Alpha Charles Winters's POV
Blood dripped from my arm as I crashed through the forest. The bullet had gone clean through, but the wolfsbane burned like fire in my blood. Three of Luther's men lay dead behind me. Two more were still on my trail.
I had to reach Amara before Dorian did.
For eighteen years, I'd kept her secret, kept her safe. And now everything was falling apart because of my mistakes.
A bullet whizzed past my ear, splintering bark from a nearby tree.
"You can't run forever, Charles!" a voice called out. Ryan. One of Luther's most reliable fighters.
I ducked behind a huge oak, trying to catch my breath. My link to Amara pulsed like a second heartbeat in my chest—faint but steady, pulling me northeast. She was living, at least.
"Luther says we can make a deal!" Ryan yelled, closer now. "Just tell us where she is!"
I closed my eyes, reaching for the Alpha power that had grown weak since Luther's betrayal. My wolf stirred inside me, wounded but not beaten.
