Chapter 4
The moon is full when the pack gathers at the northern edge of our territory for the monthly run. I can smell the anticipation in the air—sharp, electric, undercut by the musk of wolves preparing to shift. The clearing is packed with bodies, high-ranked warriors clustered near the front, Deltas and Gammas forming a loose middle ring, and us Omegas pushed to the edges like an afterthought.
I stand near the tree line with Carla and two other Omegas, my arms wrapped around myself against the October chill. The sound starts low—a ripple of cracking bone and tearing sinew as the first wolves begin their shifts. Fur erupts along spines. Limbs elongate and reshape. Within minutes, the clearing is filled with wolves of every size and color, their eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
I don't shift. I can't. I just stand there, watching, feeling the familiar ache of exclusion settle in my chest.
Then Zayd's voice cuts through the night, amplified by his Alpha tone.
"Crawford!" He's already shifted—a massive dark-furred wolf with hazel eyes that burn even in this form. His voice reverberates through the pack bond, reaching every wolf present. "Stay back with the Omegas where you belong. Let the real warriors run."
Laughter ripples through the gathered wolves. I see Shane near the front, still in human form, his expression carefully neutral. He doesn't respond. He just inclines his head slightly, acknowledging the command without submitting to the humiliation Zayd's trying to force on him.
But I can see the tension in his shoulders. The way his jaw tightens.
Zayd leads the pack into the forest with a howl that shakes the trees, and the warriors follow in a surge of fur and muscle. The sound of their passage fades quickly, leaving us Omegas and Shane standing in the suddenly empty clearing.
Shane turns to leave, heading back toward the pack house, and I watch him go with my hands clenched at my sides.
---
Ten minutes later, the first scream echoes through the forest.
It's not a howl. It's a yelp of pain, high and panicked, and it cuts off abruptly. Carla grabs my arm, her eyes wide.
"What was that?"
I don't answer. I'm already running toward the tree line, my boots pounding against the dirt. I can hear shouts now, the sound of wolves snarling and snapping, and my heart is hammering so hard I can barely breathe.
I break through the underbrush and freeze.
Zayd has Shane cornered against a massive oak, his wolf form towering over Shane's human one. Shane's back is pressed to the bark, his hands raised in a gesture that's not quite surrender but close. Zayd's fangs are bared, saliva dripping from his jaws, and waves of Alpha dominance roll off him so thick I can feel them from twenty feet away.
The other wolves have formed a loose circle, watching. No one intervenes.
Zayd snaps his jaws inches from Shane's throat, a clear threat, and Shane goes very still. His face is pale but his eyes are steady, locked on Zayd's.
I don't think. I just reach.
I've never done this before—never had a wolf to teach me how. But I know what a mind-link feels like from the stories, from watching other wolves communicate silently across distances. I close my eyes and push, hard, focusing every ounce of will I have on Shane's presence.
*Shane. Are you safe?*
The connection snaps into place like a door slamming open. I feel Shane's surprise, sharp and immediate, followed by something warmer—relief, maybe, or gratitude. His voice echoes in my mind, clear and steady.
*I'm fine, Briana. Stay back.*
But Zayd felt it too. I see the exact moment the link registers—his massive head whips toward me, his eyes blazing with shock and fury. The Alpha aura falters, just for a second, and Shane uses the opening to slip sideways, putting distance between himself and those fangs.
Zayd shifts back to human form so fast it's almost violent. He's naked, covered in dirt and sweat, and his expression is murderous.
"You," he snarls, stalking toward me. "You mind-linked him? You don't even have a wolf, you pathetic—"
"I don't need a wolf to care whether someone gets torn apart," I snap back, my voice shaking but loud. "Unlike you, apparently."
The watching wolves go utterly silent. Zayd stops three feet away, his chest heaving, and for a moment I think he's going to hit me.
But Shane is there suddenly, stepping between us, his presence a wall Zayd can't quite cross without making this an outright challenge.
"Enough," Shane says quietly. His voice is calm but there's steel underneath. "The run is over, Alpha. Your point is made."
Zayd's hands curl into fists. His gaze burns into mine over Shane's shoulder, promising retribution I'll feel later.
Then he turns and stalks back into the forest, leaving the rest of us standing in the wreckage of whatever authority he thought he had.
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