Free Awakening: Montana Wolves, Book 2 by Chloe Cole Page B

like the tail of a firefly, and then she was gone.
    “Hey, man, you okay? You look a little pale,” Billy asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
    All-encompassing rage rocked him to the core and he could feel himself shifting, barely riding the line between man and beast. He moved like lightning, heading to the door, letting out a roar so loud it shook the rafters.
    “Someone took her,” he growled. “Someone took Chandra.”
     
    ***
     
    Chandra opened her eyes and groaned. The room was spinning. Even the dim light of the bulb swinging overhead intensified the throbbing in her head. What had happened?
    She tried to focus, taking in her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. She tried to sit up straight but couldn’t. Despair momentarily paralyzed her as the realization hit: she was chained. The animal in her throbbed, the bone-deep hatred of being trapped stirring up a dangerous concoction of fury and fear.
    She gathered every ounce of self-control she possessed and clamped down hard to control her panic and stave off the impending change.
    Taking a deep breath, she assessed what had happened. The last thing she remembered was talking to Amber. She had scented a human male nearby but before she could turn around, she was shot by something in the neck. Judging by the way she was feeling, she must have been tranquilized with an elephant gun or something. How long had she been out? She twisted to glance at the watch on her wrist. Quarter after midnight. So just under an hour.
    Chandra tested the thick chains at her wrists, then her ankles. They didn’t budge.
    Titanium.
    Even in her weakened condition, she was pretty strong by human standards, but not that strong.
    She briefly contemplated unleashing her beast, then dismissed it outright. While the change would increase her strength and agility to some degree, she had no idea if she would be strong enough, even as a wolf, to break the shackles. She could end up in worse shape than she was right now, with her large paws mangled by the too-tight shackles in the wrong position.
    Even if she was willing to take that risk, her assailant could be watching her right now. To change form in front of a human was a violation of Supreme Law. The penalty for such a crime could range from a serious physical punishment to exile or even death. Worse, allowing humans to know of their existence could potentially put all of her brethren in mortal danger.
    She considered mentally reaching out to Jax again, but first she had to focus and piece together some clues, figure out what was going on and where she was. Leading her pack into a trap was not an option.
    She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, her sensitive nose capturing a medley of aromas. The scent of evergreens, ponderosa pines, and dripping sap coalesced to form an oh-so familiar bouquet.
    She was in the deep woods.
    The revelation comforted her to some small degree. If she could get out of the shackles, there would be no stopping her. She could change without fear of being seen and then she’d be home free. There wasn’t a man alive who could catch her in the woods if she didn’t want to be caught.
    She opened her eyes and surveyed the room again more closely. Although it was dim, she could see it was very sparsely furnished. Small with unfinished oak walls, it was clearly one room of a rustic cabin. She’d run through probably a hundred miles of woods in the Pray area and seen as many cabins that would fit the bill.
    Frustrated, she again closed her eyes and this time listened, allowing the sounds to permeate her consciousness. A myriad of forest creatures created a cacophony, but nothing stood out that would be helpful in narrowing down her possible location.
    She was about to give up when she heard it: the babble of nearby moving water.
    All right, so she was in the forest, in a small cabin surrounded by evergreens and pines, and within twenty-five yards or so of a brook or stream. She must have been transported by car