RYKER’S P.O.V


    The wind whipped through my fur as I ran, I wasn’t going my fastest because if I did, the game would


    be over in seconds and I wanted to draw it out as long as possible. The chase was the most fun part of


    everything. It made catching her all the more worth it. I saw her light fur as she weaved through the


    smaller trees. She was truly taking my words into consideration and taking paths I didn’t recognize but


    she didn’t realize I had a better memory than she did, I came into these woods more than her and I


    knew them like the back of my hand.


    I took a right and I felt her confusion down the bond because that was thepletely opposite direction


    from where she was going. Regardless of that, she kept running. I could still see her out of the corner


    of my eye, my wolf vision was something to be rivaled. I wasn’t sure if it had improved since bing


    prince but it was almost as if my senses were sharper


    Once I started hearing the sound of the stream, I took a sharp left just as she wasing out of the


    trees. She ran into me but I turned us over at thest minute so I would absorb the impact of the hit.


    She let out a whine while Iughed. She was


    on top


    of me sporting what looked like a small frown and I leaned up to lick her face- technically, my wolf did


    but in this state, we were one and the same.


    Our thoughts were always the same when it came to her, I never had to fight him, we just wanted her


    happy. A lot of people found it hard to control their wolves once shifted, it was the reason most people


    didn’t do it often but I had learned from a young age how to be one with my wolf. We rarely


    argued or had differences, it was like having another living, breathing soul with the same thoughts and


    ideas..


    “You cheated,” Camiined still lying on top of me. I immediately flipped us over before slowly


    getting off her and nudging her towards theke. “You


    ambushed me.”


    “There was nothing against going through a short cut. My job was to catch you and I did.”


    She huffed and turned away from me. She wasn’t truly upset, I knew that much so I waited until she


    had finishedpping up the water before I nudged her back to the ground and wrapped myrge form


    around her. At first, she tried pulling away


    .


    but she soon realized it was fruitless and she actually wanted it because she rxed into my hold. The


    moon was high in the sky and we justy there wrapped up in each other as the breeze it our skin. It


    was a different kind of bliss, one that couldn’t be expressed in words


    “Ryker,” she spoke softly down the link and I hummed. “Thank you for this. I didn’t realize how much I


    needed it until you brought it up. I feel more rxed than I have in weeks.”


    “It’s okay,” I nuzzled her side. “We all need a break now and again. You work too hard and you work


    yourself too much. Come out for a run once in a while.”


    Sheughed softly. “I will, but I have a question. How are we going to get our clothes back, I don’t even


    know where they are right now?”


    “We’ll find it.”


    I wasn’t bothered about clothes in this moment. I had my mate in my arms, I had my family safe in the


    pce, there was nothing more that I needed. Everything else was calmly situated in the back of my


    mind where it belonged. At least, it was, until I heard a twig snap. My spine stilled and my ears twitched


    as I tried to figure out where the sound came from. Cami tried to rise but I put a paw on her side and


    let out a low growl warning her to stay down.


    Even in her wolf form, she rolled her eyes at me. She had a problem with my over protectiveness, she


    always did but until I found out what that was, I wasn’t letting her go anywhere near it. I lifted my nose


    in the air trying to take a sniff but what I got back nearly had me throwing up. It smelled like rotting flesh


    and death. Death didn’t have a particr scent but if it did, this would be it. It was pungent and horrible,


    as if all the bad in the world hade together.


    “What is that smell?” Cami asked but I didn’t respond. She rose on all fours but I nudged her until


    she was behind me.


    “If I tell you to run then you run, am I very clear on that?”


    “Whatever.”


    I would have hounded her more about that but some leaves shook in the clearing on the opposite side


    of the stream. I let out a loud growl warning whoever it was to stay the f uck back but to no one’s


    surprise, they didn’t. When the leaves cleared I was not expecting to see a man there. He looked even


    worse than the first man we


    healed, his skin was ck, as if every cell in it had died. His eyes were hollow and they looked empty,


    he was fixated on Cami and he stretched out a hand to her.


    “Help me,” he pleaded and the next thing I knew, he was falling into the stream.


    Cami tried to go after him but I stopped her. “Get our clothes and get back here. I’ll save him.”


    “But-”


    “Now!” this time she didn’t hesitate, she took off in the opposite direction while I jumped into the stream.


    It wasn’t hard to retrieve the man but he felt heavier than a person was supposed to. I managed to get


    him onto drynd and thankfully, he hadn’t drowned yet.


    He coughed out water and looked around as if expecting to see Cami. “Where is she? Please, I need


    her help. She said that she could help me. She said that the Queen was my only hope.”


    I nudged at his mind. If he was from the pack then I could ess his mind link. His mind was different


    than most others I hade to rte with. It was like a deserted hallway filled with cobwebs, the scent


    of death lingered even in his mind also. I had never experienced anything like that before. I wanted to


    pull out of his mind but I needed to know.


    “Who is she?” I asked. “Who told you that the Queen could help.”


    “The woman who did this to me,” he responded with a voice softer than a feather. “She said that only


    the Queen could heal me. She said it was a test, she said she was helping her grow and I was practice.


    Please, I don’t want to die.”


    Cami returned with our clothes in her mouth. I reluctantly pulled away from the man so I could get


    dressed behind a tree. I was done first and went back to him. He hadn’t moved an inch, he looked too


    exhausted to move and that led me to question how he managed to get through the woods alone at


    night.


    “What were you doing here?” I asked but he didn’t respond. “How did you manage to get here? Did she


    drop you off?”


    I could feel Cami’s confusion but I made a m ental note to exin it to herter. My attention turned


    back to the man who managed to look at me.


    “No, she left me in the, town. I came here on my own. I needed- I tried-” even


    speaking seemed to be hard for him. Cami reached forward to touch him but I grabbed her wrist.


    “No,” I warned and she frowned. I exined everything the man had said down our bond. “Whoever


    this woman is, she is baiting you, you aren’t going to fall into her trap.”


    “I’m not going to let innocent people die either. She is not going to stop, people are going to keep


    coming in the number and it will be our fault that they died. I am not like you, Ryker, I cannot live with


    the knowledge of that on my chest. Just let me touch him.”


    “No, it drains you too much, why don’t you try using your blood?” I asked and I saw her hesitate. Since


    we discovered this new development, we never saw need to try her blood. I wasn’t even sure if it still


    worked. “Just try it, Cami, there is no harm in knowing.”


    She pursed her lips but realized there was no other way I was going to let her try it. She found a sharp


    rock and sliced her palm open on it. Watching that alone was hard but I stayed close to her as she


    lifted her hand over his lips and allowed the blood drip freely. I knew her hand would heal within


    seconds but hopefully it was enough to heal him.


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    At first nothing happened, he justy there quietly when he suddenly started to convulse. His body


    shook badly and foam started to gather in his mouth. Cami tried to reach out to him but I grabbed her


    by the waist and pulled her away from him. She screamed and fought trying to get to him but I couldn’t


    risk her life for a stranger. It might have been cruel but it wasn’t something I would do.


    “Ryker if you don’t let me go, I swear I will never forgive you,” she cried out and I hated hearing her like


    that but I still wasn’t convinced. “He is dying and this is my fault. Just let me make it right, please.”


    “You have given too much.”


    She let out an ear splitting scream. “Please, that is someone’s son. If it were our girls, we would want


    someone to help them. Just let me do this one more time. Please, whatever I did is killing him. I am


    begging you.”


    Tears were free flowing down her cheeks and she looked at me with raw pain. I hated to see her like


    that, I wanted to take her as far away from this as possible but


    I knew her better than anyone and I knew she wasn’t bluffing when she said she