Chapter 6

ZACH

Zach stood watching a class of trainee soldiers try to master the new obstacle course.

It was set a distance away from the base of the Calmariel ranges, right in the middle of the dense wood.

It had finally been completed and officially opened for training yesterday. Zach proudly surveyed the course. The crew had done an excellent job integrating the obstacles into the natural world that surrounded it.

They had also done an excellent job of making it a difficult course. Zach smiled with grim humor. His only request had been that the course challenge the highest level of wolf shifters, and it looked like it was succeeding.

The trainees, mostly sixteen and seventeen-year-olds, were all failing the course, and almost all of them were failing the same obstacle.

Zach watched a group of trainees standing at the base of a large pine tree, staring upward in puzzlement. Wolves were not natural tree climbers, but this particular obstacle required them to scale the tree.

At the top, they would find two ropes—one for their feet and one for balance—that led to another tree several yards away from which they would then need to climb down.

The lower branches of the pine had all been cut away so that the first branch they could grasp was at least ten feet above the tallest trainee.

A trainee, Liam, ran up to the instructor of his class, panting heavily from his efforts to climb the tree. “This is impossible, Lauren,” he complained. “We can’t get up there. We’re wolves, not squirrels!”

The woman in question laughed loudly before responding.

“It wouldn’t be an obstacle course if it were easy. Every lieutenant, and even the alpha, trialed the course as it was being built. They all got up that tree on the first try.”

At her words, Liam’s eyes flicked to Zach, who was standing in the background, legs spread and arms folded as he watched the course, pretending he wasn’t listening.

Zach watched out of the corner of his eye as a determined expression overcame Liam’s face before he turned and bolted back to the starting line of the course.

Zach’s lip twitched, trying to hide a smile as Lauren approached him.

“What are the chances anyone will actually make it?” she queried, her hands on her hips.

Zach’s hidden smile turned into a full-blown grin, giving up on trying to hide how much he was enjoying watching this.

“Maybe they need some motivation, huh?” He raised his eyebrows at Lauren innocently, and she laughed, used to the alpha and his antics.

After being the instructor of this group for the past seven months, she was also aware of how every teenager idolized their alpha. It was not surprising to her that Zach was aware of this and used it to his advantage in the kids’ training.

Zach followed after Liam, noting that the whole class had regathered at the beginning of the obstacle course.

Their words reached his ears, and Zach was pleased to hear the talk of strategies to conquer the course. He admired their determination even when faced with something that seemed impossible.

It was something that was highly valued in all the members of Silver River.

Zach reached the group and began kicking his shoes off. Almost immediately, silence fell over them. Zach looked up to find every single eye on him, watching his every move intently.

“Looks like you guys need someone to show you how it’s done.”

He smiled challengingly at the group, and once his feet were bare, he did some quick stretches as he turned to face the first obstacle. He ignored the excited murmur behind him.

The course was made of naturally fallen trees and boulders; they had also brought in tires from a scrapyard and netting that a group of maternals had been commissioned to make.

This location had been specifically chosen because of a narrow ravine almost immediately after the tree obstacle. It dipped sharply downward, full of rocks, shrubs, and hidden holes.

The other side leading up wasn’t nearly as steep, but it was kept wet so that the climb up was slippery and difficult.

The entirety of the course was designed to encourage a half-shift, meaning the challenger would use their animalistic side to help them complete each obstacle without giving in to the natural instinct to fully shift into their wolf.

It was a difficult technique that many shifters never bothered to learn, but Zach was intent on every soldier in his pack mastering it.

Zach inhaled deeply, rolling his shoulders before taking off for the first obstacle, the hurdles.

His pace quickened with every step, and he cleared the hurdles quickly, his body leaping over them with ease before diving down to an army crawl under a long piece of netting.

As he focused on the course, he felt his wolf nearing the surface and welcomed it.

He clambered out from under the netting, ignoring all the dirt and debris that he had collected, and jumped nimbly onto a balance beam that was almost as high as his chest.

It was long, zigzagging its way across the ground, but Zach made short work of it, his steps confident.

He jumped off at the end and headed toward the rows of tires, his legs pumping as he ran through them.

The next obstacles were conquered with just as much ease, and then, Zach found himself in front of the tree.

It was an extremely large pine with a wide, thick trunk, and it was covered in cracked bark that provided no natural footholds.

The top of the tree was covered so thickly in branches and greenery that Zach couldn’t even see the rope bridge from where he stood. Zach was tall, but the distance to the first branch was still several feet above his head, and there were no obvious ways up the tree.

He gave himself a running start.

Speeding at the tree, his feet seemed to just keep running up the trunk, but just as gravity began to work against him, Zach shifted so that claws protruded from both his hands and feet.

The half-shift caused his mane of hair to grow longer and brush past his shoulders, and his fur covered his arms and the tops of his feet.

As Zach pushed against the bark, his claws propelling himself upward, a rough growl involuntarily left his throat.

He grabbed for the branch above his head with one hand, his claws roughly finding a grip on the bark. His feet pressed into the trunk, he pushed his body upward until his other arm was able to grab around the branch.

He quickly pulled his body up, his leg swinging over the branch until he was sitting astride it.

He looked down, catching a glance of the growing crowd down below, but almost immediately, he looked away, beginning the climb up the tree to where the two ropes were bolted into the trunk.

Zach grasped the rope with one hand, placing his feet precariously onto the bottom rope. His bare feet curled around the rope, trying to find the best purchase before he began walking around.

He glanced down, glimpsing the ground through the branches below him. He absentmindedly guessed he must be at least 150 feet off the ground.

The thought disappeared as Zach focused on the job at hand. He quickly reached the other tree and began to clamber down.

He kept his claws extended to help keep traction on the tree trunk, but once he was around twenty feet above the ground, Zach jumped. He landed lightly on the balls of his feet, his knees bending slightly to lessen the impact.

His ears were met with some gasps from the crowd that had gathered, and as he straightened, he noticed that it wasn’t just the class of trainees anymore.

Several other pack members had followed his progress through the course.

Zach could see more people wandering over, coming to investigate all the noise. Zach spun on his heel, heading for the ravine.

He quickly dove down it, using both his hands and feet to maneuver around rocks and thorny shrubs. He moved at a speed that no human could even hope of ever achieving.

He reached the bottom and didn’t even pause before he started the slippery climb up the other side. His claws gave him a purchase in the mud. Zach dug them deep into the ground before using them as leverage to push himself upward.

Finally, he leapt over the top of the ravine, feeling sweat starting to drip down his forehead and back.

Using his half-shift abilities, Zach made quick work of the rest of the course, but when he finally came over the finish line, he was breathing hard.

Lauren quickly threw a towel at him and Zach caught it gratefully, wiping away the sweat and dirt covering his face before draping the cloth around his neck.

He grabbed a water bottle from a chiller placed at the very end of the course and tilted it to his lips, draining it all at once.

The trainees crowded around Zach, awestruck even as they demanded tips on how to effectively half-shift.

“You’re such a show-off.” Alex walked through the crowd of teenagers, punching Zach in the shoulder once he had reached his side.

Alex was wearing camouflage cargo pants and a black polo shirt, which immediately told Zach that he was on duty.

Alex’s thick black hair was disheveled around his head as if he had been running. The crowd slowly started dispersing as Zach grinned at his second.

“Only giving the pups some motivation. Why don’t you give the course a go?” Zach’s smile dropped as Alex’s expression turned serious.

“I would, but I actually came looking for you.” Alex looked around them quickly, ensuring that none of the curious teenagers were listening in.

“We found trespassers on the western outer perimeter.”

“How many?”

“Five, all humans. Geared up like they’re hiking.” Alex crossed his arms over his chest, frowning hard. “But I have doubts. There’s something suspicious about them.”

Zach nodded, trusting his second’s instincts. He scratched his temple, dried mud flaking off under his fingers, and eyed Alex thoughtfully. “What’s your plan?”

“I already have a squad herding them back out of the perimeter. Once that’s done, soldiers will be on a rotating shift to make sure they stay back.”

“All right, keep me updated,” Zach said.

Alex nodded before thumping Zach on the shoulder again as he moved off. Zach remained where he was, staring intently at one tree in the distance.

After a moment, when he seemed almost frozen in his focus, he was rewarded with a glimpse of movement, a flash of color as someone moved behind the tree.

He knew who it was. He always knew when she was near.

Zach wondered what she was doing out here, especially since she had been taking extreme measures to avoid him over the past week.

If she had been in a room he entered, she left within minutes, and many times, Zach had rounded a corner, smelling her scent lingering in the air, but she would not be found there.

His lips quirked slightly at the memory of walking through one of the cave systems and looking up to see her at the other end.

She had looked up, looking like a deer caught in headlights before turning tail and taking off in the other direction.

Running a hand through his hair, Zach sighed in frustration.

He could still see glimpses of her in the distance, enough to know that she was walking away from where he stood and into a denser copse of trees.

For several long minutes, he fought an inner battle over whether he should follow her or not.

Zach was uncertain whether he wanted Anna to keep avoiding him or whether he wanted to give in to the desire he had to be in her company.

His wolf was starting to crave her scent, the sound of her voice, the curve of her waist.

Every time he was near her, it became harder to deny the temptation of trailing a hand over her cheek and seeing if it was as soft as it looked.

Anna Davis was quickly becoming a permanent fixture in his thoughts.

But Zach needed to be entirely focused on the pack to build it up to be the strongest it could be.

It had been only three years since Silver River had been decimated from the inside, several high-ranking members having turned traitors against Zach’s predecessor, Phillip.

Three long years of rebuilding the foundations of trust and healing the injuries—both physical and mental—of all the pack members.

There was still a lot of work to be done, and Zach knew that there were factions out in the world that would dearly love to see his pack burn to the ground.

No, Zach couldn’t afford to be distracted by Anna, but he could sense that he was fighting a losing battle.

As that thought crossed his mind, his feet began striding in the direction he had seen her take.

***

ANNA

The sun was shining, reflecting off the clear water of the lake sitting in the clearing.

The sides of the water were surrounded by dense trees, but one side had been cut back to create a small clearing.

Anna was sitting on a grassy verge that was at the perfect height for her to dangle her feet in the cool water as she looked around.

It was so peaceful there.

Anna could see large, smooth rocks protruding out of the water, lining one of the banks of the lake. She could imagine pups using them to jump into the water on sunny days.

The water was so clear that Anna could see the bottom, which was pretty impossible in any other water body Anna had ever seen—especially ones close to the city.

She stretched her arms behind her, supporting herself on her palms. The lush grass felt wonderful between her fingers.

Piper had told Anna that the pack had seeded the clearing when they had created it, making this the perfect place for picnics while swimming.

After Anna had finished a shift in the nursery a couple of days ago, Piper dragged her down here. Every day since then, Anna found herself out here at least once.

She sighed softly, lying down in the grass, enjoying the cool water lapping against her ankles.

Today was her day off, and Anna had used it to go for an hour-long stroll through the woods before making her way to the lake.

She blinked up at the sky, enjoying the last rays of the sun as it started to dip behind the trees beyond the clearing.

She really couldn’t get over how breathtaking this place was. Every day, she found something new that made her love living here even more.

Anna thought back to the scene she had witnessed earlier at the obstacle course.

She’d heard loud noises, and on going further to investigate, she found a group of people who looked like they were yelling at the trees. But then, Anna saw him.

She had arrived just in time to see Zach scaling the large tree. He looked magnificent.

Even from a distance, Anna had been able to see how fast he was, and her brain had happily taken note of the sinewy muscles in his arms tensing as he pulled himself upward.

Anna wondered if she’d be able to do anything like that one day.

She’d been here for two weeks now and was amazed at how strong she felt, stronger than she’d ever felt before.

Her wolf still wasn’t making an appearance, but Anna tried not to dwell on that fact so that grief couldn’t creep into her head.

She wasn’t giving up on her wolf just yet.

A rustling noise came from behind Anna, and she quickly sat up, looking over her shoulder just as a figure came through the trees.

Anna blinked her eyes into focus, her sight blurry after staring at the sky. She then smiled welcomingly.

“Mitch, hey! How’re you doing?” she greeted as Mitch bounded over and sat down next to her, his shoulder casually bumping into hers.

His dark-brown hair curled out over his chocolate-brown eyes, which glinted warmly at Anna.

Anna’s gaze drifted over his face, noting the strong jawline and the dimple that appeared on his left cheek whenever he smiled.

He was wearing his uniform, black cargo pants and a black shirt that clung tightly to his body.

Anna thought him quite good-looking but, in her mind, he couldn’t compare with the alpha.

“I’m doing good; just thought I’d come say hi before my shift starts.” He sprawled back in the grass with a groan and Anna followed suit.

“What are you rostered on today?” she asked, her head turning in the grass to look at him.

They were lying very close together, but it felt comfortable. Anna wondered briefly if this companionship was what it would have felt like to have a brother.

“On the south perimeter.” Mitch returned her gaze, smirking. “Do you have a day off from all the poop?”

“There really isn’t that much poop,” Anna replied, laughing, “but yes, I do.” She kicked her feet gently in the water, sending waves rippling against the rocks.

They both fell quiet, each in their own thoughts and just enjoying the quiet of the clearing.

Anna could hear laughter in the air from other pack members who were out enjoying the sun and birds chirping away in the trees.

Suddenly, the sounds disappeared, and the air around them grew tense.

Anna frowned, blinking up at the sky, trying to figure out what had changed and why everything was so quiet.

She looked at Mitch, but he had his eyes closed and was looking extremely relaxed.

Anna had just decided she must have been imagining it when a low, deep growl broke through the air.

Both Anna and Mitch sprang to their feet, Mitch crouching in a defensive position as they both tried to find the source of the noise.

Then, Anna smelled him.

Her body stilled while Mitch looked down at her in confusion, but her gaze was focused on a spot in the trees several feet away from them.

Mitch looked up, following her gaze, as a large white wolf slowly entered the clearing.

His ears laid low on his head, his tail unmoving behind him, and his bright blue eyes were locked on Mitch, cold and calculating.

Anna could see Mitch twitch out of the corner of her eye and knew that he was fighting the urge to shift, but whether it was to fight or submit, she couldn’t say.

Anna stepped forward before he could do either, avoiding Mitch’s hands as he tried to stop her.

She moved carefully toward the wolf, watching as the luminous eyes snapped onto her. They were utterly familiar but strange at the same time.

The wolf froze as if waiting for something, so Anna took another careful step toward him.

“Anna.” Mitch’s whisper was harsh. “What the hell are you doing?” At his voice, the wolf turned back to Mitch, snapping his jaws in warning.

Anna kept slowly approaching the wolf, her arm stretched out in front of her.

The wolf didn’t move, holding himself stiffly as his eyes darted between Anna and Mitch.

His tail twitched slightly as Anna closed the distance between them, her fingers trembling.

She swallowed hard just before she slid her hand into the fur around the wolf’s neck.

Immediately, a sense of peace washed over her, and she knew that everything would be okay.

Anna dropped to her knees beside him, placing her other arm around his neck so that she was hugging him tightly.

She felt the wolf’s tense muscles relax slightly, and she turned to look at Mitch.

“You should go.” Her voice was hushed, a whisper that she knew Mitch heard.

She didn’t want to upset the precarious balance that was keeping the wolf calm.

“I don’t know… Are you sure? He’s completely feral right now.”

Mitch didn’t move toward them, but the wolf growled softly again at his voice.

“I can’t even mind-link with him,” Mitch said again, feeling concerned.

“Mitch, please. I’m completely safe with him,” Anna pressed herself closer to the wolf as if she could stop him if he decided to lunge at Mitch.

“He’s not going to come back until you leave.”

Mitch nodded grimly before he turned, running from the clearing.

As he disappeared from view, the wolf’s body completely relaxed. He sat down abruptly, nearly knocking Anna over.

She leaned against him, burying her face in his fur and inhaling deeply.

“What’s gotten into you, hmm?” she asked softly.

He turned to nudge her with his snout, and Anna stroked his neck.

“Zach, you need to come back now.”

For several long minutes, there was no movement except for Anna’s hand stroking the white fur. Eventually, she felt the wolf stiffen against her before he stood up, shaking Anna’s hands away.

She sat back on her heels as she watched him, the large wolf pacing the clearing.

“Zach?” Her voice was almost a whisper but he froze, not moving for a tense second before his large head swung toward her.

His cerulean eyes were no longer cold, but Anna felt the burning stare she had experienced at every other encounter with the alpha.

~“Anna…”~ His remorseful voice sounded in her head.

Anna smiled, opening her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Alex, who burst into the clearing, followed closely by Mitch.

“What the hell is going on?!”