rising panic. “Already?”
“Yeah, Vall wants you to hang out in the den until the shift. If we show disobedience, he’ll know.”
Jaclyn considered the events leading up to the transformation and the mating that went along with it. “Will he want—”
Sunray shook her head. “Not yet. He just wants you there for safekeeping.”
Feeling numb and cold inside, Jaclyn reached for Sunray’s hand and climbed from the bed. She went through the motions—showered, dressed, and followed Sunray to Vall’s den, which was situated on the outskirts of the woods, and used only on shift night. It was in the perfect location for the pack to gather, shift, and then run into the woods to feed, or fornicate, or whatever the hell they did.
Sunray unlocked the dead bolt and motioned for Jaclyn to enter. Jaclyn stood by the door and glanced around the cabin. It was much larger than she had expected. It contained three sofas, a fireplace, blankets strewn across the floor, and even a kitchen with a stocked pantry.
With only one small window, the room felt dark and dank, and it smelled stale. Heart racing, she took one measured step inside and inhaled. When she choked on the stench of wet dog, her eyes watered in response. Grimacing with disgust, Jaclyn turned to Sunray and met her glance. “How can they—”
The look in Sunray’s eyes stopped her. Shit. Sunray was one of them and she’d just offended her.
“I can’t help what I’ve become,” Sunray said softly. “But I do what I have to do to survive. And to survive, I change with my pack, run in the woods, and feed on animal blood.”
“Sunray, I didn’t mean—”
Sunray held her hand up, palm out. “It’s okay. We all do whatever we have to in order to survive, and tonight I’ll do whatever it takes to help you survive.”
Jaclyn felt her heart pound harder. “Why, Sunray? Why are you doing this for me?”
“Because I care about you, and because I can feel Ray on you. And somehow I just know you’re very important to me and my future.”
“Ray?” she asked. “That was his name?”
A small smile touched Sunray’s mouth, and she went quiet for a moment. “Yeah.”
“You’re Sunray and he was Ray? Why do I think that’s not a coincidence?”
“My name is Sunni. I combined our names after Vall killed him and turned me so I could carry him close at all times and never forget the love we shared.”
When she saw the sadness in her friend’s eyes, Jaclyn pulled her into an embrace and held her body close. She understood why Drake would question Sunray’s values and her loyalty to Vall, but he didn’t know Sunray the way Jaclyn did. No one could fake the pain and heartache in the depths of Sunray’s silver eyes. Silence ensued as they both became lost in their own thoughts.
Sunray broke the quiet. “Vall is a sneaky bastard, and never to be trusted. Let’s just hope Drake is as capable of handling him as Slyck was.”
Sunray’s words hit Jaclyn like a slap in the face. Jaclyn drew back, flabbergasted. Ohmigod, how could she have been so selfish, so caught up in her own dilemma that she’d never once considered Slyck’s position? Not once had she even considered that Slyck would be leaving his pack, everything he’d ever known. Wasn’t he the one who said that the pack came first, and that they’d go so far as to sacrifice one for the greater good? She swallowed hard. Oh God, everything he’d done was for her, and if Drake wasn’t up to handling Vall, she could be the downfall of his entire community. How could she allow him to walk away from his people? How could she allow herself to be the destruction of everything he’d spent years building and protecting?
Sunray dropped onto the sofa and gestured for Jaclyn to have a seat.
“What do we do now?” Jaclyn whispered, her heart lodged somewhere in her throat.
“We wait. And I plan.”
“How—”
“Don’t ask.”
The day passed slowly. Jaclyn spent most of the daylight hours pacing, worrying, and praying that they were going to get out of this.
Soon the sun disappeared behind the mountains, and nighttime fell like a guillotine. As the full moon crept higher in the sky, an eerie energy blanketed the small town and made Jaclyn’s skin crawl. She sat nestled in the corner, trying to make herself invisible as the cabin filled with creatures. Because she felt like a gazelle caught in the lion’s den, her survival instincts kicked