Molly. With each beat of my heart, I felt closer to her even as I ran further away. It was so stupid of me to think I could be near her without it affecting me like this. I kept her name close, guarding it with my heart like a secret.

Something else rose within me alongside my burning desire for Molly. It was dark, dangerous. It sucked the air from my lungs. As I ran at top speed, sweat poured down my back. God, I ached to shift. My wolf pulled at me, making my muscles clench and my bones rattle.

So close. I was so close. I hit the tree line. Dead leaves crackled beneath my feet as I followed the west trails. Tall poplars hid the moon. Ahead of me, a doe with her twin fawns darted out of my path. They had nothing to fear. I wasn’t here for them tonight.

I could feel the underground spring bubbling beneath my feet as the woods grew denser. With each beat of my heart, it got harder to breathe. They were coming. I’d been too careless. Two nights in a row in town. Both times I’d come too close to letting the wolf out. They knew. They could sense me. They were closing in.

God. I had to be quicker. If they figured out I’d headed for Mammoth Forest, they would follow. I would die before I led them to the caves.

To the east, a chorus of howls rose, sending a chill down my spine. There was no more time. Another few seconds, and the patrolling shifters would pinpoint my location. Then, everything we’d worked and died for would be lost. It would all be my fault.

I could feel the safe spaces beneath my feet, snaking out deep underground. Dark passageways and caverns spiraling down and down for hundreds of miles. Humans would never find them; only shifters could. If the Chief Pack ever realized we hid there, everything I’d sacrificed would be for nothing. There was already a bounty on my head.

No human would ever be able to find the hole in the ground that led to the caves. There were times that even I lost sight of it. Not tonight though. Tonight, every life that mattered to me depended on me getting there in time.

I did.

Sliding to a halt, I kicked leaves up on either side of me as I dove for the cave opening. My shoulder popped as I hit it on the rocky outgrowth on the other side. Without even thinking, I shoved it back into joint.

To be safe, I piled dirt behind me, concealing the small entrance even more. In near pitch darkness, I felt along the cool rock walls until I felt the curve. Pressing my back against the wall, I slid into the antechamber. There, my breathing eased. The howls had faded to nothing. My heartbeat was my own again. I was safe.

A torch flared in front of me, and two cool green eyes hovered for a moment in the darkness then stepped into the light.

“You’re late,” Keara said. She held the torch in front of her and rested her other hand on her hip.

She wasn’t much bigger than Molly at five feet two. Keara’s hair matched the blazing torch she held. She thrust it before her so she could see me better. She had only human eyes, after all. The rest of us didn’t need the light to see down here.

“Sorry,” I said. “I ran into a little trouble.”

Keara’s eyes narrowed. She looked behind her. Jagger moved out of the shadows. His dark hair shone beneath the torchlight. Further into the cave, we had a system of LED lights set up. But here, so close to the mouth, it was better to keep things natural.

“You okay?” Jagger asked. He towered over his wife. The heat coming off them was palpable. Jagger could scarcely go five minutes without touching Keara in some small way. Now, he held a protective hand at the small of her back.

“Come on,” he said. “The others have been bouncing off the walls waiting for some news from you.”

Nodding, I followed them. Guilt washed over me with each step I took. For his part, Jagger didn’t ask me any questions as we moved deeper into the cave system. He reached back and took Keara’s hand. Part of the trail grew treacherous as we passed a narrow ridge beside a hundred foot drop.

It took a full ten minutes to get to the deepest part of our encampment. Keara hit a switch drilled into the wall, turning on the string of LED lights along the floor. The others had gathered in a large antechamber. Stalagmites jutted from the floor. Between them, we’d set up cots and tents. Any one of us would have preferred to sleep in the open air, but it had grown too risky. The humans who stayed with us could, but for the five shifters that formed the core of our group, the danger of drawing the Chief Pack’s shifter patrols was far too great.

Jagger leaned down to kiss Keara before moving away from her. Mac, Gunnar, and Payne stepped out of the shadows. It was just the five of us here plus Keara at the moment. When we could, we housed human and shifter refugees and tried to help them cross the border and get free of the Chief Pack. For the five of us though, it was far too dangerous to try. We’d been marked by the Chief Pack as their most wanted traitors. Even across the border they would come for us.

“Well?” Mac asked. His wolf eyes flashed silver, stirring my own beast. God. It had been three days since I’d last shifted. Some nights I thought I’d go mad from it. Mac, I knew, hadn’t dared to shift in almost two weeks. My half-brother, Mac and I had different fathers. But, we shared the same auburn hair that turned steel-gray when we came into our wolves.

“I managed to get a few things,” I said, grateful to at least be able to tell them that truth. “I was telling Jagger and Keara, I ran into a little bit of human trouble. Nothing I can’t handle, but I’m going to have to go back to the clinic tomorrow. I got some painkillers, some of the antibiotics Keara wanted. There’s more though. I’m going to have to go back for it.”

“Shit,” Payne said. He paced in front of the cots. He’d begged me to let him go on this run with me. We needed a steady supply of medicine. The vet clinic seemed safer than the hospitals and doctor’s offices we’d tried. We couldn’t do what we did without human help. Sometimes, that put them at risk. Sometimes they got hurt because of it. We were trying to stockpile medical supplies in case the worst happened. Unfortunately, it did often enough to cause worry.

I gave them the highlights of my encounter with Zeke the night before. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I know I shouldn’t have gotten involved. But, you should have seen this asshole. I think he was going to kill that vet.”

I left Molly out of my story. Jagger, Payne, Mac, and Gunnar hung on my words. Each of them gave me growls of support from time to time, but none of them questioned the details. It was only Keara who hung back, pursing her lips. It wasn’t like her not to interrogate me just as much as the others did.

“You did what you had to do,” Jagger said. He came to me, putting a strong hand on my shoulder. “Let’s wait a few days, let the dust settle. Then, you can go back.”

My heart hammered behind my ribcage. If anyone were going to sense a change in me, it would be Jagger. Just like Mac, Jagger and I were kin, after all, first cousins through our mothers. If it weren’t for Jagger, I’d still be up there, held against my will by the Kentucky Chief Pack. I owed him for that and so much more. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the complete truth about what I found at the Shadow Springs Veterinary Clinic. Because I knew, the moment I did, all hell would break loose.

“It’s maybe a good thing,” Gunnar said. “I mean, this doctor. She owes you one. At a minimum, maybe it means she’ll look the other way if you have to break into the place and steal more meds.”

“I thought of that,” I said. “I still think it’s better if you let me work an angle. I’ve only taken a few things. But, once they figure it out. We can’t go back there. If I get cooperation on the inside, maybe we can solidify a reliable contact.”

“That’s dangerous,” Keara said, narrowing her eyes as she walked closer to me. “The more people we bring in, the more danger they’re in.”

“I know that. Don’t you think I know that? I’ve been living up there for the past few days. I know what the risks are.”

Jagger’s wolf simmered and growled. I took a step back and held up my hands in a conciliatory gesture. He knew I’d never in a million years do anything to hurt Keara. None of us would. But, she had been the one to press us for human help in the first place. She had grand designs about making this place a more sophisticated hideout and building a network of contacts above ground.

“I just need time,” I said. “A few more days. Let me try to work it.”

“You already have a contact in mind, don’t you?” Keara said. God, for a human, she seemed more in tune to our moods than any shifter I ever knew. I loved it about her most of the time. Right now, it was damned annoying.

Jagger raised a brow. A smile lifted the corner of his mouth. I think he enjoyed it when Keara took me on.

“Yes,” I said.

“Good,” Jagger answered. The others quickly agreed with him. Keara’s eyes narrowed even further. She came up to me.

“Just be careful, Liam,” she said. “I may not be a shifter, but whatever happened up there is messing you up. I can smell it on you.” She reached up and tweaked my nose.