Moonlight filtered through the cloudy sky. It illuminated sections of the woods around us, but not enough for me to see without the help of added light. Even so, I knew finding my way to the track wouldn’t be hard. Usually, I went straight from the trailer park to the lake along the path I’d carved out years ago, but I remembered the track being to the right of my usual path.

“It shouldn’t be too much farther,” I whispered to Eli. He walked beside me, dressed in all black.

“Really? That’s too close to home for me.”

My stomach churned. I’d never thought about how Alec’s uncle’s piece of property was so close to where we lived. That meant Shane and his brothers had been hunting in our backyard for who knew how long. The other night might not have been their first abduction, or kill, however you wanted to look at it.

Gran’s warning of never running alone echoed through my mind. Would Glenn still have been abducted if he’d been with someone else that night? Would he have been shot? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was, if I became Moon Kissed, there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d be caught running through these woods alone in wolf form.

“I know,” I whispered. My throat was dry, causing my voice to sound hoarse as I swiped a low-hanging tree branch out of my way. It slipped from my grip and shot back, popping me in the arm and snagging the sleeve of Eli’s T-shirt he’d loaned me for this expedition. It was only a work shirt, but it was soft and smelled of him. I didn’t want it ruined for those reasons alone.

Eli’s hand gripped my forearm. The warmth of his touch jolted each of my nerve endings to life. “Hold on a second,” he whispered.

I paused and held my breath, unsure what had garnered his attention. “What is it?”

“Shhh,” he insisted, placing a finger to his lips. “Cut your flashlight off and listen.”

I swiped the flashlight on my cell off and strained my ears to hear what he did. There was nothing there. At least to my ears. Eli’s hearing might be a smidgen better than mine, but not much. Not in this form. Only in his wolf form would he be able to hear exceptionally well.

Leaves rustled from a few feet away. The fine hairs at the nape of my neck and along my arms lifted as I jerked my attention toward the noise. My heart thundered against my rib cage as it grew closer. What if it was Shane, or one of his brothers? What if they shot us for snooping? I knew it wasn’t their property, but I also knew that hadn’t stopped them from shooting things here before.

“Just a rabbit,” Eli whispered as he pointed to a thorny bush to my left. A brown rabbit lunged inside it, disappearing beneath its prickly branches.

I clasped my chest, hoping to slow the erratic beating of my heart. “Just a heart attack waiting to happen, Jesus.”

“You okay?” Amusement laced his words. I didn’t have to see his face to know a ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“I’m fine.” I flipped my flashlight back on and continued walking, this time paying more attention to my surroundings. We had to be close. Seriously, how could we miss a giant dirt track in the middle of the woods? Maybe that wasn’t the best question to ask, considering I’d done so for years. “It should be here.”

“I think you’re right,” Eli surprised me by saying. I thought he’d have razzed me for getting him lost in the woods, but he hadn’t.

“How do you know?”

“Because I can see it,” he insisted, pointing straight ahead. “If you weren’t so vertically challenged, you might be able to see it from the top of this hill too.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me.

A few more steps forward and the dirt track came into view. Moonlight glinted over the man-made hills and valleys.

“You rode around this track on a four-wheeler?” Eli asked. I didn’t miss the shock lacing his words.

“Yeah,” I said as I placed a hand on my hip and shifted to glare at him, proud of myself. “Quite a few times actually.”

“By yourself?”

“Yep.”

“Huh, I never would have pictured you as a four-wheeling kind of girl.”

“What kind of girl did you picture me as?” I asked before I’d had a chance to think the words through.

“Not the four-wheeling type, more like hike through nature or rock climbing. You’ve never crossed me as one of those adrenaline junkies who get off on four-wheeling, dirt biking, or skydiving.”

I’d never pictured myself as that type of girl either. Then again, I’d never had the opportunity to do any of those things. So, who knew, I might be that girl after all.

“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought you did,” I said as I started toward the tree I remembered seeing the blood behind.

“Maybe, but I doubt it,” I heard Eli mutter as he followed me through the brush.

There was such confidence in his voice that baffled me. How could a person think they knew someone else so well?

“This is the tree,” I said as I shined my light on it. “The blood was behind it.”

I swept my flashlight across the ground as I stepped around the tree. The ground was still roughed up from signs of a struggle, but the darkened splotches of crimson captured my attention. Now that I knew whom they potentially belonged to, bile crept up the back of my throat.

“That’s definitely blood.” Eli stepped into my light and bent down. I inched forward and watched as he touched the blood on one of the leaves. It flaked off and fell to the ground. He pointed to the claw marks and paw prints in the dirt. “And these are definitely from a wolf. I think you’re right. Something bad did go down here.”

Normally, I’d enjoy being right. This wasn’t one of those times. I’d hoped Glenn had been blowing off steam still and would come home on his own, but it was clear that wasn’t the case. While we didn’t have any proof Glenn was the wolf taken by Shane and his brothers, the evidence was leaning toward it.

Eli stood and spun around to survey the area. “It’s obvious they took him somewhere. There isn’t a body. Glenn would have transformed into his human state once he was wounded, and it’s safe to say from the amount of blood here, he was severely wounded. Since we know the guys you mentioned are hunters, I’m willing to bet it was a gunshot wound. Did you hear a gun go off that night?”

I licked my lips and thought back. “No.”

I couldn’t be sure, though. I’d been preoccupied with Alec. Had there been a shot fired?

“Maybe they used a silencer,” Eli said.

The thought terrified me. It meant you would never hear the shot coming.

Eli shifted to face me. “If Shane and his brothers were the ones who did this to Glenn, then it means they know about us. Not that they suspect, but that they know. They would have proof of our existence. This isn’t good.” He smoothed his hands over his short-cropped hair.

“I know.” I bit my bottom lip.

“It means Shane might know about you,” Eli insisted. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze. Instead, I continued to stare at the last place Glenn was probably seen. “This is just another reason I think you should stay away from Alec.” The way he said his name sounded as though it left a bad taste in his mouth.

I glanced at him. His jaw worked back and forth as he held my gaze, worry festering in his eyes.

“I’m serious,” he spat. “I think it’s time you tell that boy goodbye for good. No more screwing around.”

My temper flared. Who did he think he was telling me I needed to say goodbye to someone? Who was he to say I was screwing with anyone either? He didn’t know the specifics of how I felt about Alec. “He has nothing to do with this.”

“Maybe, but his best friend did. That says a lot about him, don’t you think? I mean, haven’t you ever heard the term guilty by association?”

“It doesn’t apply to this situation. Alec is nothing like Shane.” I meant it. Eli must’ve understood as much, or at the very least he knew I wouldn’t budge on it, because his lips pressed into a thin line and he looked away.

“Fine, whatever. I’m not going to argue with you about this. I’ve said my peace. You can either listen or don’t. It’s up to you. Just promise me you’ll be careful when you’re around him. I don’t want to end up out here searching for you and finding another scene like this.” He gestured to the blood and scratched up ground, and flashed me a pained stare that tugged at my heartstrings.

“Okay,” I said even though I didn’t think Alec would do anything to hurt me. I was merely touched that Eli seemed to care so much about me.

Footfalls rustling through leaves in the distance had me on high alert. Eli placed his index finger to his lips and moved to position himself in front of me.

“Turn your flashlight off and get down,” he insisted.

Voices traveled through the woods. My chest tightened as my breathing accelerated. I fumbled with the flashlight on my cell, unable to get it to switch off fast enough. Eli took it from me and killed the light. I closed my eyes and released the breath I’d been holding. Another murmur of voices floated to me. I couldn’t make out what was said, but I could distinguish the voices were male.

Shit. Was it Shane and his brothers back for another round of shoot, snatch, and run?

“We should get out of here before someone mistakes us for an animal and shoots.” My voice shook as I whispered the words to Eli.

We were dressed in black, hiding behind brush—we were practically begging for a trigger-happy hunter to shoot us.

“One minute,” Eli muttered, keeping his eyes trained forward. “Maybe we can get some clues about what they did with Glenn, or if it was intentional, by listening to them.”

I had no doubt it was intentional. Eli didn’t know Shane like I did. In fact, he didn’t know him at all. Maybe this was where I should put my foot down and get us the hell out of here.

“I don’t think sticking around is a good idea,” I whispered.

He pretended he didn’t hear me. At least that’s what I thought he was doing, because he damn sure didn’t turn around and acknowledge I’d spoken.

“Honestly, Drew, I don’t know why you’re dragging me out here tonight. Peter didn’t ask for another one. He already has the filthy werewolf we bagged the other night. He doesn’t need another,” the guy’s familiar voice sent chills creeping along my spine.

It was Shane. There was no doubt in my mind.

“Chill out. I don’t know why I even brought you tonight. You’re such a damn wuss,” Drew said in a sharp tone. I assumed he was one of Shane’s older brothers.

“I’m not a wuss. I’m here, aren’t I? I was here the other night and the times before that, too. And these aren’t freaking wolves. They’re werewolves. There’s a damn difference,” Shane said. He sounded closer. We were truly at risk of being shot if we didn’t get out of here soon.

“Which is why we’re out here,” Drew said, sounding as though he was talking to a five-year-old. “I want to nab another one. I told you I can get a shit ton of money if I grab a female this time around.”

“So you’ve said a million times. I don’t see why you won’t tell me who the guy is you’re working with. What does he want with werewolves anyway?” Shane asked. The light on his flashlight skimmed the bush beside where Eli and I were crouched.

My hand snaked out and fisted the back of Eli’s shirt in an ill-fated attempt to steady my trembling body.

“Don’t know. Don’t care. All I know is I’ll be set for a while from the cash once I do,” Drew said. “Now be quiet. If there’s anything out here, you’ve probably done scared it away by now with your constant yapping.”

“Yeah, like one of those things would be scared of us,” Shane scoffed.

The click of a rifle being cocked echoed through the woods. “They will be once they see this baby.”

“No doubt. Man, that thing is a beauty,” Shane said. He spun around, aiming his flashlight in the opposite direction. I wasn’t sure if something had caught his eye, or if he was continuing with his survey of the area. Either way, I was glad he wasn’t looking near us anymore.

I loosened my grip on Eli’s shirt. His hand found mine in the dark, and his warm touch settled over me like a sedative.

“All right,” Eli whispered. His hot breath slipped along my clammy skin, stirring things to life inside me that didn’t have any business being awoken in the moment. “Let’s get out of here.”

I nodded, glad to finally hear the words slip from his mouth. I’d heard enough. Knowing Drew had someone lined up to pay him for a female from our pack was sickening.

Eli’s grip on my hand tightened as he eased us away from the two goons. We were still hunkered down in a crouched position, which made me feel safer but not safe enough.

Once there was enough distance between them and us, we righted ourselves to standing. Eli didn’t let go of my hand right away, but maybe it was because I wouldn’t let him. His touch was the only thing keeping me grounded in the moment. When he released a long breath, I glanced at him. The look plastered on his face let me know he was having a difficult time walking away. He wanted to go back. I could sense the anger he felt toward them. It rippled off him in waves now that I was focused on more than the feel of his hand in mine.

“I should go back and pummel them,” Eli snarled, confirming my thoughts.

“No, you shouldn’t. They have guns. You don’t.”

“I can shift. They won’t know I’m coming.”

“Being in wolf form didn’t help Glenn any,” I reminded him as we stepped into the clearing of the trailer park.

We’d made it back safely. Thank goodness.

I knew I should release Eli’s hand and head home, but a part of me didn’t want to. A larger part said I needed to make sure Eli calmed down enough so he wouldn’t do anything stupid like go after them the second I left his side.

That was the part I listened to.

I tightened my grip on his hand and steered us toward his trailer. He didn’t fight me. Heck, he didn’t even seem to notice we were still holding hands.

“Glenn was a damn fool,” Eli growled. “Everyone knows it’s not safe to shift when you’ve been drinking.”

“Right there. You need to heed your own advice.”

Eli glared at me. “What are you talking about? I’m not even buzzed anymore. Seeing those guys and hearing what they said sobered me up quick.”

I knew what he meant. I’d grown stone sober the second I heard Shane’s voice. “Doesn’t matter. It's not a good idea.”

“Something needs to be done, though. We can’t let them get away with this,” he said in a low growl, his teeth gritting together.

We continued toward his trailer.

“I know, but I think we need more time to figure out what’s really going on.” Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move, but it was all I could think to do. Charging after Shane and his brothers wasn’t going to bring Glenn back. It wasn’t going to help us figure this situation out either. While we might know something—like who was responsible—we didn’t know enough. “We need to keep tabs on Shane and his brothers so we can learn where he took Glenn. We should probably watch the other members of the pack, especially the females, too.”

Eli paused at the stairs leading to his front door. “Watch what? Watch as one of them gets abducted like Glenn did?” Eli snapped in a harsh whisper.

I knew he was pissed at the situation, not me, but I couldn’t help but feel a sting of hurt at his words.

I chewed my bottom lip, hating what I was about to say next because I knew he wouldn’t like it. “Maybe.”

“No! I’m not about to sit back and let something like that happen to someone else,” Eli insisted. He jerked his hand from mine. The sudden loss of his touch tingled across my palm. “You heard what that Shane guy said. He said he was there the other night and the times before that too. They could have nabbed more than just Glenn.”

I’d heard, but I hadn’t given much thought to it.

“All I meant was that maybe we could scout the woods or set up some bait for them so we can follow and see where they’re taking them. Maybe it would lead us to Glenn. If not, then at least it would lead us to where he’d been taken and we can take the place down. You can’t take a place down when you don’t know where it’s at.” I started up the wooden stairs that led to his front door and let myself inside.

Who knew who was watching us and possibly overhearing our conversation? We didn’t know enough yet to pull others in. It would only cause more harm than good at this point. Panic was never anyone’s friend.

“You know,” Eli said as he started up the stairs behind me. “That’s actually a good idea.”

I headed for his kitchen. My mouth was bone dry. Stress always had that effect on me. “Of course it is. I came up with it.”

Eli laughed. It was the reaction I was shooting for. It meant he was calming down. I was glad.

I opened the cabinet closest to the sink, searching for a cup. It was empty. “Got a cup?”

“No, but there’s bottled water in the fridge.” He closed the front door behind him and headed straight for me. I froze. He bypassed me and pulled a box of something down from a cabinet near my head. “You hungry at all?”

I moved around him in the tiny kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge. “Sort of.” Judging from the lack of food in his fridge, I didn’t think he had much to spare, though. “Depends on what you’re making,”

“Mac and cheese.” He placed a pot filled with water on the stove and cranked one of the burners to high. The water would be boiling in seconds, and once he added in the pasta, it was sure to bubble over. “I’ve been living off that and scrambled eggs for days.”

“Seriously?” Gran would have heart failure if she knew. His mom probably would, too. “Why haven’t you gone home for at least one nice meal?”

He shrugged and dumped the pasta in before the water had a chance to warm. “I don’t know. Call it pride, call it whatever you want, I don’t want to have to go home for anything. I want my parents to know I can do this on my own. Besides, it’s not bad if you cook the noodles right. I can’t stand it when they get mushy, and I happen to like eggs.”

“Going home for one meal a week is not proof you can’t live on your own. It’s called quality time with your family,” I insisted as I hoisted myself on the counter and opened my bottle of water.

There still wasn’t a scrap of furniture in the place with the exception of the bed and rickety dresser in his room. I imagined both had been his when he lived with his parents.

“Maybe,” he said as he reached for a wooden spoon that looked as though he’d chiseled it himself and stirred the noodles.

Silence built between us. It was awkward and tense. It had me questioning whether I should still be here. Eli wasn’t going after Shane or Drew; he was making mac and cheese. I should probably leave, but I didn’t want to.

If I directed our conversation back to stuff involving Glenn and the pack, then it counted as pack business and I was allowed to stay, right?

“So, I’m supposed to hang out with Alec sometime this week. It would be the perfect opportunity for me to hang around Shane and ask some questions about his brothers. Anything we can learn about him and his family might be valuable. It might lead us to Glenn and help put a stop to whatever they’re doing.”

“I don’t like the idea of you hanging around him. I know I said I didn’t care for you hanging around Alec to begin with, but this is serious, Mina. The full moon is coming. That means you’re going to have to drink the tea again. If it triggers a reaction this time, you’ll be Moon Kissed. Which means you’ll be a prime target for Shane and his brothers.”

“It might not happen, though. It hasn’t yet,” I insisted. At this point, I was beginning to think it might never happen.

“It will. I can sense it,” Eli said as he shifted to face me. “I’ve always been able to sense it in you.” His smoldering eyes pulled me in.

The moment was becoming too intimate, which was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid. I averted my gaze, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Only time will tell,” I whispered, unsure what else to say.

Eli stepped toward me. Something in the air shifted as he continued to erase the space previously separating us. I lifted my gaze to meet his and caught sight of a dangerous glimmer sparking to life within the color of his eyes.

Eli was about to kiss me.

His lips were about to press against mine. It was written all over his face. My heart stalled out when only inches remained between us. His gaze locked with mine as the charge in the air intensified due to our close proximity. I was frozen, waiting to see what would happen next.

An eruption of something sizzling burst through the trailer, startling me and causing Eli to spin around to find its source. Steam billowed to the ceiling coming from the stove. Eli rushed to remove the pot he’d been boiling his noodles in from the burner.

“Damn it,” he growled. “Now the noodles will be mushy.”

“That’s not your only problem,” I said as I brought my hand up to cover my nose. “The stench of burned water is going to linger for a while.”

He set the pot back down on the stove. “It does have a distinct smell, doesn’t it? Maybe when I add in the cheese it’ll be okay.”

I hopped off the counter and stepped to the nearest window. “I’m not taking any chances. It could just make it worse.”

Once I had the window open, I went for the front door and fanned it to get more fresh air inside faster. I caught sight of Gracie and Cooper together. Their heads were close. In fact, from this angle, it looked as though they were making out.

“Since when is your brother dating my sister?” My tone was harsh. There was no denying how unhappy I was about the situation.

“Whoa.” Eli stopped what he was doing and shifted to face me. “I know nothing about that. Which brother is she dating?”

“Cooper. Which one do you think she’d go for, Jonas? He’s nine.”

“She’s thirteen. It's only a four-year difference. I’ve seen bigger age gaps between people before.” Eli went back to his noodles. He drained the pasta and then rummaged through the fridge for whatever else mac and cheese called for.

I poked my head out the door to get a better look at my sister and Cooper. Her arms were wrapped around his neck. His hands were gripping her hips. Their faces were still stuck together.

“They’re making out! I can’t believe my little sister is making out with someone. She’s doing it right there in the open for anyone to see, too.” I shook my head, appalled by what I was seeing. “I need to have words with her. Soon.”

“Why? Because dating a Vargas boy is so bad?”

My teeth grazed over my bottom lip as I thought about how my words might have come off. I stepped away from the door. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying…” What was I saying? Why did Gracie dating Cooper bother me so much? Was it that she was dating him specifically, or that she was dating in general? That was it. “This is Gracie. My little sister. She shouldn’t be kissing boys at all.”

Gracie was thirteen. She was too young to be doing something like that. Hell, she was too young to be interested in boys. Too young for boys to be interested in her.

“And? Cooper is my little brother,” Eli said with his back still to me. He poured milk into the pot of noodles and stirred. “What are you so worried about? They’re thirteen. Dating was bound to happen. At least she picked one of the pack members to date.” I didn’t care for the edge to his words.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I knew it was a jab at me for dating Alec, but I wanted to hear him say it.

“Nothing,” he said with a shrug. “Look, don’t worry about it. Cooper is a good kid. So is Gracie. They’ll be fine.” He grabbed two paper plates from a cabinet and scooped mac and cheese onto them. “Here, eat something.”

I exhaled a long breath. Gracie was a good kid. Cooper was, too. Neither of them had ever been in any trouble. Cooper had always creeped me out, though. I didn’t like how he kept tabs on me with Eli’s other brother, Tate. Maybe he was protective of those in the pack.

I walked to where Eli stood holding a paper plate filled with macaroni and took it from him. It had been forever since I’d eaten mac and cheese. Gran didn’t buy it. Everything she cooked was homemade.

“Thanks,” I said as I shoveled a forkful in my mouth. “You know, if you don’t want to go home for a dinner, you could always come to my place. Gran would love to cook for you.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” I glanced at him.

“Would you cook for me?” he asked, not bothering to keep the heat from his words or his eyes.

The breath in my chest stilled as goose bumps erupted across my skin. “Umm, I’m not much of a cook. All I know how to make is canned tomato soup and grilled cheese.”

“One of my favorite meals.” Eli winked. “That would be great. Thanks.”

What just happened? Did we agree on another meal together? Was I supposed to make him tomato soup and grilled cheese now? I wasn’t sure.

All I knew was that if he mentioned it again, I didn’t think I’d tell him no.