Page 1 of Lost Fate

Chapter 1

Ember

The wind is going to drive me insane.

Don’t get me wrong, I love living in Colorado. It beats the hell out of Alaska, that’s for sure. It’s nice to actually see the sun here year-round, and the variety in the seasons? Not being completely dark for six months? Flawless.

But right now? It’s been windy for too long.

Honestly, it’s starting to grate on my nerves. It’s the constant howling and the fact that nothing around me is ever still. It bothers me. It feels like an itch in my brain that I can’t scratch, or something equally painful and inconvenient.

Unfortunately, that means that I’ve spent the last few days trying to ignore the fact that slowly, the wind is going to make me lose my mind.

I’ve been doing my best to manage the aggression that’s flaring up right now. I’ve spent every day for the past week in Rylan’s gym, letting him beat the hell out of me, and in turn, beating the hell out of him. It feels good.

Ever since I helped my best friend Terra with her plot to clear her mate Rylan’s name with the pack, I’ve been kind of obsessed with learning how to fight. I’ve always known that I’m a lot stronger than the average wolf, and that I have to work hard to make sure that I don’t reveal that to the world.

But being constrained like that all the time? It sucks.

When I’m training with Rylan, I’m able to let out a lot more of it, and honestly, it feels like…

Well, it brings me a peace that I’ve never known.

Today, I’m leaving Rylan’s gym after hanging out with him and Terra because something just feels off. It might be the wind, I reflect as I walk out of the newly constructed metal building.

I send one last, longing look back over my shoulder, wondering if I should head back in, but I shake my head. Rylan and Terra looked like they were about to jump each other’s bones, and while I’m all for my bestie getting it on with her fated mate, I don’t need to be there to watch. Gross.

Instead, I grab my bag and head out into the wind. A chill skates over my skin, and I sniff the air, hoping that the stupid wind might bring me just a hint of what’s wrong out here.

But there’s nothing. Weird.

I could head back to my little cabin. I love it, but honestly, sometimes the silence kind of gets to me. I could go to hang out with the group of unmated females that I’ve been trying to make friends with, since Terra needs to spend time with Rylan. That sounds appealing for about ten seconds, until I text Amara, and she reminds me that she and the girls are out of town.

That’s right.

Thanks anyway, I say, despite her encouragement that I should just join. They’ve all gone to Steamboat for a concert that I don’t really like, so there goes that idea.

I huff. I’m not interested in heading back to a silent house.

I wouldn’t say I’m really that good of friends with many of them. Terra is definitely my closest friend, and I used to have Calista, but she left the pack right around four years ago to live with her family in Florida. The other females are just… fine. They’re all very nice, it just feels like I don’t have much in common with them.

That’s what I like about Terra. She understands what it feels like to be on the outside of the pack, looking in. We have that in common, ironically.

I consider my options. Since socializing is out, I always have work. Being an ER nurse gives me an adrenaline rush whenever I can manage to find it out here, and usually, I love it. I could go to the clinic and pick up another shift, but… I don’t want to do that, either.

That weird feeling skates down my spine again. Something is wrong.

I put my gym bag in my Jeep, then shut the door. My skin feels like it’s prickling, and I have to figure this out.

With an intuition that feels oddly strong, I march into the forest.

In the woods, the strange sensation lessens ever so slightly. It’s like I’m being pulled toward something, and I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

I’m not exactly intuitive. More of a ‘think first and ask questions later’ type of gal. But this time? It’s like an ache in my chest. The only way to fix it is to just keep going.

So I do.

The woods look just as restless as I feel. The wind threads through the treetops, tugging and twisting them as it plucks at each individual tree. You can tell when there’s a big gust coming through, because the rush of it builds like a wave, cascading over you as the trees absorb the brunt of the energy.

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