“Anyway, just thought you’d want to know,” Sabrina said, her tone returning to normal. “Have a great day off, chica.”
“Thanks. You, too.” I ended the call with a smile on my face, which was a nice change of pace.
Later, as I sat in my office scribbling down some favorite recipes on my new recipe cards, my phone rang again. Assuming it was Sabrina calling back—she had a habit of forgetting to tell me things—I picked up without checking the caller ID.
“Hey, Sabrina, what did you forget this…” My words died in my throat as an icy chill swept through me, the menacing tone on the other end of the line not belonging to my best friend.
“Ah, Liza, so good to hear your voice,” Castro purred menacingly. “But I’m not Sabrina.”
“Castro,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest. “What do you want?”
“I have news to deliver, my dear.” He spoke in a hiss, much like a snake, but I was intrigued by his words. By the time the call ended, I shook from adrenaline, sitting in my office chair and staring blankly out the window.
A fire ignited within me, a rage building that I couldn’t control. Ty wasn’t home yet, so discussing the matter with him wasn’t an option. I needed to shift, to run, to escape the house that suddenly suffocated and oppressed me, but I didn’t want to be alone.
The moment I pulled into my parents’ driveway, their faces lit up with surprise and joy. They immediately stopped working in the front flower garden and headed in my direction. But as they approached the car, their expressions turned to concern.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Dad asked, his eyes scanning me for any signs of distress.
“Can’t I just visit my favorite people without there being something wrong?” I tried to deflect with a playful smirk, but I wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Nice try, Liza.” Mom folded her arms across her chest. “We know you too well.”
I held my hands up, admitting defeat. It was true. As a teenager, I could never hide anything from them. They were like lie detectors when it came to me and my true feelings. “I just need to be surrounded by family right now.”
Without hesitation, they encircled me in a loving embrace, and I melted into their arms, some of the oppressive weight falling from my shoulders. As we stood there, a thought crossed my mind. “Would you guys like to go for a run with me?”
A small smile tugged at Dad’s lips. “Of course, sweetheart.”
“Let me just grab one of your guards and then we’ll shift.” Mom walked to the blacked-out SUV that had followed me to their house.
It had been ages since I’d last run with just my parents. We all shifted, our clothes vanishing and our wolf forms taking over as we bounded through the woods; the wind whipping past us. For a moment, I actually felt free, as if I didn’t have a care in the world.
Just as I let my guard down, focusing solely on the crisp fall air whipping through my fur, a voice invaded my thoughts, chilling me to the bone.“You’re stronger than you know, Liza. You’re being stifled from your true potential. You need to set your wolf truly free.”
I held my breath as I tried to shake the voice away. Who was that? How were they inside my head? Panic coursed through me, and fear gripped my soul. I backtracked, running away fromof my parents, trying to catch someone who might be lurking behind a tree, but there was no one there.
I returned to my parents’ house, nerves frayed and on edge. Ty was waiting for me, his gray eyes lighting up with a smile when he saw me. I couldn’t bring myself to return it. Castro’s call still echoed in my mind, and the run had done nothing to quell the anger inside me.
“What’s wrong?” Ty asked.
“Have you been keeping anything from me?” My words were sharper than I intended, but I couldn’t help it. The rage I’d been suppressing threatened to spill over.
Ty’s eyes widened, and guilt flickered through them. It was there for only a second, but it was enough to fuel my fury. He had promised me no more secrets, but that had been a goddamn lie.
“Castro called,” I spat, hands on my hips. “He told me about Maximus Langston offering me up on some kind of shifter black market auction site. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me? Why was Castro the one to tell me?”
“Castro?” Ty’s confusion quickly morphed into shock. “I didn’t want to worry you, Liza. You already have so much going on.”
“Who the fuck are you to judge what I should and shouldn’t know? I wasn’t aware I’d made you some kind of information gatekeeper. How dare you?” I’d never been an angry person before, but lately it felt like it was getting worse and worse. My blood was lava.
“I’m sorry. I was doing the best thing for you. When was the last time you slept all night? You’ve lost weight. You don’t have bags under your eyes, you have fucking suitcases.” Ty’s words did little to put out the fire I’d started.
“You promised me, Ty. You swore no more fucking lies, no more secrets. You keep telling me we are in this together, but how can we be in it together if I don’t know all the fuckingdetails?” The rage had taken control, and I was just along for the ride. “Do you know what really hurts? What really makes this worse? To be told my mate was lying to me by anyone would have hurt, but for it to come from Castro…” I wiped angry tears from my face. All I could think about was the betrayal.
“Look at yourself,” Ty finally snapped. “You’re not sleeping, and that makes it easier for you to expose yourself. Go look in the mirror, Liza.”
I stubbornly refused, folding my arms beneath my chest. Ty wasn’t having it. He grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the mirror in my parents’ living room, and when I finally looked, my heart stopped. My eyes were glowing red like an alpha’s.
