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Then, Brody’s voice pierced my mind.
“Thank the fuck.”
I skidded to a grinding halt and froze. With blood rushing through my ears and my eyesight focusing through the woods, Brody’s thoughts bombarded my mind.
And I found it odd that I couldn’t hear anyone else.
“At least she made the choice herself. You’re doing the right thing, Raven. You can’t lead this pack. I can, though. I watched your father. I know what he did. The successes and the failures. You're making him proud.”
I snarled. “Shut the fuck up, Brody!”
Pain ricocheted throughout my entire body, and I plummeted to the ground. It felt like someone had tossed me into a brick fucking wall and I growled as I forced myself back to my feet. The force of Brody’s voice in my head alone almost knocked me back to the ground. But as I tried reaching out to him again, the pain made me sick to my stomach.
And I hacked up stomach bile as I slowly morphed back into my human form.
“I can lead this pack, Raven. I promise you; we’ll be safe. Colin didn’t make a mistake with you. You were destined to hand this pack to me. You fulfilled your duty, and your father would be proud.”
“No, this isn’t right,” I choked out.
The smugness of his voice alone filled me with fury. But the pain coursing through my veins fogged up my mind like a cold windshield on a hot summer’s day. I dropped to my hands and knees, drawing in deep lungfuls of air in an attempt to calm my raging gut.
Why could I hear Brody, but not talk back? He had to have been using his powers. Brody’s power of persuasion had been one of the pack’s greatest strengths while Colin had been alive. Brody’s silver-slicked tongue had gotten us out of many situations.
And I was helpless to stop his pheromonic assault on Raven’s senses.
“This is all wrong,” I whispered.
I used my power to search for Raven. While Dean has his visions, I was able to feel someone’s presence. Hear their breathing from five miles away, if I focused long enough. I turned my head up toward the sky and held out my arms. I felt the swirling of the earth, churning a million miles a second as we hurtled through space. The ground beneath my feet vibrated with life, pushing grass blades up through its surface. I allowed my senses to bombard me as I sniffed the air, drawing from the well of senses that had alerted themselves to danger. And through it all, I searched for that damned shimmery pink aura of Raven’s that matched her hair.
It always made me chuckle that her luminous body was the same color as the one she chose to dye it. However, as I tilted my head, slowly spinning my body as massive amounts of earthen life and information bombarded me at once, I couldn’t find it. That shimmery pink light that wrapped up her body every single time I laid eyes on her was nowhere to be found.
Raven was gone.
“Hudson!”
Dean called out for me as I stumbled to my feet.
“Dean! He’s over here!” Levi called out.
I lifted my head and watched as both of my best friends filtered through the darkness. I barely got my body leaned against a tree before I slid my bare ass to the ground. Walking seemed damn near impossible. There was a weakness within me I’d never felt before, and I had no idea how to navigate it.
“Is he hurt?” Dean asked.
“Hudson, can you hear me?” Levi asked.
I peeked an eye open. “Where’s Brody?”
Levi thumbed over his shoulder. “He went with Raven back to the house, but that was late last night. It’s morning now. Why?”
I furrowed my brow. “I think Raven just gave him control of the pack, and has left Bend.”
Dean’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
I shook my head. “ I can’t feel her anymore. And with Brody, I can hear him, but I can’t talk to him. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Dean’s face fell. “You can’t contact him, either?”
Levi’s gaze darted between the two of us. “What do you mean, either?”
