“What’s going on?” I sit up, still slightly dazed as I take in the concern etched on both Perth’s and Gannon’s faces.
“Ellery just told us the enforcers are bringing up a den. They live down the mountain from us, and something’s wrong with their mate,” Perth explains, looking from me to the front door and back again.
“Do you think it’s the den from the woods? Is this some kind of trap?” I question, alarm coursing through me, my gaze flitting between their faces. Perth’s brow is furrowed and Gannon’s impenetrable mask is back in place.
“No. It’s…something else,” Gannon answers, his hand reaching for mine. I take it, traces of my release still coating his fingers as he pulls me up until I’m on my feet. He waits a beat for me to steady myself against him, and then steps away.
“It might be best for you to go upstairs and wait for us,” he urges, just as a booming knock sounds from the front door.
Perth puts his hand on the small of my back and starts to guide me quickly to the stairs. “I’ll walk you up,” he offers, his gaze intense and serious as he and Gannon exchange a loaded look.
Worry pools in my gut, all too quickly replacing the euphoria I was just floating in. My limbs are heavy with anxious alarm, and my heart hammers with fear. We’ve barely reached the landing at the top of the stairs when I hear Gannon open the front door, and a cacophony of voices rush to fill the entryway.
“Ellery! We need Ellery!” a terrified male voice demands. His plea overpowers the screeching wind that barrels into the house through the open door, rushing up the stairs and colliding with my bare shins.
“He’s headed back now, Ezra. Come in, let’s get her comfortable in a room until he gets here,” Gannon instructs, but that’s all I hear before Perth hurries me down the hall to my room.
“What the hell’s going on?” I press, spinning to face Perth as he shuts the door behind him, trapping us both in the room.
He runs his fingers through his hair, his eyes far away for a moment before they focus back on me. “That’s the Hudson den downstairs,” he starts to say as he strides toward the ensuite bathroom.
I follow.
“They claimed a mate in the last Hunt too. The short story is that her bite isn’t working like it’s supposed to, and it’s making her very sick.”
I look back to the door as though I can see the other den and their mate through it. “Is it the moon sickness you guys told me about? I thought there was still time?”
Perth flips on the light and heads straight for the shower, turning it on. Sorrow trickles through our connection, and I’m on the cusp of worry.
“It’s not moon sickness,” he answers, pulling me into his arms and rubbing my back. I’m not sure if I need the comfort or he does. “She has something we call the Fade or Fading. It happens when a bite doesn’t take like it’s supposed to and a shifter can’t transition. It’s…it’s not good.”
His voice is sad, resolute, and I cup his cheek with my hand, needing to smooth away the worry I don’t like seeing on his face. Agitated voices and heavy steps pass down the hallway as Gannon leads the Hudson den to one of the other guest rooms on this side of the house.
“Bites can fail?” I ask, looking down at my leg where there should be puncture scars, but smooth skin and sharp memories are all that’s left. “Why do they need Ellery?”
Perth steps away, and the loss of contact nips at me. He reaches into the big shower, testing the temperature of the water. “Bites can fail. If we catch the Fade early though, a bite from an alpha or a celestial can sometimes help.”
He turns back to me and there’s a heavy but not always hanging between us unvoiced. It’s written all over his face though.
The reality of what’s going on further down the hall hits me.
The other den’s mate is dying.
Shards of devastation nick my insides. I must be projecting it through our connection, or maybe my face gives it away, but Perth pulls me in for another hug. I soak up his comfort before he pulls away.
“We’re going to try to help her. Gannon is leaving to get a healer. And Ellery is racing back here as we speak,” he assures me. “Get cleaned up and hang in here until one of us comes to get you.” He brushes a quick kiss against my forehead, and then he’s gone.
I stand in the bathroom, steam slowly gathering around me, feeling adrift. All I can think about is the look of elation on Perth’s and Ruger’s faces when I first woke up. Ellery screamed something about fading when he freaked out in his office after I said my head hurt. I thought he was being overdramatic. But he was talking about this.
They weren’t just shocked and happy that I was awake, they were relieved.
I sigh at that realization. The guys didn’t even know my name. Didn’t know what kind of person I was or how my presence would impact their lives. But I have no doubt that they would have done anything, given anything to ensure I made it. And if I hadn’t, they would have mourned me, felt my loss in a way the rest of the world never would.
I felt so safe that morning I woke up in their bed.
That truth got lost in the chaos of everything that came next, but I remember feeling wrapped in secure contentment. It was warm and gentle and unassuming.
I can’t recall any other time in my life where I’ve felt that way.
Somehow, I found something precious with this den of strangers after waking up from the most horrifying, insane night.
Of course the universe would throw the worst and the best things at me simultaneously and say, here, fucking catch.
I’ve spent all this time wandering. Never connecting with people, or jobs, or places. I’ve been searching aimlessly for this thing I needed but couldn’t explain or even identify. Yet here it is. It’s been waiting right here in Howling Rapids this whole time.
My wolf.
Them.
Peace.
Stripping out of Perth’s shirt, I step into the shower. I squeeze some body wash into my palm but hesitate to scrub myself clean. I don’t want to wash the scent of Perth or Gannon off me. I analyze that strange thought for a minute and then force myself to stop being weird. Soap is good, especially in a house where everyone’s noses would give a bloodhound a run for its money.
I think I hear Ellery and Ruger in the hall as I step out of the shower and dry off. I brush out my hair and toss it up in a messy bun, and then I pull on a crimson sports bra and undies, leggings, a tank, and an oversized hoodie. I shove my feet into a pair of wool socks and stand.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps running down the hall. I freeze, staring at my closed door. My heartbeat quickens as another flurry of sounds go by, like someone is rushing past my room. I hurry over and crack open my door, peeking out.
I watch and listen for a few breaths, the large hallway quiet and painted with the palate of sunset. The den’s rooms are all on the other side of the house, while this side is reserved for a few guest suites and a large office that the den seems to use at different points. I hear Ellery’s voice come from a closed door at the end of the hall. An instant later, my sock-clad feet are moving toward him without a second thought.
I suddenly need to see him.