The main pack house looked like an old plantation home from the South. It was all white with thick pillars out front. An extensive deck wrapped around the front, with a smaller one above it on the second story. There were ten bedrooms, three offices, a basement, and much more.
My dad’s office was on the first floor and closest to the door. He liked it being there. He said it made him more accessible to the pack, but I liked to joke that it made him lazy.
When we arrived at the oversized cherry wood door, I didn’t bother knocking. As we walked in, my gaze immediately landed on my father’s heartbroken face, causing me to falter. My breath hitched, and my body froze momentarily. I glanced around the room, surprised not to see Cord here already.
“Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together,” Augie whispered in my ear.
I attempted to smile at him, but it probably came out as more of a grimace as I walked closer to my dad. “What happened?”
“Why don’t you two sit?” My dad gestured to the chairs in front of his oak desk.
“I’d rather not,” I snapped. The irritation of my day having gone to crap was causing me to be even more abrupt than I meant to be.
My dad was the best alpha out of the five main territories in the United States. He was chief of the alpha council. Things rarely shook him. He had seen so much in his time as pack leader. He was a survivor. Whatever had his golden eyes shimmering was big, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be in here long enough to sit.
“Gerald,” Augie cut in, his voice full of kindness instead of the snappiness I had used. “What’s going on?”
My dad ran his hands through his short salt-and-pepper-colored hair. Once upon a time, it had been a midnight black. His golden-brown eyes implored me to catch on, so he wouldn’t have to say the words, and suddenly, his six-and-a-half-foot-tall frame seemed so frail to me.
Finally, everything clicked. The pain I had felt. The hollowness within me, as if something was missing. The urgency from Davis. The tears in my father’s eyes. The fact that my twin was missing from the room.
“No.” I yanked my hand from Augie’s as I stomped the rest of the way to the desk, slamming my hands down. “Where. Is. Cord?” Each word was sharply spoken.
A deeper part of my heart already knew the answer but was refusing to acknowledge it, just like it had been for the last couple hours. Somehow, I managed to keep my emotions in check, but how long that would last, depended on my father’s next words.
“I’m sorry, Taya. They found his body right outside the property lines about an hour ago. I sent my best trackers to follow the trail of whoever did this, but it went cold outside of Idaho. My men are still out there hunting, yet there’s not much to go on unless they pick up the scent again. All of the other packs have been alerted to expect our wolves to be passing through.”
I howled out in pain as Augie’s strong arms wound around me. Not my brother. My twin. My closest confidant. He couldn’t be gone.
My body jerked out of Augie’s embrace and I ran from the room, heading straight for the front door as I heard my dad tell Augie to give me some time. The door was closed, so I yanked it open, enjoying the thud it made against the wall, I needed to let out at least a miniscule amount of the aggression I felt.
As soon as my feet touched grass, I let the shift take over. My clothes shredded, flying in a million directions. I took pleasure in the phasing process as all of my bones broke and shifted to my wolf form. Silver fur sprouted along my golden skin, until my long auburn hair was no longer visible. Typically, I let the shift come slower, and it wasn’t painful, but the quick agonizing shift matched the pain within my heart.
My vision became precise, and I was on four legs before I knew it. I let loose a deep, distressing howl and several more from our pack members did the same. Everyone would mourn the loss of Cord, but none like me. Though we couldn’t communicate verbally while in wolf form, pack mates could feel each other’s emotions, so I knew those currently shifted would all be hurting with me.
The emptiness I’d been assaulted with earlier would never be filled.
I should have known something was wrong when the previous agony plagued me. I should have done something sooner. As my wolf’s mind rose to the surface, I gladly let her take over. Her thoughts were more black-and-white than mine. She could handle the heartache better than I would.
I needed my wolf. We needed each other, because the hurt was not just mine. It was ours. We were one.
As my paws pounded against the dense forest floor, I had one singular thought.
I would hunt down whoever dared to hurt my family, even if it was the last thing I did.
