Page 8 of Hunted

Then, he evaluated his plans.

He needed to find her himself, and asking other pack alphas to keep an eye out for her wasn’t good enough. As an alpha, and as Abigail’s mate, his responsibility meant he couldn’t sit around and wait. The wolf inside him growled in agreement, and Luke drummed his fingers on the top of his truck’s steering wheel.

He was conscious then of his father’s figure, in the topmost window of the pack’s main house. Christian was watching him. His father was probably curious to see what he would choose to do.

Would Luke choose his mate and leave pack territory? Or would he abandon Abigail and remain true to his pack?

Again, Luke was conscious of the feeling of dread, which had now made a home in the hollow of his chest. He had made the decision before he was really conscious of his choice.

The decision to go after herhimself.

He turned the key in the ignition before he knew what he was doing and pulled out of the driveway of the pack compound. As Luke drove away from the main house, his mind ran with images of Abigail. Their relationship was so new—so perfect—that he sometimes couldn’t quite believe it was real.

They didn’t have a lot of memories together, but the memories they did have were precious to him.

And he could not lose her.

Not now. Notever.

The drive from the main house to the border of his pack’s territory was a long one, and the farther Luke got away from the house, the longer the road seemed to stretch on. As if some supernatural force was pulling him backward. As if something larger than him wanted to force him to stay in pack territory.

He shuddered as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The skin on Luke’s arms tingled—prickling anxiety or fear.

He could not tell which.

What he could discern, though, was that his father would not be happy he had chosen Abigail over remaining with the pack. Christian would be fuming, even though his father would never show such emotion.

Luke wasn’t sure why, but the thought gave him some satisfaction.

Eventually, Luke crossed the threshold between the pack’s compound and the outside world. As he drove away, all he saw in his mind was his father’s shadowy figure standing in the topmost window of the main house.

What would his wolves think of his leaving? Would the pack’s view of him as alpha change?

Some of them would probably believe he had abandoned them.

Waves of guilt crashed into him, but then an image of Abigail took shape in his mind.

He tightened his grip around the steering wheel again.

I have to find her.

Chapter 5

Abigail

TheforestenvelopedAbigailin darkness.

The experience was eerie, with her consciousness ebbing and flowing. Each time she awoke, the shadows around her had shifted, casting strange and ever-changing forms in the dim light. Sometimes they grew, becoming swollen, living things that seemed to taunt her through the windows of her car.

Then, just as suddenly, they would diminish and fade, only to re-emerge in new, haunting shapes.

The shadows were ugly, a haze of dark greens and grays, and they seemed to watch her.

I’m so fucked.

The voice in her head—her voice—groaned the words.

Abigail hadn’t realized how injured she was until then. Until she started to think the shadows of the forest could be alive.

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