“They can’t keep you from me.” My mouth is dry, but I look into her eyes, needing to tell her that I love her. I’ve waited so long to have her, but I feel myself slipping away. “My beauty.”

She touches my face, and my wolf howls as I lose consciousness.

I’m know I’m dreaming because it’s the same one I always have of her. It’s a memory of when I was younger and I watched her.

It’s nighttime, and I’m outside her bedroom window, watching her sleep. She started keeping her window open a few days ago, and I don’t know if it’s because she knows I watch her, or just because she likes the night air.

Breathing deep, I take in her sweet scent of roses and it makes me feel calm. Something about being near her makes me feel whole.

Softly, I start to hum a lullaby, hoping I can reach her in her sleep. She rolls to her side, facing me, and in the moonlight I can see she’s still fast asleep. The blanket has fallen off her legs, showing me that she’s only in her panties and an oversized t-shirt.

For a second I stop humming and just look at her. I feel a tightness in my chest at seeing so much of her young body like this. I should leave, but I can’t find it in myself to do so. Instead, I look away, not wanting to take any more of her innocence, just by seeing her like this, than I already have. I look at the moon and start to hum the lullaby again, hoping to soothe her in her dreams.

I should go. I should leave. But I can’t. Instead, I watch the moon and sing to her as I steal her sweet scent for my own selfish comfort. I feel the word forming like it has every other time I have the dream. Every time I wake up, it’s with her name on my lips.

Chapter Five Gwen

“Gwen.”

I wake up with a throbbing headache and a pain in my hip. As soon as I’m conscious, I shift into my wolf. It’s a protective instinct, my wolf taking over and wanting to be ready if there’s an attack.

Spending so many years in the woods gave my wolf more control. So when he pushes forward, I don’t fight it. I feel my body change and morph into my inner beast, bones snapping as I easily shred my tight clothing. I feel so much stronger with him in control, and I feel safer inside him. I’m still mentally aware of everything happening to me, and that makes me feel powerful.

Looking around, I see that I’m in a cage. My wolf doesn’t like it, and we start to walk the perimeter to see what our boundaries are. The cell is large, probably twelve feet by twelve feet with a cot on one end and a toilet on the other. I look up and down and see the solid steel bars that run from ceiling to floor and are grounded in concrete. I’m strong but not that strong. The pain in my hip starts to lessen to a dull throb, and I tip my head back to smell the wound on my back flank. I can scent a trace of the tranquilizer they must have used on me. I growl.

My mate is out there, and I need to get to her. I feel the need growing inside me, but I try to calm myself and think. I need to be smart about this. If I let myself turn towards the need, I’ll go crazy in a cell not able to get to her.

I turn around, looking beyond my cell, and see that I’m in a large concrete room. There’s nothing else down here besides my cell, but I can see the small windows that line the top of the ceiling indicating I’m in a basement. The windows are too small for even my human form to escape, and I start to pace the front of the cell, trying to look for weaknesses.

Raising my nose, I scent the room, trying to find a trace of something. I want to find out where I am, and then I can begin to find a way out.

I lean into the bars. I can smell Stone’s scent. I’m either at his house, or he brought me to this place. I get a faint scent of Dominic as well, and I feel a little betrayed. He may have only been doing what the alpha told him, but it still stings to think he would cage me after everything we’ve been through.

I pace the cage a few more times until I hear two sets of boots above me, and then I hear a lock clicking. I keep up the steady prowl of my cage door, waiting on whoever has me to show their face.

When Dominic and Stone come down the stairs, I’m not surprised. I have some words to say to them, but I’m not ready to shift yet.

Dominic looks over at Stone and shakes his head. “I told you he’d be like this.”

Stone crosses his arms and widens his stance, looking unmovable. “He’ll stay there for as long as I think he needs.”

Dominic turns to me and I see the flash in his eyes. I don’t know if it’s anger or pity, or maybe a little of both. “X, change back. We need to talk.”

I look from Dom to Stone and shake my head. I need my wolf to be ready if they try something. If they open the cage, I need to be able to break out. I feel more comfortable in this form right now, so if they need to talk, it’s just gonna be on their side.

“Fine. If this is how we need to do it.” Dominic turns to Stone but neither of them speak. Finally, Dom rolls his eyes and begins talking. “I knew Gwen was your mate after the first time you saw Ruby and you tried to claim her. You said you scented your mate at the time, and Gwen worked with Ruby. Gwen makes all the cookies and that’s why you always like those best. Her scent is on them.”

I see tension flow through Stone but I don’t care. Hearing about my mate makes my need rise in me, and I start to whine.

“You can’t have her,” Stone growls.

I lunge at the bars of the cell, and Stone takes a step back. I feel a little satisfaction in the fact that I can rattle him.

“Everyone, calm down!” Dom yells, and I take a breath.