I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The ground whizzed by so fast it felt like Liam had taken flight. His heartbeat was my heartbeat and panic set in. The wolves moved in so fast from the east. There were three of them. I have no idea how I knew that, but I seemed to sense it through Liam.

All I could do was hold on tight as Liam ran on legs so fast they were a blur. I buried my face into his shoulder. His flesh seared me. His wolf hovered just below the surface. As he tore past trees and leaped over dead branches, I felt his bones bunch and roll. God, what was I supposed to do if he shifted mid-step?

I don’t know what made me think to do it, but I repeated the same thought over and over in my head. “Stay with me. Stay with me. Don’t shift. Stay Liam.”

Impossibly, he responded. Just when fur began to sprout from his chest where I pressed my cheek to him, Liam took a great, steadying breath and I felt smooth skin against mine.

Then, we were alone. It was as if every woodland creature in a mile radius knew to stay the hell out of Liam’s way. He stopped, finally. We were on the banks of a small spring deep in the heart of Mammoth Forest. I didn’t know my way back. I thought he’d headed west, but the ground moved so fast, I couldn’t be sure. The trees were so thick, I couldn’t even see the stars to orient myself.

“I need you to trust me,” Liam said, breathless.

I opened my mouth to say something, then clamped it shut. He regarded me with hard eyes. Then, he let out an exasperated sigh. “Fair enough,” he said. “You don’t have to trust me yet. But you do have to follow directions.”

“I what?”

I didn’t get a chance to say anything more. Liam came to me. He swept me off my feet and threw me over his shoulder. The ground came up with dizzying speed. He ducked low. Then, the ground opened up and swallowed us whole.

Liam stepped through a chasm in the rock I hadn’t even seen. We came through the other side in pitch blackness. The scent of damp earth and wet rock filled my nostrils. Liam went down and down. I reached out with my hands, trying to find something solid. My fingers made contact with smooth stone.

“Don’t struggle so much,” he said. “We’re on a narrow ledge and there’s a forty foot drop on one side. You can’t see as well as I can.”

“There’s a what?” I clawed Liam’s back instead of the rock wall. He was the only thing solid to me. Without being able to see, I had no sense of up or down. Liam took two sharp turns then finally came to a stop.

He put me down but kept a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

“Liam?” I hated how desperate my voice sounded, but I couldn’t get my bearings in the dark. My luck, I’d take one wrong step and fall to my death.

He scratched at something beside us. Then, light blazed all around as Liam switched on an LED lamp. It cast ghoulish shadows on the gray rock walls. We were in a wide cavern. Stalactites hung above us. We stood on a narrow path carved into the rock leading even further down.

“Where is this?” I said.

“Mammoth Caves,” he answered. It seemed to cost him something to say it. He’d asked me to trust him, but I became keenly aware that bringing here meant he had to trust me.

“At least, that’s where we would be if you headed about twenty miles that way.” He pointed to his right.

“I don’t understand,” I said. Except I did. Strange as it seemed, the environment made perfect sense. That is, if you have some whack-ass preternatural connection to a wolf shifter. Which apparently, I did. I couldn’t sense the other wolves anymore. This far underground with Lord knew how many tons of rock between us, they couldn’t pick up Liam’s scent.

“We’re safe here,” I said, my fear turned to wonder. I stretched out my fingers and ran them along the smooth, cool, rock walls.

Liam’s mouth formed a grim line as he watched me. “To a point. Yes.”

“How did you find this place?”

He shrugged. “Come on. I’m sorry it had to happen like this, but we need to go talk to the others.”

“The what now?”

“The others,” he said. “It’ll be all right. I can’t really hide you from them now.”

My heart tripped. Hide me from them? I thought we’d just spent the last twenty minutes running from them.

With no other choice, I followed Liam. Tiny tendrils of fear crawled up my back as I realized I might not be able to make my way out of here on my own. Though Liam hadn’t yet given me any reason to think he planned on holding me against my will, the realization that I was utterly dependent on him at the moment unsettled me.

A winding path had been cut through the rock. It was crude, jagged. Not like the smooth shelves in the Mammoth Caves I’d visited as a kid. I remembered at the time hearing the cave system stretched more than four hundred explored miles. The theory was hundreds more remained unexplored. I realized I was probably walking through passageways only a handful of people in the world had ever set foot in.

Voices raised in alarm ahead of us. Liam’s back straightened. His thunderous heartbeat quickened. I pressed my hands to my ears trying to drive it out. I felt split in half around him. Whatever supernatural connection I had to him compelled me and made me feel safe. At the same time, it was foreign, mysterious. I felt part of something bigger and deadlier. I wasn’t sure I was ready for it.

“Liam!” A deep voice called for him. Liam froze. He stopped so quickly I ended up plowing into his back. He reached back and caught me before I stumbled.

“Please don’t tell me to wait here,” I said in a furious whisper. “It’s dark and I don’t know where I am.”

Liam’s eyes flashed with kindness. “Don’t worry. Stick by me and you’ll be fine.”

He took my hand and we walked toward the source of shouting. The narrow passageway opened up into a great, round cavern. Of all the incredible things I’d witnessed today, this may have been the zenith.

In the center of the cavern, three large men stood with their backs to me. They were shirtless, with broad shoulders and rippled muscles just like Liam. I didn’t need to see their faces to know they were like him in other ways as well. These were wolf shifters. I sensed them clearly. Liam’s posture changed. He moved ahead of me, shielding me with his body. I got the sense he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

As we drew closer, one of the men turned. He was bleeding badly from a ghastly wound across his chest. Three great slash marks cut deep through his flesh. The skin hung in ragged flaps as the blood poured down his abdomen.

I gasped and covered my mouth. The man caught my scent. His eyes flashed silver and he let out a warning growl that I felt first before it reached my ears.

The rest of the group turned. In addition to the three wolf shifters, there were two women and another man. Human. How I could sense that now, I couldn’t articulate. Being around Liam had changed me in ways I couldn’t fully understand yet. In the corner, shrouded in shadows, another figure lay on the ground. I couldn’t see his face, but the groan he gave out tore through me. He was hurt, badly.

“What the hell happened?” Liam said. He kept a hand at the small of my back.

“Is this why you needed the medicine?” I asked. I suppose I should have stayed quiet, but I just couldn’t help myself. The injured shifter, the one still on his feet, had to be in shock. There was no way he should be able to stay upright with the amount of blood he was losing. Why weren’t the others trying to help him?

One of the other shifters, the biggest of the three came forward. He was as tall as Liam, probably six foot four. He had dark hair and pale blue eyes that almost looked white in the ghostly glow of the LED lights. Strings of them lined the cavern floor. The woman beside him held a lantern in front of her as they came to us.

Liam moved again, putting his body partway in front of mine. My skin prickled at his touch. The woman stepped forward.

“Who’s this now, Liam?” she asked, her voice not unkind. She had short red hair in a serviceable bob. It framed her delicate face. She regarded me with an arched brow above clear gray eyes. Human eyes.

“Molly,” Liam answered, clearing his throat. “This is Keara. And this is Jagger.”

Jagger gave me a lethal stare as he put a protective hand on Keara’s arm when she tried to step forward to shake my hand. She shot him a quick glance. He let her go and she came to me.

Keara was tiny compared to these fearsome wolves. She was my height but fine-boned with porcelain skin. She wore a heather gray t-shirt, jeans, and work boots. More appropriate attire for cave-dwelling than my tank top, cutoff shorts, and canvas sneakers. Something about Keara’s expression told me she noticed the very same thing. She gave me a warm smile that seemed to say she had a plan to take care of it.

“Keara Wilkes,” she offered. “I’m pleased to meet you, Molly.”

“Molly Ravary,” I answered, shaking Keara’s firm hand. Her eyes darted up to Liam’s before she stepped back to Jagger’s side. He still hadn’t made a move to greet me. The man towered over Keara like a stone statue. Whatever was going on, Jagger wasn’t happy I was here. What the hell had Liam walked me into?

“They’re hurt,” I pointed to the injured wolf. “I’m not a doctor, but I know basic wound care.”

“You’re from the clinic?” Jagger asked in an accusatory tone.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m a vet tech.” I don’t know why this Jagger had my back up, but I emphasized the word “vet.” For my trouble, he emitted a low, threatening growl that shot straight up my spine.

“Enough!” Liam got in Jagger’s face. There was something nonverbal going on between the two of them. In profile, I could see Liam’s wolf eyes flash bright. Jagger’s eyes flicked to me. Keara came in the middle of them, placing a palm on each man’s chest.

“Heel, boys,” she said smiling. “We’ve got a lot of work to do tonight. Liam, as you can see, Mac ran into a little bit of trouble on his supply run.”

Mac, I deduced, was the injured wolf. Sweat caked his brow, but he seemed impervious to the massive wound on his chest. I moved toward him on instinct. Didn’t anyone else realize the man was in shock? At the least, he needed to be off his damn feet.

The shifter beside him raised a brow but made no move to stop me as I moved around Liam and approached Mac. “What did you do with the stuff you took from the clinic?” I turned back to Liam.

“What did I? What?”

The corner of Keara’s mouth lifted in a smile as she crossed her arms and looked up at Liam. “I think I like her already, Liam.”

“I don’t,” Jagger growled. “I mean, I’m sorry. Liam, you should have given us a warning.”

Liam turned to him. “Wasn’t time. Three pack members scented me near the clinic. Molly thinks the same ones were prowling around her place the night before.”

The amusement dropped from Keara’s eyes. She put a hand over her mouth. Her alarm transmitted to me, and I straightened my back.

“It’s all right,” Liam said. “They didn’t pick up her trail. They’re not after you, Molly. They’re after us. You’re safe here for now.”

“That’s great,” I said. “At some point, I’d really love it if one of you bothered to explain to me what the hell is going on.”

“We don’t have time for this, Liam!” Jagger turned on him, squaring off. This time, Keara didn’t get in the middle of them. Instead, she came to me.

“Listen,” she said. “These boys have some stuff to sort out. You’ll have to excuse their lack of manners. Things being what they are, I’d say you’re bunking with us tonight. At least until Liam can make sure the pack patrol has moved on.”

“Pack patrol? I don’t get any of this. I’m sorry. I’m hanging on by a very thin thread right now. And you’ve got a man bleeding out right in front of you and nobody seems to want to help him. And I can’t even begin to assess the other one in the corner.”

Mac started to laugh. “What, this?” He pointed to the garish wound on his chest. Now that I was close enough to really see it, there was no mistaking what it was. The three jagged lines ripped through his flesh were clearly claw marks. The only type of creature I’d seen big and deadly enough to make that kind of wound was currently standing all around me.

“It’s just a scratch, darlin’,” Mac said. “Ran into a scrapper. Just a low-level minion. He didn’t know shit. And this? It’ll heal up by morning.” To prove his point, Mac thumped his chest just above the wound. He didn’t even flinch. My attention was drawn to the space above his fist. On his upper chest, Mac had an identical tattoo to Liam’s. A howling wolf’s head framed by massive wings and crossed swords. I looked closer, Mac shared other features with Liam besides the ink. He had the same shade of ginger hair that looked brown in the shadows. They were similar enough to be brothers.

“He’s right,” Keara said, putting a hand on my back. “Shifters heal fast. If he’s lucky, Mac won’t even scar.”

“Then why do you all have Liam out there committing about three different felonies and stealing vet meds if not for this?”

“I told you, we don’t have time for this!” Jagger practically barked his words. Liam growled beside him. The tension between them stirred up Mac and the other shifter beside him.

“Listen,” Keara said. “Mac, Gunnar, why don’t you go someplace quiet with Liam and Jagger. Sort your shit out. It’ll give Molly and me a chance to get to know each other a little better. She’s a guest here, after all. And she might be willing and able to help us if the four of you don’t scare her off. You’re doing a good job of it. Now, git. I’ll find her someplace suitable to hunker down for the night.”

Liam straight up snarled. The others joined Jagger’s side. It may have been just a trick of the shadows, but Mac’s chest wound wasn’t bleeding anymore. He moved and walked as if it was nothing more than a hangnail.

“Molly should stay with me,” Liam said.

“No.” My answer ripped from my throat. Though the compulsion to be near Liam still burned strong within me, my curiosity burned even hotter. “I’ll hang out with Keara, if you don’t mind. Let me see if I can be of some help, at least.”

Keara made a shooing gesture with her hands. For her trouble, Liam gave her a full-throated growl, but I could tell he was teasing her. Mac stepped around us, bringing Gunnar, the fourth shifter, along with him. Then, all four men left the room.

“Sorry about that,” Keara said.

“Keara?” In all the commotion, I’d barely registered the two others hanging back in the shadows of the rotunda. A middle-aged man and woman stepped forward now. Their companion still lay prostrate on the ground. He’d stopped groaning. That wasn’t at all a good sign. The older man wore a golf shirt over a pot belly and had just a few wisps left of silvery hair. His companion, a thin woman with darkly dyed hair and thick glasses, hung back a bit.

“Thanks, Bernie,” Keara said. “You sure you guys are all right?”

Bernie smiled. “Thank God Mac was there. I swear those patrols looked out to kill tonight. I’ve never seen ‘em get that close. I don’t know how the hell he didn’t succumb.”

Keara pushed the hair from her face and cast a furtive glance toward me. I had the impression she didn’t exactly want me to hear all of this. Politeness might dictate that I’d excuse myself, but that wasn’t really an option.

“You heard him. Just a low-level minion. It wasn’t Ten...er...it wasn’t the Shadow Springs general or anything. As long as you’re all right,” Keara said. She put her arm around Bernie. This drew a reaction from the woman I assumed was Bernie’s wife.

“We’re okay,” the woman said. “But you’ve got to do something for Brady.” She sobbed the last word.

“Let me,” I said. I pushed past Keara and the others heading for who I assumed was Brady on the ground. I had the presence of mind to grab one of Keara’s lanterns.

When I got close enough, my heart dropped. Brady was just a kid. He’d looked so big. He was a shifter, to be sure, but he had the fresh, rosy, unshaven cheeks of a twelve or thirteen-year-old. I approached him slowly, like I do any wounded animal. I bent low and held my hand out. Using my best bedside manner, I smiled and held a hand out to him.

“Careful there,” Bernie said, drawing close. “Brady’s got a bite on ‘im. He’s a good boy.”

“Is he yours?” I asked. The wet shine in Bernie’s eyes gave me all the answer I needed.

“He’s our grandson,” he said. “He’s all we got left.”

“She doesn’t need to know any of it,” Brady said. He tried to make himself small, turning toward the wall. I could instantly see the problem. Brady had three red claw marks across his arm and his shoulder was popped out of its socket.

“I can help with that, I think,” I said. The minute I did, I realized it would probably be easier if Brady were in his wolf form. I’d assisted on dislocations with a couple of German shepherds before.

“I can do it myself.” Brady gave me a determined stare. Sweat poured from his brow and before I could stop him, he rolled over and jammed his shoulder against the wall. The sickening pop sent empathy pain shooting straight through me, and I cried out along with him. But, he’d done it. I didn’t give Brady a choice. I gently took his arm and examined it. He indeed had done it himself.

“Let me at least wrap that for you so it doesn’t move,” I said. “And some of that Tramadol Liam took from the clinic wouldn’t go to waste here. What do you weigh, Brady?”

Keara came to my side with one of the green pill bottles from the clinic. I counted out the pills and handed them to Brady. I got a fearsome pout for my trouble, but he took the pills.

I dusted off my legs and stood. If I expected gratitude from Brady’s grandparents, I was soon disappointed.

“This can’t go on, Keara,” the older woman said. Her eyes darted from me to Keara.

“Ellie, don’t start,” Bernie cautioned her.

Ellie’s face looked ashen. For a moment, I thought she might vomit. Instead, she started pacing at the other end of the round cavern. There were boxes stacked along the wall. A few scattered ones on the floor sat open. Inside, I could see canned goods, loaves of bread, and other groceries.

My wheels started to turn. With the medicine Liam had stolen from the clinic, it became abundantly clear that perhaps Liam and the others were planning on staying down in these caves for the long haul. But, if Mac or the other shifters didn’t have to worry about getting injured the way Keara might, what in God’s name did they need the drugs for? If Brady was a shifter like them, why wasn’t he healing the way Mac seemed to be?

“I mean it,” Ellie’s voice rose and echoed across the open space. “I didn’t sign up for this, Keara. Those wolves would have killed Brady. It wasn’t just some warning. What do you think’s gonna happen if one of ‘em gets their claws into Bernie...or me? They’re after Brady now, and you know it.”

Keara let out a great sigh. “They won’t. Now, it’s been a long day, Ellie. I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done. I can handle the rest of this. You two can clear out if you want. You’re also welcome to sleep here tonight if you’d rather. I think it’s best if Brady stays underground for at least tonight.”

“Nothing doing,” Ellie said. She went to her husband and peeled him away from Keara’s grip. She looked at me and pointed a crooked finger at my chest.

“Nothing but trouble, if you ask me,” she said. “It’s too late for Keara, but it probably isn’t too late for you, honey.”

“Ellie!” Bernie grabbed his wife by the arm and pulled her away. “You mind your own business, now. Thanks for the offer, sweetie, but I’d just as soon sleep in my own bed tonight.”

“Is it safe?” Ellie asked, eyes wide. She went to her grandson on the ground. “Honey, I don’t wanna leave you, but Keara’s probably right about this one thing.”

“I’m fine,” Brady said, but he wouldn’t look at her. He kept his gaze fixed on the wall.

“Of course it’s safe,” Keara said, letting her voice drop to a comforting level. “Mac and Gunnar wouldn’t have left your side if it weren’t. Do you want me to go find one of them to show you the way out, or are you comfortable on your own? Brady will be just fine down here. We’ll let him get some rest and have him back in the store by morning.”

“Oh, we’re heading out of here alone,” Ellie answered for Bernie. “Those two have brought us enough trouble. Come on.” She jerked her arm away from her husband, picked up a flashlight off the ground, and trudged toward a darkened passageway on the other side of the cavern. I made a note of it. Ellie seemed confident in where she was going. Heaving a great sigh, Bernie put a hand on Keara’s arm and shook his head.

“She’ll calm down some,” he said. “Don’t worry.” He went to his grandson and smoothed back his unruly brown hair. But, Brady wasn’t ready to give his grandfather any more peace of mind than his grandmother.

Keara stepped between them and touched Bernie’s cheek. “I know. And I’m sorry things got heavy. We’ll skip your place for the next two weeks.”

Bernie’s face dropped. “Oh, honey. I didn’t mean…”

“No, it’s okay. We need to stagger the routine a bit anyway. And you’ve taken such good care of us, we pretty much have a surplus.”

Bernie looked at the boxes and scratched his head. “Well, you’re a lousy liar, honey. But, you sure are pretty when you do it. We’ll see you in three weeks then. I’ll make sure to set something special aside for you. You just take care of my most precious cargo down here and we’re square, sugar.”

Keara went up on her tiptoes and kissed Bernie. He blushed. It seemed Ellie had some sixth sense of her own. She took that exact moment to call after Bernie to tell him to get a move on. He chuckled and did a little two-step before heading up the same passageway after his wife.

This left Keara and me alone with Brady brooding in the corner. Her shoulders dropped as if now that Bernie and Ellie were gone, she could let go of whatever pretense she’d been holding. She turned to me and smiled.

“Well,” she said. “Guess you could say you’ve jumped into this with both feet, huh?”

I flapped my arms in exasperation. “I don’t even know what to say, Keara. Near as I can figure, I’ve stumbled into a group of werewolf preppers. What you’re prepping for is what has me terrified.”

Keara reared back a bit, absorbing my words. Then, she let out a genuine belly laugh. “Well, except for the werewolf part, you’ve just about got it figured. There’s no such thing as werewolves, Molly. These boys are shifters.”

Not wanting to debate semantics, I went over to the nearest box and flipped open the lid. Baked beans, canned meat, canned veggies. “Well,” I said. “I suppose it should comfort me that these boys eat camp food instead of...well...me.”

“Oh, they hunt,” she said. “They’re men. They prefer venison. I’m working out how to store that down here too. I need more generators. Actually, I’m hoping Bernie will hook me up with another contact.”

“What are you hiding from?” I said, straightening. “And why the drug stockpile? If Mac can heal from a wound that grave overnight, it’s not like you’re going to need the painkillers and antibiotics Liam took.”

I walked to the other side of the antechamber away from Brady. I lowered my voice but guessed it might not matter. If Brady was a shifter, he probably had ears at least as good as a cocker spaniel.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Keara let out a sigh. “He’s just young, that’s all. Hasn’t come into his full strength like the grown men have, yet. And he’s being raised by two non-shifters that are getting on in years. It’s frustrating for him not having a real father figure in his life. Fourteen is hard no matter what species you are.”

Keara chewed the inside of her cheek. If I had to guess, she was gauging how much more to tell me.

“I didn’t turn Liam in,” I said. “I had the chance to. In fact, I lied for him. I still don’t know why. But, geez, Keara. Even if I wanted to tell anyone about this place or those boys, who would believe me?”

Keara gave me a kind smile. “Oh, more people than you think. Shadow Springs has been overrun by shifters for two generations. Most folk just look the other way or explain it away. It’s easier to deny what’s right in front of you.”

It seemed such an odd thing to say, except the instant she did, it felt right. I should have been shocked when Liam shifted in front of me. Instead, it felt...normal...somehow. Logical. Like finding out the truth about Santa and realizing it was the only thing that made sense.

“But what are you hiding from down here? The pack? Those wolves that chased us? Keara, what would have happened if they caught Liam?”

Keara’s face darkened. “Maybe you’ve had enough truth for one day, Molly. Why don’t we just get you set up for the night?”

“No. I want to know.”

She took one great breath and let it out in a whoosh. “I think you already know. I think you sensed it. But Molly, if those wolves had gotten ahold of Liam tonight, they probably wouldn’t have just let him die. They would have just made him want to.”