I must’ve been expecting a typical, everyday cabin, like the ones we rented out for people to stay in. Those ones were beautiful, overlooking the calving glaciers on Glacier Bay in the distance. But the people in the shanty I stood in were not experiencing anything like a relaxing vacation day in the Alaskan woods.

First was the smell. As a shifter, even in human form, I have a stronger sense of smell. We all do. The stench in the cabin was of urine, rotting wood, spoiled food, dirt, body odor—and death. The smell was strong enough that I could taste the bile at the back of my throat. The place was eerily quiet. But when I looked at the women, I could understand why they hardly moved.

The woman I had gotten a glimpse of through the crack in the door was dead. She sat with her back against the wall, her hands behind her back, her clothing torn and dirty, sitting in a pool of blood.

On the ground across the room, someone had thrown an old mattress, dingy and covered in stains, smelling like it was pulled from the garbage. But on the bare, ripped mattress sat a woman, hands cuffed behind her back to the radiator. She didn’t even look over at Jace and I, but stared off despondently.

When I saw that Gabby was alive, I sagged in relief. My knees hit the hard wood floor. I was already in tremendous pain, and I wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep. Jace was beside me and helped me back to my feet.

I ran—hobbled, really—to Gabby. She crouched in a corner, her hands tied behind her, cowering, even from me.

“Gabby? It’s Kylie. You’re okay now. You’re safe.” She must be in shock. She was showing all the classic signs.

Beside Gabby, another woman was bound. They must have been drugged by the man, based on how their pupils reacted to light.

“Help us,” one of the bound women managed to whisper.

“We’re going to get you all out,” Jace said. “You’re safe now.”

“Is he dead?” the woman timidly asked.

I nodded.

She let out a long sigh and shuddered.

I got to work untying Gabby. The knots were pulled so tightly and the ropes were damp. I struggled for a moment, then looked over at Jace, who had his knife out. He’d already cut the rope of one of the other bound women.

He got behind Gabby and cut her free as well. I threw my arms around her and held her close.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” I said softly.

Jace got up and went to the woman on the bed. I watched his body language. Jace had always been good at his job. I knew that. But watching him in action brought a new level of confirmation.

He stood back from the woman several feet as he moved to her side, near her head.

He leaned closer, but left plenty of room between them. “I’m here to help you. I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her. He inspected the handcuffs for a moment. “I can get these cuffs off, but I have to get a tool from my bag first.”

He told her everything he was doing before he did it and explained as he went along. It was a technique that medical professionals used, but so did many first responders. Leave no question or uncertainty for the person you’re helping. The last thing we wanted was for someone to be startled or surprised by something we did and to react badly.

He tentatively put his hand on her shoulder. She turned her head slowly to look at him. “You’re safe now,” he assured her. “We’re getting you out of here.”

She stared at him blankly. I rubbed Gabby’s back, trying to get her to come back to me a little. I wish we’d brought water with us. It was good for grounding and bringing someone out of shock.

Jace was right. I didn’t have a pack. I hadn’t been prepared at all. I was newly grateful for him and the way he had just shown up to help me—well, to save me, if I were being honest. That was the sort of thing that made me fall for Jace in the first place. Watching him save me or others for all those years. Watching him care and have compassion. I loved to watch him work. Nothing warmed my heart as much as seeing him help people.

But then I thought of what he’d done to me. Of the other woman out there who had earned his love. What had she done to deserve him? I shook my head. It wasn’t the time to be thinking of that.

Jace went to his bag and dug around in it, looking for the tool to open the handcuffs. He was bent over, intent on his searching. He didn’t hear the footsteps; I barely heard them myself.

By the time my head snapped toward the hallway opening, it was too late. Another man stood there. There must have been bedrooms down that hall. Maybe he’d been sleeping or biding his time to come and counter attack. The man looked much like the other man had—extremely unkempt, just a sick vagrant out there in their shack of horrors.

He held a gun, and it was pointed at Jace.