Brannon couldn’t sleep no matter how he tossed and turned. He and his wolf were too restless. Thoughts of the day kept looping through his head. No matter how hard he’d tried to get Kasey to let something slip, nothing worked. He rolled over, grabbed his cell and noted the time. Just after one a.m. No calling anyone then, but a text might work. Anyone awake could respond without disturbing those who were busy.

Within seconds, he’d gotten his first response. It was time for a run to let off some much-needed pressure. It’d been too long since he’d let his wolf out to run free and it was a full moon. He smiled. He loved playing into those old myths about werewolves.

He quickly climbed out of bed and padded barefoot to the back porch so he could take in the wonderful night breeze. His sense of smell was better than a normal human, but in a few minutes the night would really come alive. His joints and limbs began to pop and snap as he shifted into his wolf. It never failed to amaze him how rich and decadent the world could be. The full moon would illuminate the night and his playground for the next few hours.

A soft growl made him spin around to see Caelan standing in his Bengal tiger form. Behind him was Bastien’s bear and Luke’s lion. This was better than he’d hoped. A soft purr filled the night air causing them all to look up and see Garrett’s jaguar lazing on a tree limb staring down at them.

“I didn’t expect all of you to be able to join me but thank you. I think we all need this,” Brannon said through their alpha link.

“We do, indeed, though I should warn you, Kira isn’t happy with you about it. She said to tell you next time, plan ahead so she can join us,” Luke answered with humor lacing his words. “Never thought I’d see a woman take to shifting as quickly as ours have, right, Bastien?”

“I think Trey was only a couple weeks old when the shift came on Carly. Luna said that was unusual, but it was the same for Kira, right?” Bastien asked.

“Yup, two weeks to the day. Scared the shit out of me. You know what this means, right, Garrett?”

“Yeah, that you two need to shut up so we can go run and I can pounce on your asses for giving me something else to worry about.”

With those words ringing in their heads, they headed into the woods to play like only shifters could. They chased, pounced, and taunted each other.

Suddenly, the jaguar slid to a stop. “Did you hear that?” The others stood still and let their animals’ superhuman skills take effect. Brannon heard twigs snap as if someone walked over them. They looked at each other. The others heard it, too.

“Could be anyone from the packs,” Bastien commented.

“At this time of night?” Luke countered. “Nobody should be out now.”

Brannon snorted. “Like we’re not out now?”

“Okay,” Luke replied, “Bastien’s right then. It could be anyone.” Luke led the party in the direction of the noise. He lifted his nose into the air, as did the others. Brannon didn’t smell anything—which sent the creeps through him. Everything had a smell. Even that damn hunter’s smell blocker had a scent. Wait. That was what he detected.

“Y’all getting that?” Luke asked. The rest agreed about the scent blocker. Whoever was out there didn’t want to be identified. Which meant they shouldn’t be in the territory. “Split up and follow anything you find,” Luke ordered.

Brannon padded through the forest brush, sniffing for anything out of the ordinary. He caught more blocker and the slight taste of burning wood. Loping farther in, his ears picked up voices. The tones were whispers, so it was hard to determine if male or female, adult or child.

The area he was in was familiar. He was close to the clearing where they’d discovered the teenagers in a trance. Was something special about that ground that caused whatever was happening to the kids?

Brannon slunk closer, keeping as quiet as a wolf could be. This might be their one chance to find out what the hell was going on.

With his next step, unimaginable pain tore through him. He yelped and fell backward, landing on his side, panting. His animal body didn’t respond to any of the commands his brain ordered. Focusing more, he realized he couldn’t feel his body. His limbs were paralyzed completely. A howl escaped his throat, not loud, but hopefully enough to warn the others to stay away.

From the clearing, he heard noises and chaotic chatter. Whoever was there knew they were being spied on.

The ground shook in rumbling rhythm, the cadence similar to a big bear running. Brannon prayed the others wouldn’t be taken down as he was. He whined to draw Bastien to him so the bear wouldn’t go farther ahead. Whatever trap that caught him would do the same to them. Bastien slid to a stop beside him and licked the side of his wolf’s face.

“Uck,” Brannon sputtered in telepathy, “stop that shit, Bast. Last thing I need is to smell like bear breath.”

“What’s wrong?” Bastien asked. Before he answered, he took stock of his body again. Feeling in his feet was coming back. They tingled like those damn pin pricks that you feel when a part of your body “falls asleep.”

“I’m not sure,” Brannon said. “I suddenly couldn’t move after a shot of pain hurt like a motherfuck.” More feeling came up his legs while the others arrived. Finally, he wobbled to his feet.

“What were you doing when it hit?” Luke asked.

“Just sneaking closer to the clearing. I didn’t see or smell anything that could inflict that much pain.”

The lion stepped forward, closer to the clearing. “Whoa, Luke man,” Brannon warned, “be careful.” After several feet, the others followed as Luke slowly continued ahead. Reaching the grassy area, they breathed a sigh of relief and sat, staring at what occupied the space.

A layer of small twinkly particles covered the top of the grass like tufts of cotton blown in. In a matter of seconds, they had disappeared, seemingly soaked into the ground.

“What the hell was that?” Garrett asked. “Are we being invaded by fairies?”

“Nah,” Luke said. “Fairies don’t smell like that.”

“Fairies are real?” Bastien asked, his furry jaw dropping. Everyone looked at him. “I need to get out more.”

Luke’s lion pressed forward into the patch. Brannon cringed, hoping Luke knew what he was doing. “Whatever attacked you, Brannon, is gone. But I feel the remnants of others being here recently. Something was going on.”

“Where did they go?” Garrett asked. “We were circling the area.”

“Smart,” Bastien replied. “Brannon’s attack was to get us all in one place so they could leave without being seen.”

“Dammit,” Brannon groused. If he hadn’t tried to warn the guys, they could’ve possibly seen who was there, but then they may have fallen into the trap.

Luke turned to him. “You did the right thing by calling us, man. Who knows what they had waiting for another one of us.”

“So, you think this is related to the teens?” Caelan asked.

“My gut says absolutely,” Luke answered. “But my brain can’t figure out what the connection is.” Brannon and the others agreed. Their animals were much more sensitive to the minutia in nature. Whatever their gut said was right, probably was.

“Let’s head back,” Luke suggested. The run to the house was brisk and cleansing with the dawning of a new day. Brannon hadn’t realized they’d been out that long. He’d have to get a few hours of sleep before functioning correctly.