RYKER

What the hell just happened?

The words exploded out of me as I stared at Rowan in complete shock, both of us frozen on the cliff overlooking the road where the accident was supposed to happen.

Except the car had not reached that point yet.

The loud thunderous crash we just heard came from at least a mile back, way too early in the route, nowhere near where Rowan had carefully set up the mechanical failure to trigger.

This was wrong, all wrong.

Rowan looked at Nia who looked at Cole and we all stood there for a split second trying to process what we had just heard echoing through the valley below us. The sound had been massive, metal crunching and glass shattering, so loud it carried all the way up to where we were waiting.

"That was not supposed to happen," Rowan stated, his voice tight with panic that I could hear underneath his usual composure. "Something must have gone terribly wrong."

Without another word we all launched ourselves down the cliff, our bodies moving on pure instinct and adrenaline.

Rowan, Cole and I shifted mid-air, our bones breaking and reforming in the familiar agony that we had learned to embrace years ago. The pain was excruciating as always but we had long since stopped caring about that particular discomfort.

My wolf burst through my skin in an explosion of black fur and corded muscle, my paws hitting the ground running before the transformation was even fully complete.

Rowan’s wolf was identical to mine in almost every way, same black coat and same powerful build, our twin bond making us mirror images even in this form. The only difference was a small white patch on his left ear that distinguished us.

Cole’s wolf was slightly smaller than ours and brown with darker markings along his back and shoulders, but just as fast when properly motivated by emergency.

We covered the distance in seconds, our enhanced speed eating up ground while branches and undergrowth blurred past us. Nia followed behind in the vehicle, the engine roaring as she pushed it to maximum speed on the rough terrain.

We reached the side of the road where the car had flipped and the sight made my wolf howl with rage.

The black sedan was completely destroyed, lying on its roof with glass scattered everywhere in glittering shards that caught the fading sunlight. Smoke rose from the crushed engine in thick black plumes. The smell of gasoline and blood surrounding in the air making my nostrils burn and my wolf snarl.

I immediately used my strength in wolf form to flip the car back onto its wheels, digging my paws into the ground for leverage and pushing with everything I had. The metal groaned and shrieked in protest as I forced it upright, the frame so damaged it barely held together.

Rowan shifted his powerful jaws to pry open the passenger door that had been completely jammed shut from the impact, his teeth finding purchase on the twisted metal and pulling with enough force to tear it partially off its hinges.

Then I saw her and my heart stopped.

Amaris was inside, unconscious and covered in blood.

Her head was bruised badly with a deep gash across her forehead that was bleeding steadily, the red standing out stark against her pale skin. Blood pooled around her on the seat and dripped onto the floor in a rhythm that matched my racing heartbeat. Her arm was bent at an unnatural angle that made my stomach turn and her breathing was so shallow I could barely see her chest moving.

We shifted back to our human forms immediately, all three of us standing there completely naked but not caring about modesty or propriety when Amaris was lying there broken and bleeding out. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Amaris," I called her name, reaching through the destroyed doorframe to touch her face with shaking fingers. "Amaris wake up."

No response from her at all.

Her skin was cold under my touch and I felt panic claw up my throat with sharp talons, threatening to choke me.

"Amaris," I tried again, louder this time, more desperate and less controlled.

Still nothing, not even a flutter of her eyelids.

I checked her pulse with fingers that would not stop shaking, pressing against the side of her neck and searching frantically for any sign of life. It was there but weak, so weak I almost missed it completely, just a faint flutter under her skin that told me her heart was still trying to beat.

"She is alive," I announced to the others, and relief flooded through me so intense it actually made my knees weak. "Pulse is weak but she is still alive."

"I do not suggest we move her yet," Cole stated from behind me, his voice clinical and detached. "Nia must have called an ambulance already. We do not know if there are any broken bones or internal injuries so moving her could make things significantly worse and potentially kill her."

"You are right," Rowan agreed reluctantly, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

I looked at my brother and felt rage building alongside the fear, the two emotions volatile. "I thought this plan was foolproof. What happened? What could have possibly gone wrong with your sabotage?"

Rowan ran his hand through his hair repeatedly, still naked and covered in dirt and scratches from the transformation and our sprint through the forest. "You know the plan. I was meant to sabotage it so the car would just run off the road gently and hit a tree at the designated spot. Minor damage."

"She never even made it to where the accident was meant to happen," I pointed out, my voice rising with each word. "This crash is at least a mile before your mechanical failure would have even triggered."

The sound of an ambulance siren echoed growing progressively louder as it approached our location at high speed.

Cole moved to check the chauffeur who was still slumped over the steering wheel in an unnatural position, pressing his fingers against the man’s neck searching for a pulse that we all knew he would not find.

After a long moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, Cole looked back at us and shook his head slowly. "He is gone. No pulse, no breathing."

"What the fuck," Cole muttered under his breath, stepping back from the body like it might contaminate him. "Did we just kill an innocent man?"