Page 5

5

JAMIE

Everything seemed to be going great.

My paws chewed up the trail as I sped through the trees on my way to the city. I was starting to feel confident that I’d be okay after all. This job would lead to others and I’d be just fine on my own.

The pack wouldn’t find me. Roderick wouldn’t find me. And I could start a new life. At least, that’s what would’ve happened if I wasn’t so careless.

The air was crisp and thin as I pulled in deep breaths. My wolf surged ahead, eager to make it to our meeting. And then the edges of my vision started to blur as I skidded down an embankment.

We didn’t want to slow down and lose the head start we’d gotten, but we couldn’t run at that pace forever. Fatigue pushed against my mind and my muscles, dulling the caution I usually exercised when running in unfamiliar territory.

Letting my instincts drive me, we veered toward the creek bed where the water would help smother my scent. My wolf leapt between the boulders, and for a moment, I felt almost safe. Until we started moving again and the ground snatched me up.

The sharp bite of the metal around my left ankle was instant and all-consuming.

I let out a sound that was more human than wolf as I yanked at my leg. But instead of releasing me, the snare clamped down harder. Thick wire twisted deep into my skin, staining my fur with bright red blood.

Panic clouded my judgment as my wolf thrashed and tugged. The trap tightened into my wound, but I didn’t care about the pain. I only cared about getting free. Roderick was bad, but there were men—human and shifters—much worse than him.

My body writhed to tear my leg free, but every movement sent a fresh wave of agony up my spine. I was as good as dead if I didn’t get out of this wretched thing.

I was starting to feel lightheaded as my body started to give up, but my wolf refused to. He was weak but wouldn’t ever let me down.

Then, suddenly, my leg tore free in a mess of fur and flesh as pain radiated through me, burning me out from the inside out. My wolf wanted to howl, but I choked him back as we limped away from the trap. We needed to put some distance between us and whoever had set it.

Panic and pain rose in me like bile, but I swallowed it all back down. I was running out of time, and my leg wouldn’t carry me far enough to be truly safe. The forest closed in on us, getting darker until I thought maybe my leg would give out altogether.

And then I saw it.

A dark hole in an outcropping of rocks and brush. There weren't any fresh scents in the area, so I assumed it was an abandoned bear den that would be my best chance at staying alive. It wasn’t a great chance, but it was all I had.

The den was more of a hole in the ground than anything, but it might as well have been a luxury resort. I crawled inside and curled up in a ball on the dirt and stone floor.

For a moment, all the pain I’d been feeling faded to a dull throb. My injury hadn’t killed me yet, but the day was young. Maybe I’d live long enough to bleed out.

It was pathetic to continue clinging to hope even as the rest of me knew I was fucked. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end, but nothing in my life was the way it was supposed to be. This was just one more reality gone wrong.

I should have been on my way to meet a new client who didn’t care about my pack or Roderick or the fucking betrothal that had ruined my life.

I should have been starting fresh in a safe and comfortable new home. Not alone in a hole, bleeding to death in the dark.

Giving in to the darkness, I shut my eyes and let the world fade for a final time.

Some time later, I woke up to the throbbing of my leg. It was bone-deep and insistent, clearly reminding me that some stitches and painkillers were in order.

Curious if I could hold any weight on it or maybe run on three legs, I tried to get up. But when I yelped in pain, a low and guttural growl sounded just outside the den. My wolf growled in response, a feeble attempt to try to echo the threat.

But I could barely move. I had no idea how long I’d been out, but clearly long enough to attract some company.

Now my safe little hole felt like a grave, and I wasn’t sure if I should try to fight my way out or just give up. My heart was pounding as I waited for a rough hand to reach in and yank me out. I could almost picture Roderick standing there, smiling like the asshole he was.

I wanted to face him with my head high—defiant till my last breath—but all I managed was a quiet whimper as my body sagged with pain and resignation.

When I finally saw some movement, it wasn’t from the rough hand of a pack member.

A glowing white wolf blocked the entrance of the den, and my breath hitched. But he didn’t look like he wanted to kill me. My nostrils flared, and I tried to sense the alpha’s mind, but he wasn’t part of my pack.

I’d never met him before.

A rogue wolf, perhaps. Or just a stranger out for a run who happened upon me.

Instead of lunging for me, the alpha shifted into an impressive mass of flesh and muscles as he crouched just inside the den. “Jamie, you don’t have to be afraid. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

I shouldn’t have trusted this stranger so easily, but I was completely at his mercy and trust was the only thing I could offer. I shifted too, cowering in a ball in the corner. “Who are you?”

“I’m Cameron Windridge.” He scooted in closer and then opened a bundle of clothes I hadn’t noticed at his feet. “I’m the private investigator you’re supposed to be meeting today.”

My eyes were glued to him as he pulled on a pair of pants and then held the jacket up toward me. “What’s that for?”

“For you.” He tossed the jacket so it landed on my body, almost completely covering my small frame. “Put it on, and I’ll take a look at your leg.”

His reminder of my injury seemed to reawaken the intense pain as jolts of fire shot through me. “Did Roderick send you?” I shrugged into the jacket because I was cold without my fur and did my best to cover myself while keeping my left leg extended in front of me.

“No, your father did.”

I recoiled, almost more afraid of that response. Being sold off to that awful man by my own father again was just too much for me to handle. “Please, no.”

He held up a hand to calm me. “Don’t worry, kid. I’m not sending you back. I know what kind of alpha Northpaw is. I don’t blame you for not wanting anything to do with him.”

My shoulders relaxed, and I leaned heavily against the wall of the den. “So why are you here?”

He held his hand over my foot, waiting for permission to take a closer look. “May I?”

I nodded and clenched my jaw as tight as my eyelids as I waited for more pain to come.

But it didn’t. All I felt was a soothing fingertip trail around my ankle before gently prodding the skin until I flinched.

“I don’t think it’s broken, but you’ll need stitches.” He grabbed a tie from his bundle and wrapped it around my gash a few times before tying it off. “Do you think you can walk or shall I carry you?”

My jaw dropped open, and I was tempted to let him carry me. But I was still a naked omega with an unmated alpha who smelled ridiculously good, so I knew that was a bad idea. “I can walk, I think.”

He nodded and looked around. “Is that backpack all you have?”

“Yeah.” I’d barely kept that attached to me after the snare, but I hadn’t lost everything. Yet. “Where are we going?”

He inhaled heavily and then rocked back on his heels. “My car broke down, but I have a first-aid kit in it. I can get you safely to the car, and then I’ll run back to call for a tow truck.”

It wasn’t a great plan, but it was better than anything I could come up with, so I held my breath and pushed forward onto my hands and knees, poised to crawl out of the small hole. “Okay, then. Let’s get going.”