Nico’s face flashed through my mind, his silver eyes wild with feral rage. The way he’d torn through that cabin like a hurricane, destroying everything in sight. How he’d reached for me without a trace of hesitation.

No. It couldn’t be him. He wouldn’t?—

But how well did I really know him? A handful of words, a mate mark given in the heat of the moment. That was all we had. And it wasn’t enough.

“What are we supposed to do with this?” Rafe asked, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts.

Wyatt shrugged. “Keep your eyes open. I’m doing my part by sharing the intel. What you do with it is up to you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek and tasted copper. I should tell them about Nico. About the feral wolf I’d found in our territory not so far from Denver. The one I’d fucked and marked without a second thought.

The words sat heavy on my tongue, begging to be spoken. But something held me back. Maybe it was the memory of Nico’s broken expression as he struggled to remember how to behuman. Or maybe it was just my selfish desire to keep him to myself.

Whatever the reason, I kept my mouth shut.

“Great,” Declan drawled. “Guess we’ll see the survivors on the other side of this latest emergency, huh?”

I wanted to punch the smug look off his face. To scream and rage at the unfairness of it all.

Instead, I turned on my heel and stalked back into the woods. I needed to get away and think.

And figure out what the fuck I was going to do about Nico.

NICO

The scent of her lingered in my nostrils as I crept through the underbrush, careful to stay downwind. My wolf bristled, urging me to claim what was mine. To sink my teeth into her flesh and never let go.

No. Not prey.Mate.

The distinction felt important, even if I couldn’t quite grasp why.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog of distorted thoughts. It was getting harder to think straight and remember why I was here. Why I wasme.

But Elise’s scent grounded me. Kept the wolf from taking over completely.

I’d pegged her for alpha when I first caught her scent. There was power there, raw and untamed. But watching her defer to the male—Rafe—had been a shock. She clearly hated taking orders, if the snarl on her face when the bear handed out those folders was any sign.

So why did she submit?

Mine,the wolf growled.

I pushed the thought away. I had no right to claim her, no matter what instinct said. Not with the blood on my hands.

The meeting played over in my head, each word a dagger in my gut. Shifter crimes. Animal attacks. A trail of bodies leading straight to Denver.

Straight to me.

Bile rose in my throat. Flashes of memory assaulted me. Blood and screams, the scent of death choking me. I could hear my sister’s cries, see the silver bullet meant for me tear through her body?—

No.Focus.

I nipped at my leg, using the pain to anchor myself in the present. I couldn’t afford to lose myself. Not now. Not when I finally had a chance to make things right.

Elise’s mark burned on my neck. She’d given me a tether with her bite. A lifeline back to humanity when I’d been drowning in the depths of my own madness. I owed her more than I could ever repay.

And now I’d brought danger to her doorstep.

Voices drifted on the breeze, and I pricked my ears to listen.