Chapter One
Jillian
Silence was golden, especially in the caves that surrounded our pack. The familiar drip-drops of water as it melted and splashed into the puddles below was like a symphony to me. The sun barely grazed the edges of the cave, making the crystals that peeked out from the rock glimmer and gleam as though they were communicating with me, welcoming me to their sacred place.
I’d come to the woods to gather some mushrooms the autumn coolness had provided, along with some herbs for Magda, but no matter how determined I was to stay on task, these caverns always drew me in like a moth to a spider’s web. One step inside, and I was caught.
Putting my basket on the nearest rock, I whirled around, taking in the place while the sun hit my legs, warming me. I had only one tattered coat and I’d foolishly decided the evening wasn’t quite cold enough for the covering.
I should’ve known better.
Barely pulling myself away from the magnetism of the cavern, I picked up my basket and turned, determined to make it back to my tiny cabin before nightfall. Stew was bubbling in a pot over my fire, and my bed was already calling my name.
Basket in hand, I whirled and waved to the cave before getting back on the path that would take me home. I’d worn a trail into the dirt from all my time coming to this place, so getting back was nothing.
My footsteps were the only sound until a scratching and whining from my left made me freeze in place.
Someone was out here with me. I didn’t scare easily, and most probably it was one of the pack cubs who had lost his way, but I wasn’t allowed around them unless I was working.
They would have to find their own way home.
A bush next to me moved, and I jumped back, holding my hand to my chest. Two breaths later, a wolf emerged from the thorny bush. He was yelping for help and, as I crouched to put my basket down and get a better look at him, I realized it wasn’t any wolf I recognized.
This one was rogue.
Extending my hand, I waved my fingers, trying to coax him toward me, but the male wolf was shaking in fear. And my own wolf was preening inside me, pacing with anticipation. Somehow, she knew this wolf even though I had no recognition.
I patted the ground next to me as I sat down, hoping the more submissive posture would let him know that I wasn’t a threat. On bloody paws, he crept closer but only a few steps.
To my right, the sun dipped low in the sky. Night was falling. This wolf was in no shape to stay outside alone, and the autumn winds would nip at him through the darkness, letting him get no sleep. I had to do something, even though taking someone into my domain screamed against ever fiber I was made of.
Still, the wolf called to me in ways other than his whining.
He needed me. And my wolf knew that somehow he was important.
Maybe he would be more willing if I shifted. Showed him I was the same as him.
I shrugged off my sweater and ripped jeans and shifted right there as he watched. He backed up a few steps before coming near again as my wolf took over my body. The male wolf sniffed me and gave a tiny yelp.
Come on. Follow me. We don’t have all day. In fact, we have little day left at all.
I barked once, a command for him to pay attention, and he heeded. I took my basket handle in my teeth, along with my clothes, and began a slow walk toward my cabin. I hoped he would follow, but if he didn’t, well, I wasn’t going to stay in the cold all night wishing he would.
Using my sharper wolf vision, I looked back several times to see him now following me, slowly, but still, making the trek. When we arrived at my cabin, I transformed back to my human self, taking my finds in with me. I pushed the door open wide, beckoning him to come in. This was either a young wolf or...maybe a wolf who hadn’t shifted before. The fear poured off him like warm molasses. He scented of pine and molasses, actually. Like tang and sweetness all mixed together.
Huh. Hadn’t come across that scent before.
Hitting the door with my hand, I signaled for him to hurry up, or at least, that’s what I hoped it conveyed.
As I shut the door, closing us both inside my warm cabin with the crackling fire, the consequences of my actions blanketed over me. I would get in some real trouble for having a rogue inside my home.
Still, I couldn’t just let him be cold and frightened outside. That kind of callous behavior just wasn’t in me.
I knew how it felt to be cold and alone. It wasn’t a feeling I would wish on anyone else.
The wolf was shivering in place and I sighed. This shifter was clearly having trouble making the transition back to human.
With a sigh, I shifted back to wolf right in front of him and then back to human. I did this several times while he watched in awe.