Page 21 of Taken By the Pack

Without waiting for her to respond, I turn and sprint back toward my house. My heart’s racing—not from the run, but from the thought of Grace at the cliffs.

The cliffs aren’t safe, especially not at night. And if something’s happened to her?—

The storm.

No. I shake the thought as I reach my driveway and grab my motorcycle keys. Grace is fine. She has to be fine.

I can’t lose her.

The bike roars to life beneath me and I tear out of the driveway, the wind biting against my face.

The cliffs are only ten minutes away, but it feels like an eternity. My mind races faster than the bike, a million worst-case scenarios playing out in my head.

When I finally pull up to the overlook, I see her car parked in the dirt lot. Relief hits me hard, but it’s short-lived when I realize the car is empty.

I park the bike and climb off, scanning the area. “Grace!” I shout, my voice echoing against the rocks.

No answer.

Panic claws at my chest as I move closer to the edge. The waves crash violently against the rocks below, the sound loud enough to drown out anything else. I cannot lose someone else to the cliffs.

I simply won’t survive it.

“Grace!” I yell again.

This time, I hear something—a faint voice coming from the other side of the overlook.

I run toward it, rounding the bend in the path until I spot her.

There she is—Grace, in a white dress, holding a bottle of water and standing on the edge of the ravine. My heart does a stupid, fucked-up flip.There you are.

Her eyes snap to mine, a surprised look crossing her face. “Jake? What are you doing here?”

I let out a deep breath, trying to keep the relief from cracking my voice. “People are worried. You haven’t opened the shop. It’s not like you to be late.”

She looks down at the ground, avoiding my gaze. “Can you help me up? I was down at the ravine to get some… for my car… I ran out of gas and…”

I swallow, nodding. “Yeah, sure.” I reach out to help her, but something’s off. There’s this… sharp, strange scent in the air. It’s musky and heavy, like another Alpha.

It hits me like a punch to the gut, but I keep it cool.

The thought gnaws at my insides—what the hell is she doing out here? With another Alpha? What the fuck happened?

She lets me pull her up, but there’s a distance in her touch. Her eyes dart around, and she’s tense as hell. I notice the way she holds herself, like she’s bracing for something.

“What happened?” I ask, but the words taste wrong in my mouth, like I’m fishing for a fight I don’t want.

“My car ran out of gas,” she repeats, her voice flat. “Had to leave it. There’s no cell signal out here, so I couldn’t get help.”

I nod, a knot forming in my stomach.

“How’d you know where to find me?”

“Mrs. Clarke’s husband saw your car last night. Thought you needed to be checked up on.”

I glance at her car, and I can’t help but feel like something’s missing—something important.

“Your car ran out of gas?” I repeat, trying to make sense of it. “Why didn’t you call me, Grace? I?—”

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