I kept thinking about it, over and over again. The smell of burnt rubber. The deafening silence once the car came to a stop. The pain in my shoulders as I was tossed around in my baby car seat. And then one hand reaching inside, trying to get me out. I thought it was someone trying to rescue me- oh, how wrong I had been.

I could suddenly hear the voices.

"Shit, he ran away!"

"Are you fucking serious? The boss will be mad when he finds out that we killed Alpha and her Beta before we could get their wolves and then the boy runs away. We are fucking dead!"

"What are you doing, man?"

"What does it look like I am doing? This one is alive and I don't want to risk her shifting and running away as well. Pass me the extractor!"

My wolf was going crazy inside my head; growling and jumping, trying to protect me. But she couldn't, I knew that now. I had never seen her before- at 2 years old I was way too young to shift. Hell, I was still learning how to go about as a human, let alone be a wolf. Yet, at that moment I knew she was there. I could feel the strength and comfort she was giving me, her protective and fierce nature.

I was a confused toddler who just wanted mummy to reach from the front and scoop her in her arms. I started crying to get my parents' attention- I could see them sitting still in the front seats. No matter how much I cried though, they just wouldn't move. So my wolf stepped in to comfort me. Her presence was like a warm, soft blanket wrapped around me, even as she got into a defensive stance when the hand with the flying eagle on the wrist reached for me.

"Come on, man. She is just a kid, practically a baby still. Taking her wolf away would probably kill her, especially at this age."

I heard commotion outside before they continued. "Listen up, fucker, do you want me to give boss your wolf instead? You know he has to deliver, so it's her or us!"

Next thing I know, the now familiar hand reached for me again but this time it was holding a strange ball that was glowing and was whispering something to my wolf, enticing her to leave me and join it in the darkness. My wolf tried to fight it but the more the ball whispered, the more I saw the beautiful white wolf fade away until she was nearly a ghost. Suddenly, I heard sirens and voices in the distance.

"Shit, we can't finish this. Fuck!.... We have to go. We can't let the humans find us! She is practically dead anyway!" The voices disappeared and all I could hear were the whimpers of my wolf inside my head. Be strong, Riley! I will always be in your heart.

Her presence was weakening and with that my cries started again, getting stronger the less I felt the calming presence of my wolf.

I heard new voices coming from the outside. "Sir, there is a baby in the back. The parents are dead but she is alive! We need to get her out!" I cried and I cried until my cries became whispers as my energy was running out. I wanted my mummy. I wanted my wolf. I wanted Lucien and my dad. But they were all gone. I was alone, left in this big scary world. Suddenly my sensitive toddler eyes felt the light outside as I was pulled out of the car. I looked up and I saw a bearded man hold me in his arms. He reached for my neck and touched something.

"Riley! You're going to be okay, baby girl, you are going to be okay!"

***

"Riley! Can you hear me? Riley? Came back to me, baby girl!" I opened my eyes and found myself curled on the floor in a hallway. I looked up and couldn't figure out who the man kneeling next to me was. Was it the fireman? Did he save me?

No. The more I looked into his beautiful eyes and his soft lips, the more I was starting to remember a night of wild, passionate sex. Callum! But why was he on the floor? Why was on the floor as well?

"Callum, what happened?" I spoke up but my words came out as a mumble. My mouth was so dry that the Sahara desert probably had more moisture.

"Thank the Goddess, Riley!" He said as he held me close to his chest like he was scared that I might faint again. "You said that we had to go after the man who nearly ran us over and then you fainted. You've only been out for a minute but it felt like an eternity. I was worried that something happened to you. Your brother would have killed me then." He chuckled but I couldn't laugh as I was hit by the memory of the eagle tattoo.

"Callum, we have to find him. He was there."

"Where, Riley? What's going on?" His voice was full of worry, as if I was hallucinating or I was out of my mind, but I had never been more sure of anything in my life.

"That man was there the day I lost my wolf." Callum stared at me in confusion. I couldn't waste more time though. I got up and ran as fast as I could in the direction that I saw the man disappear. He wasn't really running away, so I caught sight of him just as he went inside the ballroom.

I sprinted after him but the moment I walked in, I knew I was too late. He had disappeared amongst the hundreds of guests that were now on the dancefloor and I had no way of tracking him down. If only I had some of those heightened wolf senses that I kept on hearing about.

Anger was starting to bubble inside me. I was a security and protection expert, for fuck sake- how could I lose my target! My only shot at getting closer to the truth of what happened to my family and why. Now I knew for fact though that the people who did this acted under someone's orders.

As I stood at the end of the dancefloor, a warm, gentle hand grabbed mine and snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Riley! There you are! Let's dance- you promised to be my wingwoman!" Natalia pulled me on the dancefloor with her and her cousins, yet I couldn't help but constantly look around, hoping that I would catch a sight of the man who had taken so much away from me.

Who was he? What was he doing here? Was he part of someone's pack? There were a million questions going through my heas and I felt like it was about to explode. I was dancing and smiling on the outside but inside my mind I was going around in circles, trying to find some answers or or at least some clues but I was coming blank. I felt the urge to scream out in frustration. My body was itching like I was not comfortable in my own skin any longer. I have to find him. I have to find him. Those five words were repeating in my mind like a mantra.

Eventually I was so exhausted that I just wanted to go home. Luckily, having a pregnant sister-in-law worked in my favour as I found myself with the perfect excuse for leaving early as the rest of the pack stayed behind. Callum tried to talk to me before I left but the most I could do was to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek and promise him that I would explain it all to him another day.

The drive back home was so silent. I wanted to talk to Lucien about the man with the tattoo but I didn't want to bring it up in the car and worry Anna. To be honest, I must have been feeling so anxious about the whole thing myself that it was manifesting in this itch that I could feel over my ribs on my right side.

Once we made it to the Blackwood estate, all I wanted was to get some sleep and then think about my next move with a fresh head the next morning. That damn itch was killing me though.

"Anna, would you mind coming with me to help me take off my dress? I would have difficulties unzipping the back on my own and I am feeling so uncomfortable in it at the moment that if I struggle, I might end up ripping it off." I hated getting help for such simple things but the evening and all the socializing had taken their toll on me. I wondered how I would have been feeling now if Callum and I had not gotten interrupted and we had finally made it to the garden.

As soon as Anna and I made it through the door to my room, I took of my high heels and threw them in the corner.

"Ugh, finally freedom!" I said, throwing myself on my soft, comfortable bed.

"Oh, come on, Riley! It wasn't that bad! Plus, all the admirers you had tonight." Anna have me a devilish wink as if I had been up to no good all night.

"I am not sure what you are talking about." Okay, I was playing coy but still- not like I was going to admit that I had the hots for nearly every single male shifter I had met. Although right now I couldn't think of any of them as being attractive, apart from a few.

"Sure, Riley." Anna clearly didn't believe me. "Not like Alpha James Wilson was practically undressing you with his eyes, while Mr Alpha Bear Callum Andrews was ready to pick you up and take you as far away from James as possible. And don't get me started on Rafe Macalister and Aiden Hayes- I saw the tension between the three of you even from the other side of the room."

"Well, James is charming but he is a fox, what else would you expect. Callum and I....let's say that we get on very well. Beta Hayes- I've never met a dragon before so I guess that's why I find him intriguing. As for that idiot Rafe Macalister," I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm and composed as I remembered how much the future Windcrest Alpha had gotten on my nerves,"he better stay out of my way unless he wants me to show him what a woman who is not afraid to teach him a lesson is really capable off."

I stood up and walked over to Anna, turning my back to her so that she could undo the dress. She was laughing by the time she finished listening to me. "Yeah, you had a busy night, I see."

I heard the noise of the zipper getting pulled down and in no time the dress fell on the floor, pooling at my feet. I know it was wrong for me to treat such an expensive dress this way but I was so happy to let my skin be free and breathe. I felt the freshness of the air all over my skin, causing it to erupt in tiny goosebumps. My body was finally able to cool down and relax. Except for that annoying itchy spot that now felt like it was burning. I should have known better than scratching it every time it itched.

"Argh, this itch is so annoying. Would you happen to have any cream for it, Anna?" I prayed that her answer was Yes as I really needed the relief.

"I'll have a look in our medicine cupboard, although wolves don't usually get itchy skin. Let me see what's causing it first."

I lifted my right arm to give Anna a better look and then used my free hand to show her exactly the spot of concern.

"Oh my Goddess!" I heard my brother's wife gasp. What the hell? Was she trying to give me a heart attack?

"Hellooo? Mind telling me what's going on? I'm going to start worrying that I've caught some contagious disease or something! You can't just exclaim like that and leave me hanging." I didn't mean to sound frustrated but the prickling that I was feeling was driving me crazy.

"I know, I'm sorry. I am just so shocked that I don't know how to explain it."

Great- she really knows how to reassure a person!"Spit it out, Anna. What's going on?"

I was sitting there with all sorts of scenarios going through my head but nothing prepared me for what I was about to hear.

"Riley, you've met your mates tonight!"