Embracing the Wolf

Sage surprised me by laughing. “I’m sure it’ll be an adjustment. If you want, you could visit my clan in New Mexico, and we could help you through it. My grandfather knows more than I, and it would be an honor to have you as our guest.”

My eyes flicked to Adam. If I could learn what it meant to be the ruler of the werewolves, maybe I could control it better and be the old Anna Adam wanted.

“That sounds great,” I told her. “Just curious, though, how did you know I’d been chosen?”

She smiled, tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear. “Other than feeling the overabundance of power rolling off you, it was your eyes. In our stories, there is mention of eyes the color of the harvest moon. Since every wolf I have ever seen has yellow eyes, I put two and two together.”

“New Mexico, huh?”

She nodded. “A little town south of Albuquerque. Adam is welcome, as well, of course.”

“I don’t think he can make it, but Elle and I can come. It would be fantastic to learn as much as I can about, well, myself.”

“We look forward to your visit.”

“Thank you, Sage.”

She turned and headed through the crowd. When Elle was next to me again, I said, “Feel like going to New Mexico?”

She grinned. “Have a sudden urge to search for aliens?”

“No, we’re not going to Roswell. We’re visiting Sage’s clan to learn more about the myth of the white wolf.”

“Consider me packed.”

* * * *

Irony is a funny thing. Since Adam’s parents arrived, his mother had been trying to talk me into leaving and, while I had considered it, I knew I never could. Now, leaving was the only thing I could think of. Of course, I didn’t want to leave Adam, but I needed to learn about my new power, and I hoped the time away would be the kick in the pants Adam needed to realize how much of a douche he was being. I tried putting myself in his shoes, seeing the situation through his eyes, but no matter how I looked at it, I could not fathom not supporting him if the roles were reversed. Maybe men were made differently, and that’s why I couldn’t understand his point of view. I may have held more power, but I still felt the same—mostly.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on Adam. Sensing his emotions was the only form of companionship I had all day. He kept his distance, and I kept mine. I could feel him like a bolt of lightning in my chest. He’d been sending strong signals all day due to his anger. Right now, I felt his apprehension. I silently sent an order for him to find me, talk to me, hug me, do something other than ignore me, but my newfound powers did not include mind control, unfortunately.

My eyes fell on the sparkling diamond on my finger, and the ache started all over again. Slipping it off, I threaded it through a chain and clasped it to my neck. Having it shining back at me would be a constant reminder of what I may never have.

Two soft knocks sounded on my bedroom door. If I didn’t know better, I would have gotten excited thinking it was Adam, but I sensed him farther away.

“Come in.”

Sawyer opened my door, stepping into my room. He cracked his knuckles and then ran his hands through his hair, avoiding my eyes of course.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Like a piece of bread that’s been soaked in water,” I told him.

He gave me a quizzical look. “You’re feeling soggy?”

I laughed through my nose. “No, close to falling apart. Everyone is treating me like they’re afraid I’ll rip their heads off, and Adam … well, he won’t even talk to me.”

“I admit it’s a lot to take in.” He moved farther into my room and sat on the other end of the bed. “I didn’t believe it, not at first.”

“It’s nice to see I made the list of gossip.”

“They’re not gossiping so much as gushing. No one believed it was true. I mean, yeah, when we found out you were a white wolf, stories surfaced, but still they were just stories, ya know?”

I nodded, playing with the edge of my pillow. “Yeah.”

“Anyway, the reason I’m here,” Sawyer said, his tone a mixture of nervousness and excitement. “Elle told me you two are taking off to New Mexico, and I want to go.”

“Really? Why?”

His eyes met mine briefly before he studied his clasped hands. “I want to make sure you’re safe, and it would be nice to get away for a while.”

I studied the side of his face for a moment. “Adam would be even more pissed if he found out I took you with me. He would get it in his head that you and I …”

“I get it,” Sawyer said, holding up a hand. “Don’t want to stir up more trouble.”

Okay, I know it was childish, but desperate times and all that. Maybe if Adam found out Sawyer was going he would be so jealous he would race to New Mexico to confess his undying love. Yeah, I know, things like that only happen in the movies. A girl can dream.

“You can go.”

Sawyer smiled. “Really? What about Adam?”

I shrugged. “Adam’s insane thoughts are his problem. I think a road trip with you and Elle would be fun. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

I shot up in bed in a panic. My eyes flashed to Adam’s side, finding it empty. Jumping out of bed, I tugged on a pair of shorts and headed down the hall. The excruciating alarm consuming my body made my lungs constrict. Something was very, very wrong.

“Adam,” I said, rounding the corner of the kitchen. A group of wolves I didn’t recognize sat at the table. They eyed me with caution, fidgeting restlessly.

“Where’s Adam?”

They looked at each other, their shoulders bobbing and heads shaking. Their lack of knowledge infuriated me.

“Hey, Anna,” Joe said, coming into the room. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” I told him. “I can feel it, though; something has happened. Where is Adam?”

“Last I knew, he was hunting near Tie Hack. He—”

I didn’t wait for him to finish. Instead, I ran past him and headed outside. Tie Hack was a spot with a large lake. Tall pines and rocky cliffs lined the space. It would take at least ten to fifteen minutes to reach it. Unfortunately, I wrecked my truck a few weeks ago when Anthony had kidnapped me.

“Get in,” Joe said behind me. “I’ll drive us up there.”

I followed him to his truck and hopped into the passenger’s side. I bounced my leg as I waited for Joe to start the damn truck. When the engine revved to life my anxiousness eased a little bit.

“You think something happened to Adam?” Joe pulled out of the drive and headed toward the main road.

“You can’t feel it?” I asked with disbelief. “It’s bad, Joe.” A sob caught in my throat as I imagined the worst possible scenario. My vision about Adam’s death played on repeat through my head. God, I’d been so stupid, assuming he would be fine since Veronica was dead.

“I don’t know,” Joe said, “I feel something, I guess. Like I’m uncomfortable in my skin.”

I curled my lips inward to keep their trembling under control and ignored the trickle of tears down my cheeks. Subjects can feel when their alphas are in trouble, so how my pack wasn’t going out of their minds confused me. I wasn’t sure if what I was feeling was due to our Chante bond, our wolf bond, or both. My own worry, mixed with Adam’s emotions, filled my chest so much that I was choking on them. Tears fell freely as I eyed the speedometer.

“Faster, Joe.”

The truck accelerated, Joe’s fingers tightening on the steering wheel as he maneuvered the twist in the road. I bent over and rested my elbows on my legs, resting my head in my hands. My fingertips buried in my hair, I closed my eyes to try and concentrate. I pictured Adam’s wolf: raven fur, sharp yellow eyes, and muscular shoulders.

“Adam, can you hear me? We’re coming.” I sent the message to him, hoping for a response. Remembering what Adam said about not being able to feel me, made me wonder if that meant he couldn’t hear me either.

“If you can hear me,” I thought, “hold on, we’re almost there. Please, please, just hold on.”

“How long ago did he leave?” I asked Joe.

“I don’t know, like a half an hour ago.”

“Anna …” Adam’s voice filtered through my mind, but hearing it didn’t bring me as much joy as I expected. It was weak and too breathy, as though it took all his energy just to get the message to me. I choked on another sob, bringing my hand to my mouth. My vision played through my mind again: Adam’s body falling to the ground, his eyes fighting to stay open, blood coating his chest, and then life leaving him.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I mumbled.

“We’re here,” Joe announced.

I hopped out of the truck before it came to a full stop. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I allowed my wolf to take over. She could find him quicker than I could and run faster than my human legs could carry me.

“Anna, wait,” Joe called behind me, but I ignore him.

Find him. I sent the thought to my wolf as her paws beat against the hard earth. The path leading into Tie Hack opened up to the large lake. A dam sat at the end, a walkway leading to the other side of the mountain. My wolf headed in that direction, cautious as her paws stepped over the grated walkway. She didn’t like the way it felt on her paws, but she knew Adam was on the other side; she could smell him. Water rushed through the dam, spit against her feet, and echoed in her ears. She had just made it across when she felt Joe behind her.

Racing up the small incline, she disappeared through the tree line. Adam was here somewhere, and was that blood we smelled?

No, no, no, I thought. “Adam, I’m here. Hold on.”

Whatever new spidey senses I’d gotten, they worked great. My wolf found Adam within ten minutes. Silently thanking her, I switched back into my human self and ran as fast as my legs could carry me to his body. He lay on the forest floor, shadowed by the tree limbs. When I reached him, I fell to my knees and gasped at the arrow sticking through his heart. His eyes were closed and his breathing shallow.