The red dirt road wound through pine trees and oaks. Sunlight hung in the woods, turning dust motes and pollen to gold flecks, the sight of which soothed my frazzled nerves. Deer pranced away at the sound of the four-wheel drive. The trail dead-ended at a vibrant glade where my cabin was located. There was one way in, one way out. Long-eared hares played hide-and-seek in the tall grass, and birds chittered in protest as my Dodge came to a stop.

I wanted to kiss the ground.

Somehow, we had reached our destination without anyone taking a bullet. I stared with relief at the faded walls of the lodge, the aluminum roof dulled by time, the yard that was more wildflower field than lawn. Inside the cabin, there was a great room, an updated bathroom, and a loft. Aurie and Mys would be comfortable here.

As I killed the engine, Mys slowly awoke from a catnap, and Aurie stretched, taking in our new setting. I could almost hear her brain working up a plan to sneak off. Not for the first time, I regretted keeping her in isolation. At least here she could leave the house. No sneaking necessary.

"Nothing for miles except nature and God," I mentioned.

"Are you staying with us tonight?" Mys nudged my hand. Without thinking, I laced our fingers together atop the center console. It hit me that I was encouraging intimacy, and I disengaged. Inky black hair fell over Mys' pink-tinged cheeks but the flicker of emotion was so brief, it was easy to miss.

"I need to do a perimeter check," I muttered. "Take the keys and you two get settled inside. I'll be back." I stepped from the truck and inhaled the rich, loamy odor of the forest. The smells were intoxicating, hyperreal. Courtesy of my wolf.

I called it forth as I unbuttoned my shirt, ignoring my friends, ready to shift. I had reasons for doing it in plain view this time. I needed to make sure no one had followed us, and man-shape wasn't ideal for reconnaissance. I was also being an exhibitionist to remind Aurie and Mys of the more savage aspects of my nature. They needed to see the rogue, the creature that would bite the hand that fed.

Mys had overplayed the experienced jade this morning. Aurie had given me a look of yearning that knew no bounds. All because of a drunken Saturday night dare. We never should've landed in bed together. Yet, they were the only two beings who had ever made me want to throw caution to the wind.

I knew that a relationship, especially an unconventional polyamorous one, was off limits. The wildness of going full rogue had taken root, and there was no alternate happy ending. Walls had to be built. Feelings had to be hurt. Last night had to remain purely about sex. When an inward voice quizzed me, "Was it, though?" I reminded myself of my own lunacy. Enough said.

I tugged off my shirt and dropped it on top of the shoes I had kicked away. The sun spilled over my shoulders like a weightless massage, but my fracturing psyche couldn't appreciate it. When I caught Aurie and Mys staring, a rueful smile touched my lips, but this wasn't a striptease. It was more severe.

Naked, I stretched to my full height. I tried to let the muscles that had bunched on the drive unfold. Wildness rushed up like a forest fire. It was intense enough to make me latch a hand on the truck for balance.

I heard a gasp as claws extended from my nailbeds and dug into the fiberglass. A raw groan of elation and a guttural growl flew from my lips. At first, I was cognizant enough to be embarrassed by the uncontrolled display. The cognizance was brief. Sensibility went dark.

I staggered and—though one of my friends sympathetically tried to catch me before I fell, the other wisely held them back while I writhed and thrashed on the ground. I made it to my hands and knees as the last of the transformation reached a strident crescendo.

Arousal and virility pumped in my veins. It throbbed in my loins. My heaving chest housed a freight train ready to leap the tracks. Suddenly, I was too primal to know the difference between a good meal, a good fight, and a good fuck. One moment, I was Detective Zyr Ravani; the next, I was the black wolf running for the woods. Howling mad.

Even as I crashed through the underbrush, I heard Aurie's racing heartbeat and giddy, excited laughter as she watched me go. Mys whined with exaggerated angst, "Maji-ka. Really, Senpai? Really?"

And, if I had been a man, I might've smiled wolfishly.

But I was a wolf, unaware that their reactions weren't what I had intended when I decided to shift in front of them. I was a wolf who knew only that the ground felt warm and welcoming beneath my paws. The sky was bright and forever. The birds were such teases, the hares such distractions. The world was mine, and the sweet dark woods were full of possibilities. Like the possibility of a coming threat that might be chased, hunted.

Destroyed.

It was night by the time I limped back to the cabin barefoot and clear-headed. Blue jeans hung from my hips, covering my nudity. Aurie and Mys looked up expectantly when I opened the door, but I hesitated at the threshold. The whir of cicadas swelled in the awkward silence. I closed the door behind me and muttered, "I lost track of time."

It was a feeble excuse, but it had taken a while to check the dozen or so motion-sensor cameras studded throughout the forest. My gaze flicked to the laptop on the table where I'd monitor anyone who got within a quarter-mile of us.

"Feeling better?" Aurie asked in a skittish tone. Beside her, Mys had a wary stare. That was my fault. But where was the middle ground between being friends and leading them on?

I forced a smile as I braced an elbow on a support beam and took in the scene. Someone had found the flannel bedding. The old full-size bed was made. Mys lounged on my pillows. Aurie leaned against the headboard with her knees up, arms hugging her legs. Music played from a mobile device lying between them. The bedside lamp cast a soft glow on the cozy setup.

"I see you've carved out a niche for yourselves," I mused aloud.

"Hope you don't mind," Mys drawled and brandished a lowball glass. "I helped myself to the medicinal whiskey."

There was a secret I needed to reveal to the Empath—and preparations that had to be made to ensure Aurie's safety once the inevitable happened and I went feral—but the delicate conversation had to be held in private. It seemed the lavender smock and cowboy boots were an invitation and a warning. I couldn't trust myself alone with them.

Aurie was no less tempting. Her curly hair was pulled in a puff atop her head, and her delicate earlobes and wonderful jawline begged to be kissed. "You missed a few phone calls." She held up my phone, springing me to reality. I started forward.

"Don't worry. We didn't snoop," Mys added. "We brought in your things and locked the truck when you didn't come back. Also, we borrowed your gun in case the big bad wolf got you."

"I am the big bad wolf," I quipped.

Breaking into a grin, Mys reached across Aurie and handed me the firearm. At the brush of warm, pale fingers, I ached to climb in bed with the two of them, post-run sweat and all. But thoughts like that would lead to folly. I drummed up the mental picture of an ex and channeled the feeling of disinterest. I watched the Empath's smile and eyes go flat. It cut me to the quick, but I hid that, too.

Aurie patted the mattress. "Care to join us?"

"He's busy," Mys grumbled.

Double gut punch. "Because your stay here is a business arrangement," I replied.

"Whoa! Dial down the rudeness," Aurie asserted.

I focused on my phone. Tegan had been trying to reach me. I had forgotten the lunch meeting. Shit. I redialed her, ignoring the other unfamiliar number in the Missed Calls list. "Please, don't tell me you're waiting for me with Kittie Cad," I begged when the line connected.

"Oh, you mean the girl you were supposed to introduce to me that I had to find on my own?" Tegan retorted. "Of course, we're not waiting around at Deanie's two hours past our scheduled meeting. I sent her home. Where the hell are you, Ravani? I think I just saw your face on the evening news."

"At the outdoor recreation store?" I stepped to the back porch to take the phone call away from the distraction of Aurie and Mys.

Tegan squealed, "Holy fuck! That was really you? What's going on, Zyr?"

"Long story. We had to move a witness to my hunting camp, and Cyprian's people came after us. I had to take evasive action. Misdemeanor disorderly conduct, tops," I tried to joke.

My partner's uneasy laughter morphed into a groan. "I'm gonna regret this, but what can I do to help?" she offered. My eyebrows shot upward in surprise. I glanced around the shadowy backyard, thinking I could use someone with her capabilities on this detail. However, I shook my head as I tallied the risks.

"I'll cover my end. I just need you to get Kittie Cad and track down Cyprian's victims. Think you can secure video testimonies for the Council of Overlay Affairs within the next forty-eight hours?"

"Forget that case! I meant is there anything I can do to help you. Zyr, your erratic behavior has people believing you're a danger to yourself and others. Do you know what that means?" Tegan asked.

Of course. It meant a comfy stay in a padded room. Still, the public meltdown at the store could work in my favor, allowing Mys to return to life as normal and Aurie to go on to fulfill her destiny while investigators focused on me.

The line beeped, saving me from Tegan's pointed questions. "Look, there's another call I have to take," I said as I glanced at the caller ID. It was the unfamiliar number from earlier. Over Tegan's protests, I switched lines, and an unmistakable voice greeted me. I was stunned to hear my younger brother.

"Ammi told me to call you if things went awry," said Yazeed. "Mum's under house arrest."

"What do you mean, she's under house arrest?" I exclaimed.

"It's Cyprian! He convinced the Council she's colluding with you to tamper with the election results. Where are you? We need to get you out of Overlay and beyond the Council's reach so we can help Ammi," he said in a rush.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think as the blood pounded in my temples. My first instinct was to drop everything and run to my mother's aid. Then, I looked through the open cabin door at Mys and Aurie.

"Yah, I can't do that," I sighed. "I have obligations here. The Ravani name will be cleared as soon as Darcy Cyprian's arrested. Otherwise, he'll simply come after our family again."

"Other obligations?" my brother scoffed. "Bullshit. Tell me where you are. I'm coming for you."

"I'm at Baba's cabin, but don't put yourself at risk by coming here. Get with Hazeem. You guys take a flight to Yalina's and lay low so the Council doesn't implicate you, too. You have my word I'll take care of Ammi."

"Zyr, things are already in motion. Things that can't be undone. I'm on my way to you. I'll..." The signal cut out, but before I could tell him I couldn't hear, his voice returned with an odd echo. "I'll find you."

I'll find you...There was a soft click as the line went dead. Why would Yazeed say he'd 'find' the cabin? My brothers knew the way here as well as I did. Like the back of our hands.

The cellphone slipped from my numb fingers as it hit me.