HEART OF SHADOWS

PROLOGUE

Alice - Present Day

Keep walking.

The highway stretched out in front of me in a seemingly endless track of asphalt lined with fence and trees. In the distance, the tall, dark shadows of mountains loomed on the horizon. The sun blazed overhead in a cloudless sky and the road shimmered in the heat.

My chest felt hollow, as if something had been ripped out by the roots, leaving an aching emptiness. My heartbeat echoed inside my ribcage like reverberations in a deep, dry well. I was incomplete, fractured, broken. I didn’t know how I’d come to be this way or what was missing—only that I’d once been whole but now was not.

A handful of cars and trucks had passed me in the last hour or so. Other than those few signs of life, I might have been the only person in ten square miles. I hadn’t seen any houses, gas stations, or other buildings since I started walking. The only sounds were wind in the grass, the far-off lowing of cattle, and my boots on the pavement.

My legs grew tired again and my feet hurt with every step. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. My pace slowed.

Keep walking and don’t look back.

The command drifted through my head. The voice was familiar, though I couldn’t attach a face or a name to it.

I realized I was walking quickly again. My feet hurt as if my boots were full of razors. My socks squished wetly with every step. I wasn’t sure why since I hadn’t walked through any high water…at least, not that I could remember. The fact I was completely dry otherwise supported that assumption, so my wet socks were a mystery.

As was the small object clutched in my left hand. I vaguely recalled grabbing it and hiding it from someone, but I wasn’t sure when or why. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to drop it beside the road. My hand wouldn’t open and let it go. My fingers cramped from holding it so tightly.

I walked on.

Hours passed. The sun crossed overhead and descended, slipping behind the horizon to my left and plunging the distant mountain peaks in front of me into darkness. The moon was bright enough in the clear sky for me to easily see the road. The pain in my feet was white-hot now, but I couldn’t stop. I dragged myself on, putting one foot in front of the other, with that strange voice replaying endlessly in my ears.

Keep walking and don’t look back.

Behind me, a truck engine rumbled. The sound grew quickly, as if the vehicle was moving very fast. I quickened my pace.

Bright headlights illuminated the highway in front of me as the truck crested the hill I’d just walked over. Tires skidded and brakes screeched as the truck pulled to the side of the road behind me. I kept walking.

The truck’s doors opened and someone shouted, “Alice!” The male voice was a strange combination of relief, fury, and worry.

Footsteps pounded on the asphalt behind me. Suddenly, two dark-haired, muscular men with glowing golden eyes appeared in front of me. They wore jeans, long-sleeved shirts, and hiking boots.

The larger of the two grabbed me. “Alice,” he said again, his voice growly.

I stabbed him.

—Or at least I tried to. My fingertips rammed into his hard stomach and I felt a sharp pain.

I looked at my fingers in confusion. For some reason, I thought I should have been able to gut him that way, but all I’d done was reopen the torn flesh where my fingernails were broken and caked with dirt.

“Oh, hell.” The other man’s voice was also growly, but he seemed less threatening than his companion. “Sean, she’s bleeding badly.”

“I smell it.” The larger man held me by my upper arms, his eyes searching my face. “Alice, how did you get here? We’ve been looking for you.” He scanned our surroundings. “Where’s Malcolm?”

I had no idea who that was, or what these men wanted with me. I tried to pull free and start walking again, but his grip was like iron.

“I don’t think she knows who you are,” the younger man said, his voice full of worry. “I’m not sure she even knows her own name or where she is.”

The larger man cupped my face with his hand and stared into my eyes. A strange scent teased my nose. Smells like a forest, some part of my brain said.

“Alice,” he said carefully, “Do you know who I am?”

Keep walking and don’t look back.

I struggled against his grip, my gaze fixed on the distant horizon past his shoulder. I needed to walk. I couldn’t stop—not now, not ever.

He swung me up in his arms and headed toward a large, black truck. I fought him, beating him with my fists and even clawing at him, but nothing I did fazed him in the least. The other man had his phone out and was texting, his face grim.

The larger man carried me to the truck. The other man opened the back tailgate. The big man sat on it with me in his lap and wrapped his arms around me, holding me still. I’d scratched his face, neck, and arms bloody, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Did you let the others know we found her?” he asked his companion.

“I told Jack. He’ll tell the rest of the pack.” The younger man rubbed his face. “I wish Nan was here, or Casey. We need a nurse.”

“Take off her boots,” the big man said roughly. Strangely, he seemed to be nuzzling the back of my neck. He held me so tightly I couldn’t even squirm, much less get away, but he was also gentle, as if he was afraid of hurting me.

The other man unzipped my right boot. When he started to remove it, the pain was so intense I screamed.

The man holding me kissed my temple. A strange comfort washed over me, as if I’d suddenly been wrapped in warm blankets.

The younger man carefully removed the boot and swore. “Her feet are a bloody mess.” His voice sounded agonized, as if it were his pain instead of mine. “She must have walked for miles. These boots were not made for walking, Sean. Her feet…they’re just mangled.”

The larger man shook with what looked like fury and grief. “Take off her other boot and her socks. We need to see how bad it is.”

“It’s bad,” the other man said grimly. He gently peeled away my wet sock, revealing my bloody foot, and swore again. “The bottoms of her feet are all cut up too and half the skin is missing. I don’t even know how she was standing, much less walking.”

The man holding me made a strangely inhuman sound that was almost an animal’s snarl. “Because she was spelled to walk. She couldn’t stop, no matter how much it hurt. She would have walked until she dropped dead if we hadn’t found her.”

Gingerly, the other man took off my other boot and sock. It hurt—a lot. I fought to get away, but they held me still with seemingly no effort at all. I didn’t understand why they were so strong.

The younger man got a bottle of water from the truck and washed the blood away. “She needs medical attention for her feet and severe dehydration,” he said when they’d gotten a good look at the condition of my feet. “I saw a twenty-four-hour urgent care center about thirty miles back.”

“No doctors, no hospital,” the man holding me stated. “We’ll take care of her ourselves. Get the first aid kit out of the back seat.”

While the younger man went to get the kit, the man holding me stroked my tangled hair. He pressed a kiss to my jaw, his stubble scratching my sunburned skin.

“I don’t know what happened to you,” he murmured. “I don’t know how you got here, or who did this to you, but I swear I will find out and I will end them.” He squeezed me gently. “Please say something, Alice. Tell me you know who I am.”

I turned my head and looked over the top of the truck, toward the mountains. “Let me go,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I have to keep walking.”

His chest rumbled. “You’re not walking anywhere. Your feet are sliced to the bone. Whatever this magic is, whatever’s been done to you, we’re going to fix it. But first, we’re taking you somewhere safe.” His voice caught. “I’m taking you home.”

The younger man returned with a white case and another bottle of water. My eyes locked on the water.

“She needs liquids,” the younger man said, opening the case and taking out a pill bottle. “If we can’t get her to a hospital, we’ve got to rehydrate her some other way.”

The man holding me nodded at the pills. “Give her half of one of those and some water.”

The younger man shook a large white pill into his hand. He broke it in half and opened the bottle of water.

“Alice, here’s some water,” the man holding me said. “Drink.”

The other man brought the water bottle to my lips and gave me a little to drink. My mouth and throat were so dry that the sensation of water was both wonderful and almost painful.

The younger man slipped the half-pill into my mouth and gave me more water. I swallowed. He took the water away. I made a little protesting sound.

“You’ll get sick if we give you too much at once,” he told me. “Let’s wait a few minutes and make sure you can keep the water down.”

I wanted—I needed—to keep walking, but exhaustion tugged at me. I rested my head against the larger man’s chest. This was comfortable, as if I fit just right against his body like pieces of a puzzle. It was a strangely peaceful feeling.

The pain receded. I sensed the younger man doing things to my feet, but it all seemed distant. The command to walk was still there, but my arms and legs felt as if they were full of lead and I couldn’t obey.

“How did she end up like this, walking down a deserted highway so far from home?” the younger man asked as he bandaged my foot. His voice sounded like it came from a long way away.

“I have no idea, Ben,” the larger man said, cradling me.

I stopped fighting to get away. The warm comfort he’d wrapped around me and the effects of the pill they’d given me made it so I couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t even care about needing to walk. I should have been terrified that I had no memory of who I was or where I came from, and that I’d fallen into the hands of two powerful strangers who seemed to know me, but I was so very, very tired. My eyes drifted closed.

Just before sleep stole me away, I heard the man holding me add, “But I’m sure as hell going to find out.”

CHAPTER 1

Sean - Present Day

The truck flew down the highway, headed for the distant lights of the small town of Landers. Ben Cooper drove silently, his eyes gold with anger.

Sean Maclin, alpha of the Tomb Mountain werewolf pack, sat in the passenger seat, consumed by fury and frustration. He cradled Alice carefully and slipped chips of ice between her dry, cracked lips. He was grateful for the extra-large soda Ben had brought—the ice remaining in the cup was the best way to rehydrate her for now.

Despite the werewolf-strength painkiller and sedative they’d given her, Alice’s sleep was restless. Her hands clenched into fists and sometimes she clawed at him, making desperate sounds as if she was trying to get away and go back to walking along the highway. Seeing his proud, powerful Alice like this made him want to tear something or someone apart, slowly.

Other than her physical condition, he saw precious few clues as to where she’d been for the past several days. After she’d fallen asleep, he’d managed to pry her fingers open and found a pink cigarette lighter. At first he’d thought she’d picked it up from the roadside, but it was clean and undamaged. He’d secured it in a plastic bag as a potential clue.

The lighter was all Alice had other than the clothes on her back, which were the same clothes she’d been wearing the day she’d disappeared. Her hair was matted and dried mud streaked her sunburned face. Her fingernails were broken and caked with dirt and her palms and knees were scraped. It was apparent from her sunken eyes and cheeks she hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink in days.

Her scent was strange; she smelled as if it had been days since she’d bathed, but she’d been in water recently—water that wasn’t clean. He smelled old blood, unfamiliar herbs, and ash. These strong odors overpowered all other scents except her perspiration. He wondered if the strange bath had been intentional, designed to keep him from smelling anything that might hint at where she’d been.

Still, he nuzzled her neck. Beneath the odor of herbs and ash, his sensitive nose detected the wonderful and unmistakable scent of honey and vanilla that had come to mean home and happiness to him. She smelled of pain, anger, and fear, too, and his Alice almost never felt fear.

Before they got in the truck and headed for the closest town, he’d checked her over for other major injuries and found three deep cuts across her back that looked very much like lashes from a whip. The wounds were at least a few days old and had become infected. At the thought someone had whipped her, his rage had gone white-hot and nearly forced him to shift.

Ben had tended to her cuts and abrasions, using antibiotic ointment and bandages from the first aid kit, but Alice needed more than that to recover. She didn’t have a werewolf’s healing abilities. The wounds on her back and feet were particularly serious.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he sensed no magic from her. Earlier, she’d tried to stab him with a blood-magic blade and nothing had happened. At the time he’d thought it was a result of her confusion, but he’d soon realized the terrible truth: she was powerless.

Usually whenever he was close to her, he sensed her peaceful green earth magic, the effervescence of white air magic, and the painful searing sensation of powerful blood magic. More recently, he’d also detected the cool blue of the water magic she’d borrowed from her ghost, Malcolm, and the hot golden shifter magic she might have inherited from her mysterious biological father. Normally, her magic buzzed on his skin like he was standing near a high-voltage wire. Now, he sensed nothing at all—not even the slightest spark.

In his mind, Sean’s wolf bared his teeth, his ears back against his head. He showed Sean an image of a wolf tearing into the flesh of a faceless man. Kill enemy, the wolf said.

“I’m going to kill whoever did this,” Sean snarled aloud.

Ben nodded grimly. “I’ll help. Hell, let’s invite the whole pack out here and let everyone get a bite of ’em, especially Jack. I’ve seen what he can do when he’s pissed.” He glanced at Sean. “We’re getting close to Landers. Where do you want to stop?”

Sean shook his head. “I want to get her home.” The need to take her back to the security of his den—his home—was so powerful, he nearly vibrated with it.

“We’re a good two hundred and fifty miles from home. That’s at least three hours, even if I haul ass. I don’t think we should wait to treat her injuries. Besides, we need to stick around and see if her trail beside the road can give us any clues as to where she’s been and who had her.” Ben’s tone was carefully non-confrontational. His alpha’s temper rested on a knife edge.

Sean growled, but he knew Ben was right. Damn it, it was so hard to think clearly with Alice in this condition, especially after she’d been missing so long. “I saw a roadside motel pretty close to the edge of town that’ll work. It had exterior doors so we won’t have to go in and out through the lobby.” He gave Alice another small piece of ice.

Ben slowed as they entered the city limits. “I see it. Looks like a no-frills place.” The older, one-story motel was ahead, on the right. A neon VACANCY sign glowed in the office window.

“We don’t need frills,” Sean said as Ben turned into the motel lot and parked. “Get us two connecting rooms away from the office if they have them. And find out if there are any convenience stores or pharmacies still open.”

“In this one-horse town at midnight I doubt anything’s still open, but I’ll ask.” Ben got out and headed for the motel office.

Sean smelled fresh blood. He wasn’t sure if it was from Alice’s feet, the wounds on her back, or some other injury he hadn’t yet seen, but it was enough to wrench a growl from deep in his belly. His bones ached with the strain of holding back his rage and the urge to shift and hunt Alice’s tormentors.

His phone buzzed with an incoming text message. Vaughan: Do you have news?

There were few people Sean wanted to speak to at the moment less than Charles Vaughan, but he needed to let him know he’d found Alice so the Vampire Court could switch its efforts from locating her to uncovering why she’d been taken, and by whom.

Instead of texting back, he grudgingly made a call.

Vaughan answered on the first ring. “Have you found her?”

Even the sound of Vaughan’s voice was enough to elicit a low snarl from Sean. He had nothing against vampires in general; as long as you never forgot their ruthlessness and endless plotting, they were no more dangerous than humans or any other kind of supernatural being. But Vaughan had taken advantage of Alice on more than one occasion, going so far as to bite her without her knowledge or consent while she lay in a coma, and then essentially blackmailed her into agreeing to a second bite.

Despite all that, Alice seemed to have a soft spot for the fangy son of a bitch. Sean loved Alice for her kind heart, but he worried it was a vulnerability she could not afford with so many enemies circling around.

As he had to do so often, Sean put his hatred of Vaughan aside for Alice’s sake. “We found her.”

“I am much relieved to hear this news,” Vaughan said. Something about the way he said it—as if he had just as much of a right to be concerned for Alice’s well-being—made Sean snarl again quietly.

His wolf growled in agreement. Ours, the wolf said. The wolf hated and distrusted Vaughan even more than Sean did.

“You are in Landers. How did she come to be found so far from home?” Vaughan asked.

Damned Vampire Court; they’d tracked his phone to know his location. Sean had no desire to prolong this conversation, but if he hung up, Vaughan would simply call back—or, worse, join them at the motel. He didn’t want Vaughan anywhere near Alice. His control was already at its limit.

“We don’t know yet,” he replied, his tone frosty. “She wasn’t coherent when we found her. We had to give her a sedative and painkillers. She’s asleep.”

“What can you tell me of her physical condition, then?” Before Sean could snarl a response, Vaughan added, “Valas will ask.”

Sean was reluctant to reveal too much over the phone, especially Alice’s apparent amnesia. “She’s covered with cuts and bruises and her feet are torn up from walking.”

Vaughan hissed.

“The Court all but forced her to take this case,” Sean ground out. “I will discuss that with Madame Valas. But whoever took her—they’re mine to deal with. Are we clear?”

“Perfectly clear.” Vaughan’s voice was crisp. “You will bring her directly to Northbourne for care and protection.”

“No, I will not. Once we attend to her injuries and we think she’s ready to travel, I’m taking her home. When she’s recovered enough for you to talk to her, she’ll come see you, or the Court can send someone to my house and interview her there.”

Vaughan made a low sound in his throat. “That is not acceptable. The Court can better protect her.”

“She isn’t yours to protect, vampire.”

“Nor is she yours, wolf.”

Alice made a sound in her sleep that sounded almost like a plea. Sean held her a little closer and lowered his voice. “On the contrary, she is mine, and I’m hers. That’s what the term consort means, as you well know. By shifter law—which you and your Court must honor—her well-being is my responsibility as long as she’s incapable of defending herself.”

Ben exited the motel office and headed for the truck, a piece of paper and two old-fashioned door keys in his hand.

“I will speak with Madame Valas and we will contact you again shortly,” Vaughan said coldly.

Sean ended the call without bothering to reply. He tossed his phone on the dashboard and kissed Alice’s forehead. “I hate that vampire,” he murmured to her.

Ben opened the door and got in. “What did you find out?” Sean asked.

Ben put the room keys in the cupholder and the motel registration under the seat. “There’s a convenience store a couple of blocks away, but they don’t have much more than beer, lottery tickets, and cigarettes, the night manager says. She told me there’s a twenty-four-hour pharmacy the next town over. It’s about a twenty-minute drive.”

He parked near the end of the motel and they took Alice into room fourteen. The furniture looked old but well-cared for and the room was clean. Sean laid her carefully on one of the double beds. She moaned softly, her fingers curling to grab the comforter, but she didn’t wake.

Ben brought Sean’s bag in and set the cup of ice on the nightstand. “What can I do to help?”

Sean rubbed his face. “I need to see what other injuries she has.”

Ben put his hand on Sean’s shoulder, lending his alpha support. “I’ll give you some privacy, then. Knock when you’re ready to talk.”

“Thanks.”

Ben quietly closed the door to their room.

Sean took the empty plastic garbage bag from the bathroom trash can and started removing Alice’s clothing. Her shirt and tank top were torn. He used a pair of scissors from the first aid kit to cut them off.

His nose catalogued a host of scents on her shirt and top. He ignored those belonging to Alice and focused on the ones that were unfamiliar. Among the natural scents of dirt and plants, he caught a whiff of a strange musty odor that smelled almost like a swamp or bog, with notes of burned paper and roadkill. It smelled vaguely familiar, though he wasn’t sure when or where he’d encountered it.

The shirt and top went into the bag. Her chest was scratched and dirty and covered with bruises. A large, dark bruise on her ribs indicated someone had punched or kicked her there. His heart ached to see her so battered. He wanted to wash her and clean off all the dirt and blood, but that could wait until they were home.

She looked strange without the familiar wolf amulet she’d worn for the past several weeks. Its absence explained why he hadn’t been able to locate her with his own amulet, which hung around his neck under his shirt. He hadn’t taken it off since Alice gave it to him. The trace of her magic it held had been a source of comfort for both him and his wolf while she was missing.

He removed her dirty jeans very carefully with the scissors rather than take them off and risk waking her or disturbing the bandages on her feet. Like her shirt, her jeans smelled of earth, blood, and that odd musty scent. She was not wearing underwear. Sometimes she chose not to, but its absence worried him.

“Alice, forgive me for this,” he murmured, running his fingertips over her cheek lightly. It felt wrong to touch her in this condition, though they’d been lovers for months and he knew her body almost as well as his own.

After twenty years as a prisoner in her grandfather’s crime syndicate, with little control over her own body, Alice had made it clear her autonomy was something she would rather die than lose. That made her injuries, particularly the one on her ankle, difficult for him to think about. Now she was naked on the bed and helpless, and he was fully dressed. He was sure under normal circumstances she wouldn’t object to him touching her. Even so, he hated to do it, especially since she seemed to have no memory of who he was or their time together.

To his immense relief, he didn’t think her captors had sexually assaulted her; at least, he didn’t see or smell anything that would lead him to believe they’d harmed her in that way. A little of the tension in his body eased.

His stomach roiled as he checked her for injuries. Her legs were even more scratched than her torso. The scratches had been made by small branches or thick grass. At some point she’d been naked and perhaps running through trees or a field. How and why she’d gotten back into her clothes afterward was a mystery, but not the most pressing one at the moment.

He found a sizable lump and a cut on the back of her head where she might have been struck and knocked unconscious. Her arms and legs had abrasions indicating she’d been tied to something, maybe a chair. Telltale finger-shaped marks on her wrists told him someone had grabbed her tightly and for long enough to leave bruises. Her right ankle was rubbed raw, as if she’d been shackled. He snarled at the thought.

Once he was certain he’d learned all he could from the scents and marks on her body, he covered her with a sheet and blanket from the closet.

Sean needed to tell Ben what he’d found out, but there was something he needed to do even more. Very carefully, he climbed onto the bed and lay down, mindful of her injuries and trying not to wake her.

Almost four days had passed since he’d held her—a nightmarish four days of fury, fear, and desperate searching. The desire to curl around her and wrap her in his arms was strong, but he made do with lying beside her and entwining his fingers with hers. He brushed her hair aside so he could nuzzle her neck, where her scent was strongest. His wolf growled and Sean made the same low, angry sound.

He kissed her temple. “Where’s Malcolm?” he asked her softly. “Who stole your magic? How the hell did you get here?”

She made a little sound in her sleep, her breathing deep and raspy.

He inhaled and let her honey-vanilla scent settle into his bones. His wolf stopped pacing and settled down, still on high alert and angry, but no longer pushing him to shift and hunt.

Protect mate, the wolf commanded. Heal wounds, then hunt.

I will, he promised. For now…I need to hold her.

The wolf curled up, his head on his paws. Mate home, he said.

Sean wasn’t sure if the wolf meant Alice had been found, he should take Alice home, or if Alice was his home. In any case, his answer was the same.

Yes—mate home, he agreed.

*     *     *

A few minutes later, Sean reluctantly got up from the bed and knocked on the connecting door.

Ben opened it immediately. “What did you find?”

Sean described Alice’s condition and let Ben smell her clothes so he’d know the strange musty scent.

As he retied the plastic bag, Ben said, “What’s been bothering me—other than her physical condition, obviously—is if someone’s had her this whole time, did she escape, or did they let her go? She’d been spelled to walk, which makes it seem like she was released. Why release her?”

“The only thing that makes sense, at least right now, is that they’d gotten everything from her they wanted and didn’t need her anymore.”

“So they took her magic, erased her memory somehow, and dropped her off on the side of the road? If that’s the case, where’s Malcolm?”

“I don’t know.” Sean growled. “We need more ice, bandages, and water, and something she can eat. I don’t think she’s had any food since she disappeared.”

“What about clothes and toiletries?”

Sean gestured at his bag. “I brought some of her things with me.”

“You know, if she’s been spelled to walk, if she wakes up, it might kick in again,” Ben pointed out. “She fought us earlier trying to get away. I’m not sure I want to gamble the sedative will keep her asleep for the drive home. If she wakes up en route, you’ll have to physically restrain her, and I know that’s not something you’d want to do.”

“Not unless I had no other choice.” Sean took a deep breath and let it out. “I’ll call Carly and see if she can help us break the spell.”

Witch Carly Reese had become Alice’s good friend and ally after she’d removed a dangerous hex intended to break up Sean and Alice’s relationship. Carly had helped them find Alice when all other methods failed. Her visions had led them to this area, and then it was a matter of driving along the highway she’d seen until they came upon Alice walking alone, just as Carly had described.

He needed to call Carly anyway—he’d texted her while they were driving to the motel to let her know Alice had been found and had said he’d call with more news when he got a chance.

“If she thinks she can help, Jack can bring her here,” Ben said. “I’d suggest Nan come too, and Casey, if we need a nurse. You know, she saved my life,” he added quietly. “Casey and I are planning our wedding right now because of her. I owe her my life.” He growled. “And I owe whoever hurt her some serious pain and a dirt nap.”

Sean felt the corners of his mouth turn up. “Alice has been known to say things along those same lines.”

“I know she has.” Ben grinned. “There’s a reason I like her so much.”

Outside, two large pickups pulled into the motel’s lot and parked. Doors opened and closed and several sets of footsteps headed in the direction of their room.

Quietly, Sean retrieved his gun from his bag. The visitors hadn’t tried to hide their approach, but he wasn’t going to take any chances—not with Alice so vulnerable. Ben, his eyes glowing, took up a position between the door and the bed.

Three sets of footsteps stopped outside the door. Someone knocked loudly.

Sean flicked the safety off his Smith & Wesson. Gun at his side, he turned the deadbolt and opened the door, using his body to block their view of the room.

Three familiar werewolves stood on the sidewalk: two men and a woman who were members of the Blue Valley pack. “Howdy, Sean,” the large blond man in the middle of the group said, taking in Sean’s body language and the gun in a glance. “We apologize for disturbing you.”

“Lucas.” Sean put the safety on his gun and tucked it into his waistband at the small of his back. “It’s good to see you again. How’s Mariah?”

In a plaid work shirt, jeans, and boots, the pack’s alpha, Lucas Stone, radiated authority and fatherly pride. “She’s doing well. We’re expecting another baby in a couple of months. That’ll be three babies for our pack this year. We’re damn proud.”

Like their alpha, Mike Vickers and his mate Andrea wore casual work clothes. All three were muscular, as shifters tended to be, but leaner than the wolves in his own pack. Rural shifters often were, as their larger territories allowed for longer runs in wolf form and more hunting. Differences between rural and urban werewolf packs were both cultural and physiological. Lucas’s appearance at their motel room demonstrated how quickly their pack responded to reports of interlopers.

Sean glanced at the motel office. “Word travels fast around here.”

Lucas smiled briefly. “We like to know when visitors are in town. Martha, the night manager, is a friend of our pack. She passed along your pack mate’s name and information, along with the news you had someone with you who might be hurt. Does your companion need medical attention? Andrea is a nurse.”

Sean shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, but we’re fine.”

Mike growled low. “How would you like it if we came into your territory and acted like we owned the place?”

Lucas raised his hand, signaling his beta to stand down. “They’re a city pack, Mike. They see members of other packs all the time.” He turned back to Sean. “Pack territories work a little differently out here. We’re less used to shifters coming and going in the area without contacting us beforehand.”

Damn it—Lucas is right, Sean thought. “I apologize for that. I was focused on finding a missing person and didn’t think to contact you.”

Lucas nodded, accepting the apology. “We might be able to give you some assistance, if you’d be willing to tell us what brought you here and how your consort came to be injured.”

No doubt the others had sensed Sean’s fierce protectiveness and other telltale emotions and correctly interpreted them as concern for his consort. Alice’s identity was no secret among the packs in the area, thanks to the controversy she’d caused on the Were Ruling Council, and her blood smelled distinctly human. It would be simple logic to deduce the identity of the injured woman sleeping in the bed behind him.

Andrea spoke. “Why don’t you let me check on her? I know you feel very protective right now, but she smells like she’s running a fever and I could at least clean her wounds. I have a first-aid kit with me. You can stand right next to me and the men will stay out here so we have privacy.”

Sean sensed concern from Lucas and anger from Mike. To his surprise, Andrea put her hands on her hips and glared at them both. “This woman is hurt. If that’s the only way he’ll let me help her, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

Sean felt a sharp pang in his chest. Andrea’s defiance reminded him of Alice—his Alice, not the wounded, confused woman he’d found walking alone on the highway. Alice’s feet and back did need care.

“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate your help.”

Andrea hurried to one of the trucks, got a small duffel bag from the back seat, and went inside the room. Ben joined Lucas and Mike outside, leaving the door slightly ajar, as Sean followed Andrea to Alice’s bedside.

Andrea folded back the sheet and blanket, revealing Alice’s arm. She checked Alice’s pulse, then checked her temperature with an ear thermometer. “She’s got a temp of one hundred and one,” she told Sean. “Why don’t you give her more ice while I check her feet?”

Sean fed Alice ice chips while Andrea uncovered her bandaged feet. Blood had soaked through the wrappings. She very carefully unwrapped the bandages.

“You did a good job with these,” Andrea said, discarding the bandages in the trash can. She slid her first aid kit closer and started tending to Alice’s feet. Her demeanor was professional, but Sean saw sympathy in her eyes as she carefully cleaned the torn flesh and started re-bandaging. “It looks like she walked a very long way in shoes that weren’t designed for that—and that was after her feet were already cut up from walking or running barefoot. I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt.” She glanced up at Sean before returning her attention to the bandages. Defiant or not, she couldn’t hold eye contact with an alpha for long. “Your consort is one tough gal.”

“Yes, she is,” Sean agreed. The ice in the cup was almost gone. He’d have to send Ben to get more. He worried about Alice’s fever. He hadn’t noticed it so much before, since he was more concerned about her feet, but she felt warmer now than when they’d found her.

“Her feet are in bad shape, but that’s not the source of the infection.” Andrea rose. “Are there other wounds?”

He nodded. “On her back. Those looked like they were a couple of days old.” Carefully, he rolled Alice onto her side, wrapping the sheet at her waist but allowing Andrea to see her back.

Andrea carefully removed the bloodstained bandages and winced. “These cuts are deep and badly infected. I’ll clean the wounds and give her some antibiotics, but you should have a doctor check her over. If you’re not sure who to trust in town, I can recommend Doc Verner. I work at her clinic. The clinic opens at eight, but she’d come here now if I called her.”

He despised seeing Alice hurting but she’d told him long ago she had to avoid doctors and hospitals. Her blood might be used against her or reveal her real identity. Though Moses Murphy now knew who she was, no one else did. That meant doctors and hospitals were still out of the question.

“We’ll take her to the hospital when we get back to the city,” he lied. “Thanks for the offer. Please do what you can for now.”

Andrea’s mouth compressed into a grim line. She started to say something, then thought better of it and focused on cleaning the cuts on Alice’s back.

Sean was sure she wanted to read him the riot act for letting Alice suffer. She wouldn’t have been wrong to do so, but calling out an alpha from another pack was a prelude to a fight, so she’d bitten her tongue, if only barely.

Andrea finished replacing the bandages on Alice’s back. Sean watched to make sure she put all of the soiled bandages and first-aid supplies in the trash can. He’d destroy them once she was gone.

“Thank you again,” he said as she zipped her bag and headed for the door. “You’re very kind to help us.”

“You are very welcome.” They stepped outside to rejoin the others. “Get her to a doctor as soon as you can. In the meantime, give her acetaminophen and keep cool cloths on her forehead and wrists to help bring her temperature down. Keep giving her ice chips while she’s sleeping and then let her sip water when she wakes up—she needs liquids desperately.”

“Is there anything else we can do to help?” Lucas asked.

Sean considered. “If it isn’t too much of an imposition, I’d like to ask a favor.”

“What can I do?”

“Would you be willing to go with Ben to see if you can follow Alice’s scent along the highway? We’d like to find out how long she’d been walking, and the trail is going cold.” Sean would have preferred to go himself, but he needed to stay with Alice. He trusted Ben to bring back whatever information could be gleaned from the scent trail.

Lucas held out his hand for Sean to shake. “Be happy to. We’ll take my truck. Andrea, you should come too—we could use your nose. Come on when you’re ready, Ben.” He and Andrea headed for a gray pickup that read Stone Construction on the side. Andrea got in the back seat, leaving the passenger seat for Ben.

Mike headed across the lot. When he was inside his truck and the door was shut, Sean addressed Ben. “See if you can find any clues as to where she’s been and where she walked from.”

“I’ll find out everything I can.”

Mike backed out of his parking spot. To Sean’s surprise, he re-parked near the motel office, facing their rooms.

“He’s staying to keep an eye on us,” Ben said, his displeasure evident.

Sean didn’t like being under surveillance either, but he and Ben were the intruders here. “We’re in their territory, so it’s his right to do so. Rural shifters are more territorial. At least he’s letting us know he’s watching.”

“If you need me, give me a call,” Ben said. He lowered his voice. “Before the others get here, why don’t you shift and lay down next to Alice? It will help calm both you and your wolf.”

“I might do that after I make some calls. Text Jack and let him know I want him to come out here with Nan. They’ll probably need to pick Carly up on the way. I’ll confirm that as soon as I have a chance to call Carly.”

“You got it.” Ben clapped Sean on the shoulder, then headed for Lucas’s truck and climbed in. They backed out and turned left on the highway, accelerating in the direction of where they’d found Alice walking.

Sean went back inside room fourteen. He turned off all the lights, put his gun on the table, and ran a couple of washcloths under cold water. He wrung them out and took them to where Alice lay sleeping. He sat carefully on the side of the bed and put one of the washcloths on her forehead. Her brow furrowed and she grabbed at the comforter again, but she didn’t wake. He put the other washcloths on her wrists and gave her a few ice chips.

He took his phone to the adjoining room and sat where he could see her reflection in the mirror opposite her bed while he called Carly Reese.

Despite the late hour, she answered immediately and sounded fully awake. “How is she?” she asked, without bothering with a greeting.

He growled. “Not good.” He described Alice’s condition—her apparent lack of memory, the compulsion that had forced her to walk for miles on bloody feet, her missing magic, and her injuries. Carly reacted predictably, with a mix of anger and grief.

“I can’t tell anything over the phone,” she said when he finished. “I have some suspicions, but I need to read her aura.”

“It’s asking a lot of you, Carly, but—”

“I can come,” she interrupted. “My assistant manager can open the shop for me. I need to pack some things, and then I’ll be on my way.”

“My beta Jack Hastings will pick you up. Nan Lowell is coming as well.”

“Good.” Her voice was brisk. “Miss Nan will be a big help. Text me their ETA, please. I’ll need at least forty minutes to pack.”

He exhaled. “Thank you. Do you have any way of finding out where Malcolm is? He’s not with her.”

“I can try. It’ll be tricky since he’s a spirit, but I’ll give it my best shot. Let me get packed and we’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Sean texted Carly’s address to Jack and received a confirmation his beta was headed over to pick up Nan, and then they’d go get Carly.

Before he returned to the other room, Sean went to the sink, unwrapped a small bar of motel soap, and washed his face.

He and Ben had driven straight to the area when Carly had finally gotten a vision of where Alice was, or at least the general vicinity. He’d been up for more than twenty-four hours before that, furious, worried, and unable to sleep. Alice’s absence had quickly become a source of physical discomfort and then, in the past day, actual pain.

It was Jack who’d explained how a mate bond—even a nascent bond—had physical aspects as well as emotional and metaphysical ones. Sean had experienced the positive effects of his and Alice’s growing bond, but had never suffered the pain of separation before. Deeply content and complete at her side, he’d felt hollow and as if he’d lost a limb since she’d been missing. Those feelings weren’t tied to proximity, since a bond was metaphysical. According to Jack, that had meant either Alice was dead or behind strong wards. No one, including Carly, was able to figure out where she was until just a few hours ago. Sean supposed that was when Alice had escaped, or her captors set her free.

Though most of his concern was for Alice, he also worried about Malcolm. During her absence, he’d taken hope and comfort from the thought that wherever she was Malcolm was probably with her. Now, he wondered what had become of the ghost and whether Alice had faced her tormentors alone. There was little that could harm a ghost, but Malcolm was not invulnerable. Blood mages could discorporate him, sending him through the veil to whatever lay beyond. Doing so would cause great harm to Alice, perhaps even killing her, since they were bound.

He had the sudden terrible thought Alice’s condition might be the result of Malcolm being discorporated. Alice had once said Malcolm being stolen from her could cause the equivalent of a lobotomy. He snarled.

They had entirely too many questions and not enough answers. For now, he’d focus on taking care of Alice. When the others arrived, they’d hunt down those responsible for her condition and get the answers, one way or another.