Chapter 187

Lucas POV

The room crackled with tension as Shana's anxiety escalated.

I had already begun to put the puzzle pieces together with what the police officer was saying. I wanted to appear strong for Shana, even though the news was crushing. I could only imagine how she was feeling right now.

As Officer Torrez explained what he needed Shana to do next, I noticed just how silent Shana had gotten. When I observed her, I watched as her breathing quickened. It rose and felt much faster than normal, echoing the unease in the air.

I reached out, intending to comfort her, but before I could utter a word, her hands clamped onto her head.

I hung up the phone with Officer Torrez, not even bothering to offer him a goodbye. I needed to make sure Shana was okay right now.

"Shana, breathe," I urged, placing a hand on her back and rubbing in soothing circles.

I looked up at Grandma Jo who had a stricken look on her face. I gave her a pained expression.

I didn't know how to comfort Shana. This was very sudden and unexpected.

Shana's breathing didn't slow, in fact, it only got worse. I started to worry for her, so I tried pulling her up.

When her face was revealed to me, I saw that there was an eerie glow painted in her eyes. The only other time I had seen her eyes glow like that was when she had experienced extreme distress... one of those times being when she shifted in the White Wolf.

"Hey, Shana, let's take a breather outside," I suggested, attempting to ease her distress and distract her.

If she was on the verge of shifting or losing control, it was safer out in the open. I didn't want her to destroy the inside of Grandma Jo's house. She could run wild and break objects and hurt herself.

No one wanted a supernatural event unfolding within Grandma Jo's cozy living room.

Sensing the urgency, Grandma Jo moved to console Shana, her hands reaching out in attempt to help. However, Shana acted on impulse, springing from her seat and making a beeline for the back door. I followed suit, concerned about what might unfold.

"Stay inside!" I urged Grandma Jo.

I didn't want her to get in the middle of anything if Shana was potentially dangerous. If anyone could handle this, it would be me.

In the open air, Shana's transformation began anew. The White Wolf emerged, the blaring sun shining off of her white fur. Yet, this time, there was an added layer of complexity. A strange force radiated from Shana, a power I hadn't sensed before.

The realization hit me – my Alpha was drawn to her. The magnetic pull of our supernatural connection left me in awe and a bit apprehensive.

I recalled Professor Black's stories and warnings. He had said that the White Wolf had the ability to summon alphas because of its intense energy. Alphas thirsted for power like this, and right now, Shana was illuminating power.

It was almost impossible for me to control myself. Something inside of me was trying to pull me toward her. It wanted to absorb her power or stake it's claim.

I tried to suppress the feeling, focusing on how Shana needed my help right now. She didn't need me losing my control, too.

She was probably scared out of her mind, having lost control for a second time. When Shana was like this, she was unpredictable. I didn't know what her next moves would be because her wolf was in full control.

As the odd magnetic force between us grew, I couldn't help but wonder if other Alphas could sense this link.

Professor Black had mentioned it was a force that could be felt for miles. I really hoped that wasn't the case. I didn't need all the alphas in the immediate area to come to Grandma Jo's backyard and find Shana.

That would leave us in a whole other world of trouble.

The implications of such a revelation sent a shiver down my spine.

I needed to get Shana to return to her human form as fast as possible. But that was easier said than done.

Shana, now fully in her wolf form, was running rampant. She tore through Grandma Jo's once-manicured garden. Flowers wilted beneath her frenzied paws, and the back fence crumbled under her wild charge, opening a gateway to the dark woods beyond.

"Lucas, go after her!" Grandma Jo's urgent command spurred me into action.

She looked around her destroyed garden and I felt a pang of sorrow. I knew Shana didn't mean to ruin all of the plants and flowers because she loved the garden as much as Grandma Jo, but replanting and regrowing the garden would take weeks, if not months.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I suppressed my own fears. I forced myself to shift into my alpha form.

Once I was on all fours in a fluid transformation, I turned toward the direction Shana had just taken off. She was a couple hundred yards in front of me, and I needed to push myself to catch up with her.

She was fast, but I had more practice in a wolf form than she did. I knew that she was running on pure panic and shock, which could make things more difficult for me.

Her turns were frantic, and her pace was extreme. I had to exert more energy to keep up with her, but I didn't want to lose sight of her.

The longer she was in her White Wolf form, the more dangerous it was. The force that I felt radiating off of her only continued to grow, and I used that strength to fuel myself as I chased her through the dense forest.

I tried using my alpha voice on her, but she was too far away for me to reach her.

I wasn't fast enough.

I needed to be faster.

I maneuvered around trees as I followed after Shana. Soon enough, she would break through and make it to the city. I didn't want to risk someone finding her.

"Come on Lucas!" I growled to myself, moving my limbs past their limits.

Eventually, I had caught up to Shana and realized that she was making awful sounds. It sounded as if she was in pain, whimpering and whining like a dog.

It made my wolf react negatively. Despair and desperation clung at me like a vice.

I could feel exactly what Shana was feeling, and I knew it was because of the news she had just discovered.

However, I wondered if I felt her feelings because of the power that was radiating off of her. Her grief was so palpable that I even found it difficult to breathe or control my movements.

She was much more powerful than I had ever anticipated. It took great skill to be able to manipulate my own emotions like this.

I realized then how dire this situation was. I needed to get to Shana, and I needed to find a way to calm her down.

We didn't understand the full extent of her powers or capabilities. There was a possibility that another alpha in the area had already caught onto her shift and was making their way toward us.

We were running out of time.