Page 40 of Captive Wilderness
Landon’s words held no sway over me as I continued to pack, throwing every bit of clothing I owned into a suitcase and a duffel bag. Whatever didn’t fit, I’d donate. I wasn’t coming back here. A kid who’d just moved out of his parents’ place had purchased all my furniture and would be here to pick it up tomorrow. That’s it. I’d tried to live a simple life like my two friends had suggested, but I’d failed. I was done.
I hadn’t even lasted a year. White Rock was a little city south of Vancouver, but it still held too many people, too many ways for me to hurt others. Every day I battled with myself. Every day some minor thing sparked the anger of the beast inside me, the red haze flaring to the surface. I needed to get out, away from everyone.
And no matter what Landon said, he wouldn’t change my mind.
Movement behind my cousin made me lift my head. Walker stood there, his scowl as angry as always. His leave from the army only gave him a week off. “So you’re just going to give up?” he asked, his tone bitter. “Cut everyone off? Make it so no one can find you? It’s selfish, Kane.”
I was doing it for them. I was leaving to keep everyone safe. Who was to say they wouldn’t be the ones I hurt next? I tried to live in another town, tried city life, none of it fit. The red haze took over when I didn’t want it to. I had to leave.
To get him to back off, I signed,What do you care? You’re leaving next week.
His face became a stony mask. “That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on life.” He turned before I could reply. The door to my apartment slammed a few seconds later.
Gripping the edge of my dresser, I bent my head and willed the red haze to retreat.Thisis why I needed to leave. If one of my best friends could tempt the beast into revealing itself, then how was the rest of the world supposed to fair? I needed to get out of grizzly territory, to find a place where no one could find me.
I ignored Landon’s watchful gaze as I packed the remainder of my belongings. The lights above me strobed blue and red to the beat of the music. I danced, throwing my hand in the air with wild abandon.
I’d maybe drank a little too much, but I didn’t care. I was having fun. That’s what life was about. Having fun.
A boy on the edge of the dance floor watched me with intent eyes. I faced him fully and danced closer, my eyes on him and no one else.
Then I sat at my desk, rubbing my hands over my eyes and beard. I was so close to figuring it out, but not close enough. How could I stop a shifter from shifting? Was it even possible? This could be a complete waste of time. I threw my pencil on the desk and walked away, down the dock and toward the plane that buzzed loud as it hit the water. Excitement came over me. This delivery of supplies would be different than the others.
John Clark opened the door of the float plane and jumped out onto the dock. We shook hands, and he tied off the boat before opening up the rear door. Boxes of supplies came out, but there was only one I was looking for. The parcel with my name on it and the return address from Vancouver was the last item he took out from the plane.
“This what you’re wanting?”
I nodded and tried not to notice that my hands shook a little when I grabbed it. John helped me take the boxes of supplies up to the cabin, then he was off, back to town where normal people lived.
The sound of the plane taking off echoed off the trees as I tore into the package from Landon. A circlet of metal lay in a layer of foam. “Prototype” read the little sticky note attached.
I picked it up, the metal cold in my hand. My stomach dropped into my feet.The fucker.He’d made it too small for me to wear.Son of a bitch. He knew I’d try it, and he’d made it impossible. The next time I saw Landon,ifI ever saw him again, I’d slug him for this. I opened the bottom drawer of the desk and dropped it inside.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.The music beat low in my stomach. His hands were all over me. I loved it. He was going to make me feel so good when we finally got alone.
Who the hell was I kidding? He could make me feel good right now. My skirt hitched up further on my ass as he ground against me. Too soon, my mind jumped.
Where the hell did she come from?
About an hour ago, my perimeter alarms signaled something had crossed onto my land. I thought it might be a black bear even though they’d stayed well away from me since I’d moved in five years ago. I’d been prepared to scare it off with a warning shot.
Not in a million years would I have guessed I’d find a woman.
She shifted in front of me, smooth skin sprouting fur, her form becoming a diminutive version of her human body. A bobcat appeared, silver-gray fur striped with black.Beautiful.
Her tawny yellow eyes stared at me a moment, blinked, then she leaped away in one graceful stride.
As soon as she flew through the door, I tightened my hand hold on the chair. Every part of me shouted to give chase, to not let her escape.
What if she didn’t come back? What if she kept running south until she found civilization? It would take days, but as a bobcat, she could survive.
The back of the chair cracked beneath my grasp.
My mate was leaving me, and it felt like my heart had been torn from my chest, a ragged hole in its place. My legs collapsed. Sinking to the floor, I held my head in my hands, trying to will the red haze that colored the edges of my vision to disappear.
I could still feel her, our connection. She was heading east. She wasn’t running away, she was just…running. I took a deep breath, the haze ebbing away.
When I got to my feet, my eyes landed on the collar on the table. I picked it up, feeling the weight of it in my hand, and walked to my desk. I slid the bottom drawer open and dropped it inside beside the other one.Thunk.
