Blake POV
My wolf gradually calms down the further I get away from the packhouse, whereas really, with the pack run going on without us, he should be itching to get back and run alongside his friends. I try not to dwell on what that might mean as I drive, turning the radio up and enjoying a rare moment of solitude. Being Alpha of a pack of rowdy wolves, and living in the main packhouse, means I am never truly alone. And since taking over as the head Alpha for the region, things have gotten significantly more hectic. With ten packs under my watch, there is always something that needs to be done.
I love it. It’s what I wanted. I worked so hard to get that position and I remember the satisfaction I felt when I found out that the council had chosen me. But there is always a price to pay for success, and that price is privacy. Even when I’m locked in my office or my living quarters, there is always someone or something waiting for me. Work to be finished. I haven’t had a day off since I started.
The cabin is the only place where I ever get to be on my own and where I know that there isn’t anyone right outside the door about to demand my time or attention. There’s nobody at the cabin that I need to impress, or who’ll judge me if I let my guard down and just relax. I’d like to spend more time there, even if I’m still working on my laptop, but I won't find my mate locked away in the middle of nowhere. I sign and scrub my hand over my stubbled jaw.
Maybe that is the true price of my success. Not having the luxury of time to travel to other packs looking for her. And look where it’s gotten me, hiding from my pack in case they figure out that I’m losing my mind. Lonely and unmated. If this is what success looks like, I’m not sure I want it.
My phone ringing interrupts my thoughts. I grit my teeth and force a smile onto my face before answering so my frustration doesn’t come across in my voice. My patience is not what it should be, but that’s not Jenna’s fault.
“Hi Jenna,” I answer, knowing exactly what she’s going to say before she says it. I can picture the panic in her pale blue eyes when she realized I was gone. To say that Jenna doesn’t like surprises would be an understatement.
“Max told us you had to leave, but Blake, I haven’t had time to prepare the cabin. If you’re going to stay up there for a few days for meetings or whatever, I need to get some supplies in. You should have warned me.”
She sounds out of breath, and I can hear the chatter of the rest of the pack in the background. They must be just finished. I can picture them all tucking into the food Jenna always arranges for when we return, before having a few beers and catching up. Their Alpha should be there with them. I swear I can feel their unease from here.
“It’s fine, Jenna. It was a last-minute thing. I’ll sort it,” I state, not wanting her to fuss or to get drawn into the details. Jenna is sharp. We’ve known each other since we were pups, and she knows something is off about this. She knows my schedule better than I do.
“Don’t be silly. I’ll grab some stuff from here and follow you down. I can stay and help while you’re working like I normally do, and...” she presses, continuing to ramble on, making plans to join me at the cabin. Ignoring what I just said.
“No!” I shout, before grimacing when there is stunned silence on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry for snapping Jenna. I’m just exhausted. Please, don’t worry. I’ll stop and pick up some stuff. It’s just going to be me, so there’s no need to go to any trouble.”
“Fine,” she mutters sulkily, and I roll my eyes. It’s clearly not one bit fine. She’s angry that she isn’t invited along. But she knows better than to push me when I’ve made up my mind about something. I’m just about to hang up when she continues.
“But Blake. I saw your hands shaking earlier. I think I know what’s going on and I’m worried. Talk to me,” she pleads softly, and I can hear the genuine concern in her voice. The soft click of a door closing and the gradual fading away of the background chatter tells me she’s moved somewhere more private. Rather than being relieved to have someone other than Max to talk to about this, I’m annoyed at the intrusion. It’s my personal business. Mine and my mates. And an Alpha does not like to admit any weakness. I certainly don’t want the pack talking about it.
“It’s fine, Jenna. I’m genuinely going up here to work and clear my head. I’m not quite as old as you seem to think I am. There is still plenty of time for me to sort something out.” I try to sound light-hearted and make a joke of it, but I can tell by the long pause that follows that she’s not buying it. Jenna has known me a long time and we work closely with each other every day. She knows me better than most. And how stubborn I've been about waiting to find my mate.
“You mean you’ll consider taking a chosen mate?” she asks, a note of hopefulness in her voice that’s impossible to miss. She doesn’t want me to suffer. We’ve spoken many times over the years about what we’d do if we never found our mates. Jenna is younger than me though, and she’s not of Alpha bloodline, so the urgency for her isn’t as great. She regularly tries to suggest suitable females from other packs that I could date, but I always refuse.
“Maybe. Look, I need to go, another call is coming through,” I lie, guilt gnawing at me. I don’t lie, but I need to get off this call.
“Ok.” She sounds disappointed by my abrupt end to the conversation, but I ignore it. Jenna is my friend, and she works hard for the pack as the manager of the pack house, but my love life is my own. I need to have something for myself. “Drive safe.”
When the line goes dead, I exhale loudly and thump my head back against the headrest. Since when did who I date, or don’t date, become a topic of discussion? I need to shut any talk about it down now or the next month is going to be even more painful than the last.
A red neon sign for Earl’s diner blinks ahead of me. It has a small gas station with a convenience store tucked in beside it on the small lot. My wolf lunges forward as the faint scent of something delightful tickles my senses. I do need to pick up some food, anyway. It may as well be here since he seems so desperate to get some fresh air.
As I pull to a stop and step out, it becomes clear exactly why he's so riled up. She was here, and recently.
My wolf howls in my head and claws at my insides, desperate to get out and track the most delicious scent I have ever come across. I scan up and down the road desperately, but can’t see any taillights disappearing from view. Hopefully, someone here can point me in the right direction. I stride with purpose towards the tiny store and a bell jingles as I push it open. A scrawny kid looks up at me nervously from his phone when he sees me make a beeline straight for him.
Every cell in my body is on fire, and adrenaline floods my body.
My mate. I’ve finally found her.
Blake POVEven though I know she’s not here, I can’t help scanning the aisles of the store as I enter, searching for her. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I can hear my blood rushing in my ears. Her smell is setting my body on fire. Every cell is tingling in anticipation of meeting her, and the hair is standing up on the back of my neck.I shake out my hands, trying to ease some of the tension firing through me. She’s not here, I repeat to myself, and if I don’t calm down, I’ll miss something that might tell me who or where she is. When I reach the counter, the kid still has his wide eyes fixed firmly on me and his fingers grip the counter tightly. If he has an alarm under there, I'd say he's about two seconds away from pressing it. I must be throwing out some angry alpha vibes to be making him so nervous so I try to reign in my emotions as best I can. Using one hand, I smooth down the front of my shirt, drawing his attention to the expensive suit I’m wearing and the watch on my
Zoe POV My mind races as I run through all my options. There aren’t many. Maybe because I’m driving his jeep, I try to think about what my brother would do. He wouldn’t just meekly wait to see what the creepy driver wants, that’s for sure. But I’m no fighter. I need to get myself somewhere safe, but my nearest neighbours are too far away to run for it. Fuck it. With only a half-baked idea in the back of my head, I press my foot to the floor, grateful for the sudden acceleration driving a manual allows, and take off, bouncing over the pothole-filled laneway. I have no elaborate plan other than to get inside, lock the door, and call the police. And pray that they happen to be nearby. A quick glance in my mirror tells me I’ve caught whoever it is off guard. Any lingering hope I had that this is a customer and that they’re going to think I’m nuts for driving like a crazy woman is dashed when I see them pick speed. I’ve extended the distance between us. Not by much, but hopefully, it’s
Blake POVNormally, I am a man of my word. Tonight, however, I leave Earl’s diner and drive straight to the vet practice that Zoe owns, fully intending to go back on the promise I just made. I won’t try to see her tonight. I want our first meeting to be special, but there is absolutely no way I can just drive back to the cabin without at least seeing where she lives. Zoe, my mate. I love how that sounds. It’s heaven to finally know her name. The woman who already owns me, heart, body, and soul.Grinning to myself, I whistle and drum my fingers on the steering wheel to some imaginary tune as I follow the winding road out of town. I am perfectly content, or in all honesty, excited, about the prospect of sleeping in my car tonight, once I can be close to her. Cooper, one of the Alphas under my command, once told me how he used to sleep in the woods outside his mate Hayley’s house when they first met, just to keep his wolf calm. That never made sense to me before, but it does now.Six mo
Zoe My fingers touch my lips gently as I sit back down, dazed, behind my desk and fire up the feed to my cameras again. They still tingle where he kissed me. I don't think I've ever reacted like that to a man. Particularly a bossy man. Who I don't know. In the middle of a robbery. After I shot him with a tranquilizer dart. Before he went out to protect me, drugged up to his eyeballs. I don’t need the butterflies in my stomach or the goosebumps on my skin to know that this man is different. I watch him stand tall and face the two men bravely. His stance is relaxed and confident, but in his expensive suit and immaculate white shirt, he looks more like a high-priced lawyer than a brawler. I can barely watch as the first of the thugs takes a threatening step toward him, crowbar bouncing against the palm of his other hand menacingly. Tattoos snake down his wrists and out from the edge of his sleeves. A distinctive jagged scar runs down the side of his neck. These aren't kids looking to
Zoe A gigantic, dark grey wolf is lying passed out on my clinic floor, injured. Just when I thought we were over the crazy part of this night. I’ve never seen a wolf up close before. The vet part of my brain is in awe. The rest of me is looking out the window at the full moon, putting two and two together, and making ten. I’d like to think there is a reasonable explanation, but for the life of me, I cannot think of anything that is going to explain this. Other than the obvious. Which is that the man I just kissed is a werewolf. An image of Blake lying in the same spot just seconds ago flashes into my mind, but I push that away. I need to focus. I can freak out and worry about my sanity later. The drugs pumping through his system mean he’s not dangerous, for now anyway. As I edge closer, trying to get a look at his hind leg, I can admire how magnificent he is. Thick grey fur covers his body. He’s in perfect condition. Except for the deep cut still oozing bright red blood out onto h
BlakeAs I uncurl my stiff body, I bury my nose deeper into the soft blanket that smells like heaven. The fog clears from my brain, and the cold air and hushed voices drifting underneath the door bring me back to my senses. I sit up slowly and fight back the wave of nausea that washes over me. I squint against the bright lights of what appears to be a utility room and rub a hand over my head, trying to figure out how I got in here.The last thing I remember was propping myself up against the door to Zoe’s office, struggling to keep my eyes open, and praying that I wouldn’t shift to heal once the drugs kicked in. Given I’m stark naked, I can safely assume that’s exactly what happened.Feeling groggy, I haul myself to my feet, but one of my legs gives way and I land hard on my knee on the tiled floor. I bite back a curse and I try again, this time gripping the countertop beside me to pull myself up to standing. A dull ache in my leg draws my attention to the neat row of stitches I can f
ZoeThe bed dips as someone pulls back the covers and climbs in beside me. I open one eye but slam it shut again when I see the sun streaming in through the window. The curtains are wide open. I was too tired or too lazy to close them when I fell into bed last night. It can't be morning already. I'm still exhausted.“Please tell me that was all a horrible dream,” I groan as I roll over to lie on my side facing my sister. She has her hands tucked under her cheek and her pose mirrors mine exactly. It reminds me of when we were teenagers, and we’d climb into each other’s beds late at night to gossip about school and boys.“I wish I could, sweetie,” she says sadly, stretching out a hand to brush the hair back from my face. “But it’s going to be ok.”I blow out a breath and screw my eyes shut, wanting to pretend for another minute that my clinic wasn't destroyed last night and I don’t have a whole mess to deal with today. The police arrested the two intruders last night, but the clinic is
Blake The noise of the shower turning off upstairs distracts me from what Max is saying. My wolf is itching to see his mate again. It nearly killed him to stay away last night. “I’m wasting my time,” Max mutters as I continue to ignore him, and Cooper laughs. They’re perched on stools at the small kitchen island, watching as I open and close every cupboard in the kitchen. As I bang the last one shut, probably louder than necessary, I whirl around to face Cooper. “What does she eat? There’s no food here,” I complain as I yank open the practically empty fridge and pray for a miracle. “That’s probably a good thing. You can’t cook, remember?" Max comments, watching with disbelief as I pull out a frying pan and a few basic rations and set to work. “I can feed my mate,” I mutter, cracking eggs into a bowl and adding some milk, flour, and oil. Max’s eyebrows shoot up as he glances at Cooper to gauge his reaction. Max has already guessed and even if Cooper hasn’t yet, there’s not much p