[BOOK ONE] When hunter-gatherer Adele Shepherd comes across an injured werewolf in the woods, it's up to her to take him in and save his life: in a remote town dedicated to killing the creatures, she's the only one left who wants to help no matter t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
________________________
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
________________________
THE MOON SHONE as bright as a torch when the clouds passed across the black sky, a handful of stars scattered across the inky canvas. The fog lifted, a new clarity falling over the forest when the soft moonlight illuminated the branches and the raindrops sparkled like fairy lights strung up in the trees. The glow crept over the snow drifts, the ice glistening when the trees wavered in the slightest breeze. There was no sign of the storm that had raged a few hours ago.
The minute hand ticked by impossibly slowly as though each second was an hour, the sound of the clock deafening. Adele watched as it hit ten and she listened to the nothingness around. No siren. There was no hunt. She stood and peered out of the kitchen window at the dark forest, the only light coming from the sky, and she turned around with her jaw set, her eyes moving from Caleb to Ainslie and back again.
"It's time to go," she said with a nod.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Ainslie asked with a wince.
"No. To be honest, it's never going to be safe. I mean, look at me." She laughed, though it was far from funny, and she swept a hand in front of her face. The bruise would be gone soon but it would take a lot longer for the slash across the bridge of her nose to fade.
"Should we wait?"
Adele shook her head. "We should go now. It's too risky during the day and we've put this off long enough because it's dangerous but it's always going to be dangerous. It's only going to get more dangerous the longer we wait." She tucked her hair behind her ears and her eyes fell on Caleb. "God, Caleb, I'm so sorry. You were right. We should have searched for him weeks ago. I'm so sorry."
"It's ok," he said. He didn't point out that for over a month, Reed had existed right at the forefront of his mind, his brother occupying every waking thought that wasn't spent on Katherine or Adele.
"Where's he most likely to be?" Ainslie asked. "What if he's not even in the woods anymore?"
"He will be," Caleb said without a moment's hesitation. "He's a leth; he relies on what he knows. He'll be here. I think he'll be at the point. He knows it's where he'd be safest."
