#Chapter 167: To Begin With

DEREK The growl of the four-wheeler under me did nothing to quiet the growl inside my chest. I’d been patrolling for hours. The wind whipped against my jacket, tugging at the collar as I tore down another ridgeline, the sun low and angry behind me. Dust kicked up behind the tires in plumes. My hands were clenched too tightly on the grips, my knuckles stiff beneath leather gloves. I couldn’t sit still. Hadn’t been able to for days. Weeks, maybe. Ever since she looked at me with those tired eyes and said she wanted nothing more to do with me. Ever since I let her go. And now, all I wanted was a fight. A rogue. A threat. Something I could put my fists or claws or teeth into. Something to make the pressure inside me finally crack and release. But there was nothing. I slowed as I reached the fence line—the outermost perimeter of Silverclaw’s territory. I killed the engine and climbed off the ATV. My boots sank slightly into the soft soil. Around me, the trees shifted and