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BERKLEY
“Berkley, you need to wake up.” Sherri’s scared whisper filtered through the fog in my head. Her trembling hand shaking my shoulder was a strong incentive to move my eyelids. I had to blink several times to get the blurred surroundings to focus. I was lying on a wooden dirt-covered floor inside a small wooden structure, which at one time might have been used for storage. The only light in the room came from a single window that was missing most of the glass from its frame.
It hurt my head to look up at Sherri, who was sitting next to me with her back braced against the wall. Dirt smudged the drying tear tracks streaking her cheeks. She continually glanced from me to the door on the opposite wall. The scent of her fear was overpowering and closely resembled my own.
Memories of Maris’s final words before I lost consciousness—her imminent plan for my death—ran through my mind. I assumed Sherri’s presence meant she’d been slated for the same fate.
Movement was slow. My body ached. It took a lot of effort to roll into a sitting position and keep the bile threatening to leave my stomach from reaching my overly dry mouth. At least our captor hadn’t bothered to bind our hands and feet. He wouldn’t need to, not with the amount of drugs he’d shot into my system. The effects were wearing off, but not fast enough to shift or make a run for it. He could easily catch us in his human form, shoot us with another dart, and finish what he’d started. I preferred to remain awake, give my body a chance to purge the drug, and hope that an opportunity for escape presented itself.
“Any idea where we are?” I whispered.
Sherri shook her head. “No.” The word came out in a moan.
“Where’s Maris and the guy with the gun?”
“I pretended to be unconscious when they dumped you in here with me. I haven’t seen them, but I think they’re outside.” She took some sniffs and scrunched her nose. “Not sure how close, though.”
Other than the small window, which neither of us could squeeze through, the single door was the only way in or out. It was only a matter of time before Maris and the guy who’d shot me made an appearance. I wanted to be ready when they did. I braced my hands on the floor, straining to get up. My elbows buckled, my arms shuddered, my muscles rebelled and refused to cooperate.
Damn. My body needed more time to recuperate. Time I was afraid we didn’t possess. Resignedly, I slouched against the wall next to Sherri. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She sniffled, and a fresh trail of tears slid down her face. “Berkley, I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
“I should have been a better friend. I knew what Maris was doing, that she was going after Drew. I didn’t know how to tell you.”
Now was not the time for Sherri to be overemotional. I needed her to be strong, or at least some semblance of strong, so I could get us both out of here. I placed my hand over hers and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Hey, I understand the need to be loyal to family.” Even when they’re wrong.
“Besides, what happened between Drew and me wasn’t your fault. If he’d really cared about me, he wouldn’t have ended up with Maris.” If circumstances were different and Maris wasn’t trying to kill me, I would have sent her a thank-you basket. If she hadn’t come between Drew and me, things might have been different, and I wouldn’t have found my mate.
There were things about my past I wished I could change. My experience with Drew—the pain, the heartache, the betrayal—wasn’t one of them. Not if it meant a life without Preston.
“It was more about being afraid than anything else. She can be pretty scary.” Sherri stared at her lap and bit the side of her lip as if contemplating what she wanted to say next. “Maris lied when she said some of her friends had recommended your new resort. The truth is she and Drew aren’t together anymore. He broke it off last month.” She slumped her shoulders and blew out a weighted sigh. “She caught him researching your website, and they got into a huge fight. He told her he’d made a mistake by letting you go.”
Six months ago, those words might have swayed my emotions, but not anymore. Now they sounded sad, pathetic, and I couldn’t muster even a pittance of sympathy for the man.
“I’m confused. Drew and I were never going to get back together. What would Maris gain by coming to the resort?”
“I think she thought she could get Drew back if you were out of the picture completely.”
It was the piece of information I’d been missing, the main motivation behind Maris’s visit and her twisted plan. It also explained the reason for the shooter. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn he specialized in hunting shifters, and Maris had the connections and the money to pay for his special kind of service.
“I don’t believe she intended to kill you, not at first anyway. I got the impression she was hoping you’d be with someone else, that she could take some pictures to show Drew, to convince him you weren’t available anymore.” Sherri shot a quick glance at the window before continuing. “Maris was always jealous of you, but it got worse after we arrived. When she saw how well you were doing, she sort of lost it.”
Maris had a tendency to rant when something upset her. I could only imagine the number of tantrums poor Sherri had to endure for the last week.
Sherri dropped her head back against the wall and stared out the window. “That might have been when she decided to get more creative. I caught her trying to get into the employee area. She pretended to be lost, but I think she was trying to find your room so she could get something with your scent on it.”
I furrowed my brows. “Surely Maris had to know I’d pick up her scent if she got anywhere near my room.”
“She’s so obsessed with getting Drew back that she isn’t thinking clearly. I’ve never seen her get this crazy over a guy before. I was afraid of what she might do next and started following her whenever she told me she wanted to go for a walk alone.”
The twinkle in Sherri’s eyes, along with a lopsided smile, promised the sharing of a well-kept secret. “Since my cat is submissive, Maris always assumed it meant I was useless. She didn’t know that my father helped me compensate by teaching me how to be a good tracker. He also told me if I wasn’t strong enough to fight, there was no shame in finding a place to hide.
“I got good at the hiding part too,” Sherri proudly stated, her grin slowly fading. “Not that it did me any good. The last time Maris went into the forest alone, I followed her. I stayed out of sight and watched her taking pictures of you after you’d shifted. I was concerned and was going to tell you about it that night at the bar.”
“But Maris made sure you didn’t get the chance, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, and after I’d heard you’d been shot, it was easy to figure out what she’d done with the photos.” Sherri nervously smoothed her hands along the front of her jeans. “Then last night, I overheard her on the phone with some guy. She was screaming at him about not getting paid until he finished the job. She stopped when she realized I was listening to the conversation. I think that’s when she decided I was a liability.”
Sherri swiped at the moisture on her cheek. “I should have said something sooner, but she’s family. I didn’t want to believe she was capable of something so horrible.”
“You shouldn’t be hard on yourself. Maris had everyone fooled, including me.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. I knew Maris was capable of doing mean things to others, but I’d never considered her capable of hiring someone to take another person’s life.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, testing the diminishing effects of the drug. With some exertion, I was able to extend a claw from the tip of my right index finger. At this point, I’d take any progress I could get, anything to help us get out of here. Too bad the hopeful sliver I clung to was squelched by the muffled voices I heard coming from outside the shack. “Can you stand?”
“I think so.” Sherri pulled her legs closer to her body and used the wall as support to stand. She wobbled a little, then offered me her hand and helped me to my feet. I waited for the wave of nausea to pass before testing the strength of my legs. They were a little weak but would be fully functioning in no time, provided I didn’t get shot with another dart.
I gripped Sherri’s arm, coaxing her to hold my gaze. “We don’t have a lot of time. I’m going to do whatever I can to stop them. The first chance you get, I want you to go for help.” If Sherri had any kind of tracking capabilities, she’d be able to find her way back to the lodge without any problems.
“I can’t...” Her words were cut off by the door swinging open and banging on the wall. Sherri cringed and didn’t resist when I pushed her behind me.
Maris stomped inside, crossed her arms over the front of her coat, and pinned the man following her with an angry glare. “Stuart, if you don’t do this for me, I will tell my father what you did, and you’ll be ruined.” Her elevated shrill bounced off the tight confines of the tiny room.
The man was only a few inches taller than Maris. He was dressed in an old denim jacket, worn jeans, and tennis shoes rather than hiking boots. He possessed the kind of paunchy build I’d expect to see on someone who spent every day sitting at a desk, not someone who knew their way around a forest and did any kind of hunting.
He tossed her a threatening glare and adjusted the heavy mesh strap attached to the rifle pressed to his back. “And I told you, if you want her dead, you’re going to have to do it yourself. There’s no way I’m going to kill someone’s mate.”
“She’s not mated,” Maris angrily retorted.
“Really,” he snarled back at her. “Because she’s wearing someone’s claiming mark.” He pointed at the bite near my shoulder. “At the very least, you should have been able to pick up her mate’s scent. Or does your obnoxious perfume screw with your sense of smell?”
“What? No,” Maris moaned, her gaze dropping to my neck. She inhaled deeply, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “Preston is your mate.” She spewed the words as if she’d taken a bite of rancid meat.
“Preston, as in the cougar, the head of security? He’s your mate?” Stuart asked.
I couldn’t decide which was lighter, the pallor of his cheeks or the white in his widened eyes. I wanted to ask him how he knew Preston or why he was suddenly afraid, but decided against it. Instead, I smirked and nodded, reveling in the victory of having his terror-filled stench taunt my nostrils. “I’ll bet she forgot to mention that my brother is a wild wolf and one of the best trackers in the area.” As much as I’d wanted to keep the asshole here and make him pay for the scar on my leg, I wanted him and his gun gone. Preferably before he decided to shoot Sherri and me. I’d much rather worry about helping my siblings find him later.
“It doesn’t matter,” Maris countered. “You’ll do the job or...”
“Fuck no. You can tell your father whatever you want. I’m out of here.” He pushed Maris aside and bolted through the doorway.
“You—you,” Maris growled, leveling a gaze seething with rage at me. “I’ll take care of you myself.”
Sherri nervously poked her head around my shoulder. “Maris, you don’t have to do this. She’s not a threat to Drew anymore. Please, let’s go home.”
“You idiot, do you honestly think Preston or her brothers are going to let me leave once they find out I was the one who hired someone to shoot her?”
“But what about me?” Sherri whined. “I’m family.”
“Family who always took Berkley’s side in every argument. There’s no way I’m letting you go home so you can tell Drew or my father what I’ve been doing.” Maris sneered and flicked her fingers, producing claws.
I refused to stand by and let Maris hurt her cousin. Things were about to get bloody, and I needed room to maneuver. “She’s right, Sherri. She doesn’t get to walk away from this.” I protectively shielded her from Maris, then reached behind me, taking her elbow and urging her toward the doorway.
“Remember what I told you.” I gave Sherri a stern look and shoved her outside ahead of me. “Now run!” I shouted and focused my attention on Maris, who’d followed us outside.
Red blossomed on her cheeks, her chest heaved, and the angry dark glare she aimed in my direction promised nothing but pain. When she growled and bared a set of sharp fangs, Sherri’s short-lived indecision was swayed. She made a terrified squeak, then spun around and stumbled into the surrounding forest. With any luck she’d find help without running into Stuart.
Dying wasn’t on my agenda either so I did the only thing I could to stop Maris—I turned control over to my wolf. My animal happily complied. She pranced with raised hackles, elation and an overdue sense of triumph pulsing through her. She released a feral growl, a rumble so deep that it vibrated my vocal cords and erupted in a loud burst from my chest. Maris’s startled gasp was followed by the sound of my clothes tearing as I transformed into my wolf.
