Color exploded in front of my eyes. I felt boneless, weightless. The hunger inside of me threatened to rip me apart.

Lena was a magnet. Her heart beat along with mine. As her face came into focus before me again, it was different. She was different. It was as though I had never really looked at her before this moment.

She was beautiful. I’d always known that. The wind lifted her thick, russet hair from her face. Her almond-shaped eyes seemed to go from green to gold. It was a trick of the light, but it gave her a shifter quality I hadn’t noticed before. Of course, though dormant, she had shifter blood running through her veins from her father. It would be so much easier to convince myself that’s all it was. Except, I knew it was something so much more.

Heat unspooled inside me. The urge to bring her close to me made my vision waver again. My wolf blazed to life, clawing to get out.

Lena pulled her arm away from me, clutching it to her breast. Her blood mixed with my blood, awakening a desire in me that threatened to drive out all reason.

“Lena.” My voice sounded distant, ragged. Beads of sweat popped out on Lena’s forehead. She was trembling. Whatever was happening to me, something similar had run through her. I knew it. I felt it. And yet, I had to get away from it.

“I’ll be back.” My movements were clumsy, faltering, as I rose to my feet. “We need fresh water.”

We didn’t, but if I didn’t put some distance between us, I wasn’t sure I could control my wolf. Lena gave me a slow nod but sat frozen, stunned.

I ran to the water’s edge and dipped the cloth bandage into the cool water. Lena’s blood washed away. Clutching the sopping wet fabric, I slowly knelt in the sand.

“No,” I whispered. “No. No.”

I had to wrap my mind around it. How could I face Lena again if I couldn’t get control of myself? My inner wolf called out one word, a drumbeat that explained everything at the same time it spun me out of control.

Mine. Mine. Mine!

Lena was mine. God. The moment I let the words take coherent shape in my mind, my breath left me. My heart twisted and lust nearly drove me mad.

Lena was mine!

How had I not sensed it before? Gunnar, Mac, Liam, even Jagger had told me they knew the instant they laid eyes on their fated mates. They had never questioned it. Their lives had been separated into before and after. Liam said he felt like his heart began truly beating the moment he saw Molly.

It felt like that for me now. Colors became more vibrant. Lena’s scent washed over me, sending fresh waves of heat and desire coursing through my veins. This was real, tangible. There could be no denying it. Everything she’d told me about what happened to her poured through me. A protective rage unlike anything I’d ever felt sent a violent shudder through me. My wolf ripped forth, unbidden.

Hunt. Kill. Take.

He was dead. She’d told me the Alpha who marked her against her will was dead. Still, my need to kill for her drove out all reason. I would kill for her. I knew with dead certainty I would never let anyone hurt this woman again.

I raced along the shoreline. The first wolf I’d killed still lay on his side, his blood staining the sand. I wanted to rip him apart all over again. So close. They’d come so close. Raising my head, I howled at the moon. I couldn’t help it, couldn’t control it.

I could feel Lena’s eyes watching me. My world tilted on its axis. She became the center around which I orbited. I knew in my heart I would orient myself to her for the rest of my days. Except, she was scared to death of me. The Alpha and this Shelby had taken something sacred and twisted it into something ugly. Lena may never want another wolf to touch her. I wanted to do murder for her. I wanted to reach through time and rip the eyes and heart out of any man who’d hurt her.

“Payne!” her voice hit my heart like a bullet. Her pain would become mine. Even if I never marked her, I knew it in my bones.

She emerged from the woods, her arm still caked in blood. Snarling, I imagined killing the wolf who’d done that to her all over again. This time, I wouldn’t let it end so quickly. I’d make him suffer. I would send his pain back to Able Valent tenfold.

“Payne!” Lena called again. There was fear in her voice. Oh, God. I’d put it there. If I was right about what she was to me, it must have terrified her too. Her mind would war with her heart. How could she ever want another wolf to touch her after what they’d done to her?

She saw me standing on a rocky outcropping. The moon was at my back. She was scared, confused, hurt. Wolves had done that to her. I had done that to her. I was so stupid. How could I have been so blind to what she was before now? The answer thrummed through me. Wolves had twisted me too. Maybe we were both a product of what had been done to us.

I went to her. Through my wolf’s eyes she was luminescent. Tall, proud, damaged. I wanted to take her pain into me and keep it from ever touching her again. But, as she stared at me with those hazel and gold eyes, I feared nothing could make her whole again.

We seemed suspended in time. It was easier, in my wolf. I felt grounded, real. Lena was brave, strong, beautiful. She reached for me, acting on instinct. Her hand hovered above my head. I inhaled her scent. She smelled so sweet, clean and strong like a ripe peach. I craved her touch. My body shivered with wanting. But, she hesitated, then closed her hand into a fist and drew it back to her body.

I pawed the ground and let out a chuff. Lena nodded. She understood. Sure, we both needed some time to process what had just happened, but I also needed to patrol the perimeter. Though I was fairly certain those three Pack wolves hadn’t been sent by Valent, I needed to be certain.

With the tent in shreds, Lena was exposed. I hated leaving her even for a second but had no choice. I tore through the woods, letting my baser instincts take over. The echo of Able’s words from long ago poured through me.

You have a gift, Payne. A talent. You were aptly named.

I felt his hands closing around my throat. My heart hammered inside of me. It had been so much simpler then. Letting Able take control of my mind and actions had felt natural at first. He told me everything he did was for the good of the Pack. Keep it strong. Let it thrive. It was only later that I learned it was all a lie. Everything Able Valent did was only to keep himself stronger and in control. And oh, God, I’d helped him. For almost a full year, I’d done what he commanded.

Then, Lena’s words rose up inside me, echoing right alongside Able’s.

I think that’s the secret Able doesn’t want out there. I think he hasn’t been able to fully subjugate other Alphas for years.

The weight of her revelation slammed into me. I skidded to a stop, my paws carving through the dirt. No. She was wrong. She had to be.

Because if she were right it meant everything I’d done in Able Valent’s name, I’d done willingly.