Two

Reese

Ordinarily, I’m the levelheaded one out of the three of us. Asher joked around too much, and Jax had a tendency to act before he thought in most instances, although I conceded he had changed considerably in this regard since meeting Willow.

I didn’t imagine kissing my mate on a whim for the first time, but I hadn’t been sure what else to do in the moment. She was going to reject me, just like that. I hadn’t even known her name at that point.

Yet, her flaming locks, mile-long legs, and striking blue eyes were ingrained in my mind the second she had strolled into that room earlier this evening.

Thank Luna, the mating bond seemed to have held us together for now, but for how long was anyone’s guess.

She’d had this tortured look in her eyes when she began her rejection, like it was the last thing she wanted to be doing.

Maybe I was imagining it, but I didn’t think so. The evident torment gracing her beautiful features was enough to prevent me from freaking out about the fact my happiness was balanced so unsteadily on a knife-edge.

It had nearly killed me to walk away, and I’m convinced I only managed it because she placed the barrier of the solid wooden door between us before I could reach out and pull her lean figure into me once more.

My wolf was royally pissed, and I was only holding him back by a thin tether as I continued tramping away from where we both wanted to be.

I sent out a mind link to Asher, hoping for any type of distraction.

{Hey, Ash. Are you guys still hashing things out at Jax’s?}

His response was immediate and gave my random wanderings a purpose as I redirected my route accordingly when he informed me of his whereabouts.

{No, Jax was eager to wrap things up after the excitement faded. I have to say I’m shocked to hear from you so soon, man. I’m at my lodge if you need to talk.}

I refrained from transforming into my wolf, knowing I would lose any shred of control that hadn’t already slipped through my fingers if I gave my animal another centimeter.

I may not have been as vocal about Asher for my desires to find my soulmate, but I had prayed as fervently as him for the female I could cherish as my own, at any rate.

Asher’s temporary residence was in sight when I heard the foreboding howl pierce through the normal noises of the night life.

My wolf redoubled his efforts to break free, and I found myself hunched over with my elongated claws digging gouges into the earth after I wrangled him back into the corner of my head and assessed my position.

I didn’t like the feeling of trepidation spreading through me, but I couldn’t pinpoint the reason behind it. I had an all-consuming desire to return to Scarlett’s side, but I had promised to give her time when we communicated for those brief moments.

The last thing I needed was to push her, especially when she had already been so quick to attempt to deny our bond.

I righted myself and joined Asher who was standing at the open door to his abode, eyeing me inquisitively, but wisely ignoring my lapse in control as I followed him into the kitchen. He promptly poured me a scotch, skipping the ice, so the liquid went down smooth as I guzzled it like it was water.

I promised myself I would give Scarlett until the morning after our less than satisfactory discussion before, but my frazzled state told me I likely wouldn’t make it that long.

“That bad, huh?” Asher asked as I tipped my glass in his direction, indicating the refill I wanted.

He readily obliged me as I answered, “I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me what I missed during the meeting.”

“Basically, a bunch of bullshit, man. There are reports of rogues moving throughout all of the provinces, and the bears are moving near the Northern Territory. I haven’t had time to root out the elders in between juggling my pack and helping here, but we didn’t figure anything new out after you took off.”

The alcohol did little to numb my senses, and I had difficulty concentrating on Asher with my mind continuously circling back to my mate, no matter how much I tried to listen to his words.

The rogues’ activity made sense considering the number of wolves Asher and I had ousted from the Southern Territory after Zeke revealed his hand, but I didn’t have the right headspace to chat about the overall threat to our species at the moment.

I got to the heart of the matter regarding my ulterior motive for seeking him out, not knowing if it was germane to his current line of conversation as I dived in headfirst, “We need to find someone to take over permanently as alpha here. We can’t keep dividing our attention between our packs.”

“I can’t say you’re wrong, but we will have to discuss it later. Go get your girl, man. You’re obviously too distracted to do anything else. Ryker should be able to handle things here for now with Theo’s help after he gets here, and I’m not leaving for another few days.”

I didn’t waste time making up excuses or arguing with him. Rather, I took his words to heart and reversed back down the hallway and out into the cool night air after giving him a sharp nod of thanks.

The short walk to Scarlett’s house went by in an instant, and I was knocking on the wooden door a few minutes later

My enthusiasm faded as Veronica opened the door, but the anxiety I had been attempting to squash escalated to a near fever pitch at the sympathy I saw shining like a beacon through her eyes as she peered up at me with a pained expression.

“Hey, Reese. She’s not here.”

Those three words confirmed my worst fears as she got straight to the point. I don’t know how I made it through the next few minutes without spontaneously combusting as she told me the little she did know about where my mate had absconded to.

At the same time, I comprehended that talking was futile when my words came out garbled through my growls. Further, her answers proved to be less than informative, so I gave up the attempt altogether.

My wolf exploded from within, and I was racing after Scarlett’s most recent scent trail before I knew it.

At first, I didn’t believe she could’ve made it far, but I was swiftly shown just how wrong I was to underestimate her when I followed the delicate scent of wildflowers straight to its end at the edge of the ice-cold river.

My mate was far cleverer than I had given her credit for, but it only pissed my wolf off more to be at a loss for where our other half could have disappeared to.