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Ollie shook his head. “I told her to call the cops, then I took off after Rick. About two hundred yards into the woods, I thought I had him when he circled around to go back for her, but he was too fast. By the time I returned, he and Cameron were gone. I did my best to track her, but lost her scent down an embankment near a creek. It’s like she vanished.

I was too tired, and by the time the reinforcements showed up, I’d limped back to the truck. ”

“Ollie,” JC said, “you rest. I’ll have someone bring you something to eat, and we’ll get you cleaned up. Nate?” He inclined his head to the door. “Come with me. We’ll talk more.”

Grounding my teeth together, I followed.

My wolf was thrashing like mad in my mind, raging at me to rush out the door and hunt for Cameron myself.

It was all I could do to tamp down the irritation and the desire to bolt and go do my own thing.

All that kept me here was knowing that with the power of the Toronto pack behind me, it might be easier to find her.

JC and I sat in what obviously constituted the waiting room.

Several other shifters waited in the long row of chairs, varying expressions of worry on their faces.

Ollie must have had quite a few friends in the pack.

Despite that, I noticed a few accusatory looks cast my way.

A lone wolf was a lone wolf, always would be.

JC seemed fine with me, but old prejudices were deeply ingrained in our society.

“All right,” he said, “first things first. When I spoke to Cameron earlier, I could tell she’s got a good head on her shoulders.

” JC heaved a sigh, and the muscles of his jaw rippled under his beard as he clenched his teeth in anger.

“I’m really sorry her introduction to shifter society has been this fucked up.

As you know, it’s incredibly rare for a human to be turned.

I was hoping to make this process as seamless as possible for her. ”

“Really?” I asked, unable to keep the bitter tone out of my voice. “Ollie made it sound like there was a chance you might toss her out on her ass. Force her to be a lone wolf like me.”

JC’s face twisted into a surprised frown, and he shook his head.

“The possibility was there, yes. We have to keep the pack safe, no matter what, but I’m not a heartless animal.

She fell into this life against her will after being bitten by a feral.

The only way that she would have been rejected was if she refused to keep the secret and acted like she might be a threat to us.

From what Ollie told me, and after speaking with her, I’m pretty confident that won’t happen. She’ll be part of the pack.”

“Sure,” I grunted, and glanced at the front door, my wolf whining. He wanted to tear out of here and go looking for Cameron.

“I’m serious,” JC said, leaning in close to get my attention. “I run a good pack here.”

Something in his eyes told me he was being honest. Not surprising.

I knew Ollie well enough to know that he’d bitch and moan if the pack wasn’t doing things the right way.

The problem was that some packs weren’t like that.

Some were into illegal shit, others were very against any new members, and still more were too strict in the way they wanted their members to act.

At the back of my mind, no matter how much I said I didn’t want to be chained down by a pack, I couldn’t deny that the thought of having a group of people to rely on was comforting.

The idea of asking to join came trickling back in, like a water drip at the back of my head.

This wasn’t the time, though. I’d keep my mouth shut for now.

This was about Cameron. Everything else could wait.

“I believe you,” I said.

“Good.” JC nodded. “Can you tell me a bit about how she first turned?”

“I can agree with the fact that it was a pretty shitty way to be introduced to shifter life,” I began, leaning back in my chair, doing my best to suppress the anxiety threatening to overwhelm me and my wolf.

“Some psycho feral named Lenny Nash was killing ladies around Toronto. He’s the one who bit her. ”

“Right,” JC said. “I remember. When the rumors started, that’s when I made contact with Ollie. We were worried it might be a feral, and he asked permission to call a friend to help. You.”

“Yes. He called me in to track the guy down. One thing led to another, and we figured out the guy was likely hired by Rick Masters to seek out Cameron Torres to bite her on purpose. My theory? When this Lenny asshole attacked a woman he thought was her and realized he’d grabbed the wrong chick, he killed them.

The fact that he had trouble finding Cameron tells me he and Rick had very minimal communication during his hunt. ”

“You realize this is a huge allegation, right?” JC said, his voice grave and solemn, almost a whisper. He glanced around to see if anyone had been listening in. “The Masters family has a lot of clout in the pack.”

“I don’t give a fuck about the Masters family,” I hissed, but I kept my voice low out of respect. “That asshole went out of his way to ruin Cameron’s life. He deserves to burn.”

JC put his hand on my shoulder, a calming gesture rather than an aggressive one. I allowed it and sat back, taking a breath.

“I get it,” JC said. “We’ll figure that out later. Tell me how her first shift went. Any trauma there? I’m trying to get a mental picture of this woman.”

“No,” I replied. “It went pretty well. Happened really fast yesterday morning.” God, had it only been yesterday?

It seemed like an entire lifetime ago. “I talked her through it and did my best to keep her calm and grounded. I tried to tell her to open herself up to connect with her wolf, stuff like that. Then, a few seconds later, it was over. No real trauma, just what we always go through. She had someone there to help her through it.”

Unlike me .

“Sounds like you did a good job.” JC nodded in approval, and despite myself, a twinge of self-satisfied happiness trickled through me. I didn’t often get compliments, and this was coming from the most powerful alpha in Canada. That counted for something.

“Let’s look at things logically,” JC said. “If Ollie couldn’t track her scent, then we have to assume Rick couldn’t, either. No idea how she managed that, but we can figure that out later. Do you know if Cameron has any experience in the wilderness? Camping, hiking, anything?”

I dug through my memories of our conversations.

Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t think so.

She and her family didn’t have a lot of money growing up, and they were always working.

I doubt it. We did a lot of exploring when she first shifted.

We went far out into the woods. Between that and her home being in Toronto, we might be able to narrow down where she might have gone.

She’ll most likely have tried to back someplace familiar.

” I thought for a moment. “I’d say somewhere near the campground, or one of the wilderness corridors between there and the city. ”

The whole time I was speaking, my wolf urged me to go. He wanted to run off and search her out. There was also an undercurrent of anger toward me, which I’d never experienced from him before. He was pissed that we’d left her alone and allowed this to happen when we should have protected her.

Another reason I was itching to get away was the looks of distrust I saw on the other men’s faces. Every few seconds, someone glanced at me, and I could almost feel the animosity of their glares. A lone wolf in their midst, elbow to elbow with their alpha? They weren’t taking that well.

One older man kept shooting looks in my direction, but instead of anger, he frowned as though thinking of something. He glanced around at a few of the other men who were whispering about me. Intrigued, I crossed my arms and watched him stand.

“Hey, boss?” the man said.

“What’s up?” JC asked, turning in his chair.

“I know this guy.” He pointed at me. “Alec brought him in a few years ago for a problem he was having. He’s a good wolf.” He looked around at the others. “Say what you want about lone wolves, but he’s dependable. I’ll help you search wherever he says to start.”

Some of the other men looked surprised by the older man’s assertion. In fact, some of them turned their gazes back at me, and there was a little less distrust and more acceptance in their faces.

“Good to know, Mike. I appreciate that,” JC said slowly, and turned to give me an appreciative nod.

Alec Dupont had been the interim alpha of Toronto-Ottawa until a few years ago. He’d been the last guy I’d dealt with before leaving Canada for a while. It would have been nice to see that familiar face, but JC was doing a good job earning my trust. So far, anyway.

“I say we go now,” JC said as he stood. “Men, let’s head outside and get into groups. Someone find me a map of the area.”

The men in the waiting room leapt to their feet and dispersed. Whatever JC had done in the few years he’d been alpha, he’d done it well. Everyone took his orders as gospel from the looks of it.

“Walk with me,” JC said.

I rose and followed him outside. The pack members in the parking lot were scrambling to get ready to go out and search for Cameron.

“How about you ride with me?” JC said to me as we stepped to the side, away from prying eyes and ears.

“Really?” I asked, incredulous.

He pointed to a big F-250 sitting at the edge of the parking lot. “Absolutely. We can start looking as soon as we’ve assigned locations.”

“Okay.” I narrowed my eyes warily, unsure why he was taking such an interest in me.

“Here’s that map for you, Alpha,” a man said, handing over a folded map.

“Bring it in!” JC shouted, and everyone hustled over as JC spread the map out on a car hood.

He circled a couple places with a marker. One was the location where Ollie’s truck had been found, the other was the campground where Cameron and I had stayed. Then, to my surprise, he handed the marker to me.

“Show us the areas you think we should be looking at.”

I only hesitated for a second, wondering why he was trusting me implicitly, before bending low and making marks.

“This is a lake we visited. Here’s a hiking trail that she might remember.

This whole corridor here leads back to Toronto,” I explained as I circled the locations.

“That’s it. Those may be the places she’d head back to.

It’s the best I can think of. She’ll either be at these locations, or she’ll be somewhere along the way to these spots. ”

“You heard the man,” JC said to the group. “Nate and I will take the area closest to the campground. Everyone else, pick a spot and head on out.”

Several men came forward and took photos of the map with their phones before grouping up to create search parties. I had to admit, it was impressive.

“Let’s get out of here,” JC said to me. “They’ll sort out who’s going where.”

I had a sneaking suspicion that the reason JC wanted me alone in his truck was to give me the lowdown on what he expected of me.

As we drove out of the parking lot, I braced myself for the threats.

He’d tell me that if I started acting feral, he’d have me put down, and that if I undermined his authority, he’d make me wish I was dead.

Maybe he’d even accuse me of bringing all this drama to his doorstep.

Clenching my fists on my thighs, I tried to stay focused. I’d take any load of shit he wanted to dump on me if it meant having help finding Cameron.

“Look,” JC said quietly as we pulled onto the highway.

Here it comes , I told myself.

“This is a pretty dangerous situation we have here. Kinda volatile, actually. I’m not sure what your relationship is with this Cameron woman, but I want you to keep it on the down-low until we figure out what’s happening.

I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire of what might be some shady shit. All right?”

When he glanced at me, there was no malice or anger in his eyes.

He was actually worried about my safety.

It touched me in a way I’d never felt before.

Shifters were inherently suspicious of lone wolves, and I hadn’t anticipated this reaction from an alpha, of all people.

He was treating me like an equal rather than a nuisance or some plague he had to deal with.

If this was really how the man was, I could see why Ollie respected the guy.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said.

JC held a hand out to me, keeping his other on the wheel. “You keep your head down and play this thing the right way, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure you and Cameron make it out of this alive and well.”

I looked at the offered hand for a beat, completely thrown by the entire interaction. JC wasn’t treating me the way every other powerful alpha had treated me in the past. Maybe my preconceptions and past dealings were throwing my expectations off-base.

After only a moment’s hesitation, I reached out and shook his hand. “I think I can do that.”

JC nodded and put both hands on the wheel. “Let’s go find our lady.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, and gazed out the window.

If Cameron was out there, I’d find her. I had to. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. The shame of what had happened stained me, and my wolf wasn’t letting me forget it.