Chapter 4
ROZI
The vibe inside the SUV wasn’t as tense but far from companionable halfway through our ride.
He was an alpha asshole with a dominant air that made me want to put his ass in a choke hold.
“This is the thruway that leads right into the Ridge,” he informed me after turning onto the road, his headlights brightening the way ahead.
He sped along the serpentine road that dipped and arched over the imposing waves of the crashing sea flanking both sides of the freeway.
“Interesting,” I replied, inwardly loving the feeling of being on a roller coaster.
“A one-word response. I guess that’s progress.
” He chuckled. “Anyway, driving on this road is like teetering on the edge of the sea. The brutal waves often crash over the road during storms. Most people hate driving on this thruway, and that’s under the best conditions.
But it’s the only way to get into the Ridge. ”
My curiosity got the better of me. “So the only destination at the end of the road is the Ridge?”
“No,” he answered. “There are numerous villages along the way. And if you keep driving past the Ridge, the road will bring you out to the very farthest point, where the land ends and the ocean begins. Black Forest Ridge is on the same route, but only Others can see the entrance. For humans, the entrance to the Ridge is undetectable because of the magic in the veil.” His fingers drummed lightly on the steering wheel.
“Others move here for the low-key lifestyle, the complete absence of hurry, and the fact that within a week, Bessie, the owner of Bessie’s Coffee Shop, knows your coffee order, and Seraphina, who owns a bookstore, sets aside new releases she thinks you’ll like.
It’s not for everyone, but for those who belong here…
” He trailed off, something wistful in his voice.
“How was the veil created?” I asked, steering the conversation back to safer territory.
“The witch coven. The leader is Freya.”
“I’ve read her OIA bio,” I replied.
Brody continued driving for a bit before turning left, driving through the huge hole that had been carved into a mountain. Only his headlights illuminated the darkness within the tunnel.
When we got to the end of the passageway, I saw a wall of shimmering crisscross lines.
“Is that the veil?” I asked.
“It’s the second part of the veil,” he informed me before driving right through the light show. “The first part was at the mountain entrance, but it’s not as showy as this one.”
Popping sounds echoed within the SUV, and energy licked my skin before disappearing.
The second we passed through the shimmering veil, my chest seized.
Years of carefully constructed walls crumbled in an instant.
My skin burned from the inside out, nerve endings I didn’t know existed suddenly alive and screaming.
Lightning shot through my veins, my traitorous body arching against the leather seat as if pulled by invisible strings.
Every cell in me reached toward him, recognizing what my mind had spent decades denying.
I couldn’t breathe or think. Could only feel.
I gasped, my back arching involuntarily against the seat as pleasure like lightning struck every inch of me.
“What the hell…?” I choked out, fingers clutching the leather seat to anchor myself.
“The veil,” Brody managed through clenched teeth, his voice strained almost beyond recognition. “It hides Black Forest Ridge from humans.” He continued driving along the road until the scenery changed to a dirt road bordered by a lush forest instead of mountains.
The forest had an Amazonian vibe. A landscape I recognized that was similar to my travels around the world.
“Impossible,” I said. “A rain forest?”
“Yup,” he replied, never taking his eyes off the road.
“If I hadn’t seen this for myself, I would have balked at the possibility of a rain forest in Alaska,” I said.
“Black Forest is a place you have to see to believe,” he said as he continued driving.
“I’ve traveled a lot in my time in the military, but the terrain inside the rain forest is unlike anything I’ve seen.
The land is so old and steeped in magic that it’s created its own ecosystem that defies logic.
We have everything from mountain ranges to fast-flowing streams, waterfalls, and gorges.
It’s home to many animals and plants you won’t find anywhere else on this planet. ”
“That’s strange for Alaska,” I replied while connecting my cell to the Ridge’s private Wi-Fi network.
“It is. The topography and weather in Black Forest are unique. That’s why Quinn doesn’t allow rural residential development inside the rain forest. He doesn’t want any displacement of wildlife or disruption of the ecosystem.”
“I agree,” I said. “Protecting the ecosystem and animals is important.”
Staring out the window in amazement, I needed to know more. “How many residents live in Black Forest?”
“We lost count when Others started flocking to the Ridge after word got out about Freya’s mating spell.”
I snorted at the mention of the mating spell. “I believe in science, not magic.” In the OIA briefing, they had talked about the spell being cast to call the fated mates of the unmated male shifters to Black Forest Ridge.
Brody’s eyes met mine briefly in the rearview mirror. “Interesting perspective from someone whose DNA allows her to transform into a king cheetah. Conventional science can’t explain shifters any more than it can explain Freya’s magic.”
“There’s a difference,” I argued. “Our transformations follow consistent, predictable patterns. They can be studied, quantified.”
“So does Freya’s magic,” he said. “Just because we don’t fully understand the mechanism doesn’t mean it’s not real. After all, humans once thought flight was impossible.”
“More like a realist,” I replied, unwilling to concede the point, even as my mind acknowledged the gap in my logic.
“Freya describes the spell as an alteration of probability. It asks the universe to send the fated mates of all unmated males to the Ridge, shifting the odds so that even improbable connections happen. Magic is wild and willful, meaning Freya doesn’t have precise control over how the spell will manifest or exactly who it will bring. ”
“Hence, the reason I’m here. The spell hasn’t brought enough fated mates to the Ridge, and unmated males are displaying pre-feral symptoms.”
“I agree that the uptick in males with pre-feral symptoms is alarming, but like you said, that’s why you are here.” He paused. “I’ve also been doing my part with my tonic.”
I was instantly interested when I recalled Quinn having mentioned that Brody was his resident botanical expert.
“Tell me about your tonic.”
Despite our personal history, I hoped his knowledge might complement my research approach.
“I own and run Thornbern Brewstillery and have been working on my own treatments for pre-feral progression. A temporary solution, but something is better than nothing.”
“And what does your tonic do?”
“Temporarily slows the progression of pre-feral symptoms in unmated male shifters, which can lead them to lose touch with their human side and become feral.”
“That sounds groundbreaking. What’s in the tonic?” I asked, my heart racing. This might be the critical information I needed.
“It’s based on the healing botanical remedies developed by my late grandmother, Una Thornbern.
I’ve been actively reverse engineering her formula, but the tonic’s results are inconsistent.
” He sighed heavily. “I’m brewing the tonic on guesswork and prayer without the complete process. But we’re running out of time.”
The word we’re scraped against my ribs like a rusty blade. We. Us. Together. Words stripped from my vocabulary at ten, when my father walked out without a backward glance.
Seven years after that, rain had soaked through my black dress as I’d stood alone by my mother’s grave, the cemetery workers shifting awkwardly as they waited for family members who never came. My grandmother’s assistant had sent flowers. Not even a card in her own handwriting.
And here was Brody, tossing we’re between us like a bridge I could trust my weight to.
I’d learned young that we was just a temporary fiction.
People left. They always left. I’d built my identity around the certainty of standing alone—in academic conference rooms, in research labs, in life.
My work was my shelter, my papers and data the only things I could count on to still be there in the morning.
This man, who’d rejected me more completely than anyone, now oh so casually said we’re as if he hadn’t taught me the most devastating lesson of all: Even the universe’s so-called perfect match could look at me and decide I wasn’t worth staying for.
“What do you mean by we’re?” I asked, the words feeling like broken glass in my throat.
He was so silent that I thought he wasn’t going to answer my question.
“The pack,” he finally said, his voice tight. “The unmated males especially. We’re all counting on your research.”
The SUV suddenly swerved; then he corrected its path. In the rearview mirror, I caught a flash of genuine fear across his face. Not fear of the road, but something deeper, more primal.
My doctor’s instincts kicked in, eyes cataloging details I’d been determinedly ignoring. The subtle pallor beneath his tan. The sweat beading at his temple despite the cool air-conditioning. The rigid set of his shoulders, as if he were fighting some invisible battle.
“You’re sick,” I said, the realization hitting me with unexpected force.
“I’m fine,” he replied, too quickly.
The acrid scent of burned rubber instantly filled the SUV. The unmistakable odor every shifter recognized as the telltale sign of a lie. My nostrils flared, the smell confirming what my eyes had already told me.
“You’re lying,” I said flatly. “I can smell it.”
He cursed under his breath, knuckles whitening on the steering wheel. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”