The growl rushed out of her, hiding her screams as a golden wolf took her place. Shaking her body, the bullet that had changed her life fell from her skin. She could hear it as the metal dropped on the ground. What the hell? How did she hear that? It had hit the grass. Come to think of it, she didn’t even feel any pain, but she had been shot. Glancing around, Finn, Arden, Bane, Quinn, and Simone were all staring at her, both crying and smiling. Was she dead? Did she draw her last breath and she didn’t even know it? No, that couldn’t be it. They were smiling.

“Magnificent!” Alex looked up to see Ramone Malton staring at her, too.

Normally, she would get pissed off about everyone staring at her, but something was definitely wrong.

“Woof…” Alex froze. What the fuck was that? Did she just bark?

“I’ve never seen the actual change, just what happened after. But…she’s beautiful and she just pushed that bullet out like it was nothing. What kind of wolf is she?”

“Woof…woof…woof.” She finally glanced down and didn’t see her feet but paws, big fucking paws. Shaking her head, she couldn’t believe it, and she was very big. She was changed.

“I had to change you, Alex. If I hadn’t you would have died. I wanted to ask you, but there was no time. You stopped breathing.”

“Woof.” It was okay. She’d died. She stopped breathing and Finn saved her life. How could she be mad? Now, she was strong, like Quinn said. She would be stronger than any man and her instincts would be sharper. She heard the bullet hit the ground. She could hear birds and small animals scurrying around in the woods. Then it hit her. Where was Haine?

Haine, where was Haine? Looking around, she didn’t see him, but someone was on the ground. She smelt blood, lots of it. Alex tried to run to see who it was, but she flipped over her own feet. Finn and the others all laughed, but this wasn’t funny. Where was Haine? Why were they not taking this seriously? Ramone Malton was two feet away from her and they were laughing at her clumsiness.

Growling, Alex moved closer to the person. It was a man. She realized it was Dominic Santora. He was dead. She sniffed around him until she saw his heart lying on the ground beside him. Blood coated the dirt as she searched the area. Haine wasn’t here thank god, but where was he?

“Baby, Haine is okay. I can feel your worry. Haine is with the pack.” Finn rubbed his hand down the side of her then around her ears. What a feeling. Sitting, Alex felt the relief release from her body. Nobody would ever hurt her again. Haine was with the pack and they would be okay. She could feel the wolf inside her relax, knowing the danger was over. Dominic would never hurt her again.

Their minds were connected and she knew she was safe as the wolf released her body. Alex could still feel the pain as she shifted into her human skin. Except this time, it wasn’t as bad. “That hurt,” Alex murmured as Finn picked her up and held her tightly.

“It gets better each time you shift,” Finn answered.

“You scared us for a minute there, girl” Simone said.

Coming up beside her, Arden said, “You scared all of us.” When she glanced at him he was still watching Ramone Malton.

“Why is he staring at him? Should I be worried?” Alex asked her mate.

“I don’t know. Should I worry about you, mister?” Arden asked.

“No,” Ramone said. “You solved a problem for me and with this, I can get my money back.” Ramone reached into Dominic’s pocket and pulled out the thumb drive, showing it to Arden. “I guess, I have you to thank for that.”

“That’s a fake,” Alex said standing. Finn started growling when Ramone and his men stared at her. She watched as her mate stood in front of her hiding her nudity. At the moment, she could hardly find a reason to care as Finn pulled his T-shirt off handing it to her.

“What do you mean fake?” Ramone asked.

“When you didn’t show up and he shot me and then threatened to kill my brother I gave him the fake thumb drive. This is the real one.” Alex picked up her shredded blue jeans and dug into her pocket and took out another thumb drive. All of your money is still there including interest.

“You are stupid keeping it in funds in the United States. If you’re making that much on interest rates in the Cayman Islands then I would keep it there. Watch it grow. Plus, you have hundreds of thousands of dollars in legit businesses and you’re not getting the tax breaks you could get. You need to find an accountant who can help you with that.”

“Is she for real?”

“Yes,” her friends echoed.

“Do you want a job?” Ramone asked.

“No. I want us to forget we ever met.” Alex said.

“I would pay you a lot of money to give me that kind of tax information. Apparently, I need someone I can trust.”

“I’m sure you can find someone. I will email you a list of questions to ask them but after that our business is complete. You have another problem with a certain detective who issued a warrant for my arrest,” Alex said.

“I’m very aware of Detective Robert Blake and the warrant will be rescinded. You will not have to worry about him anymore. Isn’t that right, Detective?”

Detective Blake stood with his mouth open, staring down at Dominic’s body. She figured he was in shock.

Ramone walked up to the detective and bumped him. “We don’t have a problem with Miss Marsh, do we?”

The detective shook his head then muttered, “No…no…I will take the warrant back. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Alex just shrugged. The detective would never talk about this to anyone knowing he could be next.

Ramone laughed, turning back around. “Well, I would say then our business is done here. I’m sorry about your parents. I had no idea he did that. I’m trying to go in a different direction but everyone wants me to go back into a world I never wanted.” Ramone held up the thumb drive and said, “I owe you a favor, Alexandria Marsh. You have nothing to fear from me or anyone in my family.”

Ramone started to walk away then stopped, looking over his shoulder and said, “Alpha, you don’t have to worry about what we saw here today. I know others who are shifters, never seen a wolf, but bears. I don’t mess with them and they don’t mess with me. I take it you want it the same way?”

“There are a lot more of us than you would ever know in places you would never guess, if you do decide to break your word, the others would rip your tongue out then your spine. I have no worries. It’s not me you need to worry about if you decide to talk.” Arden’s voice lowered. “It wouldn’t end well for you or your family.”

“I figured that.” Ramone took one look at Dominic The Bull Santora and then walked away.

* * *

“Let’s get this mess cleaned up. We have a new member who needs to be introduced to her pack,” Arden said, walking over and standing in front of her. She could feel his power as he pulled her closer to him and rubbed his cheek up and down her face. “Welcome to the Dixon Pack.”

At first, she thought Quinn was going to rake her face off. Instead she just smiled. All these emotions felt different inside her. Something she’d thought she lost when her parents died. She felt safe, at home, and part of something special. Now she knew what Finn meant when Quinn and the others hugged then nuzzled her. She would never feel alone again.

“Finn, I have a question,” she said. “How did you find me? I mean, we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

Finn became sheepish, shoving his hands into his pockets and staring at the ground. “Um, well,” he cringed.

Alex laughed. “Just tell me. I won’t get mad for whatever you did.”

“Good.” He sighed. “A long, long time ago, someone put a GPS tracker on your car and forgot, sorta, to take it off.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. She was glad for that tracking device, but she wasn’t letting him know that. Some groveling was in his future, along with a lot of hot sex, if she had her way.

“Let’s go home, baby. Haine is waiting for us,” Finn said

Tilting her head back, Alex brushed her lips across his. “I am home.”