Page 66 of Wolf's Vow

“Report,” I snapped.

“Ambush,” Brand growled. “Western line. Patrols hadn’t even cleared the bend before the rogues hit. Fast. Organized. Someone told them where we’d be.”

I knelt beside Perry, hand already on his chest, pressing gently. “You’re losing blood too fast. I’ll help you.” He grabbed my wrist weakly.

Shift.

His body shuddered, the pain overriding his need.

Shift,I commanded again. I heard his whimper. I brought my Will forth.SHIFT.

The shift happened almost in slow motion. I felt every bone of his body crack. Axel winced beside me. My Will held over Perry’s shift, my body poised, ready to kill anyone who came near us.

The wolf howled, driven by fear and pain, trying to rise.

Stay down,I commanded.Shift.

Perry looked up at me, eyes clearer, the blood still flowing. “Alpha.”

I gave him an encouraging smile. “One more time for me,” I said softly.Shift.

The shift was easier, the wolf rose, shook its body, a snarl in its throat as it looked at its back leg.

Shift.

Perry rose to his feet, blood on his body, sweat on his brow. “That fucking hurt.”

Brand chuckled, pulling the younger man nearer, checking his injury. “One more shift,” he told him. “Wound’s still open.”

Perry shifted without my help, quick, smoothly, like it was supposed to be. When he shifted back, Brand handed him a pair of shorts from his pack.

“Did you see them?” I asked. “Did you see anything?”

He nodded, his eyes suddenly wary as he looked between the three of us.

“Perry?” I held his stare. “Tell me.”

His voice came through the mindlink. It was barely a whisper as he spoke one word.

A name. It hit me like a fist to the gut.

I froze.

“What did he say?” Brand asked behind me.

I didn’t answer. I kept my gaze on Perry. He drew in a shaky breath, his eyes wide.

“Do you need to shift again?” I asked him. He shook his head. “Where are your patrol?”

“I don’t know. I got here to meet them and then…” He looked down at the blood on the grass. “That happened.”

I looked down at my hand, which was still wet with blood. “Why didn’t you meet them in the pack hall?”

“We changed that practice,” Axel told me, but he was looking at Perry. “We didn’t change that youdon’twalk among this Hollow alone.”

It was a hard fact to accept, but it was necessary right now. No wonder the packs wouldn’t—couldn’t—blend. No one wanted to be alone with someone from another pack.

Two weeks and I was no closer to healing the divide.