Three days later, and Lucy was still getting used to waking up in Dan's bed. Not that it wasn't wonderful to wake up next to him, but being in a real relationship was taking some getting used to. This was a relationship built on trust, respect, and love. It was different from everything she'd experienced before but Lucy knew it was right. How Dominic had treated her had been wrong, and she’d known that for years.

“Good morning,” Dan mumbled, as he rolled over and kissed her gently. “How did you sleep?”

Lucy grinned, nudging him playfully with her elbow. “I didn’t exactly get a lot of it, thanks to you.”

“And here I thought you enjoyed it,” Dan replied, with a mischievous look on his face.

“I did,” Lucy said softly. Leaning forward, she kissed him hard, as Dan’s hands slipped around her waist, pulling her closer. With a laugh, she pulled back, breaking the kiss. “If we don’t get up now, we’ll be late,” she warned, as Dan groaned loudly. “And you know we’ve already embarrassed ourselves once already by being late.”

That had been pretty embarrassing if she was honest. They'd both crept out of the bedroom, fully aware that the others were already at work. It was one of the downsides of living at the office.

With a mutter of complaint, Dan threw back the duvet and walked out of the bedroom towards the shower, making Lucy laugh.

“I think I’m going to go for a quick run,” she called, as she pulled on her workout stuff. “I won’t be long.”

“Come join me when you’re back,” Dan replied, making Lucy giggle. “I’ll wait for you.”

Heat rushed through her body, making her question whether or not she really did want to go for a run or not – but, in the end, Lucy forced herself outside.

Going for a run seemed to be the only thing that kept her bear quiet enough to manage. Lucy knew it was still restless, wanting her to let it push through her skin and tear through the woods on its own four paws, but she always managed to push it back down, even though it was a struggle. Beginning to jog, Lucy tried not to let the bear's need to be free force her to shift. She'd battled against it this long and she wasn't about to let it win now.

Running into the woods, Lucy followed a familiar path, still concentrating on keeping her bear down. The wind in her face and the cool air in her lungs slowly began to help until the bear was soothed.

Putting her hands on her knees, Lucy drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes as she got her breath back. There were a lot of questions about shifting that had begun to make their way to the surface, questions she was going to have to ask Dan about. Part of the reason she’d grown to love him was because he’d kept his word and not asked her about shifting, even when she knew he wanted to. He respected her decision, even if he didn’t agree with it.

Lucy stood tall, pressing her hands into her lower back and bending until her face was tipped towards the sky. She was still afraid that shifting meant that, no matter what happened, one day she would turn into the kind of shifter her brother was, but Dan was slowly beginning to change that belief. Lucy couldn’t imagine Dan being anything like Dominic. Perhaps he’d been right all along, not all shifters were like Lucas and Dominic. Maybe she’d let him take her into the woods and they could shift together.

“There you are!”

Dominic’s hard voice caught her off guard, spinning around to face her brother.

“Wh – what are you doing here?” she stammered, backing away. Dominic looked the same as ever, except with a much darker look on his face. “I’ve said all I need to say to you, Dominic.”

“You don’t get to tell me when to leave you alone, little sister,” Dominic bit out, his eyes filled with fury. “You’re coming with me.”

One hand reached out for her, but Lucy stepped even further out of reach. “No, I’m not. I thought I made it very clear that I wanted nothing to do with whatever it is you’re planning.”

One of Dominic’s eyebrows rose. “Do you really think you can escape, Lucy? It doesn’t matter what you say or what you want, you’ll do as I tell you. That’s the way it’s always been. I made a mistake walking away from you before and giving you the opportunity to live your own life for a while, but it’s a mistake I plan to rectify.”

Lucy tried not to be afraid, tried not to have any other expression except disdain or her face, as she stepped back again, out of Dominic’s reach. Her mind was working furiously as she tried to come up with a solution, one that would keep both her and Dan, as well as the other shifters, safe from Dominic. She just hoped someone might come looking for her. Lucy knew she couldn't take on Dominic alone.

 

 

“Good morning Dan,” Nick called, as he stepped out of the truck. “Where’s Lucy?”

Dan ran a hand through his still damp hair. "I don't actually know, -" he said, worriedly. “She went out for a run this morning, around an hour ago. I wasn’t expecting her to be this long away.”

Nick opened his mouth to respond, only to freeze as Tom ran up to them both. “What’s the matter?”

“Lucas,” Tom growled, his hands already clenched into fists. “Can’t you smell him?”

Both Nick and Dan paused and sniffed the air. Alarm began to thread through Dan’s veins. “If Lucas is around, and Lucy’s not back….”

"Then I think we should go look for her," Nick finished, frowning, as Tom ran in to get Savannah. "I can get another scent too. Something I don't recognize."

Dan’s heart began to beat faster. “Maybe it’s Dominic,” he muttered, his bear already growling in warning. “If Lucas is nearby, and Dominic went to his pack then that would make sense.”

“It would,” Nick replied, uneasily. “I’ll tell Jo to stay here and keep the place locked up, and then we’ll go together.”

Pacing the grounds, Dan looked up as Savannah and Tom came out, their bodies tensed and ready to shift.

“Don’t worry, Dan,” Savannah said, softly. “We’ll find her.”

Dan nodded, giving her a tight smile. “We’d better,” he growled, itching to let his bear out. “She’s got no-one else.”

Running out towards them, Nick shook his head tersely. “Jo’s going to take the truck.”

“I thought you were asking her to stay here?” Tom growled. “It’s safer.”

Nick blew out a long breath. “Yes, but you know Jo. She’ll follow us. Let’s go.”

Dan was ready. His bear was ready. Standing tall, he threw his head back and roared aloud, as the bear pushed itself through his skin, tearing his muscles and stretching his bones. Dan welcomed the pain, using it to fuel his anger. Dominic and Lucas had Lucy, he was sure of it, and his bear was going to find her.

Around him, the other shifters changed, until the pack was ready. Dan heard the sound of the truck starting up, just as Nick growled and began to sniff the air.

Dan sniffed hard, pressing his nose to the ground for any scent of Lucy. Would she have run into the woods? Moving slowly, he froze, sniffing over and over again. He'd found her. She'd gone this way, towards their part of the woods, where they'd spent last night.

This way.