Raaz slept like shit. As soon as he closed his eyes, monsters were there chasing him, and more often than not, he was running in the dark tunnel Clover had taken him through. Yellow eyes and sharp teeth gleamed in the dark, and it didn’t matter how fast he ran, they always kept pace with him or closed in on him.

Seven minutes past five, he gave up and switched on the light. He heated some water on the hotplate and made himself a cup of instant coffee. He loved coffee, but instant was his least favorite kind. Not true! The worst of all was decaf. Why? Why would anyone disgrace coffee by making it decaf? Sinners.

He cradled his cup and curled up on the deep, marble windowsill. If he ever owned a home, he’d want deep windowsills too.

Sipping on the coffee, he winced at the heat, then he reached inside the plastic bag he had yet to unpack, and grabbed a bag of nuts. It was the macadamias. Should he waste expensive nuts on a crappy morning with too little sleep and instant coffee?

Why not?

He opened the bag and popped a nut into his mouth while gazing out the window at the dark sky. As he glanced down, something moved. A light came on as a car door opened, and Raaz muffled a shriek.

The wolf.

Fear blocked his throat, and he was afraid he’d choke when he swallowed the nut.

The wolf got out of the car and leaned against it. Then he raised a hand in a wave, and Raaz scrambled off the windowsill. The coffee sloshed over the rim onto his hand, and he cursed. He placed the cup on the dresser and killed the light.

If the room was dark, the wolf couldn’t see him, right? Or could he? Wolves had good night vision. Could he see through the window into a dark room on the second floor?

What the fuck was he to do? Nicodemus wasn’t here now. There was no one to protect him.

He had to leave.

But if the wolf kept guard during the night, how would Raaz manage to sneak away? He had to hide somehow.

Now the wolf knew which room was his. Would he come to kill him tomorrow night?

His heart ached at the betrayal.

It wasn’t a betrayal. Being mates meant nothing when the bond was between a wolf and a squirrel. Or he assumed it would mean something if they completed the bond, but no wolf ever would. He’d arrange a squirrel hunt and pretend they were nothing to each other instead of risking what the pack would do to him if they found out.

There were lone wolves, but they were few and far between. It didn’t mean they didn’t eat squirrels, but considering Raaz had been on the run for a year and survived, although barely, he didn’t fear lone wolves as much as he feared pack wolves.

A huge ass man living in the city was without a doubt a pack wolf. An enforcer, perhaps. What if he was the alpha? He looked mean enough.

If he was the alpha, Raaz would never make it out of Doson alive. He’d order his pack members to hunt him wherever he went.

There was no way he’d survive being hunted by two packs. He didn’t think the first one had given up. He’d never had a month’s respite before, but he didn’t think the danger was anywhere near over.

They might not have found his location yet, or they might be waiting for an opportunity when Nicodemus couldn’t protect him.

What if they formed a team, the two packs? One squirrel, two packs. It sounded like a bad book.