Prologue
Four months ago
It’s a fucking trap!
Jonathan Coleman grabbed Christa Baker’s wrist and dragged her through the maze of hallways. She was his friend even though she didn’t trust him, or anyone, and he had to get her out of that lab before it was too late.
Vance, a Shield agent over Christa’s team wasn’t the shifter-hating bastard he led people to believe. No, he was Felix’s Pack Marshal and had set Jon and Christa up. It was all part of Vance’s grand plan to get them together so his rogue Enforcers and mutants could teleport them to Felix’s lab. They fell right into Vance’s trap.
The rogue bastard wanted Christa dead because she had discovered the truth. The truth Jon had worked undercover—alone—to expose. He didn’t know who to trust. Apparently, Christa didn’t either.
“Where are we going?” Christa stumbled behind him then regained her footing to keep up with him.
He didn’t look back at her. “We’re getting the hell out of here before it blows.”
“What?”
When they came to a door at the end of a corridor, Jon kicked it opened and pulled her out into the evening air. They made it about fifteen feet away from the building before it exploded. Jon pulled her into his body, wrapping his arms around her and twisted to put his back to the blast. The movement caused them to fall to the ground. He turned again to cushion her from the fall, all the while protecting her for the searing hot flames from the explosion.
The blast echoed around them, making Jon’s ears ring. Smoke and burning flesh filled his senses as the intense heat burned into his skin. He tried to stay conscious to keep Christa safe until backup arrived. But he failed and succumbed to the darkness.
Jonathan woke on a start, but he didn’t move, just glanced around the room, listening for a threat. The first thing he noticed was how his eyesight was sharper. He’d worn glasses for distance since he was teen. He didn’t have those glasses on though. The second thing he noticed was the smells in the room. There were notes of alcohol, fresh mountain air, and a soft floral scent that was mixed with berries. There were other scents that were fainter. Odd. He’d never been able to pick up different scents.
Fear stole his breath for a few moments. Had he been turned into one of Felix’s mutants? He fucking hoped not.
Pushing away the thoughts, he sought out the floral and berries and inhaled. A low growl sounded inside the room and it took him several beats to realize it was him. Why the hell had he growled?
“I’m glad you are finally awake.”
He moved his head in the direction of the female voice. It was soft but held a power he was familiar with. She was a shifter. Not any shifter, an Alpha. The way her green eyes flashed with her inner animal confirmed it.
Her curly red hair hung loose around her shoulders. She sat sideways on the small sofa against the window with her legs stretched out in front of her with her bare feet propped on the arm. There were three sets of blue paw prints on the top of one foot.
Although she was beautiful, she was not the source of the floral berries scent that called to him like a siren. “Who are you? Where am I?”
She turned to face him, putting her feet on the floor. “My name is Luna and I’m one of the Alphas of Ashwood Falls.”
The mention of the infamous Pack sounded off warning bells in his mind. It was a knee-jerk reaction, years of training and being told that shifters were dangerous. That was what Shield had led them to believe. Jon wasn’t so sure anymore.
Memories of them being in the lab with Christa and then the explosion filled his thoughts. “Christa,” he breathed. He shot up to a sitting position, draping his legs over the side of the bed. All the while his body tensing and his heart pounding. Had she lived? Now that he thought about it, how was he alive?
“She is safe and on her way here.” Luna stood and when he stiffened, she slowed her movements. “No one in Ashwood Falls will hurt you. Despite everything you were told, not all shifters are monsters.”
Monsters. No the real monsters were Vance and Felix. Jon had discovered that days before Jon and Christa fell into Vance’s trap. The thoughts of the explosion made him access his own body. That was