Selene Moore pulled her Honda into the slump of a gas station. She cringed in distaste as the storefront came into her full view. It looked like one of those rest stops straight out of a stupid C grade horror flick. As she expected, the town was completely deserted with nothing but trees, fields, and barns for miles. Every so often, she would see a stray critter run across the road. Signs of any human life form were vague. Her cell phone barely got reception out here, and the GPS had given up on finding a signal hours ago.

So much for technology when you really needed it…

After slowing down to a complete stop, she leaned over the armrest to peer at the map in the passenger side seat. According to it, she had another fifteen to twenty miles to go before she reached the exact coordinates.

Selene returned her attention to the store. There were people moving around inside.

Finally! Some actual people.

She glimpsed the silhouette of a woman walking around.

There were two cars parked out front and a sign on the door that said: Hot Boiled Peanuts. Another sign hung on the inside facing out that read: Yes, We’re Open.

This gas station wasn’t any better looking than the last one she passed. One thing was for certain, she needed to pee really badly. There was no way she could hold her water for even one more mile. No use waiting any longer. She wasn’t anywhere near her destination, and she certainly didn’t want to reach it in wet undies.

This was what she got for acting on impulse. Couldn’t she leave things as they turned out to be? No, she just had to be Miss “Nice Pants” and try to go out of her way to help people.

This, though, was personal. She could not let Tamara down. She’d promised the woman that she’d personally see to it that she was completely safe. When she’d spoken with Tamara on the phone, there was something in her voice that worried Selene. What would have made her change her mind about the new life and identity offered to her? The plans had all been in place—it was a quick way out of the life Tamara had declared she couldn’t lead anymore. What had led her astray?

Selene only hoped that she didn’t find trouble again. She needed to see for herself that Tamara was alive and well. Her conscious would not let her rest until she did.

She swallowed down all her reservations, opened the door, and got out of the car.

As she walked toward the store, a burly man stepped out from the corner of the building. She hadn’t even noticed him before.

He took a cloth out of his pocket and cleaned his grease-stained hands on them. “Do you need gas, ma’am?” His accent had a hint of southern drawl to it.

“Yes.” She could probably make it on a half a tank of gas, but she didn’t want to risk it. “Yes, please. Can you fill it up?”

Relieved that the man posed no threat, she made her way into the store as he headed toward her car. Upon entrance, the woman looked up over a shelf and the man at the cash register also stared rudely.

“May we help you find something?” The lady finally spoke as she rounded the corner.

“I’m looking for the restrooms.”

“Straight to the back.” She pointed to a door near the back of the store.

Selene hurried toward it anxious to relieve herself. When she got inside, she immediately turned up her nose. It wasn’t as bad as she expected, but there was still a smell of must and dirty mop water lingering in the air. What could she expect from a public restroom at a gas station anyway?

She held her breath and did her business, careful not to touch the toilet seat. After washing her hands, she headed back out into the store. Both the woman and man looked up at her once again. They weren’t even trying to be discrete about staring at her.

Selene cleared her throat and headed toward the snack aisle. She’d been craving something salty the whole ride. There was one bag of her favorite brand of potato chips left on the shelf, and she snatched it up. As she ventured down the aisle, she couldn’t resist picking up a packet of vanilla crème filled cakes. The place was filled with junk food, so she didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it. She hadn’t seen a reasonable place to stop and eat for hours. She damn sure wasn’t going to go hungry out here.

Damn her diet. Desperate situations called for desperate measures.

“Are you finding everything alright?” The lady came up behind her.

“Yes, thank you.” Selene turned around to acknowledge her.

“You’re not from around here.”

The worst thing she could do was admit to a complete stranger that she was alone and had no idea where the heck she was. Much less—where she was going. “Do you have anything hot to eat?” She asked.

“We have hot boiled peanuts.” The lady motioned toward a food station in the back of the store.

She followed, and her mouth watered when she saw the espresso machine. “I was thinking more along the lines of a nice hot drink.”

The lady smiled. “It is rather frigid outside. This is one of the coldest winters I can remember in a long time, but warmer temperatures are on the way.”

Selene grabbed a large cup. “I was born in New York City, so the cold doesn’t really bother me. The air here is rather humid though. Do you get much snow?”

“Oh yeah, we got a bunch of it a couple of weeks ago. Much of it has melted away.”

She filled her cup almost to the brim, inhaling deeply when the rich coffee aroma wafted under her nose.

“Where are you headed?”

“To the mountains,” Selene said, quickly. It was better than telling her that she had no earthly idea. She had a paper map and the coordinates picked up from the tracer report she received from Tamara’s cell phone. It was her only hope for finding the woman.

The lady looked at her as though she smelled something rotten. “This time of year?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“It’s a mighty dangerous place to be for such a young woman. Where’s your companion?”

“I’m meeting her,” she lied.

The woman’s nose wrinkled. “Just be careful up there.”

“Thank you.” Selene backed away and headed toward the cash register. She was relieved to be free from the woman’s prying. But she was right. Coming out here may have been a mistake, but she’d already driven too far to turn around. No matter what she told herself, she could not bring herself to go back.

“I’ve got the gas and these here snacks. Will this be all?” The clerk at the register asked when she dropped her items on the counter.

Selene glanced toward the window. The sun was a calm orange and low in the sky. It would get dark soon, and she needed to hurry. She swallowed down those reservations again. She’d come too far to let doubt and trepidation stop her from helping a friend.

She turned back to answer the clerk. “I suppose so.”

* * *

Nick Hyatt dropped his backpack to the ground, bent down, and peered inside the cave. The cobwebs on the ceiling and broken tree branches on the floor told him the space had long been abandoned. It was the perfect place to rest for the evening before his big plans tomorrow.

He crawled inside and pulled a lantern and lighter from his pack. Light illuminated the inside of the small cave as the flames engulfed the wick. Resting his back on the rigid stone, he lifted his canteen of water to his lips and guzzled it down.

It had been hours since he left the confines of the village, and the weight of his burdens seemed to have already faded away. A loner since birth, he’d always preferred to chill in the privacy of his own surroundings. Except these weren’t his normal surroundings. Only a few days had passed since he’d made the decision to sell his bachelor pad back in Montana. He was needed here, in Virginia. Back with his pack.

After his friend, Devin, rose to Alpha leader of the Caedmon Pack, he’d then honored Nick by naming him one of his most trusted confidants and advisors. Second-in-Command. Nick had accepted, fully aware that his life would take a sharp turn.

But the direction of the Caedmon Pack had turned sour following the death of its previous leader. Devin, on the other hand, wanted to turn it back around…and for the better.

Nick wanted to help, but he needed refuge from it all before the real grind began. At times like this, he’d talk with Devin about his issues. Now Devin had a mate to love and care for, as well as pressing duties of the pack inherited from the last leader. He doubted the man would have much time for him anymore. Not with a mate…

Mate. He laughed. Was there even such a thing as a mate? He could remember several years ago when even Devin himself swore up and down that finding a true mate was like finding a piece of thread in a haystack. Devin had obviously been wrong. One woman. A human woman, for that matter, had turned his friend’s life around. To their people, a union such as theirs was highly unlikely. Yet the truth was in the details. Devin had found his mate.

Seeing them together affected Nick in a way he couldn’t fathom. It wasn’t jealously. He was happy for Devin. For all the guy had been through, he deserved a life-long companion. It was a different feeling. The desire to feel wanted and needed just like he saw how Tamara wanted and needed Devin. And likewise, how Devin needed and wanted Tamara.

Nick had been successful for years in keeping those feelings from ever resurfacing. He had everything he wanted and needed within himself. Wanting for more only caused disaster and heartbreak in the long run. He’d never let another woman break his heart.

Nick kicked off his boots and slumped deeper against the rocks. He would rest this evening. Tonight, he would hunt. In the morning, he’d do something he hadn’t done in five long years.

Climb a mountain.