Page 20 of Broken Wolf Heart
All I can think about is how Ramsey was here. And now he’s not. And neither is Lexi. If he tries to hurt her, fuck our history together. I’ll kill him.
Outside, the alley is steeped in early twilight. Trash bins line the brick walls. The sky overhead is smeared with purple and gold, the edges of night creeping in.
Her scent hits me like a punch.
Bright. Wild. Tangled with panic.
Lexi.
I rip at my clothes as I move, yanking off my jacket, shoving my pants down as I stumble into the shadowed alley. The moment I’m clear of sightlines, I drop to my knees, calling on the beast inside me.
The shift tears through me like fire and ice, my bones snapping and stretching, my skin splitting open to let my true nature emerge. My wolf erupts, thick grey fur spreading across powerful limbs, paws hitting the ground hard. My nose lifts, catching the trail Lexi left behind like a flaming torch against the darkness.
She ran northeast. Toward the industrial district. Toward the river.
I leap forward, claws scraping concrete, muscles burning as I sprint after her. I don’t know how far she’s gone. I don’t know what state she’s in.
I only know I need to find her before someone else does.
I will not lose her.
Not now.
Not ever.
I push harder, my paws blurring beneath me. My heartbeat is a war drum in my chest.
I’m coming for you, Lexi. Just hold on.
The city fades behind me,swallowed by asphalt and distance. The air shifts as I hit the tree line on the southwestern border—cooler, sharper, rich with the scent of pine and moss. The last of the sun slants through the thick canopy overhead, dappling golden light across the forest floor. Birds scatter as I charge past, the world blurring into a mess of trees and shadows and the ever-stronger pull ofher.
I know these woods like the back of my hand. From here, it’s a straight shot northwest to the lake house my family owns. I’ve done countless pack runs between here and there. Some with Dutch and the others. Some with my mother. Good memories still linger among these trees. But I don’t think about any of that now.
I think only of her.
Lexi’s scent is thick now. Blood, sweat, fear. But underneath it all isher. Wild. Raw. Unmistakably mine.
She ran here to hide. To breathe. To fall apart where no one could see.
But I see her. Ifeelher.
And I’m not leaving until I bring her home.
My paws hit damp leaves and roots, kicking up the earthy perfume of loam and fallen pine needles. This place has always felt peaceful—there’s a clearing to the right that opens onto a soft patch of moss, and the quiet there feels ancient, sacred.
Indigo Hills was created with the magic of a hexerei witch coven. That fact is never more obvious than inside the western part of the forest. Like the city has managed to wash it away with its own veneer but nature remains coated in that ancient alchemy. The trees rise overhead like cathedral walls, tall and patient, whispering stories only wolves can hear.
But tonight, even this beautiful place isn’t enough to calm my mate.
I see a flash of white fur ahead.
She’s fast—fuck, she’s fast—but not faster than me.
Lexi glances over her shoulder, large green eyes glinting in the dark. Her fur is streaked in blood, dried and dark across her chest and front legs. But even so, her wolf is stunning—long-limbed and built for speed, her white-blonde coat glowing in the moonlight, despite the carnage that’s matted her fur. She’s like something out of a dream. A dangerous, broken, beautiful dream.
Our eyes lock, and my wolf recognizes Lexi instantly for what she is to us: mate. If I’d ever doubted it, I don’t anymore. For a second, I think maybe the sight of my wolf will be enough to settle her—but then she bolts.
I surge after her, my heart slamming into my ribs. The predator in me growls in pleasure. Despite the blood coating her fur and the reasons that drove us out here, my wolf howls with lust and need and raw instinct.
