Page 22 of Nick
The questions would have to wait.
Right now, all Nick could focus on was the shrinking figure of Martin and the sickening sense of the pack’s hunger for the hunt.
With deliberate malice, Vincent turned to face the rest of the pack.“Shift,” he commanded.“The hunt begins now.”
One by one, members of the pack began to transform.Fur sprouted, limbs reshaped, and soon their eager growls filled the air as their wolves replaced their human forms.
Nick’s gaze flitted across the wolves, noting the gleam of excitement in some eyes, the hesitance in others.There was Jonas, whose muscles bunched eagerly beneath his pelt, ready for the chase.Ella, too, paced back and forth, her wolf’s tail twitching in anticipation.But there was also Larissa, her golden eyes somber, lingering on the horizon where Martin had vanished.And beside her, Malcolm’s massive frame stood still, his reluctance to join the hunt written in the tense line of his shoulders.
Vincent’s alpha power pushed against Nick’s own instincts.He felt the pull of the pack, the seductive rush of the hunt in his veins.Nick’s wolf prowled just beneath the surface, yearning to break free, but his human mind held firm.
He watched, chest tight, as the first of the wolves lunged into the desert, their powerful legs eating up the ground with terrifying speed.The dust rose again, and the pack dissolved into the night.
Nick’s breath came in shallow bursts, and his muscles tensed as the transformation overtook him, his human limbs contorting into those of his wolf.His senses sharpened, the desert landscape coming into vivid focus as his snout elongated and fur bristled along his spine.Beside him, Sarah’s body shuddered, giving way to her own transformation—a sleek, dark-furred wolf emerging where a woman had stood.
Without a sound, she slipped behind one of the larger rocks, then quietly hunkered down.Nick hesitated only a heartbeat before instinct propelled him after her.As soon as he joined her, Sarah dropped down the slope, heading away from the pack.Nick followed her, their paws kicking up the earth in silent unison.
The howls and growls from the pack faded behind them, replaced by the rhythmic thudding of their footfalls and the rush of wind past their ears.They darted through the scrub, away from the savagery, away from the scent of fear that marked out Martin’s trail.
Though Nick knew he ought to follow Vincent’s lead if he wanted to regain the alpha’s trust, especially so soon after returning to the pack, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Sarah unprotected as she fled—and he couldn’t bring himself to participate in a hunt like this one either.
He wanted to stop it, to protect Martin, to show the Sunburst Pack they didn’t have to obey Vincent.But they were outnumbered.
At least for now.
Nick’s wolf wanted to rage against the injustice, to howl his defiance into the night sky.Instead, he followed Sarah, his gut twisting in horror at what they were leaving behind.
Her trailer came into view, a beacon of pale metal glinting under the moonlight.They skidded to a halt beside it.
With practiced ease, they shifted back, their bodies melting into their human forms.Sarah’s wavy hair clung to her sweat-dampened skin.
“We should have…,” Nick managed to say before trailing off, his voice rough with the remnants of his wolf’s growl.
She looked at him, her brown eyes haunted, reflecting the desert’s stark desolation.“We had to leave.”
“Vincent will notice we’re gone.”
“He’ll be too caught up in Martin’s…” Now her voice trailed off.“And if he says anything, we’ll say we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”She gave an ugly laugh.“He’ll probably believe it.”
His throat felt tight, constricted, but he nodded.“Is there anything we can do?”His voice was frayed around the edges, barely containing the horror eating away at him.“For Martin, I mean.Can we save him?”
Sarah moved to stand in front of him.She shook her head slowly.“We could try,” she said.“But…he had warning.He knew what Vincent was capable of.”
“Like I did,” Nick whispered, the memory of his own flight four years ago piercing through him like a thorn.
“Exactly like you did.”Sarah’s expression hardened, yet her hands trembled at her sides.“But Martin told everyone he’d rather face Vincent than run.”
“Damn.”They both knew it was only a matter of time before the pack’s bloodlust found its mark and Martin died.“Was I a coward?”he asked suddenly, pushing away from the outer wall of the trailer and stalking toward the door, then turning back toward her.
Sarah’s gaze followed him.“You did what you had to,” she said, her voice strained.“You survived, Nick.”
Before Nick could respond, the night erupted with wolves’ howls, the savage sound of a hunt concluded.
Of Martin’s life ended.
Nick froze, his body tensing as the howls rose and fell.
Martin, who had chosen to stand his ground, now silenced forever.Reduced to prey.
