Henry

Prologue

Thirty Years Ago

Henry

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Flowers clutched in my hand, a ring in my pocket, and I had everything I needed. Well, almost. As soon as I got home, I’d whisk Janie off to a romantic dinner, and then I’d pop the question. We’d been together long enough, I knew I wanted her for my mate. I’d just have to convince her it had nothing to do with the baby in her belly. She had said nothing to me yet, but I’d noticed the moment her scent changed. I didn’t know why she was waiting. It had been at least three months.

A family hadn’t been in my plans. Not right now, at any rate. Didn’t mean I wouldn’t love the little fur ball. I didn’t care if the baby ended up being a wolf like me or a doe like her mother. Or buck if it was a boy. I nearly felt giddy over the thought of having a family. I wasn’t even one hundred yet, but I knew shifters who had settled down by the time they were fifty. Living for hundreds of years had a few perks. I’d get to spend over two centuries with Janie.

I still remembered the first time I’d noticed her as a woman. Smiling, I recalled the way the sun had glinted off her hair, almost making it look like she had a halo. In that moment, everything changed for me. She’d no longer been just a young shifter around town. My wolf perked up, and I’d fallen head over heels for her. We’d been together for years now, and I knew I wanted nothing else. I only hoped she felt the same way.

The second I reached the front door, I felt the wrongness. Every hair stood up and my senses went on high alert. The peace I typically felt when I came to Janie’s twisted into something horrifying. A coppery scent filled the air, and my heart kicked against my chest. Janie! I dropped the bouquet and entered the house. Red coated the floors and walls. So much blood. My wolf whimpered as I made my way through the living room, following the carnage. I knew she couldn’t have survived something like this, and my sweet little deer wouldn’t have ever been able to hurt someone this badly. It wasn’t a matter of if I found her body, but where.

I shoved my anguish down as deep as I could. I’d come here thinking our lives would drastically change. Not once did I consider she’d be taken from me. All day I’d looked forward to this moment. Instead of a joyous occasion, today would feature in my nightmares for decades or more.

I found Janie by the back door, or what they left of her. Whoever had killed her had tortured her first. I sank to the floor beside her and threw back my head, a howl ripping free from me. My hand shook as I reached out to brush the strands of hair from her face. If it hadn’t been for her scent, I’d have never recognized her. Whoever did this ripped her apart. I didn’t see claw marks, so it hadn’t been an animal or a shifter. Tears streaked my cheeks before I’d even realized I was crying.

Why? Who would have ever wanted to hurt her? Everyone loved Janie. She’d been a ray of sunshine. My body shuddered as I fought not to shift. I calmed my inner beast and took a breath, then another. A faint scent, under that of Janie and all the blood, teased my nose. I’d smelled it before, but where? It had a burned undertone. Smoke. Something bitter. And… decay. Dark magick. A dark mage had done this, and there was only one in town.

I growled and rose to my feet, my claws sprouting from my fingertips. I’d make him suffer. Everything he’d done to Janie would be delivered twofold. No, even that wouldn’t be enough.

Elias! I stormed out of the house, following his scent trail. It led me through the woods nearly to the edge of town. A small cabin sat hidden in the shadows. As my vision changed to that of my wolf, I saw the black tendrils wafting from the place. It reeked of black magick, and I knew the mage had been staying here. How had I not known about this place? Did anyone?

A voice at the back of my mind whispered, get the sheriff. Except I didn’t want the bastard behind bars. No. I wanted him dead. He’d taken the most precious thing in the world from me. Getting to live with three meals a day was too kind. He needed to be punished.

I leaped onto the porch and kicked in the door. It flew off the hinges. As it hit the wall and splintered the sound echoed throughout the cabin and surrounding area. The asshole had the audacity to grin as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

Didn’t take you as long as I’d thought, he said.

Everyone knew Janie was mine. Elias had as well. Which meant he’d murdered her intentionally. She hadn’t been some random victim. I couldn’t make sense of why he’d do something so horrible. Sure, he was a dark mage. They weren’t known for being all warm and fuzzy. However, our town had never had one lose control, bad enough people died. Not in hundreds of years, at any rate. Was that what happened? No. He’d gone into her home. He wouldn’t have cause to do such a thing unless he’d intended to harm her.

No. The way he watched me, I knew he’d done it on purpose. Did he hate me that much? I couldn’t think of a single thing my sweet Janie could have done to deserve such a horrid fate. I needed to know. I’d never find peace if I didn’t understand what happened.

What the hell did Janie ever do to you? I demanded. The way you butchered her…

He held his hand palm up, and black mist swirled until it formed a medium-sized orb. She rebuked my advances. Hard to believe she’d prefer to be with a mutt like you. I could have given her everything.

Was he fucking kidding? He’d ripped her to shreds because she’d turned him down? He brought new meaning to the word psychotic.

You murdered my mate because she told you no? I asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "I don’t enjoy losing. And mate? A little premature, isn’t it? She may have been carrying your whelp, but it didn’t make her yours."

This asshole! He’d known about the baby, and he’d killed them, anyway? I’d not only lost Janie, but my child. Until this moment, I’d tried hard not to think about the unborn life in her belly. It felt like a festering wound grew inside me. Saliva dripped from my fangs, and I snarled at the dark mage.

He threw back his head and laughed. Come on, pup! Bring it.

I launched myself at Elias, shifting to my beast in mid-air. My paws hit his chest, toppling him from his chair. The bastard cackled as he leaped to his feet and shot black orbs of magick at me. One landed between my eyes, dazing me long enough for him to land a few more blows. I remained on my paws and charged at him again, sinking my fangs into his arm. I shook him, trying to tear the appendage from his body.

Elias gathered lightning in his palm and shot it straight at my chest. It struck me, making my jaws lock tight as the energy pulsed through my body. My heart stopped, then started again. Twice. The mage pried my jaws loose and ran from the cabin. Once the effects of the lightning wore off, I went after him, tracking him through the dense woods.

Black blood caught my attention. I sniffed the area, trying to figure out how badly I’d wounded him. Had it been enough to slow him? Not likely. I searched for what felt like hours before I realized the trail was gone. There was only one way he’d managed such a feat. He’d teleported. I could only hope the asshole had died between here and his destination.

I’d watch for him. Search every square inch of the earth until I knew he was gone -- or find him.

Sitting on my haunches, I threw back my head and howled. For Janie. Our baby. And for the future I no longer looked forward to but dreaded with every fiber of my being.

Chapter One

Present Day

Raya

Elias paced the small cabin. I didn’t know why we’d come here. He’d spoken about this town before. Many times. I knew a shifter nearly killed him thirty years ago. Fatally wounded, he’d escaped to a community of mages, where they’d healed him. It had taken years for him to regain his health and full power. He’d often bragged about surviving.

Why return now? He’d dragged us all over the country. At first, I’d thought he was running from something. Now I wondered if he’d simply been heading toward Wolf Creek. Even though I’d been with him for years, he never confided in me. Not about anything important. There was no reason for it, since I was little more than a prisoner. His slave.

I heard the chains clink in the cellar and fought not to wince. It wouldn’t be long before I joined them. My babies. No matter how they’d been conceived, I’d love them