here.”

“I am,” Zara said. “Love will do that to a person.”

“Oh for sure. I just remember meeting you and thinking you looked so sad and defeated.”

“I wasn’t happy,” she mused. “I hadn’t really been happy since my parents died, honestly. But even before then, being in the herd with basically a tyrant for an alpha and so isolated, it was easy to feel defeated and wonder what the future held.”

“I love that you’re here and you and Crew are soulmates, I’m so glad you’re finished with that awful Colton and his males. They gave me the creeps.”

“Same.”

Zara paused and looked at a patch of tall grass. Stepping closer, she pinched a piece off a hollow leaf and rubbed it between her finger and thumb, and gave a sniff.

“Oh wow,” she said.

“What is that?” Tris asked. “Wait, do I smell garlic?”

“Yep,” Zara said, holding the leaf to Tris so she could smell it. “Wild garlic. In the spring you can harvest the leaves and they’re really mild in flavor, but in the summer the bulbs can be harvested. This is a big patch; let’s take about a third of it so we don’t over-harvest it. What a cool thing to find!”

They took trowels that Zara had packed in her bag and gently dug up the garlic bulbs, placing them in a mesh bag. When they’d harvested enough without damaging the ecosystem, they returned to their walking after Zara had logged the area and findings in her book.

“Girl, you just saved me so much money,” Tris said with a chuckle. “I can do so much with fresh garlic and man do I love to roast it too. Do you like pesto?”

“Yep,” Zara said, smiling at Tris’s enthusiasm.

They kept walking, talking about their lives and sharing their hopes for the future. Tris and Khyle were ready to start a family now that they were in their own home. Zara could relate—she couldn’t wait to start a family with Crew.

She opened her mouth to answer Tris’s question about how big a family she and Crew were thinking of having when suddenly the ground gave way beneath her. She screamed as her foot plunged into a hidden pit and she tumbled forward, landing hard on her hands and knees.

Immediately, sharp pain lanced through her ankle and she gasped, clutching at it instinctively as she rolled to her side.

“Zara!” Tris was at her side in seconds, dropping to her knees. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Zara winced and tried to catch her breath. “There’s a hole there, but it was…covered with leaves and grass.” Was it a trap?

Tris glanced at the ground where Zara’s foot had broken through. “Okay, that’s a manmade hole, Zara. It’s not very deep, but someone put leaves and grass and branches over it to conceal it. This isn’t natural,” Tris said with a low voice.

“Damn it, it hurts,” Zara said, biting her lip and gingerly trying to move her ankle. A sharp, stabbing pain made her stop. “It’s sprained maybe, but I don’t think it’s broken.”

“You can’t walk on that,” Tris said. “It’s already swelling. Lemme call one of the guys for help.”

She lifted her phone and looked at it, then frowned. “I don’t have a signal out here. Do you?”

Zara’s hands were trembling so much from the pain that she couldn’t pull her phone from the satchel, so Tris did. “You don’t have a signal either; this must be a dead zone. Shit.”

Since no shifters ever called 911, Zara said, “You can run and get help. Crew and Ford were working in the storage barn.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” Tris said. She scanned the area with a frown. “Someone dug this hole and covered it deliberately.”

“Can’t you use your wolfy senses to figure out if we’re being watched right now? I don’t sense anyone, but I know your senses are sharper than mine.”

Tris looked at the woods beyond where they were, her eyes bleeding to amber. She inhaled deeply and tilted her head in silence for a long moment. Then she shook her head, her eyes returning to normal. “I don’t hear or smell anything, and I don’t see anyone lurking.”

“You have to go. I can’t move—it hurts too badly.”

“I’ll be fast, I promise.” Tris dug out the garden knife Zara had packed in the bag and took it out of its sheath. “Here, this at least is sharp, it’s better than nothing.”

“Thanks.” Zara was having a hard time concentrating because the pain radiating from her ankle was getting worse. How did such a small part of her body cause so much pain? “Hurry.”

“I will.” Tris gave one last look to the trees and then raced away.

Alone, Zara’s nerves frayed as she watched the trees. Every small sound, every snap of twig or rustle of leaves, made her heart pound. She tried to sit up more, but hissed in pain as her ankle throbbed. Gripping the knife, she stared intently at the trees.

There! Was that shadow moving? Was that dark clothing or just the sunlight making long shadows that moved with the trees?

She was going to have a damn panic attack if she didn’t calm down, and that wouldn’t do her any good. Forcing herself to focus on her breathing, she listened intently and realized she wasn’t hearing anything out of the ordinary, just the woods and the wildlife. The shadows were simply shadows, she realized, as she opened her eyes and looked with a calmer eye. But the deliberate trap lingered in her mind, and she couldn’t help but worry at the fact she was a sitting duck right now.

The minutes stretched on, and she strained to hear any sign of help coming.

She adjusted her grip on the knife, which she was in no way trained to use in a defensive way but was certainly better than nothing, and willed herself to remain calm. “Tris will bring Crew and he’ll get me back to the farmhouse,” she whispered to herself.

Soon, she hoped.