Page 73 of Caging Fire
Slowly, a shape emerged from the shadows. It wasn’t Rowan. It was something else. A creature. A beast much like my own, small and lithe but no less terrifying.
The figure was unmistakably a shifter, wolf-like, yet far more monstrous-appearing and dangerous. Its sharp teeth glistened with fresh blood as its lips curled back into a vicious snarl. Dagger-like claws dug into the floor as sinewy muscles rippled beneath its fur.
Unlike the usual black or grey coats of most shifters, this creature’s fur was a pale orange, which was the exact shade of Rowan’s hair.
I had never seen a red wolf before.
And then it clicked. Rowan and my shared nightmares. The magnetic pull I felt to her. The strange, fragmented thoughts echoed in my mind. Our ability to comunicate telepathically. My wolf’s relentless drive to mark her, its deep-rooted instinct to call her “Mate," and the way my control had slipped, causing erratic shifts.
Rowan had been feverish, emotionally volatile for days. They were classic early signs of a first shift. She was likely on the precipice; the shift was due to happen soon. But now I understood why it hadn’t come earlier.
Rowan had been on suppressants her entire life, meant to mask and mute her omega nature, but they had done more than that. The drugs had stunted her development, suppressing not just her hormones but her shifter biology. The drugs lockedaway her wolf, burying it deep beneath layers of chemical control and denying it the chance to emerge.
Most shifters shifted for the first time in early adolescence. Rowan’s was years overdue. What should’ve been a slow, natural awakening had been delayed, warped—and when it came, it came violently, most likely brought on by extreme fear and stress. She had shifted explosively.
Rowan was a shifter. And she had torn these men apart in a primal act of vengeance for what they’d done to her. She’d been lucky in managing to overpower and kill two experienced alphas. It was no small feat. She must have caught them off guard with the suddenness of her shift.
Now, she circled us like prey. Her wolf was wild, feral, unfamiliar even to herself.
“Don’t even think about it, Rowan,” Cade warned, voice tight with tension, just as she let out a vicious growl and lunged for him.
To be continued…
Epilogue
The doctor’s office smelled of antiseptic and metal. A fetal pig suspended in fluid sat atop his desk, and more wet specimens in jars lined the bookshelves, tucked between thick scientific textbooks. One of the largest jars contained the head of a cat, and unlike the other creatures, its eyes were open, staring at me with a dead, empty expression.
I couldn’t help but notice the striking similarity between the cat’s expression and Dr. Zolkos’s.
The office door swung open, and Dr. Zolkos entered, wearing a white lab coat. He didn’t seem to notice me; his attention was fixed on the clipboard in his hands. Without looking up, he said, “Hello, General Green. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Thetas didn’t have advanced hearing or smell, so it was strange how he could sense my presence without even glancing up. The man was creepy.
“Zolkos.” I nodded, greeting him sternly, deliberately omitting his title.
He sat down in the guest chair opposite the desk. I was already seated in his chair, rifling through his things as if they belonged to me. A pen clicked between my fingers. One of his notebooks lay open beside me, angled so he could see I’d been reading it. I made no effort to hide it.
Most men would have bristled. Most would’ve demanded their space back, or at least flinched at the blatant disrespect. But not Zolkos.
He didn’t even blink.
Had I ever seen him blink?
That was what disturbed me most. No matter what I did, whether I intruded on his space, challenged his authority, or treated him like an underling, he never reacted. No outrage, no discomfort. Just that cold, unreadable stare, like the cat in the jar, as if something vital behind his eyes had been permanently switched off.
I leaned back in his chair, making myself comfortable, like I owned the place.
Still, nothing.
He had unnerved me for the past twenty seven years.
The man had always been fucking weird.
“I’m here to discuss the omega. I expect you have her test results back by now.”
“I do. They’re right here,” he said, holding up the clipboard. “I was just reviewing them.”
“And…” I prompted, impatience in my tone.
