Zara

The shadows rose high, much taller than I was. As soon as they reached woman’s height, the wisps of shadow seemed to thicken and take shape.

The dark figure of a man stood before the woman, mere inches away, and she still didn’t notice.

I drew a shaky breath as the shadow’s hand rose, slicing the air in one fluid motion.

Silence echoed through the dark forest, as if insects and animals were holding their breath. The sense of unease that gripped us all was unmistakable. Even if they couldn’t see the shadows, they sensed something... was wrong.

A thin, jagged streak of scarlet glistened on her neck, a vivid contrast to her espre... skin. She didn’t even understand what had happened.

Her golden eyes widened, her hands clasped to her sides. At first, blood trickled slowly and thickly down her slender neck.

Her hands flew to her neck, desperately clutching the gaping wound in her throat. Blood gushed in long waves, drenching the grass and staining the ground.

The shadows parted, falling to the ground again. They slid through the pools of blood, devouring every drop. A drop of blood fell to the ground.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, her partner let out a growl of pure rage.

She fell to the ground, beautiful and motionless, lying in the grass. Her golden eyes stared at me, as if she were mocking me.

"I know what you’ve done, you stupid wolf."

I heard her exotic voice in my head, her words like a whip, lashing out at my bare skin.

I made the mistake, lost in the grief and confusion that filled them.

The brown wolves rushed forward, their leader slamming into Alpha Kane. Carter and Wade met the wolves with equal enthusiasm. Sophia charged, but they seemed unable to hide the horror and confusion in their eyes.

I was so absorbed in the horror of what I’d done that I didn’t notice two brown wolves rushing toward me. With a snarl of rage, Ryan knocked the two wolves to the ground.

Sophia fought in wolf form, snarling furiously as she tore out the wolves’ throats. Alpha Kane fought in human form, transforming his hand into claws and ripping out the heart of one of the brown wolves. Carter, Wade, and Ryan did the same.

Alpha Kane was fighting several brown wolves at once, focusing most of his attention on their leader.

My heart pounding, and remembering the horror on Sophia’s face, I called Nova and moved.

While I wanted to stretch my legs and bask in the moonlight, I had more pressing matters. I sat in the backseat while Nova attacked one of the brown wolves fighting Alpha Kane.

The boy couldn’t have been more than eighteen, a child forced to fight wolves. His blond hair was a couple of shades darker than Marcus’s, bleached by the sun, even though he couldn’t go out in the sun. My teeth sank into his throat like butter, as he hadn’t seen me approaching.

His sky-blue eyes widened in shock from my bite. I’d never killed anyone before, even in self-defense, and I’ll never forget the emotion that flashed in his eyes. His gaze shifted from innocent surprise to complete denial.

He couldn’t comprehend that this was the end of his life, the culmination of all those years of learning and growing.

Nova, without hesitation, dropped his corpse to the ground and moved on to the next brown wolf.

As their numbers dwindled, Alpha Kane seemed to grow stronger and faster. With a barely perceptible grin, he ripped the heart from the leader’s chest. His body fell to the ground with a wet thud, his outstretched hand just inches from the woman.

"What should we do?" Sophia asked over the mental link, her voice thick with emotion.

"Drag them into the woods and burn their bodies." Alpha Kane’s voice was powerful, serving as a beacon to help me survive that terrible night.

Sophia and I transformed into human form. We donned the clothes we’d kept in the trunk, just in case.

We worked in silence for the next ten minutes, each of us dragging a wolf’s corpse into the forest.

The smell of burning flesh was nauseating, mingling with the sickly sweet scent emanating from the brown wolves.

"What happened?" Nova’s voice was almost a whisper.

I didn’t know what to say. What could I say? Nothing could undo what I’d done. I’d blindly made a deal with the shadows without even bothering to tell them the price.

"That doesn’t excuse what happened... but it’s not your fault," Nova muttered, the crackling fire drowning out her sad voice.

Nova was right; that doesn’t excuse what I did.

"Give a minute," Alpha Kane muttered, turning to me. His eyes were dark, and his voice was hoarse with suppressed emotion. I hadn’t told Alpha Kane about the deal I’d made; I hadn’t told him the price I was willing to pay for his life.

Sputum streamed down my face, and I realized I’d been crying. Alpha Kane raised his hand, as if to wipe away my tears. I flinched at his touch and turned to face the stoic Sophia.

I couldn’t accept his comfort, couldn’t let him drive the horror and ice from my veins. I deserved to feel everything I’d done. I didn’t deserve the easy way out.

Sophia’s face was an impenetrable mask, her brown eyes fixed on mine. I wanted to say something, but what?

"Does anyone know how to start a car?" Carter broke the oppressive silence, a frown crossing his carefree face. "Because I don’t feel like running home for three hours."

"I’ll find us a car," Sophia grumbled, glancing toward the thicket of woods.

"Zara, let’s go with her," Alpha Kane muttered, his intense gaze burning into my cold skin.

Sophia turned and headed back toward the main road, leaving me to follow.

When I finally caught up with her, we walked silently down the dark road. I could feel the turmoil of emotions raging within her, and I cringed at their intensity.

"Are you... Are you mad at me?" I wanted to throw something, to slap myself in the face for such careless words.

"No." Sophia used her voice like a whip, lashing mercilessly across my cold skin. "I understand why you did what you did."