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  I turn on my heel, then freeze mid-step. Only a yard away from me, there’s a wolf partially hidden by shrubs and shadows. I swallow hard as my body’s immediate reaction is to panic. But I quickly take control of my emotions like Grandpa taught me.

  The wolf’s low growl tells me it wants to make a meal out of me. Not tonight, buddy.

  Slowly, I bring the muzzle of the shotgun up and take aim. The wolf moves forward, his growling much louder now. Despite the confidence in my shooting skills, I can’t help the spike of adrenaline that shoots up my veins. It’s the thrill of the hunt. My finger twitches against the trigger, ready, but I don’t want to kill the animal. When the creature takes another step forward and howls, I move the aim slightly to its left and press the trigger. But instead of a loud bang, there’s only the pitiful sound of a low click.

  “Ah, hell,” I say right before the wolf pounces.

  Chapter 2

  Tristan

  The sound of my labored breathing rings in my ears as my fists crash against the punching bag. The gym is silent and empty, just the way I like it. I have lost track of time, but the soreness in my muscles and the sheen of sweat covering my skin tells me I’ve been here a while. I could go on for hours without stopping. Pain is something I learned to ignore at an early age, a necessary skill for an alpha’s son.

  The last thing I want is to think about the pack’s hierarchy or the shit storm that will come when my father dies. I have more pressing problems occupying my mind. The company’s biggest construction project has been on halt since that witch of a mayor decided she doesn’t like our kind anymore. For two weeks now, my guys have been waiting for the signal to start working on Wolfe Corp’s newest development. I don’t want to lose them, so I’ve been paying the guys a salary for sitting on their asses. On top of that, all the house units have been sold. If the company doesn’t deliver the final product by the deadline, we’ll have to pay a huge fine. We’re bleeding money.

  I hit the punching bag harder. The relationship between the pack and Mayor Montgomery has always been difficult, but things changed for the worse after Dad went to a meeting with the woman a month ago. He never said what was discussed, but he must have pissed her off royally because now she’s exacting her revenge on the company.

  Wolfe Corp employs most of the pack. If it folds, our members will be in dire financial situations. I can’t allow that to happen. Not everyone in Crimson Hollow is aware they live side by side with supernatural creatures. To keep the secret from spreading, the supernatural community runs their own businesses and employs their own kind. It’s a solution that has worked since the town was founded centuries ago, but now the mayor seems keen on fucking it up.

  I pull my arm back, then swing a punch so powerful it breaks the punching bag’s chain, sending it flying across the room. The door to the gym opens, and Lyria stops under the frame. She eyes the punching bag on the floor before turning her gaze to me.

  “What did that bag do to you?”

  Not waiting for my answer, she waltzes in wearing skin-tight workout clothes that leave nothing to the imagination. I can’t help how my body reacts to her. She’s one of the most beautiful females in the pack and a beta, which makes her an ideal match. Even so, I’ve kept Lyria at arm’s length despite her attempts to seduce me.

  Giving her my back, I walk to the corner and grab a towel from my duffel on the floor. “The chain must have been loose.”

  “Yes, made loose by the way you were hitting the bag.” Lyria stops behind me, touching my arm with the tips of her fingers. “You know, Tristan. There are other ways to relieve stress.”

  Knowing it’s a mistake, I turn to face her. There’s barely any space between our bodies, and the mating scent Lyria radiates is beginning to make my head swim. My will can only go so far before the animal instinct takes over. She watches me with a knowing glance, lips curling into a victorious smirk. I can’t blame her; I’m on the verge of giving in. Fuck my reservations. My dick is already standing at attention. It has been weeks since I slept with someone. And by that, I mean a regular woman, not a member of the pack. In my position, I can’t afford casual relationships with any female wolf.

  Grabbing Lyria by the hips, I pull her closer. “What do you suggest, Beta?”

  A glint of pride shines in the brunette’s eyes. If she were a cat, she would have purred. “Come back to my place and I’ll show you.”

  She brushes her hand against my crotch before squeezing my erection, making me growl. I narrow my eyes and lean in, ready to seal my fate and fuck Lyria right here on this gym floor.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking all over you,” Billy, the pack’s omega, says from the door.

  I let go of Lyria. When I step back, the distance sobers me up. Shit. That was close.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Billy?” Lyria glares at the kid.

  “Dr. Mervina wants to speak to Tristan.” He shrugs. “She says it’s urgent.”

  My mood changes instantly, the sense of urgency overriding the lust that clouded my judgment only a few moments ago. I head out of the room without a backward glance at Lyria, Billy following close behind. As the omega, he’s the weakest wolf in the pack. There’s no doubt Lyria will take her frustration out on him whenever the chance arrives. Probably sooner rather than later. Even knowing Billy is following orders, I can’t and won’t interfere. Every wolf in the pack has a role, and the omega’s is to serve as a scapegoat for the rest of us. Wolves are aggressive by nature, and that anger must go somewhere. Otherwise, chaos ensues.

  “Did my mother say what this is about?” I ask to distract him, knowing my mom, the female alpha, hadn’t told Billy anything.

  “Nope. Only that it was urgent.”

  After leaving the second largest building in the compound, I cross the small square toward the main house where my parents live. My brothers and I still have rooms there, but we have our own places elsewhere. My apartment is in the city, above Wolfe Corp’s office.

  Bypassing the main double doors, I veer toward the side of the house where the entrance to my mother’s clinic is. A veterinarian before she became a wolf, her profession came in handy when she married into the pack. She still has her practice in town.

  As I predicted, I find Mom in her office. She’s usually a calm person, but she’s pacing back and forth in front of her desk with her eyebrows furrowed. She pauses when she sees me standing by the door. Her gaze shifts to Billy, who is still behind me.

  “Thanks, Billy. You can leave now. Tristan, close the door, please.” She moves behind her desk, but doesn’t take a seat. Instead, she grabs the back of the chair and lowers her gaze.

  I do as she asks, catching a glint of disappointment in Billy’s eyes. Omega or not, the kid loves to be in the know. He’s the biggest gossiper in the pack.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask after I hear Billy retreat.

  She raises her gaze to mine. “There’s a blood moon tonight. You need to patrol the Irving Forest area.”

  “A blood moon?” I clench my jaw hard, trying not to scoff at her statement. Mom has the sight just like my brother Dante does, and their sixth sense has helped the pack many times in the past. However, one thing I don’t believe in is anything that has to do with hocus pocus BS like the blood moon myth. It’s the sort of gibberish that only the witches in town take seriously.

  Irritated, I continue, “Is that truly your emergency, or did you just call me in here because you saw what Lyria was up to?”

  Mom narrows her eyes. Despite being a foot taller and stronger than her, I take a step back. I should know better than to cross Mervina Wolfe.

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. However, my intervention came in good time. You reek of her disgusting scent.”

  Crossing my arms, I grind my teeth. Mom has never liked Lyria, nor made any attempt to hide her feelings. I’ve always wondered if her animosity stemmed from the same source as my hesitancy did. Nevertheless, I’m a fucking adult. I
don’t need my mother meddling in my affairs.

  “Why the Irving Forest? What’s going on there?” I change the subject before I say something I’ll regret.

  Mom’s angry expression morphs back into one of worry. She shakes her head, staring at a spot over my shoulder. “I don’t know what’s wrong exactly. All I know is that you have to get there quickly.”

  “Okay, I’ll get Seth and a couple of enforcers.”

  “No!” Mom raises her arm, her eyes as round as saucers. “You must go alone. Your brothers will meet you there.”

  “I haven’t seen Dante in days, and Samuel has a gig tonight.”

  Mom’s stoic expression doesn’t waver. It’s like she hasn’t heard a word I said. “They will be there. Now go!”

  Dismissed, I leave her office. Billy sits on one of the benches in the hallway. The kid springs to his feet when he sees me.

  “Do you need me to go fetch Seth?”

  Shit. I doubt he overheard my conversation with Mom, but he must have read that something serious is going on from my expression. But I can’t have him spreading rumors, so I stop in front of the omega and stare hard.

  “You won’t say a word about my mother summoning me. Is that clear?”

  Billy blanches and nods. As the pack’s beta, my command is to be followed in the alpha’s absence or there will be hell to pay. The kid isn’t stupid.

  I continue down the hall, then exit the building through the back door. It leads to the forest surrounding the compound. I strip off my clothes, folding them neatly and placing them on a lonely metal chair by the door before summoning the primordial powers that course through my veins. My skin tingles, something that always happens before the shift. I feel my joints crack, then my muscles contract and expand. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. The change isn’t as painful as it sounds, or maybe I’m used to it. Being a shifter is all I have ever known, unlike my mother who was turned into one by my father, the pack’s alpha.

  When I open my eyes again, I’m in wolf form. My senses are sharper, my emotions amplified. Everything is more when I surrender control to the beast.

  Raising my snout to the moon, I howl, then take off in the direction of Irving Forest. By car, it would take ten minutes to get there, but cutting through the woods on the speed of four powerful legs, I can probably make it in five.

  Halfway there, I catch the scent of another shifter. My wolf bristles while the man inside curses. It isn’t one of us, but a wolf from the Shadow Creek pack. What the hell is one of those mutts doing there?

  I barely finish the thought before I smell fresh blood followed by a woman’s scream.

  Chapter 3

  Red

  My instinct is to dodge out of the way, but I force myself to remain steady and use the shotgun as a bat. I almost don’t have time to pull my arm far enough back to swing before the wolf is on me. A loud smack, the sound of metal slamming onto bone, then the animal lets out a whimper as it falls on its side.

  Now I run.

  Adrenaline boosts me forward, but I have no hopes of making it back home before the wolf catches up with me. I need to climb a tree, but I’m in the densest part of the forest. The trees are ancient, too tall for me to reach their lowest branches. It’s almost impossible to see anything in front of me as well.

  I’m so fucked.

  I sense the wolf right behind me. As crazy as it sounds, I can almost hear its paws hitting the ground, getting closer and closer. Think, Red, think. Spotting a dark shape straight ahead, I veer for it. It’s a large boulder. It’s not as good as a tree, but I climb it just the same, slipping once on the mossy surface. I’m not safe by any stretch of the imagination, but at least now I have the higher ground.

  I don’t have time to catch my breath before the animal reaches me, stopping by the foot of the rock. Instead of trying to climb, the wolf begins to circle my useless island, snarling as it goes. I clutch the shotgun tighter, my muscles tense and ready.

  “So you’ve learned your lesson, huh, buddy? How is the side of your head?” I ask, if only to keep the panic at bay.

  The wolf’s snarls sound angrier, as if the beast understands I’m taunting him. And yet, I can’t stop doing it.

  It’s official. I’ve gone insane.

  “Why don’t you put your tail between your legs, so we can call it a night? I won’t tell your friends.”

  The wolf decides it has had enough, and it jumps to my right. I move out of the way, only to realize the wolf is smarter than I thought. It changes course faster than I can blink, coming at me from the left. To avoid getting my leg stuck between the wolf’s sharp teeth, I leap out of the way, but I overcompensate and lose my footing on the slippery rock. It’s like everything happens in slow motion. I use the gun to keep my balance, leaving my back exposed. The wolf pounces on me before I can get out of the way. I let out a scream as I fall—for all the good that does. It’s the middle of the night, and no one can hear me this far out in the woods. Before I hit the ground, the wolf bites my shoulder. It’s like I’ve been punctured by a blazing rod.

  Motherfucker.

  The white-hot pain is sharp; it robs me of breath. It burns, almost blinding me. It gets worse as the wolf’s teeth sink farther into my flesh, tearing my muscles. I have to get the animal off me or I’m dead meat. But as hard as I thrash, I can’t dislodge the beast. A metallic smell reaches my nose. It’s blood—my blood.

  Impossible, a person cannot smell blood like that.

  Sticky wetness drenches my clothes, and I feel the strength draining from me.

  No! My name might be Red, but I’m not going to be eaten by the Big Bad Wolf.

  Stretching my arm, I try to grasp the gun that fell not too far from me. I grunt as the wolf bites me again. Weirdly enough, the pain isn’t as acute. Maybe I’m in shock. My fingers barely brush the end of the shotgun when another snarl joins the fray. In the next second, the wolf on my back is gone.

  It takes me a couple of breaths to understand what’s happening. There are two wolves now, fighting in a battle to the death. Inching forward, I pull the gun toward me and prepare to stand, but my eyes remain glued to the savage dance in front of me—or more precisely, on the new wolf. Even in the gloom, his white fur is a stark contrast to his surroundings. He’s bigger than the darker wolf that attacked me, but the size difference doesn’t stop his opponent. In fact, that son of a bitch seems to be winning the fight.

  I’m snapped out of my stupor at the howling of another wolf in the distance. Shit, if I don’t move, I’ll become wolf chow for sure. But even faced with imminent danger, my body doesn’t cooperate. My first attempt to rise is an utter fail. I crawl in the boulder’s direction, the progress too slow for my liking. I need to get the hell out of here. My vision is getting worse by the second, and I’m also lightheaded. I’m going to pass out soon, and I can’t allow that to happen.

  Leaning against the rock, I slowly unfurl from the ground. The sound of wolves fighting continues behind me, but I’m afraid to look in their direction. Somehow, it’ll signal that their prey—me—is escaping. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, I use the gun as a crutch. Of all the days for my beloved heirloom to fail, it had to be the one time I needed it to save my life. Isn’t that ironic?

  The dark forest looks the same in all directions, and I don’t know which way Grandma’s house is anymore. I begin to move at a snail’s pace in the direction I think the stream is. It leads to Mr. Anderson’s apple orchard. Maybe if I get wet, it will help disguise my scent so the wolves can’t follow me. Yeah, wishful thinking, Red.

  I’m grasping at straws, but it’s the best solution I’ve got. It turns out I’m not too far from it. Without thinking, I stumble straight in the shallow, cold water. The problem is that I forgot how fucking slippery the moss-covered rocks are. It only takes me two steps before I lose my balance and fall on my ass.

  A desperate sob bubbles up my throat, and tears prickle my eyes. I’m never getting out of this mes
s. I’m either going to bleed to death or be eaten alive by whichever wolf wins the fight.

  No, Amelia. Don’t you dare give up now.

  The voice of encouragement in my head doesn’t belong to me. It’s similar to those other strange thoughts that have plagued my mind since I moved to Crimson Hollow. Weird or not, it works to snap me out of my panic. My shoulder burns when I try to get up again, but my legs won’t hold my weight.

  “Goddamn it,” I say, immediately regretting my loud outburst.

  I’m running out of fuel, so I decide to drag myself out of the water. If I’m seconds away from passing out, I most definitely don’t want to drown.

  Feeling extremely tired now, I rest my cheek against the muddy stream bank as my eyelids become unbearably heavy. This is it. I have nothing left in me. My eyes are almost completely shut when I see the shape of a white wolf materialize not too far from me. Instinctively, I know it’s not the same wolf that was fighting in the forest. Either I have accepted my fate or the blood loss has affected my ability to feel anything because when the wolf approaches, there’s not an ounce of fear in my body.

  “I hope I’m tasty,” I mumble.

  The wolf stops just a few steps from me. It starts to vibrate, then shimmer, before it changes into a man. But not just any man.

  Samuel Wolfe.

  Chapter 4

  Tristan

  For fuck’s sake, I can’t believe I’m losing to a Shadow Creek mutt. I don’t recognize his scent, but he’s way too young and small to be an alpha. Where is all his power coming from? He doesn’t have enough body mass to justify it.

  Knowing the whys won’t help me. I need to find an opening to end this quickly. But every time I believe I have the upper hand, the smaller wolf manages to break free to attack me. When he body slams against my side, I have to use all the muscle strength in my hind legs to keep from folding. If this crazed wolf gets on top of me, it’s game over.