CHAPTER ONE

Isabella Hart could have been anywhere right about now, really. She could have been out and about doing exemplary charity work for the local shelter, enjoying her time distributing goods to those who were in need. She could have been out on a date with some pleasant man who wanted to flirt, and would have flirted right back and seen where the night led. Hell, she could have been sparring by now and beating the ass of those who said women just weren’t as strong as men or as good at defending themselves.

Instead, Isabella was here on an uncharted island, following her younger brother to Lord knew where.

The idea of going to an island itself wasn’t such a bad idea. But this island was not the tropical paradise she preferred. It was creepier than any she’d encountered in her life, with its fog a thick blanket covering the island and a general feeling that something wasn’t quite right. She wondered what Jason was doing here, and whether she needed to say anything to their older brother about it. She doubted Jason was up to any good, considering his rebellious ways lately. He’d been disappearing too many times to count, and she just couldn’t stand the sick feeling of worry in her stomach anymore.

It wasn’t easy to follow him, especially when there was a particularly long boat ride that ended up with her having to sneak in later using a smaller boat—one that was now hidden between rocks on the shore. Covered by her cloak and trying to blend in, Isabella tried to get a sense of her surroundings, as well as the people walking about. There wasn’t anything particularly menacing about them, but that only made it odder.

What were they all doing on this island?

She finally spotted Jason just ahead, his feet swimming in fog but his familiar body visible underneath his long blue coat. It was his worn out coat, the one he used when he wanted to go somewhere that didn’t identify him to the rich clan that he belonged in. She followed him a few paces away, careful to keep herself hidden. Jason kept walking, never once looking back, his stride hurried and urgent. He entered what looked like a barn, with its wooden walls and dilapidated roof.

After a few seconds, Isabella ducked in behind him.

The first thing that registered the moment she got inside was the scent—a mix of piss and something putrid, like garbage and other bodily wastes. It had her gagging. Isabella staggered back and had to hold her breath to keep going. The entrance was still full of fog, but it thinned out once she continued walking, enough for her vision to adjust.

The sight that greeted her had horror rising up and churning in her stomach.

It was a prison—not a barn prison, because apparently the barn was only a façade. Inside, there were rows upon rows of prison cells on cement walls, all made of rusty iron with locks and what she presumed were guards roaming around. They all carried knife-like weapons and guns on their hips, and were wearing a mismatch of outfits.

Pirates, she realized.

Inside the cells were kids—too many kids, all crowded in irregular patterns. Some cells barely had any, while others had too many that it must have been impossible to sit down. Her heart felt sick at the sight, especially when she could see that a lot of them looked starved and malnourished. They didn’t feel human, but she couldn’t figure out what that made them.

And the awful stench that was coming from them.

Her mind worked furiously as she realized what she’d stumbled upon. Isabella knew there was no doubt about it now. She had to report it to her older brother Isaac, who was clan leader of this general area and would be absolutely furious if he found out about this. But she needed to keep following Jason, too.

Was he involved?

Just as the thought ran through her mind, a hand clamped on her upper arm and dug in. Isabella looked up and found blue eyes similar to hers, eyeing her in both fury and panic.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jason whispered urgently.

“I followed you,” she said simply.

Jason shook his head. Then he was dragging her towards the back of the barn, right in an empty space between two cells.

“You can’t be here,” he hissed, his gaze flashing as he eyed her cloak. He grabbed her again. “How long have you been following me?”

“Apparently, not as long as I should have, otherwise I’d have known about this sooner,” she snapped, yanking her hand back. “I need to get you out, Jason.”

A sorrowful look entered his eyes. “You can’t.”

“What do you mean I can’t?”

“I’m in too deep now. It’s complicated, but you have to get out…”

His words trailed off. His head snapped up. That was the only indication Isabella had before she saw it. There were shadows surrounding them. The fog lifted, and Isabella found herself staring straight into the barrel of one of the guns aimed at them.

Almost instinctively, she prepared herself to shift—and to her horror, nothing happened.

That was the only thing she remembered before meeting headfirst the barrel of one of the guns. Isabella only had a few seconds to register Jason trying to hold them off with a couple of punches before darkness took over.

*****

She woke up to a dim yellow bulb swinging back and forth on the ceiling before it registered that her hands were tied up. With a start, Isabella sat up straight, her head throbbing with pain.

There was something going on in the other room—yelling, from what she could hear. Jason being tortured, she realized when she recognized his voice. She tried to shift again, but nothing happened. There must be something on this island preventing her from doing so.

A chill ran down her spine.

Those kids were shifters, too.

This island had to be some sort of shifter slave operation. Oh, God.

They had used ropes to tie her up, and it only took her a few seconds to unknot them and free herself. The door to her room opened, and Jason was tossed in without preamble. His face looked bruised, his wavy brown hair a tangled mess, and there was a huge, muscled guard holding him up. Isabella struggled to stand up, but only managed a few seconds before the captor holding Jason kicked her down. Her eyes met Jason’s—blue on blue, a split of a second.

“Run,” was the only thing he said.

Then Jason was twisting around and bashing the other guy on the head. There was a loud crash as the two men rolled around, and Jason repeated his shout before the other guy punched him.

Isabella was torn, wanting to help him out, too. But there were voices coming from outside, and she knew she only had a few seconds to escape. Heart sick, she ducked outside and back into the fog, trying to determine where the exit was and where the voices were most loud to avoid that area. Then she made a run for it, bypassing the cells and the kids that were too painful to look at.

She ran. She ran for her life, never once stopping when she heard some kids cry for her help. She ran, almost out of breath, managing to get past one pirate who looked too young and was startled enough to be shoved off. She ran until she smelled the ocean, blindly navigating her way through the fog and avoiding the crowd. Whatever distraction Jason was making was working, because no one followed her here.

It was approaching night, and it looked like there was a storm coming. She climbed the rocks until she found the area where she’d hidden her small boat, swaying violently against the current that was steadily growing stronger. She accidentally slipped against one of the rocks and cut herself on the ankle, blood starting to trickle and a sharp pain flashed.

Isabella cursed, finally stumbling inside the boat and trying to get the motor working and ease the boat down the shore. Rain started to pour, first in little drops that eventually got bigger until it became a steady downpour. The motor hummed continuously, fighting against the current at the same time she tried to fight the shiver running down her body—from the rain itself or what she’d seen, she couldn’t tell anymore.

The island became smaller and smaller from her line of sight until it eventually disappeared, and she was surrounded by nothing but ocean. Within the boat’s wild rocking, she tended to her wound, then checked her hand. A few seconds later, she watched it shift into a black paw and sharp claws, further confirming her theory that only the island prevented the shifting.

She couldn’t stay in this boat forever. As if someone answered her prayers, she saw a boat ahead—a pirate ship, from what she could tell from this distance. She was going to have to get rid of this one and sneak in again, so she could return to the main island and find a way to get back to her home safely.

Her other brother needed to know—whether Jason had betrayed them or not, that was beyond her control. But she could still save those kids and get them away from that nightmare.

Isabella closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She hoped she wasn’t too late.