“Go back to the center of the den and get tended to by one of the submissives.” Holden grinned as Theo flushed. “I meant your cuts and bruises, boy. You know those submissives hold the power while we just think we do.”
Theo raised a brow and stood up on shaky legs. “True. Sorry for fighting you.”
“Never be sorry for fighting when your wolf needs it. You did the smart thing. You waited until we were alone and not in the middle of the den center where someone would take it as a clear challenge, rather than just aggression.” He frowned. “If you’re still feeling it, talk with Soren about more duties. If you have all this energy, we might as well use it to our advantage.”
Theo snorted and ran a hand over his brand—an absentminded gesture that clawed at Holden. He remembered the day Theo had been branded. He remembered the day each of them had been.
The two of them stood naked in the middle of the forest, but it didn’t matter. At some point, he’d have to go back and find his clothes since his run had been cut short, and he didn’t know where Theo had left his before he’d shifted.
“Thanks for not making me truly bleed,” Theo said wryly.
Holden rolled his eyes, his wolf huffing. “Go to the submissives.”
Theo grinned then ran off, leaving Holden alone in the forest once again. The fight had helped him release some energy, but he still sat on the edge of control. Fighting or fucking would help with that if the run didn’t, but he figured he wouldn’t be doing either tonight. Fighting Theo hadn’t been nearly enough. As for fucking, he had to be careful when it came to females in the Pack. None of them called to his wolf so he wouldn’t be able to truly mate with them. Most of the others in the Pack could find a mate their wolves would tolerate, even if it weren’t a true mating; however, as Alpha, he needed the balance, a complete bond in every way that mattered.
And unless she magically dropped from the sky, it wouldn’t be happening. Unlike the stories of legend, shifters didn’t live forever. They only had a short time on this planet, like humans, to find the one for them and make it work. He was already in his forties and unable to meet new wolves.
He had no chance for true happiness.
His wolf pushed at him, and he let out a frustrated growl. Fuck. Between the lack of options when it came to humans and now mating, he needed to punch something. For months now, he had been running on the edge of control, and he wasn’t sure what he could do about it. He needed something to center him, and running with his wolf wasn’t cutting it anymore.
He was about to shift back to his wolf—something that would hurt to do this close to his previous shift—when the wind changed. The scent of copper hit his nose and he went on alert.
Blood.
Human blood.
Knowing full well he could be running into a trap, he padded on human feet toward the origin of the scent. If he didn’t, he could be risking his Pack even more. Human guards patrolled the gates, but they didn’t come out this far often. There weren’t any homes out here, and his people only used the forested area for runs and hunts.
It could be something as simple as a human guard having cut themselves accidentally, but he had a gut feeling it was something far worse. His wolf at the surface, he crept toward the source of the metallic scent. He couldn’t scent any humans other than the injured one. In fact, the stench of near-death became so potent, he was afraid he was too late.
This was a body dump.
A shadowed lump lay in a macabre pile on the shifter’s side of the fence. He let out a low growl and prowled closer.
Shit.
Someone had sure done a number on her. They’d cut her up so old and new scars covered her body. When they’d dropped her over the high fence, they’d broken her bones—and perhaps had done that before she’d come to them. She lay naked with her long, tangled hair covering her face. Her chest rose softly in pained gasps, and he knew she lived—but not for long.
Whoever had done this had sliced her up in ways that made his stomach want to revolt. He’d seen unimaginable horrors in his years and had even been on the receiving and giving ends of such memories, but this…this was too much.
He crept closer and sucked in a breath.
They’d fucking vivisected her. How the hell was she even alive?
Death edged closer; it was only a matter of time before she’d let out her last breath. There was nothing he could do. The humans who had done this—he scented their stench around her—had placed her on the shifter’s land for a reason. If he had to venture a guess it was to place blame. It wasn’t the first time the SAU—Shifter Accommodation Unit—had played this game. And it wouldn’t be the last.
He let out a breath, knowing this woman suffered. He could either let her die in agony, or make it a swift death for her. His wolf whimpered, and he frowned. That was an odd response. His wolf didn’t whimper. Ever.
Mate.
It wasn’t a whisper. Not a word. Not even a true voice. But a feeling along the bond to his wolf where he’d only felt aggression and pain for so long.
It had to be a mistake. There was no way this dying human was his mate. It couldn’t be. With a shaking hand, he brushed her hair from her face and fell to his knees.
Mate.
Her eyelashes fluttered but she didn’t wake. A single tear mixed with the dirt and blood on her face slid down her cheek and he brushed it away. Fuck. This couldn’t be happening. He’d found his mate only to watch her die.
He knew what he could do—knew what he could have done in an age past. But it was truly forbidden now. He licked his lips, and his wolf pounded at him to do the one thing he couldn’t as Alpha. Not anymore.
Only he wasn’t sure he could hold himself back.
Knowing he was about to break the one rule as Alpha that held his people together, he pulled away from the woman and shifted back to wolf. It hurt like fucking hell, but nothing compared to what she must have felt just then.
Once he did this, he’d risk everything he and his people had fought for. As Alpha, he shouldn’t do this, but as a man, he couldn’t not.
He said a prayer asking forgiveness and bit into her shoulder. She let out a gasp, but didn’t thrash—she was far too close to death for that. The sweet, tangy taste of her blood settled on his tongue and he pulled away before biting her belly and thighs. The more fleshy places he bit, the stronger the chance the change would take.
If she lived, she would shift as he did.
If she lived, he would have to hide her from the prying eyes of the humans who collared them. For the humans had no idea how to make shifters. As far as the humans knew, shifters were born, not made. With this one bite, he risked the secret they’d kept since revealing their existence twenty-five years ago.
Yet his wolf pushed him and he knew he’d made the right decision.
At least that’s what he prayed. Because if he hadn’t, he’d sentenced himself and his people to certain death.
Once again.
Chapter 2
The overwhelming agony that had become a pulsing, steady presence in her life slowly receded to a dull roar. That couldn’t be good, and probably meant only one thing.
Ariel Sands was dead.
Though after so many weeks, months—was it years?—straddling the line between death and the unyielding fire of life, she wasn’t sure she could be too upset about her life coming to an end. Maybe this was for the best. She wouldn’t hurt anymore. Her throat wouldn’t burn from the screaming. Her nose wouldn’t itch from the scent of her own blood as the butchers played with their new toy.
Bile coated her tongue and she swallowed.
Wait. Could she swallow if she were dead? That didn’t make much sense, but she’d never been dead before so she didn’t quite know.
“What the fuck did you do, Holden?”
The deep shout startled her and she pried open her eyes. Well, hell, it seemed she wasn’t dead. But where the fuck was she? She almost tried to move, but froze. What if her captors heard
her? It never failed to be worse when the so-called doctors found her awake after a long sleep.
A few things had changed since the last time she’d woken up after passing out. First, it felt as though she was lying on a bed with a comfortable mattress and blankets rather than a hard metal table. She held back the instinct to scream out or even let out a relieved breath. This could be a test. The doctors could want to see what she would do once she thought she was comfortable…or safe.
She’d never be safe again.
She’d known that from the first needle prick against her will.
“I did what had to be done, Soren.”
That voice. Ariel stiffened at that voice. It wasn’t familiar, at least it shouldn’t have been, but for some reason, she felt as if she’d heard it before. Or maybe someone like it. The deep timbre slid over her, increasing her heartbeat yet calming her at the same time. What the hell was going on?
“What you had to do?” the other man, Soren, she thought it was, yelled once again. “You broke our laws. You turned her, Alpha. You risked the lives of our people, our way of life because, what? She’s a pretty face? How the fuck could you have seen that with all the blood on her?”
Turned? Alpha? Laws?
Ariel shook, this couldn’t be happening.
She had a bad feeling she wasn’t inside the SAU lab anymore.
A really bad, freaking feeling.
“If you weren’t fucking yelling, you’d hear her heartbeat has changed, Soren. Now go. I will take care of this.”
A low growl came from one of them, and Ariel clutched the bed sheets. Shit. She needed to get out of here. If these where who she thought they were, she needed to find a weapon. Fuck. Did he say turned?
No, that couldn’t have been right.
Shifters were born, not made.
Everyone knew that.
Didn’t they?
Oh, fuck.
How was this man, this Holden, going to take care of this? She opened her eyes and quickly closed them again. The bright light overhead made her head pound, and her stomach wanted to revolt. Her heart began to race at the sound of footsteps coming closer, and she waited for whoever it was to see her. She’d fight them off if she could, but if these were shifters, then she was screwed.
Those animals killed people.
Everyone knew it…or at least that’s what she’d been told.
“You’re awake.”
She tried to sit up at the sound of his voice and winced. She might not hurt as much now as she had before, but she still wasn’t up to a hundred percent.
“Don’t move. You’re hurting yourself.” The man barked the order, as if he were used to people following his every command. For all she knew, he was.
Knowing she needed a good look at her captor, she once again pried her eyes open. This time, it felt as though someone had knocked her in the chest.
Dear Lord, was her kidnapper supposed to be that sexy?
His dark hair spiked a little on the top of his head, but the rest had been cut short to show off the hard angles of his face. His tanned skin looked as if he worked hard outdoors and used his hands. Every inch of him was toned, muscled, and rock hard, but he didn’t look like one of those scary, body builders who couldn’t walk through a door without turning sideways. His eyes were a piercing blue, like two pools of water that went deeper and deeper. He fisted his hands at his sides, and while she wanted to think he was trying to keep himself from doing…something…she didn’t want to find out what would happen when he let go. The dark brand of a tribal wolf on his forearm looked like it still hurt, while the tattoo on one side didn’t look as bad. The metal collar around his neck stood out and confirmed what she’d already suspected.
He was a shifter.
“Who are you?” she croaked. Hell, her throat hurt.
Holden frowned and stalked over to the side table, the muscles on his thighs bunching as he moved. Why was she so fixated on his thighs? She needed to find a way out of here and get back home…wherever home was.
He poured her a glass of water from a pitcher and handed it to her. “Drink.”
“Bossy much?” she rasped. Probably not the best idea to antagonize the literal beast, but she couldn’t help herself. She was scared, and when that happened, she acted like she was a tough bitch.
He merely raised a brow and reached out with his free hand to cup the back of her head. She tried to pull away but he held her in place. Damn, the man was strong.
“Drink.”
She did not trust this man or his attitude. Instead of complying, she pressed her lips together.
Holden sighed and took a sip of the water himself. “It’s not poison.”
“If you’re a shifter, then you’re not going to die from poison.” She immediately closed her mouth again. Fuck. She hadn’t meant to say that. What if he wasn’t a shifter and just a normal kidnapper? The fact that she’d just thought the words ‘normal kidnapper’ made her want to reevaluate her life choices.
Holden’s eyes widened a fraction, betraying his surprise at her words. “Drink the water and soothe your throat. We have a lot of shit to talk about, and you pussy-footing around isn’t helping.”
“Don’t say pussy-footing. It's degrading to women.” Dear, God. She needed to shut up before he killed her for being annoying.
Holden snorted then shook his head. “You’re right. Considering the women I know can kill most men with just one claw, I should stop saying that. Habit. Now drink the motherfucking water.”
Her throat ached so she opened her mouth and let him press the glass to her lips. He tilted it slightly so she could drink without choking. The water instantly cooled the burning ache, and she greedily gulped more before he pulled it away. Her chest lifted quickly, her breathing back under control.
“More?” he asked, and she shook her head. She hadn’t had a decent meal or drink in who knew how long, and while she craved it, she didn’t want to hurt herself more by doing too much, too fast.
He nodded and put the glass on the table. “We have a lot to talk about.”
They did, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. “You didn’t answer my first question. Who are you?”
He folded his arms over his chest, making him look even scarier. “I’m Holden Carter, Alpha of the River Pack.”
So he was a shifter. “I’ve never heard of the River Pack. I thought all of you lived in SAU compounds.”
Holden lifted a lip in a snarl. “The Shifter Accommodation Unit labeled our compounds. This one is Canine Compound G. But we have our own names, our own traditions. We are the River Pack.”
Canine. That meant he was a wolf. The freaking Alpha wolf, leader of all the others in the compound, or Pack—whatever he wanted to call them. All she knew were the stories of shifters she’d been told since she’d been born. At twenty-five, her birth had come at the end of the Verona virus outbreak, and she’d never met a shifter. At least she didn’t think so. The animals had been put in their compounds during her first few months of life. Looking at the man in front of her, though, she internally winced at the word animal. He looked so…human. Maybe using that degrading word put her in the same camp as the so-called SAU humans who had cut her open to watch her bleed.
Bile once again rose in her throat and she closed her eyes, the nausea receding slowly.
“Your scent is off,” Holden said, bringing her out of the memories of screams and blood. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” she lied.
“You’re lying, but we will deal with that later as long as you are physically okay.” He narrowed his eyes but she didn’t look away. She had a feeling if she did, he’d feel as if he’d won. Why she thought that, she had no idea. Maybe the doctors had messed with her brain when they’d been slicing up everything else.
“Why did I find you on the perimeter of the compound, broken and bleeding?” he asked, bringing her to the present.
“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to sit up. On
ly then did she look down at herself and gasp. “Where are my clothes?” She might be wearing a sheet, but that was it. Why am I covered in dried blood? Where are my cuts? Why do I have so many old scars?
Holden cursed and knelt down by the bed so he was at eye level with her. “Tell me you aren’t a plant. Tell me you had nothing to do with what happened to you, and you’re an innocent bystander in all this.”
Her hands shook, and she pulled the sheet closer. “Why am I here?”
“Answering questions with questions will get us nowhere.”
She glared. “Well, you’re doing it, too.”
He gave a curt nod and let out a sigh. “You need to answer me, woman. I don’t even know your name, and you are in my territory. I need to know if you will harm my people. Then I can work on what you need, but I can’t do that if I don’t know where we stand.”
“My name is Ariel,” she said, knowing that much she could give away. Of course, she didn’t have many secrets to hide anyway. She still didn’t know why the humans had taken her to study in the first place. For some reason, she had a feeling this Holden would tell her more than the SAU ever did, but she’d have to be careful. She wanted to go home, get clean, and forget the sound of her screams. Only she didn’t think that would be an option anymore—not when she found herself in the middle of a wolf Pack with no memory of how she’d gotten there.
Holden’s eyes darkened a moment, and he let out a breath. “Ariel. Like the mermaid.”
“It was big around the time I was born,” she bit out.
“You’re a baby then,” he murmured.
“I’m old enough.” For what, she didn’t know. And now they were getting off track. “As for where you found me, I don’t know how I got there.” She swallowed hard, knowing she might be making the biggest mistake of her life. “The SAU took me from my home and into their compound. It was like a hospital of sorts. I don’t know how long I was there, but they…”—she took a deep breath—“...they studied me. Cut me up. Watched me bleed. Called me Test Subject A. I don’t know what they wanted or why I was there, but I didn’t have anything to do with it. The last thing I remember was screaming because they were cutting into my stomach and didn’t use any anesthesia. Knowing the way the bastards work, they probably just dumped my body here to blame you.”