1

BROCK

“Hey man, you good?” Jared asks me, furrowing his brow.

“Yeah.” I scrub a hand over my face. “Just fucking exhausted.”

Jared holds up a hand. “I’ll drive.”

I give him a nod, tossing the keys to the Escalade toward his waiting palm before I head around to the passenger side of the vehicle, throwing the door open to climb in. I let my head fall back against the headrest as Jared gets into the drivers seat, firing up the engine. Wordlessly, he shifts the gear into drive, pulling away from the curb and down the street.

I glance out the window as we make our way out of Norbury, the town quiet and the houses dark at this hour. It’s home to Alpha Vaughn’s pack and I’ve only ventured out this way a handful of times. It’s the last place I expected to be tonight.

Norbury is a good twenty-minute drive from Riverton, where my own pack resides, and just a few hours ago, I was running with my pack under the full moon. As wolf shifters, it’s a ritual for us to get together for the full moon run every month, and as my pack’s Alpha, I lead the run. I’m new to the Alpha gig- my old man stepped down a couple months ago to hand the reins over to me- but I’ve already settled into my new role well. After all, as my father’s eldest son, I was born to lead our pack.

Typically, after we get together to run on the full moon, we’ll spend time together as a pack. We celebrate any new mate bonds that were established or confirmed by the moon, eat some food, and hang out. That post-run bonding time was cut short tonight, though, when I got word from my buddy Gray that he was calling an emergency meeting of the six-pack council. Gray is the alpha of the Goldenleaf pack, and the six-pack is the alliance that we’re all part of. The council- comprised of the alphas of each of the six packs and their betas- only gets together once a month unless there’s an urgent security issue. Given what full moon nights mean to our packs, calling an emergency council meeting on a night like tonight means that there’s an urgent fucking issue.

It came as no surprise to me that the security threat we were called together to discuss involved the shadow pack. After all, they’re the reason that our six packs came together to align in the first place. Years ago, Alpha Xavier started leading attacks against other werewolf packs, taking out their leaders and absorbing their ranks into his shadow pack. His end goal is to overtake and absorb every pack in the United States- the guy is power hungry, ruthless in his objective. It has been over five years since this all started, and while other packs have fought back, nobody has been able to take him down.

Hopefully we’ll be the ones to change that. Earlier this year, we formed a relationship with a large shifter pack in Denver- or I should say, Gray brokered an unofficial alliance with them. We’ve been sharing information, tracking the shadow pack’s movements with our IT specialists, trying to anticipate when the shadow pack would come knocking. Based on our latest information, the time is now- we learned a few weeks ago that the shadow pack is targeting Denver, and tonight they sent in scouts to test Denver’s security systems, meaning an attack is imminent. Hence the emergency council meeting to decide what our next move is.

The council meetings have been a shitshow lately with the mix of old blood and new- we’ve got Gray, Reid, and myself, all in our twenties and alphas of our packs, and then we’ve got Anders, Damian, and Vaughn, three older guys as alphas of the remaining packs. I’m not sure if it’s the generational gap or what, but we often seem to disagree as to what’s best for the six-pack as a whole when it comes to this latest conflict with Denver. Miraculously, we were able to come to a unanimous decision tonight, though. We’re going to go to Denver to join the fight.

I assume the older alphas will probably sit this one out, but Gray, Reid, and I are all going, as well as our friends Jax and Theo- the sons of Alpha Damian and Alpha Anders, respectively. The five of us young alphas run the six-pack’s security squad, a group of skilled fighters trained to protect our territory. We’ll be bringing the squad to Denver with us, as long as they’re willing, and hopefully with the combination of our ranks, we’ll be able to take out the shadow pack once and for all.

Or die trying. This plan isn’t without risks, and we all know it. It’s high risk, high reward.

Jared takes a turn once we reach the outskirts of town, pulling onto the long forest road that connects the three northern territories of the six-pack: Norbury, Stillwater, and Riverton. I’m glad he volunteered to drive back to Riverton tonight, because I wasn’t lying when I said I was exhausted. These council meetings always leave me feeling drained; he stomachs them a lot better than I do. As my beta, Jared is part of the council- but admittedly, even though every alpha’s beta is also on the council, the betas don’t speak up much during the meetings. They generally each defer to their Alpha.

“You sure you’re alright?” Jared asks me as my eyes slide closed. I draw a deep breath, rubbing my temple and concentrating on my breathing. Keeping my wolf at bay. The truth is, I’m not alright- I’m agitated as fuck, and it’s not because of the Denver situation.

I open my eyes, staring intently at the road ahead even though I can feel Jared’s eyes on the side of my face. The nice thing about Jared’s companionship is that he knows me well and respects my boundaries. He can tell when I’m in a foul mood, and he doesn’t push if I don’t wanna talk about it. We ride in silence for a few minutes, my gaze focused on the forest road. I get my wolf to calm the fuck down. And then, finally, I heave a sigh.

“It just fucking figures, doesn’t it?” I grumble. My hand goes to my temple again, rubbing away the tension.

I don’t have to elaborate; Jared knows what I’m talking about. I flick my gaze in his direction and he’s swallowing hard, his eyes sympathetic.

“It can’t be easy,” Jared breathes, rubbing a hand over his buzzed head. “Especially because Jax is the same age you were, when you and…”

“Don’t,” I growl, cutting him off. I snap my head in his direction, my eyes narrowing. “I don’t even want to hear her name.”

Jared holds up one hand in surrender, the other remaining on the steering wheel. “Hey, I’m not trying to piss you off. I just imagine that seeing another one of them find their fated mate must be a tough pill to swallow. Might open some old wounds for you.”

I just grunt in response, turning to look out the passenger side window into the dark forest. He’s talking about my buddy Jax- when we walked into the council meeting, we also found out that tonight’s full moon confirmed that Jax and the girl he’s been seeing are fated mates. He’s now the third one of my close friends to find their fated mate within a matter of months- first there was Gray, who found out this summer that his mate is Fallon; then Theo, who discovered soon after that he’s mated to Fallon’s identical twin, Brooke; and now Jax, who is mated to none other than Theo’s younger sister, Quinn. At twenty-five, I’m older than all of them, yet they’ve all been lucky enough to find their fated mates before me. And they’re all blissfully fucking happy.

In shifter communities, we don’t do relationships the same way as humans. We don’t get married in the traditional sense, but instead find a mate, either by choosing one or finding the one that fate chose for us. Such is the elusive ‘fated mate’- a soulmate that fate has hand-picked as our other half, our perfect match in every way. Sounds great, right? Except they aren’t easy to find; the two of you have to be within proximity of one another under a full moon for the mate bond to be recognized and snap into place. And even then, you have to mark each other by the next full moon in order to seal that bond. Basically, fate makes it so fucking difficult to find your fated mate that many people give up by the time they’re my age and just choose a mate instead. They don’t completely miss out, because they can mark under the full moon and seal a bond to one another, but apparently it’s not nearly as strong as the fated mate bond, and in doing so you’re basically giving up your soulmate. It’s a concession that a lot of people make because the reality is, not everyone will be lucky enough to find their fated mate in their lifetime.

How three of my four closest friends got so lucky, I’ll never know. It’s hard not to be bitter, seeing them all so happy with the mates that fate chose for them. Years ago, I was the happy, lovesick one that they all teased. They were sowing their wild oats while I was planning a future with the one girl who meant everything to me, and they gave me a hard time for wanting to settle down. The old wound that Jared’s referring to being opened by Jax’s happy news tonight? It’s the gaping fucking hole inside of me that Annalise left when she walked out three years ago.

“I get it if you don’t wanna talk about it,” Jared murmurs from his seat beside me.

I blow out a breath. I know I should talk about it. Bottling up emotions will only make them fester, but I’m basically the fucking king of keeping my shit to myself.

“Can we just wait till we get back?” I growl, staring at my own reflection in the passenger window. “You know Brent’s gonna be nosy as fuck and I don’t wanna rehash it all over again.”

“Of course.”

After Jared’s clipped response, we’re silent the rest of the way back to the packhouse in Riverton. Silence is something I’ve always been comfortable with- most of the time, I prefer silence over conversation. I’d rather be alone with my thoughts or zone out than fake niceties when I’m not in the fucking mood. These days, I’m rarely in the fucking mood.

“Hey, you guys are back,” my brother Brent comments as Jared and I walk in through the front door of the packhouse, craning his neck to look over the back of the couch he’s sprawled out on.

I kick off my boots, shrugging jacket down my shoulders as I look his way. He’s the picture of comfort in a ratty old t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants, his hand buried in a bag of barbecue potato chips. Brent and I look a lot alike- we both have the same olive skin, green eyes, and wavy brown hair, except while mine hangs a few inches past my shoulders, his is cropped to a few inches above his own. I keep mine long enough to pull back when I’m training, a problem that Brent doesn’t have because he tends to be lazy when it comes to fitness. Honestly, with the way the guy eats and how inconsistently he works out, it amazes me that he’s in such great shape. He’s not as bulky as me, but he has a lot of defined muscle. Guess he can thank our genetics for that.

“You shouldn’t be eating this crap,” I grumble, snatching the chip bag out of Brent’s hand as I round the couch.

“Hey!” he protests, still chewing.

I roll my eyes, reaching into the bag and popping a couple of chips into my own mouth before handing it back.

“Beer?” Jared asks, heading toward the kitchen.

“Please.” I nudge my brother’s leg with my knee, and he moves to sit up so I can flop down onto the other end of the couch.

“Me too!” Brent calls after Jared, turning to me and shoving a handful of chips into his mouth. “So how was it?” he asks, crunching away.

I lean back, heaving a sigh. “Fine. The council agreed on sending aid to Denver, so I’ll be going out there in a few weeks.”

Jared walks back into the living room, handing a bottle of beer to each of us before sinking into the overstuffed recliner beside the couch.

“You already knew that though, right?” Brent cocks a brow. “So why is your wolf looking at me like he wants to murder me right now?”

Fuck. My wolf has been so close to the surface for the past hour that I kinda forgot about him- and the fact that the metallic swirls in my irises would be a dead giveaway of my agitation. That fucker’s always outing me.

Beside me, Jared chuckles, taking a swig of his beer.

I swivel to face him, shooting him a glare, and the two of us have a silent conversation with our eyes. Jared and I have this Alpha and Beta thing down- we’re totally in tune with one another. It’s no surprise since we grew up close. My father’s beta didn’t have an heir, so when he was ready to step down a few years ago, Dad asked me to choose his replacement. Choosing Jared was a no-brainer.

“You know he won’t let it go,” Jared laughs.

“He’s right,” Brent quips, grinning. “I won’t.”

I turn to my brother, narrowing my eyes. “You don’t have to live here, you know.”

We both know that’s an empty threat. While it may be outside of the norm for my sibling to remain residing at the packhouse after our parents have moved out, I like having Brent around. He’s one of the few people that really get me.

I turn and give Jared a nod, taking a long swig of my beer.

He swallows a gulp of his own before speaking. “Alpha’s a little touchy because another one of the guys found his mate tonight.”

Brent’s eyebrows shoot up. “Which one?”

Jared raises his beer bottle to his lips. “Jax.”

As Jared takes another sip, Brent looks to me. “Jax is the young one, right?”

“Yeah,” I breathe.

He’s not the youngest- that would be Chase, Alpha Vaughn’s son, who is only seventeen and hasn’t even joined squad leadership yet. Of the five of us who run the squad and will all run our own packs someday, though, Jax is the youngest at twenty-two.

“So he’s the same age as you were when Anna…”

“Yeah.” I down the rest of my beer.

“Shit.”

We’re all quiet for a moment, and I take the opportunity to get up and grab another beer from the kitchen. I pop the top off and take a sip, walking back into the living room as Brent and Jared are exchanging glances.

I heave an annoyed sigh, slumping onto the sofa again. “Just say it,” I mutter, my gaze sliding between my brother and my beta.

“I mean, it’s not Jax’s fault that he found his mate,” Brent says cautiously.

“No shit,” I bark. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be fucking bitter about it.”

Jared sighs, leaning forward so that his elbows are resting on his knees. “You could fall in love again, you know. I know after Anna, you won’t go the chosen mate route, but you’ve gotta have faith that your fated mate is out there somewhere waiting for you.”

“To have faith, you have to believe,” I grumble, shaking my head. I take a long pull from my beer bottle, swallowing it down before flopping my head over the back of the sofa and staring at the ceiling. “I don’t believe in any of that anymore.”