Four

Stepping off the bus, Eva sighed tiredly as she followed the crowds to the terminal. It had been two weeks since she had left Silver Moon territory. She hadn't been in touch with anyone despite desperately missing her family, Maria and Duncan. The guilt of leaving without a word still hung heavy on her shoulders but was not heavy enough to quash the dread of accepting Daniel Wolfe as her mate. 

She was acutely aware that she had no way of knowing if the Hellhound Alpha had left Silver Moon and thus making it safe to return but her gut told her that he wouldn't just leave, not after Eva had embarrassed him by practically rejecting him. 

Inverness wasn't Eva's original destination of choice but she feared crossing the border would draw attention especially since she wasn't sure which towns and cities were run by Hellhounds. She hadn't exactly made it her life mission to learn about the Hellhounds pack's territory. Also she wanted to stay as close as she could to home even if it meant remaining in her Pack's territory and being spotted. 

So she had decided to head to head only a little further south and stay in a bed and breakfast in a nearby town. Her heat was coming and being out in the wilderness was dangerous. 

Now she just needed to find a place to hide out and a way of getting there. It seemed simple enough really. 

Except Eva had been too busy looking at the departure boards to notice the man with a familiar patch on his jacket watching her every move as he pulled a phone from his pocket and took a photo of her. 

---

Daniel was sat in his room watching another storm roll in and batter the Silver Moon territory when the message came in. 

A headache had been threatening since the meeting with Eshe and Daniel had retreated to his room to mull everything over. 

It wasn't every day a pack just gave up their territory to another pack without convoluted terms but Eshe had given no terms or requests. Perhaps she was so desperate to go back to her family that she didn't care what happened to the pack she led for so long but Daniel doubted that. Perhaps she simply had faith that the Hellhound pack would welcome Silver Moon into the fold with open arms. 

It did pose the issue of logistics though. The Pack's territory was about to more than double in size and that meant the pack was spread out even further leaving them vulnerable. How could the Alpha family lead a pack split across two pack capitals? Choosing one capital was not so straightforward either. Families had homes and businesses not to mention choosing one capital over another could be seen as bias.

Then there was the matter of Daniel's missing mate.

Shifting slightly, he pulled Eva's phone from his pocket and tapped the screen so it lit up to show a picture of the missing she-wolf and a man Daniel hadn't seen around. 

They were both smiling and judging by the warm glow it appeared the photo was taken in the summer. The man was tall with light blonde hair and goatee and a scar above his right eye. Eva had her hair down, reddish auburn locks spilling over her naked shoulders and her hazel eyes bright with happiness. A crown of daisies sat on top of her head making her look like a nymph. 

Daniel felt his gut twist and the heat of jealousy flood his veins. Eva looked happy and it didn't take a genius to see the love in her eyes for the mystery man next to her. 

His fingers tightened against the phone, threatening to crush it as the anger swelled inside his chest. When he found Eva he was going to make sure she and this man knew exactly who Eva belonged to. Daniel did not share.

Before he could do any damage to the phone, his own buzzed in his pocket, snatching his attention away. 

It was a message from Kade with a photo of Eva. 

Kade: Inverness. Heading for Tomatin.

The anger settled as Daniel stared at the photo. Sure enough, it was Eva in what looked like a station of some sort. It was the first glimpse of her in nearly three weeks and Daniel felt relief as well as the rush of anticipation. Finally they had her. 

Daniel: Meet me there. Make sure we don't lose sight of her. This ends now. 

Kade: Got it. 

Smirking, Daniel shoved both phones into his pocket and leaned back in his seat, taking a few moments to relish that satisfaction of Eva being within his grasp. 

"Times up, princess." He murmured before standing and heading out to start the journey to pick up his mate.