Page 97 of Anders
And they were.
EPILOGUE
THE EASTERN BORDER OFSunburst Pack territory stretched before Conall like an invisible line drawn across the desert landscape.
Something’s wrong, he thought, scanning the terrain with heightened senses.
The recent events with Etta and the ongoing threat of Chimera had everyone on edge.Anders and Larissa were working overtime to secure pack borders, but the sense of vulnerability lingered like a bad smell.
Restlessness churned in Conall’s gut as he patrolled the area alone.
Alone.
The word felt foreign, uncomfortable.
Conall was never truly alone—not when Quinton was always a thought away, always connected by the bond they’d shared since birth.
But today, his twin was deep in the Old Packhouse, helping Anders upgrade security systems in the wake of the Chimera revelation.
Conall ought to be enjoying this rare opportunity.Instead, he felt jittery.
A scent trail caught his attention—foreign, complex.
He inhaled deeply, letting the desert air fill his lungs, filtering through the complex tapestry of scents.Juniper.Jackrabbit.The lingering musk of coyote, hours old.
Then that something else again—something that didn’t belong.
The foreign scent caught his attention like a splash of ice water, complex and jarring against the familiar backdrop of pack territory.
Female shifter, but definitely not Sunburst Pack.
The scent carried notes of pine forest and mountain snow, completely out of place in this desert landscape.
Beneath it lurked something dangerous, a predatory edge that made his hackles rise involuntarily, even in human form.
His muscles tensed, ready to spring.
Instinct took over.Conall shifted seamlessly, clothes falling away as fur erupted along his spine in a wave of transformation.His dark brown wolf form melted into the landscape as he followed the increasingly potent trail, paws silent against the sandy soil.
Each step brought conflicting signals.
Threat, definitely.But also…an inexplicable pull that defied rational explanation.
The scent wasn’t random.
Careful movements.Periodic stops at strategic points.
This was reconnaissance, methodical and precise.Whoever this was knew exactly what they were doing, pausing at each sensor location Anders had installed in the past week.
Heading toward our most vulnerable security point, he realized, fury building with each step.The eastern access route—the one sector where the security grid wasn’t fully operational yet.
His sensitive ears picked up the whisper of movement ahead—too controlled to be wildlife, too deliberate to be innocent.
Conall slowed, dropping into a hunter’s crouch as he approached a rocky outcropping.The stranger’s scent intensified, filling his nostrils with that disorienting combination of threat and something else—something his wolf recognized on a primal level that his human mind refused to acknowledge.
When he shifted back to human form behind a cluster of boulders, it was a deliberate tactical decision.He positioned himself to cut off the intruder’s path.A predator preparing to confront an unknown threat.
She emerged from behind a boulder like a sudden desert storm—all sharp angles and cold calculation.Her naked form gleamed in the fading sunlight, every muscle defined and ready for combat.
