Chapter 1

Ginny walked slowly, cautiously toward her grandfather's home, her heart in her throat and her jackal chittering in worry in her mind.

She hadn't seen her brother, Cliff, that morning. They normally met for coffee at the little shop in town where she worked part time as a barista. When he hadn't shown up, she'd known in her gut that something was wrong.

Begging off from her shift, she ducked out and walked home through the thick woods of the small town where her jackal pack lived in secret from humans. There were a few humans who lived there as well, but they were none the wiser to the secret of people who could go from animal to human.

Because she knew for certain if her grandfather thought any of the humans knew the truth? They'd be dead in a heartbeat.

She paused as her grandfather's house came into view.

There weren't any guards milling around, but her grandfather was the most dangerous male she'd ever known. He was alpha of her pack—a tall, imposing male who looked like he could run a marathon, bench press a semi, and still kill someone without breaking a sweat. He might have become alpha because the pack leadership position was hereditary, but he kept the position because he was powerful and dangerous.

She'd known that when her family started to die, deaths that seemed accidental but were clearly not. First, her uncle had fallen, then her aunt.

Then her parents.

Now, she wondered if her brother had been killed too. Because how else could she explain his absence from their morning ritual except something had kept him from it?

Hiding behind a large tree trunk, she tilted to the side and peered around it, staring intently at the house that had at one time felt like a refuge, back when she was a child and her grandmother had worked her fingers to the bone to make sure everyone felt loved.

Then she'd died and her grandfather had gone crazy, but it hadn't been a quick process. It had taken a few years before anyone realized he didn't intend to follow pack law and step down on his seventieth birthday, handing leadership to her uncle—her father's brother and the eldest of the two.

Her uncle didn't have a chance to be alpha, and neither did her father.

Only her grandfather was going to lead their pack, that much she was sure of. There was so much blood and death on his hands, and if her brother had been killed as she suspected, then death was stalking toward her too.

The back door opened and two males who were part of her grandfather's inner circle walked out, carrying something large wrapped in the rug from his office.

Her heart fell into her stomach and she clenched her teeth together to stifle the sob in her throat.

"What will he tell her?" one asked.

"Probably that he went off on a trip or something," the other replied. "It won't matter much anyway because she'll be following him into the great beyond soon enough."

"True."

She stared at the males until they disappeared into the woods, then turned away and crept back through the trees toward the little house that had once belonged to her aunt and uncle, which was next door to her brother's home that had been their parents'. Her vision was blurry with tears, her heart breaking as she thought about the last conversation she'd had with him last night.

I'm going to get us out of here, Gin. It's not safe for either of us. I'll tell you the plan tomorrow when I have everything worked out.

She didn't know what his plan was or how he'd known time was running out.

She was very certain that the rug contained her brother, heading off to some unmarked grave. No goodbye, no chance to run and start life somewhere safe.

Those males had inadvertently given her a warning, which now hung over her head like an ax on the downward swing.

Her grandfather was going to kill her. Because she was now the only living member of their family line and eligible to take over the pack and become alpha.

She didn't want to be alpha, she just wanted her family back.

She fought the tears that stung her eyes and made the world blurry because she didn't have time to break down and weep.

Nearing the house, she paused as the scent of something unfamiliar caught her sensitive nose.

People had been here. Her grandfather's people.

Hiding herself again, she watched the house for a few minutes and saw shadows in the windows. The house wasn't empty like it should be, which meant her time was up.

She blinked a few times and took in a deep breath, her mind racing.

If she tried to get to her car, she'd most likely get caught, so the only choice she had was to shift and run away. She'd run until her paws bled, and then she'd run some more until there was a vast distance between herself and her murderous grandfather. Only when she was safe would she take time to grieve the family taken too soon.

She wouldn't let her grandfather win, she'd live her life and stay safe.

Somehow.

Stripping, she called for her shift and took on her jackal form. She padded away from her house deeper into the woods, and once she was clear of the territory, she ran for all she was worth.

She had no idea how she'd know once she was safe, she'd just run until she couldn't anymore.

Her grandfather wouldn't ever find her, she'd make damn sure of it.

She wasn't sure she believed in karma, but if it was a real thing, she hoped her grandfather felt the cold bony hand of it come for him.

She'd never felt more alone.