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Chapter one
Kat
“Awolf?”Ishout,not believing my own words. How is this possible? There is just no way.
My voice echoes through the small room in the cabin. Everyone flinches, and I watch as Zay stifles the need to cover his ears and brings his hands down stiffly to his sides.
“How the hell is she awolf?” I grind my teeth in disbelief, but deep down, I’m fearful for what my daughter will have to go through. My own transformation was the most painful thing I have ever endured, even more so than giving birth to my children.
My wolf paces around her area nervously. It’s quiet, the pounding of my heart and Ava’s cries are the only things I hear. I inspect her neck for bite marks, not quite touching her. I don’t want to cause her any more pain, but there’s no sign of trauma. Her skin looks untouched.
The smell of fresh linen and the tranquility of this cabin is the opposite of my current situation. I’m drenched in blood, and so are my guys. I want nothing more than to scrub away the death and destruction of the last few hours, but the image of my blood-coated dagger comes to mind every time I close my eyes. In the moments between my daughter’s pained wails, I can still hear the sound of metal striking bone as the guys and I plunged The Kiss of Death through Krissy mere moments ago.
My mind hasn’t had time to process what happened to the two people I watched die tonight, and even in this new world of magic and shifters, I wasn’t ready to experience a sea of spirits fighting alongside us. I’m not sure anyone could ever be ready for an army of ghosts.
To my right, Az holds Cash back, the youngest of the guys, and he looks like he’s going to murder anyone that gets near Ava. To my left, Tyler is holding onto Zay while his body practically vibrates to reach my daughter.
Benji is on one side of the bed, and Bryson and Ryder are on the opposite side, talking to each other in a hushed tone. Their faces are red and strained, and they look as if they’re ready to kill. I want to ask what they’re talking about, but a scream brings my attention back to my daughter.
She looks pale with dark circles surrounding her eyes. Her lips are cracked and have begun to bleed.
Tears stream down her face, and her eyes aren’t focusing on anything. Her body looks weak and ready to give out. I know that feeling.
I’m lost, and I don’t know what to do to help Ava. I know she’s strong, but I don’t want this for her.
She was acting strange the last couple of days, and she hid in her room and didn’t want to come out. Is this why she was avoiding me?
I turn around and look at Ash since he’s the one who told me about humans turning into wolves.
“How is this possible without a bite?” I demand, but he looks just as startled as I am—as we all are. If he doesn’t know, who else can I ask? I look around the room again, but no one seems to know what’s going on.
“Are there any theories, wolf?”She’s watching everything with vigilant eyes, but she’s just as confused as the rest of us.
I walk to the end of the bed and touch her leg but immediately pull back. She’s burning up. I look at my blistered palm in shock. How is she still alive if she’s this hot? Did this happen to me too?
Ryder takes a chair and throws it out the window in frustration, and the crash of glass shattering leaves a stunned silence around the room. His fists are opening and closing. Everyone seems shocked by Ryder’s unexpected breakdown. He’s usually calm and relaxed. Ash moves to restrain him before he can launch something else out of the broken window, but someone speaks up.
“Alphas.” I look up at Bryson. He’s got a pained look on his face. “Can we comfort her?”
The guys look at me, waiting for my answer, but I have no clue what Bryson means. “Someone explain it to me,” I groan. It really has been a long day, and watching Ava in so much pain is the icing on the cake. I’m barely holding on to the scream of frustration burning in my chest.
Everyone looks at Ash, and he closes his eyes and rubs them. “They want to comfort Ava.”
“Umm . . .” Ryder, Bryson, Zay, and Cash are all bouncing in anticipation of my answer. “What exactly does that mean?” I fold and unfold my hands, not sure what else to do.
“We lay in bed together. Us being close will help her transition.” I almost say fuck no, but then remember how painful and lonely it felt for me. If this helps my daughter, how could I turn it down? “Why would you guys be able to help?” But then I lift my hand so they don’t answer. “You know what? Never mind,” I say. I have a sinking feeling low in my stomach, and I think I know what this is about. “No funny business from any of you guys,” I say, and everyone lets out a relieved breath like they were expecting me to say no.
“We’ll behave,” Ryder says with sincerity.
“Really?” Ash scrunches his brow. I smile sadly at him because it feels like every day my kids need me less and less.
“Yeah. Let’s get you cleaned up,” Benji says gently. “There’s nothing more you can do here.” Leaving my daughter in this state, with a group of boys who are practically strangers, is the last thing I want to do.
When I make no motion to move, someone else speaks up.
“Kat, staring at your daughter will only make it worse for you and her.” I close my eyes, taking a moment for myself before opening them back up. Benji stands behind me, rubbing my shoulders. I’d rather bring Krissy back to life and fight her a hundred times over than watch my daughter writhe in pain and not be able to help her.
Benji gently nudges me forward, and as my wolf’s aggression eases with his touch, I let him guide me toward the door.
