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“Are you sure about that? About the hunting?” Evander rubs his lips together, glancing from me and back to Adam.
The yacht was anchored at the dock on Shadow Moon, and I kind of wish we were still offshore and taking a motorized boat to the island, but we’re on the other side and closer to Sunset Pointe. How will we make it all the way to where we first landed here? I have no idea. I still can’t get a good sense of anything. Maybe Adam and Evander both know because they haven’t been basically under watch. They’ve probably been taught more than I have too. I know Ravi and even the others have tried to keep information at a minimum.
That’s got to change though. I need to learn if I’m going to survive all of this. The lack of information put me in this position. Had I known about the possibility of Chase knotting with me and impregnating me, I’d have probably not slept with him. Probably.
“He’s right, Adam. It might be dangerous. Everything is really fucked up. You weren’t at the meeting. The council is torn between controlling us and also trying to give us freedom. What if the fights between the alphas come here?” I hate to be so negative, but I also need to be realistic. I don’t even know what the hell was happening after Ravi dropped me off.
Adam doesn’t get to respond because a whistle sounds through the air, and some of the other packmates move forward. We shuffle toward the ramp that’ll take us to the dock and then the beach, and I stare in surprise at Sloan, hovering in the shade of one of the tall palm trees. Her eye is swollen shut, and she looks even rougher than the last time I saw her at the meeting.
She raises her hand and offers me a wave, motioning for me to come to her. It’s now that I’m thankful Ravi isn’t here. He’d probably intercept and not allow me to. But Adam and Evander? They wouldn’t dare. They will just remain by my side.
“Eliana, come on. This way.” Sloan spins and disappears, strutting deeper into the greenery on the outskirts of the forest of the island.
“Where are we going? I can’t just blindly follow you.” I think the words to her, hoping that I’m open enough for her to hear me but not too open that she can dig deeper into my head.
“I know what you’re planning, and I want in. The council rejected me as the alpha of Sea Glimmer. They said the only way I could take control is if I get a male counterpart. Because I can’t have children nor can I change humans into lykoswulves, they’ve determined me unfit.” Anger laces her words, and my being warms. It’s as if I can feel it as my own.
“Are you serious?” My voice rings out, and I snap my mouth shut. I just couldn’t control my emotions.
Her position of power is being ripped away from her even though she earned it all because of bigotry and patriarchal ideals. What the actual fuck? I wonder what kind of excuse they’d come up with to prevent me from ever being an alpha here.
“Yes. I don’t want to have a fucking loser by my side all because I can’t grow our pack. That’s what the packmates are for. They can bite and transform people. Still breed if we get another female. They can bow and still obey.” Sloan comes into view, resting her hands on her hips.
Adam and Evander crowd closer to me, acting like a shield without actually blocking my view of Sloan. I slide my fingers through each of theirs, hoping that my touch is enough to get them to calm down. Sloan isn’t our enemy. She can make a great ally.
“Are you sure about returning to the human world? We don’t even know how we’re going to do it yet. Does that mean you’ll lose everything you’ve worked hard for?” I lick my lips, still tasting the sweetness of Evander on my mouth. It sends tingles through me, and both he and Adam squeeze my hands tighter. I wonder if my suppressed desire might be setting them off. Lykoswulves are so animalistic in that way. I’m learning how much my scent affects them. If I were still human, I’d probably be a bit weirded out. Right now? I love what it does to them. I love the idea that I can turn them on with just my body’s fragrance. They will never think I smell bad, which has its perks. And it works the same for them.
“I’ve worked hard for power as a means of survival and nothing else. I had no help after being bitten and used by Sid. But seeing you, Eliana, has given me something I didn’t know was possible. It’s given me my hope back. I had no idea about your bloodline and how you’ve come to be. I know that if we work together, we can get off this godforsaken island. Out of this damn world.” Sloan doesn’t even look at Adam and Evander, keeping her eyes trained on mine. “I can help you. I know things that your pack wouldn’t. I also know things that the purebreds would purposely keep from you. Will you be my ally? We don’t need to be alphas to make such negotiations.”
“We should talk to the others first,” Adam murmurs, keeping his voice low but also allowing Sloan to hear him. He doesn’t want to keep it a secret.
He’s right. I should talk to the others. A part of me wants to ignore him and to agree with Sloan but that’s not how I want things to work. I shouldn’t make decisions without discussing things first. That’s what a lot of these alphas do. I don’t want to be like that.
“I’m not going to say yes yet, but I would love for you to join us. As long as I can get my pack to agree. We just have to figure out how to get to them.” I look toward the trees, trying to imagine where everyone could possibly be.
“I’ll accept that. I can also lead you where are you need to go. There’s going to be a lot of hostility, and we’ll need a true alpha of one of the packs to come with us.” Sloan rolls her shoulders as if the thought of another alpha gets under her skin. I can’t exactly blame her either.
“I’m sure Ravi will agree. It should be easy enough to convince him, little badass. Maybe wrestle him. Manipulate him the way he manipulated us.” Adam bounces on the balls of his feet, his anxiety showing, but he keeps his voice even.
Sloan flares her nostrils. “He would never leave. He has everything he could want here. The only thing he’s missing is Eliana, and I wouldn’t put it past him to make her stay.”
“What about Slater? I don’t know him well, but I know he has an interest in me. He might even be a bit more powerful than Ravi.” I shrug my shoulders with my comment. I don’t think Slater would actually come with us. He has his pack here, and he considers them his family. It would take something significant to get him to come with us.
It also makes me worry about Tristan. What if he chooses not to come? I would have no choice but to leave him. I can’t stay. I’ll not wait it out and hope for the best. I’m not willing to test my already bad luck. I need to bond with someone at the next full moon. It could lead to fighting between Ravi and Slater. I know they were told that it would be my choice, but what happens if I don’t choose?
“They will make you, my pet.” A strangely familiar voice swirls through my mind, sending an eerie chill shuddering through me. I recognize the voice, but I can’t pinpoint from where. It’s not a lykoswulf. It’s strange how I know—like it’s instinctual. The new presence in my mind reminds me of Serena...just the feel. Except it belongs to someone else.
“Have you already forgotten how I helped you from the void, Eliana?” the man asks. Amusement lightens his words, yet it does nothing to stop the fear blossoming through me.
I spin around and search our surroundings. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. The forest remains dark and shadowy and a brilliant sunset sets the beach aglow.
“Hey, whoa. Eliana, what’s wrong?” Adam slides his arm around my waist pulling me to him.
His touch shocks my senses back to the present and what happens around us, forcing the strange voice from my head.
I blink a few times, trying to focus.
“Don’t tell him. He will go on guard. You’ll never find your way off this island if he does.” Shooting pain strikes between my eyes with the man’s voice.
