Chapter 1 – Georgia
The babbling creek flows steadily beside me as I make my way upstream, scanning the rocks and pebbles lining the shore. According to my brother Jason, this is where I should search for the source of the mysterious 'soulwink' stones. They’re so wildly different from anything I've ever seen that they're literal geologist crack. If I can figure out what they are and where they come from, it could be the find of a century. But so far, besides finding some fragments of the rainbow stone near the lake this creek drains into, I haven't come across anything out of the ordinary.
My boots crunch on loose gravel as I walk along the water's edge. A fish darts beneath the surface, catching a ray of sunlight on its silver scales. It's peaceful up here among the rolling green foothills, a stark contrast to the unrelenting chaos of the city where I spend most of my time between trips.
Crouching to sort through some loose rocks, I think back to what started me on this quest. As a geologist for the US Geological Survey, I’m no stranger to fieldwork. But when my brother showed me one of those rainbow-hued stones, my mineralogical curiosity was piqued.
I haven't had a chance to get my hands on one to do a thorough analysis, but from the photos Jason sent me, the stone displayed properties unlike any known mineral. So I just had to come to Whisper Valley and hunt down the source—even if my brother insists that the locals believe it has magical qualities akin to a love potion. A scoff exits my throat as I flip a smooth piece of obsidian over on my hand. As if a rock could really help you find your soulmate.
Not that my brother believes in it either, but he loves a good gimmick that could bring in some money. Jason runs a magazine, and one of his writers was passing through the small mountain town of Whisper Valley and heard about this 'soulwink theory'. Supposedly it was cooked up by the local librarian when she noticed that certain people in the town fell in love the moment they met. Eventually, it was found that these uncanny looking stones might be the reason for it, and it was at that point that I got called in. My brother is salivating over the idea and what discovering a new type of stone could mean for his bottom line. He's thinking jewelry and keychains sold exclusively by the magazine itself. He doesn't care if they're magic. Just that they're rare. That man would never let the truth get in the way of a good story, and he intends to capitalize to the max.
But me, I do care about the properties of these stones. My scientific mind clashes with the romantic lore surrounding them—I could never believe in love magic—but I can’t deny that I'm intrigued by what they are, and why we've never seen them before. When I studied the images Jason sent through to me, I couldn't find a single thing in the database that looked even remotely similar. And that alone is enough to get me excited enough to drop everything and hightail it out here.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary in the creek bed, I clean off my hands in the clear, cool water and continue up the mountain, breathing in the crisp air, enjoying the serenity. Getting away from the office to do fieldwork is the best part of my job, but it's also a rare treat these days. Most of my research is confined to the lab, analyzing samples and writing reports. Not exactly glamorous, and not exactly conducive to dating, either. Short, chubby redheads with a love of talking about rocks aren't exactly swipe right material, if you get my drift.
Why, the last time I went on a date, I was so excited about getting the credit for discovering a rare type of quartz in New Mexico that I chatted away about it for so long my date literally fell asleep—snoring and all. It was terrible! I was so offended that I tossed enough money on the table to cover my entrée and the tip and walked out of there. It was humiliating. I'd rather be single than sit through that again, so I deleted all my dating apps and quit looking for love all together. And since I'm practically married to my work, it's for the best, I guess.
As I climb higher up the mountain, my eyes trained on the creek bed for glittering stones, I pause when I hear a rustling in the bushes nearby. My heart rate quickens. I know there are wolves in this area, and though I have animal deterrent spray in my bag—which I think is straight up, undiluted wolf pee—I'm still not sure if I'll be able to defend myself if push comes to shove. I'm all about being a single and independent woman these days, but...maybe I shouldn't have hiked up here alone?
My cell rings, jarring me from my concerns. I give the tree line one last scan before I fish it out of my pocket and frown when I see it's Jason. No doubt checking up on me.
"Hey Jase, what's up?" I answer, still watching the trees for any sign of movement.
"Not much. How's the research going?" His voice is tinny through the patchy signal. "Found those magic rocks yet?"
I roll my eyes. "Besides a few shards around that lake, there hasn't been much to see. Nothing big enough to examine, anyway. But I'm not wasting a trip out here. I'll find something, and then we can get some answers."
Jason sighs. "Yeah, about that...you can head back. Turns out the whole soulwink thing is bullshit."
I stop walking. "What? Since when?"
"Since Honey told me it's made up," he explains. "Those stones she found are just plastic beads. No special love magic or whatever."
My eyes narrow. That doesn't fit with the fragments I've seen so far. They all had a curious crystalline structure I've never encountered before. I tip my head back and squint up at the sky, trying to gauge how much daylight I have left. "I don't think she's being totally honest with you about that. There are traces of those rainbow stones here, so I'm not leaving until I get to the bottom of this."
"If you say so. Just don't get lost in the mountains, OK? I would feel somewhat responsible if my big sister were to perish."
"I'm an old hand at this, but sure, I'll be careful like always," I promise before hanging up and tucking my cell back into my pocket. Honey's change of heart feels odd. And it only makes me more determined to get answers.
Letting out a sigh, I reposition the pack containing supplies and my field kit on my back and continue upstream, keeping my eyes peeled. The shade deepens as trees grow denser along the banks. A hawk cries out overhead. It would be easy to lose my way out here, but as long as I stick by the creek bed, I shouldn't stray too far.
As I navigate my way through narrow bends and gnarled tree roots, I'm no closer to finding anything but a case of hangry-itis. My legs ache, and I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. It's already afternoon! But I dare not stop because that would mean getting stuck up here after dark, and I don't want that. Sure, I should probably turn back now. But if I could just get one decent sample to make my case, then I can write up a report to send to the office and have them give me all the time and equipment I need.
I’m so focused on trudging forward that I nearly miss the colorful shimmer in the water. "Holy shit," I whisper, pulling my pack from my back as I crouch and reach for the small stone shard, extracting it from where it's nestled among some gravel. "A soulwink stone." My heartbeat quickens as I hold the smooth and iridescent quarter-sized sample in my hand. "Made of plastic, my butt." The pebble sits cool and heavy in my palm, and when I turn it, the surface glitters and reflects prisms of rainbow light. "Amazing."
Pulling out my field kit, I select tools to analyze the shard: hand lens, magnet, streak plate, hardness pick. The stone feels too heavy for its size. Impossible to classify. Through the magnifying lens, the colors swirl like liquid light. Applying tests elicits strange reactions unlike any known mineral. The shard is impervious to scratching, magnetism, acids... And what's even stranger, it seems to emanate an unnatural warmth now that the coolness from the creek has left it. I'd expect it to only heat enough to match the warmth of my hands, but it's almost hot, as if it's generating heat internally. I’m stunned by the anomalies.
"This is no ordinary rock."
Sliding the bizarre sample into a specimen pouch, I continue searching upstream, forgetting all about how tired and hungry I am as I find more and more of these small stones glittering in the water.
"Surely this means I'm getting closer to the source."
Quickening my pace, I hit a point where the tree line becomes so thick that I have to step into the stream to pass through. Water seeps in through a crack in my well-worn boots, soaking my sock. But when the trees part ahead, I stop and suck in a breath. I'm in a clearing in front of sheer rock face, and at its base, a shallow pool of spring water glitters with what must be hundreds, if not thousands of tiny rainbow stones. Behind it, in the rock face is a narrow opening—a cave.
"My god," I whisper in awe, heart racing as I step toward the cave's entrance and try to peer inside. "This must be the soulwink stones origin." I do a little dance on the spot from my excitement. "I think I found it!" Penrose Medal, here I come!
Chapter 2 - Ryan
The scent of pine needles and damp earth fills my nose as I gather kindling in the woods near my cabin. It's a familiar smell, comforting in its simplicity. Just a man foraging to stock his home. But I'm not just a man anymore. Not since the attack that changed the course of my life many years ago.
I still remember every detail of that day vividly, even though years have passed. The bite of the beast's fangs in my shoulder, the slice of his claws, shredding muscle and veins. The shock of seeing my own blood seep into the forest floor. How I could only watch, paralyzed, as the hulking creature staggered and collapsed beside me. Its fur receding, body turning to stone until it shattered, leaving nothing but a pile of ash surrounding a rainbow-colored stone where the beast had fallen.
As I lay there broken and bleeding, I didn't understand what was happening to me. But in time, the truth became clear. That was no ordinary wolf in the woods that day. It was a shifter whose time in his human vessel had come to an end. And in a final act of self-preservation, the wolf had chosen me as the vessel for his spirit.
The first transformation was the worst. My screams echoed through the night as bones cracked, muscles tore, flesh knit back together. I was reborn, transformed into another being entirely—werewolf, shape shifter, supernatural entity...
"Jackpot." Finding a long-fallen branch at the base of a tree, I set my kindling sling on the forest floor and begin breaking the branch up with my bare hands. This is probably one of the positive things about becoming what I am, the increased strength means I can do a bunch of things I used to need tools for. I can just imagine how much easier all those hiking and camping trips my twin and I used to take would have been. But we don't go on those anymore. Not now that I'm a wolf shifter.
There you go, yet another name to call me. But it doesn't really matter what word you use for the thing I've become, from the day I was bitten, I just wasn't me anymore. When I woke up the next day in that hospital, it was like my identity was stripped away. I was no longer one half of a set of twins with their entire future ahead of them. Hell, I wasn't even human anymore. I was something else entirely, and my life would never be the same...
Making quick work of breaking up the branch, I finish piling them all into the open sling then heft the rough fabric over my shoulder, making my way back toward my cabin on the outskirts of the pack's compound. That's my home now, and no doubt it would be for the rest of my natural life.
As much as this life was a painful gift I never asked for, when the Whisper Valley pack took me in, they helped me adjust to my new hybrid existence and accept the being I now was—even bond with it and understand that this is where I belong. My twin brother Owen even put his career as a surgeon on hold to stay up here and care for me and the rest of the pack as our doctor on call. He could have bolted the other way, told everyone his twin died in that attack and gone back to his human life—I wouldn't have blamed him for a second if he did. But even after witnessing my first change and fearing for his safety, he wouldn't walk away. And I'll forever be grateful for his sacrifice.
Even surrounded by my adoptive pack with my human twin close by, I still feel a lingering sense of loneliness I can't overcome. It's an absence I've felt since awakening after the attack—the missing presence of the one thing that can make a shifter feel whole.
My mate.
We wolves mate for life, our spirits bonded forever once we accepted our fated pairing. But the same tragedy that ended the life of my wolf's last vessel also stole our mate from us. I only know that she made it here to the Soulcave where she gave up her fight and left this world, leaving my wolf and I forever alone and at the bottom of the pack hierarchy—a mate-mourning shifter would never be respected the same way as a mated pair. I would never rise back into a position of power...
"Got any extra kindling in that bundle for me?" my friend Scarlett asks as I emerge from the woods at the edge of the pack compound and find her sitting on my front step.
Pulling the heavy bundle off my shoulder, I lower it to the ground at my feet. "How much do you need?"
She jumps up from her position and bounds over, full of energy. "Whatever you can spare. I'm not really in the mood to go gather it myself today."
I chuckle, shaking my head. "You're such a lazy wolf, Scarlett."
She grins at me, her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief as she takes the kindling from me.
"What can I say? I like to conserve my energy for more...entertaining things," she replies with a wink.
"The Alpha still making his late-night visits?"
Scarlett rolls her eyes. "Yes. He's yet to grow tired of me, which is a worry. I'm trying to keep things light and fun, though. I really don't want to bond with him. You know how full on those alpha-types can be if you reject them. He’d probably demote me all the way down to Soulcave duty with you."
I nod, understanding the unspoken stress of being one of the Alpha's chosen mates. She could reject him if her fated mate came along, but to do so without one would seriously jeopardize her position in the pack. The Alpha will not be embarrassed by a lesser wolf than him.
I give her a sympathetic smile. "Hang in there. Maybe your fated mate will come along soon and put an end to all this."
She shrugs. "I don't know, man. Seeing the way losing yours affects you... Maybe it's just easier to live my life alone." She lets out a breath before her eyes turn mischievous again. "Besides, playing hide the salami with the Alpha ain't so bad. I just don't wanna have pups with the guy." She holds the bundle of kindling to her chest and turns on her heel. "See ya 'round, loser."
I chuckle as Scarlett walks away, shaking my head at her antics as I pick up what's left of my kindling and take it inside my cabin. Scarlett's comments about my lost mate still ring in my ears.
Before she let go, my wolf and his mate were two of the pack's most trusted soldiers. Together, they led missions that were crucial to the survival of all shifter kind. But without her, it's like all those skills honed over many lifetimes are worth nothing to those who owe their very existence to their work.
Ever since my wolf returned with me as his new vessel, he's been relegated to guard duty. I'm not even guarding the pack itself. No. I'm guarding the Soulcave—a stationery piece of rock and the final resting place for shifters who decide to let go. It's where my mate's remains are, too. And the only responsibility I have is watching over a crack in the wall to keep its existence safe from humans.
Humans rarely come up here, so I'm essentially sitting around twiddling my thumbs all day. I hate it.
"Let it go, man," I say to myself, shaking my head to try to flick away the thoughts. I try not to dwell on things too much, because it's not productive. But sometimes, like right now, it's hard to ignore the gnawing ache in my chest. It's like the pack Elders are trying to punish me for losing my mate by forcing me to stay close to her heartstone. And while I know that makes no sense—I shouldn't be able to feel anything now that she's gone. But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like I can reach out and still feel her on the wind.
The few pack mates who'll speak to me think I'm crazy, that I'm succumbing to the madness. But I swear my mind is as sharp as it always was. I can still sense her spirit lingering in the woods nearby—in the cave. And I know what I scented that night when I was patrolling the forest surrounding the Soulcave.
I recognized it immediately, a sweet, intoxicating aroma that made my wolf stir inside me and say our mate's true name, Luna. It started a flurry of me searching the forest, the cave and beyond for some kind of sign of her. But no matter where I went, I couldn't catch hold of anything concrete. It's like our mate was here, and at the same time, not.
It's as if she didn't fully leave this realm the way the Elders claim she did. But I can't find a way to prove it, so I look like a bond-starved wolf instead. Needless to say, I keep that shit to myself these days. And unlike the guardians of the Soulcave before me, who never entered the sacred space, I enter it daily. Just for a chance to be near her…
Finishing with the kindling, I'm missing Luna more than ever. I never got to meet her in human form, but my bond with my wolf has me connected to her in every way that he was. I get up and head outside, close my eyes and inhaling slowly, seeking her familiar scent on the wind like I have so many times before. But there's nothing, only—
Wait.
I freeze, nostrils flaring. There's something new on the breeze. An unexpected scent, both strange yet comfortingly familiar. I jump down from my porch and sprint through the woods faster than any human could, tracking the mysterious aroma. It leads straight to my brother's cabin. Shit.
Chapter 3 - Ryan
Owen opens the door before I even knock. "Fuck!" He jumps back, balling his fists at his sides, his heart rate skyrocketing from the surprise of finding me here. Confusion takes over his bearded face before he calms. "Ryan, what are you doing here?"
I look past him inside, scenting the air. There's no doubt now. "I came to ask you the same thing," I respond, my voice little more than a rasp since the wolf attack did damage to my larynx that even supernatural healing couldn't undo.
Owen's eyes narrow and his jaw tics as he looks up at me, my imposing figure casting a shadow at his feet. As twins, we were once identical—same golden-brown hair, piercing blue eyes. But ever since my change, my hair has darkened, my eyes lightened, and my size increased. But on top of that, the wolf scarred me. Jagged lines mar my face and shoulder as a permanent reminder that Owen and I are no longer the same.
"I'm guessing that means you know I had a houseguest last night," Owen says, looking rather pleased with himself.
I lean forward, making a show of sniffing the air before I recoil, my lip curling. He broke the rules. "I can smell her stench all over you."
"Stench? She's amazing, plus I showered, but thanks," Owen retorts with an eye roll and a laugh.
I don't join in. "Don't brush the seriousness of this off, Owen. Guests are forbidden for a reason. You know what's at stake."
"I know exactly what's at stake." Owen pulls at the leather cord around his neck, pulling a rainbow stone from beneath his shirt. When the light hits it, a shimmer of pinks, yellows and blues bounce off it like glass. "She gave me this."
My eyes flash with anger and my wolf bristles. How the hell did he get a piece of heartstone? "No." I reach for it.
"Yes." Owen dodges my grasp, covering the stone with his hand protectively. "Don’t touch it. It brought her to me. So, by all your rules, that means she’s mine. Now, if you’ll excuse me while I go find her to bring her back and live a happily ever—"
"You let her leave!" I interrupt his fantasy.
"Ryan." Owen keeps calm, both of his hands held out, appealing to me. "I get that you're worried about what Honey's presence might mean for us and for Whisper Valley's best-kept secret. But I assure you, I have this under control. No one is going to find out about the heartstones. Just…go back to your little hidey-hole or den, or whatever it is you like to call it, and leave me to do my job.”
I scowl. "I live in a cabin just like you, smartass." But his teasing makes my mouth tilt slightly with amusement.
"Ah, look at that. The man can still smile," Owen teases, stepping around me. “You should try it more often, brother. It does wonders for the complexion.”
"You're an ass," I growl.
“So you keep saying. Which reminds me, I should pick up a thesaurus for you the next time I’m in town. Round out your ability to sling insults a little bit.”
I turn to follow him, ignoring his jibe. "What about the other one?"
Owen stops halfway between his cabin and his truck. "What are you talking about?"
“That girl of yours—the one you claim is fated to be yours—she wasn’t alone.”
His brow furrows, confused. “Yes, she—”
"Another scent drew me here, Owen."
“What?" Owen's mouth opens then closes, and I know without further question that this is news to him. "But she was alone…”
"Shit," I growl under my breath, turning on my heel and taking off into the forest again, knowing that if Owen doesn’t know, then this is where the two scents separate, and I'm in the wrong place. Fuck! What was I saying about no humans ever coming up here?
Sprinting back up the mountain, I follow the second, unfamiliar scent back toward the compound. Back toward the cave I've sworn to keep hidden. I had ONE job!
Barely out of breath, I come to a stop where the scent trail ends—right at the mouth of the cave. My heart pounds as that faint scent of Luna calls to me. So close, yet so far away. Where are you? My longing is quickly interrupted when I hear a soft intake of breath from inside the cave. A woman's awe-filled voice lets out a gasped, "They're everywhere."
A growl emanates from my throat. This cave belongs to my kind. I don't care who this woman thinks she is, or why she's here. My instincts are screaming at me to destroy her and take back what's mine. I can't let her leave with those stones.
Stripping my shirt and jeans, I allow my wolf to surge forward. The change is swift, bones re-aligning, claws sprouting, until I'm the backseat driver to a wolf that stands taller than any man, fur bristling along his powerful body.
Back when I was first bitten, first coming to terms with this new version of me, my shifts were a painful battle between human and beast. It felt like dying, a torturous event that was thrust upon me unwillingly at the height of the full moon. But as time wore on and I bonded with my wolf, we've become two sides of the same coin, our acceptance of each other making the shift a smooth, almost effortless process that happens at will.
My wolf takes off into the darkness, his keen senses guiding us through. The woman's scent mingles with Luna's and grows stronger until we see her, illuminated by the sunlight emanating from the small opening in the cave's roof. I pause. She's beautiful, dark auburn hair cascading down her back, wide green eyes filled with wonder as she stares at the stones scattered around her before lifting one up to the light, the rainbow colors held within the stone glowing in response. To humans, these stones are a rare find, yet highly sought after because they're rumored to attract their soulmate. And while that may be true, to shifters, these stones contain fragments of our ancestors’ past, shifters who've been laid to rest. They're not to be disturbed, and they must be protected at all costs.
As I watch her studying the stone, I growl low in my throat, my wolf itching to attack. This woman has no idea what she's gotten herself into, but it's too late for her to turn back now. She's seen too much.
Pack law is clear: she needs to die.
But as I stalk forward, she turns on a gasp, those wide eyes meeting mine and locking in place. There's a moment of recognition, a spark of something that ignites within me. It's like the wolf and I are both struck by lightning, a sudden understanding that this woman is somehow meant for us. My wolf speaks in my mind, But how? She's human...
I don't know, I respond.
"Don't eat me!" the woman shrieks, dropping the stone on the floor and quickly pulling something from her side and pointing it at us.
Squirt! Squirt! She mists us with something that reeks to high heaven.
"Get away!"
My wolf inhales and shakes his head with a sneeze. I think I recognize that scent. Is that... urine?
My wolf snarls.
Maybe that stuff works on regular-sized predators, but all that's going to do to a shifter is piss it off. I almost can't watch as my wolf paces closer.
"Oh god. Why isn't this shit working?" she cries, tossing the bottle of animal piss at us as she scrambles backward, the rocky cave floor causing her to lose her footing and fall hard. "Ow!"
I instantly smell blood, and my wolf loses his mind. We're on her in an instant, snarling and snapping, jaws inches from her throat. But then there's that spark again, making me pull back, keeping me from giving my wolf full control. Wait.
She's staring up at us, fear and confusion etched on her face. I can't read her thoughts, but I can sense her energy, a pulsating force that calls out to me. My wolf is still on edge, but I can feel him relaxing, pulling back in confusion along with me. His thoughts fill with his lost mate as I try to work out what this is, and if this woman has somehow cast a spell on us. Something about this encounter seems...different to any other human I've chased away before.
The woman whimpers and trembles as my wolf bows his head and sniffs his way down her body, searching for answers. When he reaches her leg, he nudges her calf with his nose, finding where she's injured, impaled on a jagged piece of stone. There's a brief moment where the wolf and I realize we need to shift back into human form to help her, but before we even act on that, my wolf—the cheeky bastard he is at times—flicks out his tongue and tastes her blood. So fucking sweet. She lets out a scream.
Most of the time, due to our bond, my wolf and I are one. We move as one, think as one, speak as one. But there are always those moments where we're clearly two different beings, and this is one of them.
What'd you go and do that for?
My wolf doesn't answer. He simply licks his chops as the girl scrambles backward to get away, tearing her flesh in the process as the impaled stone slices free, causing her to scream even harder. And for the bloodlust in my wolf to grow even stronger.
Now look what you've done. If you even try to eat her, I'm gonna be pissed.
All I hear is a slight chuckle in my mind. He doesn't seem to care if he pisses me off. But that's not the standout here. Things get kinda crazy when that stone dislodges from her leg. It cracks open like an egg, releasing tendrils of light that sparkle and climb out of it like a glittery mist. I've never seen anything like it, and from the dumbfounded silence coming from my wolf, I doubt he has either.
"Oh my god. What the hell is that?!" the woman shrieks, grabbing at her leg as the light curves toward her and disappears directly into her wound.
I shift in an instant, leaping forward and crouching beside her—yes, I'm naked right now—pushing my hands onto the wound. The light inside her so bright that it's hard to look at. But I can feel it, a warm energy that hums against my palms. I'm not sure what's happening, if this is some kind of magic or if it's just my wolf and I losing our minds and seeing things, but we both know one thing for sure.
We have to get this woman out of here, fast.
Quickly pulling on my clothes, I scoop her up in my arms, her weight nothing to my supernatural strength as she clings to me, her skin burning up as she murmurs nonsensically. My wolf watches from inside me, silent and cautious, as I carry her out of the cave. The air outside is cool and crisp, and I can hear the rustling of leaves in the distance. I need to find a safe place for her to rest and to assess the wound. But I can't keep her here.
Owen's.
As I carry her, I feel her body trembling. She's going into shock. I try to soothe her as best as I can. "It's OK," I murmur, my lips brushing against the top of her head. "You're safe now. You're going to be OK." Whatever is happening right now, I know I need to protect this woman at all costs.
Going as fast as I can without hurting her, I make my way through the forest to my twin brother's house. I can smell the metallic tang of blood and the faint scent of fear, but I'm honestly not sure if the fear is mine or hers. Because for the first time since he entered my body, my wolf is sitting in the back of my mind silent. He's never silent.
But then, just as I'm about to knock on Owen's door, my wolf speaks up.
That light, he starts, his low voice reverberating through my mind. It's her.
"What do you mean?" I gasp, my heart kicking up a notch and my step faltering. "Are you...are you saying—"
Yes. It's her. The light. This woman. It's Luna.
Our mate has returned.
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