Page 43 of Secrets & Sake

Oh, god. The missing people. Bile rises in my throat.

So, all this time, Raiden really was…

Tears nip my eyes.

I’ve got to follow him. I’m close to something huge. I just know it.

If only I knew what.

Chapter 11

Mount Kumotori is the perfect place to shift and run. It’s a long drive, but there’s nothing like the crisp mountain air, so it’s worth it. Here, we can be ourselves.

One by one, we leave the vehicles and follow Namikawa into the woods to a spot in the clearing. The excitement in the air is so palpable I can smell it. My own heart races, skin itchy and tight. The moon’s glow is like a caress against my skin, stirring lust deep in my soul. The lust to shift and run and hunt, as powerful as the drive to fuck.

Namikawa faces us, arms open. “Shift, my sons and daughters. Out here, we are wild and free.”

Except Namikawa has never shifted around us. I have no idea what his wolf looks like. He’s a shifter. I can smell it. Why doesn’t he show us his wolf?

“Going to join us, boss?” I ask.

“Not tonight. I am feeling unwell.” I remember his coughing fit yesterday. How can he be feeling sick? Werewolves don’t get ill.

Ren peels off her tank top, her tattoos bright. “This is going to be awesome.”

My grandfather sits on a log nearby. “Enjoy yourselves.”

I discard my clothes and let the change flow over me. Fur sprouts as I drop to all fours, my body rattles, reforming into that of a wolf. When I open my eyes, the colors of the world are different. A thousand different scents command my attention. Beside me, Ren’s white wolf prances up to me and hits me in the ribs with her head. I snap at her, and she growls back.

Then, I smell it—sweat and body odor, fear ripe in the air. Wolves growl all around me as from the shadows, a line of dirty, disheveled men and women are led in chains to the center of the clearing, surrounded by wolves.

Namikawa smiles coldly. “Welcome, humans. Tonight is your last night alive.”

The men and women begin to panic. Someone tries to run, ankle cuffs rattling, but of course doesn’t get far. A wolf tears forward and pounces. The man screams as the wolf rips into his flesh, terrified cries ending in a wet, bloody gurgle.

Namikawa tuts. “Did no one tell you not to run from wolves? Wait until the cuffs are off. Then, run as fast as you can.”

The prisoners are escorted ahead of the wolves, facing deeper into the trees. The guard undoes their cuffs. The prisoners shake and whisper prayers. Namikawa leans forward and smiles coldly. “Now… run.”

The prisoners tear into the trees, whimpering and crying. The smell of their fear and their sudden movements awaken a prey drive in me that can’t be stopped. Not until the prey has been caught, thrashing in my jaws. With a snarl, I leap after the prisoners and the pack follows, the air filled with furious howls.

My paws slam the earth as I give chase, fangs snapping inches from a prisoner’s ankles and making the prisoner scream. A wolf body-slams me out of the way and pursues the prisoner. Snarling, I rise and shake myself free of dirt. The winds blow toward me, and then I smell it. Cherry blossoms. But there aren’t any in these mountains.

I whirl around, my night vision piercing through the shadows of the woods. Something moves, a pale face in the dark. Brown eyes wide in terror find mine.

No. No. No. Shit!

Hiro. How is he here?

How much did he see? Does he know what I am?

The moment our eyes meet, Hiro hides back behind the tree. The scent of his fear is so strong, I can taste it. If I can smell him, so can the others. He has to get out of here. Now. Snarling, I tear toward the tree. Hiro gasps and closes his eyes as I round the trunk, pressing himself flat to the tree.

He’s scared of me. That’s not something I ever wanted. I fight the urge to lie down and expose my stomach, to make him understand I’m not a threat to him. I’d never hurt him. My mind can’t even fathom the idea.

Then, Hiro chucks a rock at my head. I yelp as the stone smacks off my head and instinctively try to paw away the pain. Hiro tears into the woods, and I can’t fight my instincts. I give chase, but not to hurt or kill. I will catch him and when I do, I will claim him where he lies. Mount him. Bite him. Tie him to me so no one can take him away from me.

I will make him mine.

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