Chapter 1 — A Passing Moment

Jacob closed his eyes as he listened to his coworkers read him the financial statistics of a company he was interested in purchasing. It was his fourth meeting that day, and he was relieved that it was also the last. He pinched the bridge of his nose as they described what they'd discovered about the place. Jacob tried to focus, but his mind seemed to have an ulterior motive as his thoughts whipped back to a night he had tried to forget for the last sixteen years. The ground was drenched with water as his wolf pushed through the mud in the forest. He was chasing something, but Jacob couldn’t see what. Jacob heard the sound of a car coming up the road, and his brows furrowed when he saw his wolf stumble into the middle of the wet path. He ran to push his wolf out of the way, but all he saw were headlights flashing right at him. He heard the crunch of metal as he rushed over to check for survivors. He could smell blood and heard a weak cry from the back of the car. “Mr. Sullivan?” Jacob’s eyes opened wide when he heard his name called out by one of his associates. He sat up in his chair and didn’t miss a beat about the details. “The numbers sound good. Collaborate with Felix to get the contracts ready,” he ordered. “Yes, Mr. Sullivan.” His colleagues quickly collected their belongings and exited the room as his assistant stood at the door and waited. Jacob got up from his chair and walked to the window as he looked out into the city. He enjoyed this time of year when the days were shorter and the nights were longer; there was something about the day ending and night slowly creeping in. As much as he enjoyed living in the city, he felt something was still missing.“What is it, Kaitlyn?” he inquired; even though he hadn’t looked at her, he could sense she was there. “There’s a Mr. Reed here to see you,” she answered. Jacob’s head perked up when he heard his long-time friend was here to see him. “Send him in,” he instructed as he still looked out at the city. Gavin Reed walked with suave confidence into the office of his friend Jacob. His chocolate hair was slick back, and his hands were tucked into the pockets of the monkey outfit he wore to blend in. His body tensed as the material of the suit rubbed against his skin. He couldn’t wait to get out of these clothes and all the grease out of his hair, but there were more important things to attend to at the moment. Jacob turned and coughed into his hand, trying to suppress his chuckle as he looked at his friend's attire. Gavin had a curve to his lip as he tried to contain the snarl he had sitting on his chest. “That will be all, Kaitlyn. You can go home,” Jacob said. Kaitlyn nodded as she eyed the other man who came to see her boss one last time before closing the door behind her. Jacob walked toward him. “It’s been a long time, old friend." “I wish it were under better circumstances,” Gavin admitted as he shook his friend's hand. Jacob looked at him with a curious brow as his blue eyes filled with concern. “What’s wrong?” Gavin rubbed his hand over his jaw, feeling the stubble against his fingers. “I need you to come back. It’s time you take your place as Alpha and protect the pack.” Jacob sucked in a breath and stared at the man before him. It had been sixteen years since he left his home and hadn’t been back since. He remained to show his cool, calm demeanor, although his thoughts were running wild on the inside. “It’s not that simple,” he whispered. “Santos is starting to sniff around. He’s been seen hanging around the border points, testing our weaknesses.” Jacob growled when he heard the name that haunted him, just like those memories did. “I need to think about this,” Jacob said as he ran his hand through his tightly cut black hair. “Everything that I have worked so hard to build with this company has been to help the pack. All the money and resources we’ve used to strengthen our boundaries are because of what I do here. It won’t be easy to step away from all of this.” Gavin placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, giving him support. “I know I’m asking a lot. But I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think this was serious.” Jacob nodded as he moved away from his friend and returned to the window. Gavin turned and headed for the door; with his hand on the handle, he turned back, “I forgot to mention, old man Winters is in the hospital. It doesn’t look good.” Jacob gave a menacing growl as he quickly turned and stocked toward the door. “Why didn’t you start by telling me that?” he hissed as he pushed his friend through the door and slammed it shut. *** Cassidy had never liked hospitals. The smell always took her back to the night her parents died in a car accident, and somehow, she walked away from that wreck with nothing more than a scar on her leg. She sat watching the man who raised her breathing through an oxygen tube as she waited on the test results to diagnose what was ailing him. She was scared; she didn’t want this to be the end. She had suffered enough loss and didn’t need to lose another loved one. Cassidy’s eyes shifted to the door when she heard a knock and watched it open. Her best friend and roommate Natalie popped her head around the door. “Hey, how’s he doing?” she whispered. “Still sleeping,” Cassidy answered as she stretched her arms and messed with her wavy chestnut hair before dropping it back down. “Come on, let’s go grab something to eat. You’ve been here for a while; you must be hungry,” Natalie suggested. Cassidy shook her head. “I should stay here in case he wakes up.” Natalie wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She pulled her auburn hair into a loose bun and narrowed her green eyes at Cassidy. “Cass, you need to take care of yourself so that when your Pop Pop wakes up, he’s not worried about you. He doesn’t need that.” Cassidy sighed as she said, “OK, but we can’t be gone for too long.” Natalie smiled as she opened the door for them. On the way to the elevator, Cassidy felt a burn course along her scar — like she'd pressed it against a hot oven — as she moved closer to the elevator. As she was about to step in, she passed by a tall man in a business suit, whom she initially paid no attention to. But as they passed, an electric current flowed through them, and the burning sensation in her leg became nothing more than a tingle that raced through her body. Once inside, Cassidy looked up to find the gentleman looking straight back at her with piercing blue eyes. A shiver shimmied through her as she stared back at the man until the elevator closed, and he was gone.