Prologue

Fear leaves me breathless.

Pain lances through my leg and a yelp leaves my throat. Fuck. Fuck, this can't be happening. This cannot be real. I grit my teeth, doing my best not to look as panicked as I feel. I look over at my son, JJ. "Look away, baby."

JJ begins to sniffle and I do my best to shake off the pain. I'm okay. This is okay. We'll get out of this. I need to calm him down. I don't want him to be scared or worried.

"Are you okay, Papa?"

"I'm okay, sweetie. Just give me a second to figure out how to get my foot free, okay?" He nods his head, still keeping his back to me. Without his eyes on me, I take a moment to assess just how bad this is.

Fuck.

My foot is caught in a fucking hunting trap. How the hell did this happen? I thought we were basically home free! I thought we'd be okay. The only thing not sending me into a full blown panic is knowing that we're not too far from the road.

"I'm gonna try to get myself out of the trap. Just keep looking over there, okay?"

"Okay," JJ says, his voice wavers and I know I have to move fast before he gets curious and looks. I don't want him to see all this blood.

I sit down in the grass as carefully as I can before reaching down and trying to pull the trap open. I'm not sure how these things even work and no matter how much I try I can't seem to pry it open. Fuck. Panic is setting in and I do everything I can to breathe through it, to push it away. I need to think. How can I get out of this?

"Okay, baby, change of plans," I say carefully. I reach over and put my hands on JJ's shoulders. "I need you to shift. Can you do that for me?"

"I can do that," he says softly.

"I know you can. After you shift, I'm gonna shift too. And then we're gonna run over towards the road, okay? I need you to stay right next to me and not shift until I do. Do you understand?"

"I understand," JJ says. I hear him take a deep breath and between one blink and another, he begins to shift into his shifter skin.

I have to be quick. I'm hoping that I can move as I shift. With my cat paw being so small, just maybe I'll be able to tug my paw free from the trap.

I look inward, finding the connection I share with my inner animal. Once I'm ready, I shift. As the shift washes over me, I pull my paw away from the trap and thankfully, I'm able to get my paw completely free. Relief floods me so hard I just barely keep myself from tipping over and laying in the grass. The pain lancing through me keeps me steady though.

JJ meows at me, the sound questioning. I nudge his face with my head, rubbing myself against him to help soothe his worry. My scent rubs off on him and his onto me, helping keep us both grounded. We're okay. We'll be okay.

I begin trekking towards the road, making sure JJ is beside me as we go. If we were real cats, JJ would probably be bigger than me by now but because we're shifters, his cat form is much smaller. JJ hates it when I pick him up by the scruff of his neck and carry him around. He says he's too old for that, but I still reserve the right to use that method in case of emergencies.

Emerging onto the pavement makes me breathe easy for the first time since I realized my foot was stuck in that stupid trap. I look both ways, wondering where to go from here.

My ears pick up footsteps and I make a noise, letting JJ know to freeze. We slowly step back until we're mostly hidden in the grass by the sidewalk. I wait, listening, making sure it's not someone we know.

I take a deep breath and my entire body locks up. A meow leaves my lips without my permission.

That scent. It's like nothing I've ever smelled before. It smells so good and my inner omega instantly craves it, demanding we find the source of it so we can smell it up close and personal. I keep my feet planted, gritting my teeth as I fight my instincts.

My eyes catch a figure walking down the street, his hands in his pockets. It's no one I've ever seen before and the last of the tension making my chest tight seems to loosen. This isn't John. We're safe.

I take a tentative step forward. JJ stays glued to my side. I take another step, a pained meow leaving my throat without my permission as I put weight on my hurt paw. Fuck. How could I forget that I was hurt? Just because I'm smelling the most amazing scent I've ever experienced in my life doesn't mean I've lost all of my common sense.

"Hello?"

JJ meows, a nervous sound that makes my heart clench. The man on the sidewalk freezes as his eyes find us. He's a complete stranger and yet, there's a weird feeling in my stomach, whispering that I can trust him.

"Oh dear," the man whispers, getting on his knees near us. He holds out his hand. "Are you hurt? Come here. I'll take care of you. Poor things."

JJ looks at me and I give him a tiny nod. JJ steps forward and the man carefully runs the back of his fingers over JJ's head. JJ leans into the touch. I meow and the man smiles, the sight making something go through my stomach.

The man takes off his hoodie before reaching out slowly, making sure I won't bite him before scooping me up into his arms. He cradles me against his chest with such care. Then he reaches down and picks up JJ. JJ buries his face against me and I can tell he's just as relieved as I am.

I feel safe. I feel like JJ is safe. My body goes slack in this random stranger's arms.

Being tucked into this man's sweater makes something crystal clear. It would seem Lady Fate has a bit of an ironic sense of humor. I've somehow run away from my litter straight into the arms of my true mate.