Page 42 of Blood, Shadow & Claw

"Where are you, Mazie?" I muttered, my voice barely audible over the rustling leaves. I strained my ears for any sign, any clue that might lead me to her. Every second felt like an eternity, every heartbeat a drum of war against the time slipping through my fingers.

"Please be okay," I whispered into the night, a prayer to the Moon Goddess and whatever gods watched over lost souls and misguided protectors. "I'm coming for you, Mazie. Hold on just a little longer."

With each step, I felt the weight of uncertainty bearing on me, mingling with the resolve forged from love and desperation. I would find her, no matter the cost. Because a life without Mazie was half-lived, I couldn't—wouldn't—accept that fate—not for me, not for my pack, and certainly not for the woman who unknowingly held my heart in her hands.

The forest exploded in pain around me, a searing fire igniting inmy shoulder. A silver bullet—a traitor's kiss—burned through my flesh as I crashed to the earth with the force of a felled tree: two more shots, one in my leg and another in my arm. My roar of agony echoed against the silent trees, a primal sound of both umbra and man merged into one.

The taste of iron was sharp in my mouth. Another shot rang out, slicing past my head by mere inches. My mind raced, thoughts frayed and splintering like broken twigs underfoot. Mazie. I should have told her... everything. That she was my moon in the darkest nights, that her laugh could light up the abyss in my soul. That I loved her. God, how I loved her.

"Looks like the mighty Alpha isn't so invincible after all."

The voice cut through the haze of pain, familiar and dripping with venom. Raylene. Her silhouette appeared above me, flanked by Cassie and Raymond. The betrayal hurt. Raymond had served my father faithfully. Their eyes held no warmth, only the distant gleam of icy betrayal.

"Raylene," I choked out, the word a dagger in my throat. "Why?"

"Power, dear Ajax. The same reason anyone does anything." She smirked, and I saw the shadows of my past allies twist in satisfaction behind her.

They dragged my weakened form across the forest floor, the underbrush scraping against my skin, until we reached a clearing. An iron cage loomed before me, its bars cold and unforgiving, a prison forged from my deepest nightmare. They threw me inside with less care than they would give to a piece of meat thrown at dogs. The door clanged shut, sealing my fate.

"Sadly, that iron cage will keep you from shifting. But don’t worry, Alpha. You won’t be alive much longer to care. " Cassie taunted, her voice a serrated blade.

"Why?" I demanded, the words barely more than a growl. “Why not kill me now?”

"We can’t take any chances that your mate is carrying a cub, can we? " Raylene replied, her smile thin and cruel. But it's only a matter of time before we find your precious mate and finish what we've started. Don’t you worry. We have somebody as interested inreturning Mazie to us as you are in having her by your side. You can leave this earth together. Won’t that be romantic?"

"Who's helping you?" I snarled, desperation clawing at my insides.

"Let's just say Dr. Baker is interested in our unique biology and willing to pay generously for it." Her laughter was a chilling symphony of malice.

Pinned within the iron confines, unable to shift and heal, the weight of my failure bore down on me like the mountains themselves. The loneliness and vulnerability I'd spent my life outrunning had finally caught up, and in their grasp, I found the accurate measure of helplessness.

"Damn you," I spat at my captors, my voice breaking with the strain. "You won’t win, Raylene."

Rest up, Ajax," Raylene said, her voice fading. "You'll need your strength. The real fun is yet to begin."

The cage's iron bars burned my exposed skin. The smell of charred flesh filled my nostrils as the metallic tang of blood in my mouth filled my tongue. This couldn’t be the end.

16

MAZIE

Eyelids fluttering open, I was greeted by the soft glow of twilight filtering through gauzy curtains that weren’t familiar. The events from earlier that day hit me like a ton of bricks. I’d left Ajax and the pack. The reality of everything threatened to sweep me away in a wave of hopelessness. I didn’t want to slip back into my old life. That would have been akin to attempting to wear a dress that was two sizes too small. I wasn’t that girl anymore. Yet, the only person I could think to run to was the one who had been kind to me.

I was in Mrs. Thompson's house, lying on a plush couch after a long nap. My body ached with bone-deep fatigue, the kind you get from doing too many squats in the gym. But it wasn't just my body; my spirit was battered, too. Looking out her front window, I could see my little cottage next door. Two children were playing in the fall leaves, their cheeks pink from the chilly air and their laughter ringing in the breeze.

"Did you rest well, dear?" Mrs. Thompson's voice sliced through my thoughts, sharp as the winter chill outside. She stood in the doorway, her anxious gray eyes surveying me with an unreadable expression.

"Fitful," I admitted, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my hazel eyes. The world sharpened into focus, along with the reality of my situation. “Thank you for letting me stay tonight, Mrs. Thompson. I promise I’ll have something arranged for tomorrow.”

"Never you mind that.” Her tone was kind, her expression concerned, as she smoothed her silver hair back into its tight bun. "But we need to think about your next steps. Are you certain you aren’t in any trouble? I was so worried when I saw you were missing on the news. I felt terrible knowing that you hadn’t been checking your mail. I should have gone to them right away, dear. I’m so sorry."

"Oh, no! Mrs. Thompson, I never expected you to go to the police. Honestly, I got into a minor accident," I admitted.

She quickly looked outside the window where my car was in the drive.

“It’s been repaired,” I added hurriedly. “I was staying with some people while I recovered and then… well, I didn’t want to leave. I can see now how difficult it must have been to have a stranger in the way.”

Mrs. Thompson walked over to the couch and sat beside me. She cupped my cheek with a weathered hand and wiped away a tear with her thumb. “Mazie, you’ve always had an air of fragility about you. I used to worry about you living alone in that house daily. I only saw you leave to get groceries or go to your therapy appointment. I suppose when you didn’t come home. I thought you’d finally found your wings and blossomed.”

---