Page 5 of Moon Destiny

“Put her on her back,” I said, rising and pacing away. Dylan and Tanner moved her, careful not to jostle her head too much. Blood oozed from the wounds in her neck as they maneuvered her flat. She probably had seconds now.

I drew on the pack’s collective strength to rush my shift. Even so, the transformation set my muscles on fire, as if some invisible force grasped my wrists and ankles and pulled until my bones snapped and my tendons tore. I panted through the change, then prowled to Brooke in wolf form and nudged her head to the side.

I’d have to answer to the Council for this. Siring a new wolf was a serious matter. It made no difference if the human lived or died.

“You need to hurry, Alpha,” Dylan murmured, his gaze lowered as he delivered the mild order.

I bent and sank my fangs into Brooke’s neck. She didn’t so much as twitch, and I almost withdrew then and there.

Then her blood hit my tongue.

Recognition. There was something oddly…familiar about her blood. At the same time, it was wholly new and unexpected.

And I suddenly needed more of it.

I deepened my bite as whispers echoed through my mind, swirling around my subconscious until they solidified into one clear, coherent thought.

MATE.

I pulled my fangs from her neck and lurched backwards, my claws kicking up mud.

“Hugh?” Dylan looked at me with wide eyes. Tanner and Shepherd wore identical expressions.

My heart raced, the recognition I’d sensed—tasted—throbbing through my head. It was impossible. Fate would never be this cruel.

Of course it wouldn’t, I thought, dismissing the odd, clinging feeling. I was obviously in shock about Alex, and now my mind was playing tricks on me. It was the only explanation.

Dylan and the others were still looking at me, so I jerked my head in the direction of the forest. I’d shifted too many times in a row to speak mind-to-mind, but I didn’t need to. All three men had worked for me long enough to know what I wanted. They sprang into action, kicking dirt over the blood on the ground and gathering the backpacks Alex and Brooke had dropped during the attack. Tanner lifted Alex’s body, and I looked away. Later, I could sit with my son and ask for the forgiveness I didn’t deserve. Right now, I needed to get Brooke to pack headquarters before the moon fever struck.

Dylan gathered her in his arms, and the four of us started back through the rain-soaked forest. I’d roamed the Gorge decades before it had become part of the national park service, and I knew routes through the trees no human had touched.

We moved quickly and soundlessly, and before long we arrived at the vehicles we’d pulled into some brush. Lightning flashed, following by the boom of thunder.

Good. The storm would wash away any blood we’d missed on the trail.

Dylan lay Brooke on the backseat of my SUV, then stood back so I could jump in and wedge my bulk against the seats. He climbed behind the wheel and had us on the main road in seconds. “I’ll come back before dawn,” he said, meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror. “To find Alex’s campsite and pack up before someone calls the authorities.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgment—and gratitude. As much as I would have preferred to gather Alex’s things myself, I couldn’t leave Brooke. Siring a werewolf came with certain responsibilities, the first of which was seeing them through the fever.

Not that she’d actually make it through. Her lips were blue, and her heartbeat was so faint I struggled to hear it even with my beast’s sensitive ears. She’d live for now. My bite guaranteed it. But in a day or two, death would come for her.

I studied her face, waiting for the spark of recognition to flare back to life. But that was dead, too.

A mistake, then.

In a night of misery, it was one small thing to be thankful for.

CHAPTER THREE

BROOKE

Everything hurts.

It was my first thought as I came aware with a choked gasp. My world was pain, from the top of my head all the way down to my toes. Even my skin hurt.

And it was dark. Oh god, was I blind? The horrors of the trail came roaring back. Something—an animal—had attacked us. Had it clawed out my eyes?

And where was Alex?

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