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Riaz waved her off. “Lies.”
“What vaccine are you filing for?” Cortana interjected, curiosity getting the better of her as she looked between the two betas now in Riaz’s office.
“The vaccine for rabidity.” Any hint of humor dropped from Riaz’s features. “Seth developed one using Aidan’s blood as the base. We’re hopeful it’ll prevent anyone from succumbing in the future, but we’re only afforded so many doses while it’s still in the initial trials.”
Cortana frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“When the Citizens shoot us with sunlight bullets, the compound tips the balance in our wolves toward going feral,” Riaz explained. “Though results have been mixed so far, we’re hopeful that the vaccine will help turn the tide. Too many of our people have met their end because they couldn’t claw their way back from the illness.”
With a shiver, a memory surfaced. Glowing eyes in the darkness, echoed by his mother’s screams shrieking through the night. He could vividly remember the snarl that loosened from the predator’s lips, icing up his spine and making the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
He’d been certain he was going to die.
The recollection had forced itself into his mind, eclipsing all other thoughts. His wolf whined within him. Darkness lingered on the edges of his vision, and the aggression that peaked in his blood set him alight.
Rolling his shoulders in agitation, Riaz stood, instantly commanding attention from the immortals in his office.
“I’m going for a run. Gadriel, see to Cortana, please?”
Without a word of explanation, he exited his office and left all three behind. Mind centered on things better left in the past, he traveled quickly through the den, avoiding his packmates. Ava’s footsteps echoed behind him as she jogged to catch up, clearly giving him the chance to warn her off.
“Alpha!”
As soon as she was at his side, he continued toward the door that led to the wilderness. He needed to be outside and let his wolf run. Nature was far better equipped to handle the predator than the office was.
“Riaz?”
He threw her a sidelong glance, his smile tight. “Run with me?”
Though the look in her eyes said she didn’t believe his mask for a moment, she nodded in return, letting him lead the way. “Hopefully our new vampire friend can aid us in recon.”
“I have no doubt,” Riaz said honestly, then caught her eye as they met the cool night air. “For your sake, I’m glad she isn’t a Raeth.”
Shuddering, Ava nodded. “I’d have asked for the mountain perimeter run.”
“I know.”
Reaching for her, he put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. Both of their wolves appreciated the familial intimacy, knowing there’d never been a scrap of romantic desire between them.
“Come on, I’ll race you.”
Shifting into his animal was as much excruciating as it was euphoric. Bones reformed, skin transformed to fur, and senses sharpened. It took three seconds for the change to complete, and then he was paws to the turf, sprinting into the darkness that beckoned to him like a second home.
Ava, having shifted into her slate-grey wolf, galloped by his side. Together, the pair called to the night, howling in the ecstasy of a pack run.
The jittery feeling that’d crawled beneath his skin abated the faster he ran, the wolf just as desperate to leave the bitter memories behind as the man. The crunch of dried grass tickled the pads of his paws, a reminder of the arid desert environment of Colorado summers.
Sagebrush and chokeberry shrubs spotted the landscape around the den, the Rocky Mountains hemming in their territory. This land, so different than where he’d grown from boy to man, would never be taken for granted by anyone under his care. It was their shelter and an active part of their wellbeing.
Often, the agitation he felt as the man dissipated when he ran as the wolf, and it was simply another reason that pack runs were so important. Not only did it solidify the bonds between them, but it cooled any aggression that threatened to erupt. The balance between man and wolf was essential.
Riaz howled once more to the landscape around them, inciting his pack to echo the call. Never again would he sound the lone howl.
He’d set a grueling pace to outrun his nightmares, one even the older werewolf at his side had difficulty maintaining. Fortunately, his keen senses had pinpointed the moment when his local pack members had taken chase, rounding out the ranks behind him.
As the mountain line parted to the west, it granted him a view of the cloud layer tinged yellowish-red by the raging wildfires.
Adrenaline kicked into his bloodstream, fueling a pace none could match. As alpha, Riaz was uncontestably the strongest in the den. Several of his wolves claimed more years to their name, yet none of them could beat him in a test of brute strength or dominance. But Riaz was alpha for more reasons than that alone.
