Chapter 71

Mira

The ground was warm underneath me.

I woke up confused, not knowing where I was or how I got there. My clothes hung off me in rags, the gravel sharp where it pressed into my back. But I wasn’t frightened. I felt a sense of calm that I had not felt in a long time— maybe ever.

I’m home.

A fresh surge or warm energy surged through me as I felt my wolf stir, restless from years of being locked up. A huge smile washed over my face as the rest of the world came back into focus.

Dominic was crouched over me, fear and concern and amazement in his eyes. Instinctively I reached up and touched his face. There was a spark of electricity as my fingers brushed his cheek. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“You’re safe,” he said.

He had not spoken the words aloud, but I heard them.

“You came,” I said back to him.

We stayed in that moment, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes. I could feel something new between us, like we had unlocked a door that connected the two chambers of our minds. He inhaled deeply and I did the same, breathing in his pheromones with heightened senses that sent a wave of pleasure through my whole body. I recognize the same reaction in him.

A whimper next to me caught my attention, and I looked to the younger girl on the ground next to me.

“Rae—“ I whispered, my actual voice sounding foreign to me.

Lucas was already there, offering a steady arm to get her off the ground.

“Can you walk?” he asked her gently.

“I don’t…I’m not..” she was distracted and disoriented, her eyelids heavy and threatening to close again.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Lucas said. “I’ve got you.”

With ease, he lifted her to her feet and then scooped her up into a fireman’s carry. Her body was limp, but she managed to wrap an arm around his neck for security. Lucian stood nearby with his mouth wide open, staring at me. He look like he was hallucinating or seeing a goddess in corporeal form. I gave him a small smile and he gulped, suddenly uncomfortable and embarrassed at being caught staring.

“We should move,” Lucas said to the group.

Dominic helped me to stand, and seemed surprised that I was not weak or injured. He removed the light jacket he was wearing and passed it to me. For the first time I acknowledged the fact that much of me was exposed through my ruined clothing. Maybe I should’ve been more self-conscious, but I only felt powerful. I was practically vibrating with it.

Lucas led the way, his sharp eyesight blazing a path through the trees and back to Wyatt in the waiting van. As I stood up between Dominic and Lucian, they both continued to stare at me as if waiting for something magic to happen. An earlier version of me might have been self-conscious about their attention, but something about it now I found amusing.

“Let’s go, boys,” I said as I hustled after Lucas.

My own eyesight was sharper, too, and I marveled at the strength of my legs even back in my human form. Even more than my regular running practice, my wolf gave me agility and endurance.

I almost forgot about the danger behind us until I got to the van, Dominic and Lucian arriving a few seconds later.

“Mira!” Wyatt said when he saw me, reaching an arm out the open window in the front seat. “Hey you,” I said warmly, taking his arm in a small embrace.

His eyes opened wide, and pulled me closer to him taking in my scent.

“Something’s different…”

I smiled. “She’s back.”

We piled into the vehicle without words. Since Rae was lying on the full back seat I didn’t even hesitate before sitting on Dominic’s lap. He looked a bit surprised at what seemed like a very forward move, but quickly put his arms around my waste as if acting as my seatbelt.

Lucian looked at us briefly, pouting, then turned to look out his window.

In no time we were heading back down the dark road, each of us occasionally looking behind us to see if we were being followed. After an hour of driving and no signs of pursuit, we were all able to relax a bit.

“So,” Dominic said in my ear, “can you talk about it?”

I shifted my body in his lap, a small part of me wondering how he would react to my physicality.

“I think so,” I said, seeing the others in the car give me their attention. “It all happened so fast, the anger and fear and all the years of suppressing the past all came crashing together and…it was like an implosion.”

I told them about the room I’d woken up in and the nameless man who guided me around. Dominic’s body stiffened when I told him of the procedures they were doing: Extract and Stabilize. I placed a hand on his leg beneath me, my fingers gently caressing his knee in comfort.

When I recounted the moment when the world changed and my wolf returned, my human brain felt remorse for the violent outburst. I had blood on my hands, literally, but I didn’t know exactly what I did or to whom I did. It was Dominic’s turn to offer a subtle touch to comfort me.

“It’s not your fault,” he said firmly.

“And it’s not like they didn’t deserve it,” Wyatt added from the front seat.

I knew that this return of my wolf would take some getting used to, but in that moment I felt the strength of the Pack behind me. I smiled, for them and for myself, knowing that I knew I had more of a bond to them than ever before.

“Can you remember any of their names? Did they say anything about their plans for these…experiments?” Dominic asked.

“No names, unfortunately,” I closed my eyes as I searched my memory, “but I think I would recognize them anywhere, especially the man in the glasses.”

I shivered as I heard his voice again, so soft and yet with such power and manipulation behind it. As if in response to my memory, Rae stirred in the backseat.

“No, please,” she whimpered. I turned so I could reach a hand to steady her movement. “Julian!”

I placed my hand on her forehead and she settled down, though her forehead was hot. I needed to do a better check on her once we got to safety. Returning to my perch on Dominic’s lap, I could tell from the silence. We were all thinking the same thing.

We had left the boy behind.