Timothy followed the undeniable, magnetic pull, his bare feet padding silently across the blood-slicked tile floor of the pack clinic. The chaos was overwhelming. As he moved deeper into the building, he noticed teenagers on gurneys being pushed rapidly past him. He paused, his sharp, newly awakened senses focusing on the injured. Their skin was pale and marred by tiny wounds, and he caught the glint of fine silver powder trapped deep within their flesh. The sight registered as a dangerous warning, but the pull was too strong to resist.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to filter her alluring, unique scent from the clinic's caustic stench of blood, antiseptic, and anesthetic. He breathed so deeply that he felt his internal wolf surge aggressively to the surface, demanding release. His brown human eyes were instantly replaced by the fierce, ethereal glow of hazel, and he stood naked and exposed in the middle of the pack clinic. Nurses and doctors rushed around him like frantic clockwork, none overly concerned with a nude man in the midst of a life-and-death crisis.
He continued following the trail, entering a smaller adjoining room. There, he found Jess cradled tightly in Noah's arms, the Beta's quiet, steady words seemingly the only thing keeping her anchored.
Then Timothy's gaze fell on the bloody hospital bed. A profound, instinctual hum vibrated through his entire body.
He had followed the trail until he stood before the prone, twisted form of Mona. His brow furrowed in deep confusion as he stared down at the beautiful woman. Her rich, brown hair was so dark it could easily be mistaken for black, and it was only now, under the strange, ethereal glow of his heightened senses, that he noticed the light dusting of freckles brushed delicately across the bridge of her nose.
"Timothy, how are you here?" Jess asked, her voice thin and soft with shock. As Noah held her tight
Mona's head whipped instantly to the side as a potent, new scent flooded the room—a scent that made her inner wolf want to claw its way out and howl with indecent joy. Her brown eyes connected instantly with Timothy's glowing gaze, and a fundamental shift occurred between them. It was as if they had never truly seen one another until this electric moment.
A desperate need to reach him compelled her. She pushed herself up from the hospital bed, her face a mask of determination. The moment her foot touched the floor, however, her body betrayed her. Her weakened muscles gave out, and she began to crumble instantly.
Before she could fall, Timothy was there, crossing the small distance in two powerful strides. He gripped her tightly to his firm, hot chest, supporting her full weight. His nostrils flared, his nose burying itself into the crook of her neck, drinking in her essence. But her scent was maddeningly odd—it was sharp, metallic, and strangely mixed with another scent he vaguely recognized.
Mona's fingers dug into the rigid muscle of his arms. The sparks everyone spoke of didn't just flicker; they roared, flooding her system. Every point of contact between their bodies pulsed with a ferocious, life-altering energy.
Stepping into the small room moments later, Alana froze, her confusion immediate. She saw a nude, powerful wolf holding her injured patient. She did not recognize his scent. Her eyes narrowed into suspicious slits as she discretely touched her temple, linking to one of the Warriors in the hospital wing before slowly and carefully beginning to back away.
A deep, warning growl ripped through the air as a heavily muscled Warrior burst into the small room, ready to tear the perceived rogue wolf apart.
Timothy's eyes twitched, his ears picking up the distinct sound of rushing feet and heavy breathing. He smoothly repositioned Mona, shifting her firmly behind him as he took a formidable defensive stance, his body a shield. This movement revealed his face fully to the nurse.
"Wait!" Alana shouted, grabbing the Warrior's shoulder. She recognized the defective boy now that she saw his glowing eyes and protective stance. "He's that defective boy! Don't engage!"
The Warrior only brushed her off, his focus singular. Timothy roared, "Mine!" the word vibrating with ownership. His hazel eyes glowed with a violent, possessive intention.
"Whoa, whoa, what is going on here?" Jess squeaked, holding both hands up in a universal gesture of surrender.
The Warrior didn't want to harm the Beta female, but he was prepared to put her down if she interfered with his alpha-mandated duty.
A sharp, dominating sound—the angry, demanding call of the Alpha—cut through the air outside, silencing every soul. The sound wasn't pain, but a raw assertion of authority, a disguised message that forced the entire pack's attention. The eyes of every pack wolf present fogged over momentarily as they received the Alpha's mental command.
The message ordered them, and other select pack members, to immediately assemble at the Punishment Grounds.
"The Alpha will get justice for the dead pup, and all of you filthy defectives will pay the price!" the Warrior spat, his voice laced with righteous fury and threat before he turned to comply with the call.
Mona gasped, her heart plummeting. In one breath, she had found the eternal, saving grace of her chosen mate, the one person destined to be her protector. In the next, the crushing reality of the impending punishment slammed down upon them both.
Punishment? she thought, the sudden joy curdling to ice. Why was she being summoned to the Punishment Grounds? She had been injured and unconscious; she had nothing to do with the pup that died.