Page 76 of Wolf Unseen

The shifters running the program picked Lorna up from the border of the pack territory and placed her in a safe house while they set up a new ID for her so she could build a new life.

My eyes pricked with tears when I thought back to how happy she’d been when she first arrived in Europe.

“You helped her escape, Riles. If you hadn’t, she’d have been married off to that fat, ugly wolf alpha from the Blackwood pack.”

“The one with the yellow teeth and toe fungus,” I sniffled.

“Don’t forget the spiky nose hair.” Felix chuckled softly.

I’d nearly vomited when Lorna sent me a photo of her fiancé. The guy was not a catch, and at sixty-two, he was old enough to be her grandfather.

“Yeah, she dodged a bullet there.”

Or had she jumped from the frying pan into a raging bonfire?

“I can’t leave until I know what happened, Felix. I refuse to give up on this.”

“And what happens if the glamour stops working?”

“Let’s hope I figure it out before that happens.”

45

Riley

Ifiled into the gym behind Simon and his friends. After a sleepless night where my brain refused to quit showing me harrowing images of Lorna chained to a dungeon wall, I wasn’t in the mood for our afternoon PT class.

To my surprise, Leone, the lion shifter instructor, had returned. He stood wearing a stony expression, his arms folded across his very fine chest. Was he sad to be back on campus? It sure looked like it.

I wondered whether he’d want to restart my personal training lessons, and then I decided it would be better if he never mentioned them again. I still hadn’t recovered from the trauma of the last one.

“Leone looks majorly grumpy,” a raccoon shifter muttered nearby. “I hope he doesn’t have us running laps around the playing field again.”

I hoped not too. My head throbbed from not enough sleep, and I’d rolled my ankle on the assault course two days previously. Because shifting wasn’t an option, I had no choice but to rely on a stupid support bandage.

“Silence!” The lion glared, emitting serious pissed-off vibes. “Get outside and start running laps. Five laps each.”

“Fuck my life,” a snake shifter groaned.

I agreed but quickly joined the others heading outside.

It started raining toward the end of my first lap, and after three laps, a light rain shower turned into a torrential downpour.

I took it easy and finished mid-pack, my ankle aching but not enough to cause a limp. Simon was one of the last finishers. He and his friends looked miserable as they staggered over the finish line while the bigger shifters whooped and bayed.

“Settle down!” the lion yelled as he stomped over, shirtless despite the shitty weather. Like all large mammalian shifters, he didn’t seem to feel the cold. The cold didn’t normally bother me, but after running laps, my damp clothes clung uncomfortably to my sweaty skin. I’d have killed for a hot shower.

“Today we’re going to play dodgeball. The usual rules apply.”

I had no clue what the rules were and didn’t want to draw attention to myself by asking. If it was anything like human dodgeball, which I’d played in high school, I’d be fine.

Leone split us into two teams, with Simon and me on the same team, much to our captain’s disgust. It was obvious he considered us the weakest links. Well, more fool him. I was fast, and I had a good throwing arm.

“Keep it clean. I don’t want to see any dangerous tackles or excessive use of strength. Anyone who shifts gets disqualified and will run laps after the class ends. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir,” both teams muttered, although I caught two of the asshole wolf shifters smirking at me and Simon. No doubt they’d bend the rules when Leone wasn’t watching.

“I hate dodgeball,” Simon whispered as Leone picked up a heavy leather ball and threw it onto the pitch. The whistle blew, and the game began.