Marcus POVMy palms are sweaty, and my heart is racing as I pull up in front of the pack house for Hayley and Cooper's mating celebration. He has finally marked her and now they have bonded for life, but she is human and doesn’t know the pack well yet, so this is like a big welcome to the family now that it’s all official.Everyone knew there was something going on between them. It’s impossible to keep something like that quiet in a small town like Grey Ridge, but I think they were stunned to find out they were fated mates. It’s a genuine cause for celebration for their future Alpha to find his true mate. Finding them is not guaranteed by any means and will strengthen the pack and Cooper’s position within it.Wolves can go mad if they remain unmated, so most pair off before they reach their late thirties. At 34, Cooper was probably feeling the pressure to choose someone rather than continue to wait for his fated love. I’m glad

Marcus POVTap, tap, tap. Ethan is tapping his pen against the top of the large wooden conference table in the Jones’s packhouse where we hold our monthly security meeting. I grab the pen out of his hand and snap it in two, before firing it into the bin which sits against the wall. Ethan raises an eyebrow at me, while Hayley just looks at me, horrified.“Well, ok then.” She clears her throat. “Marcus, you already have the budget to hire an office admin to assist you, but I think given the increasing number of incidents around the pack, we also need to give you the resources to hire a deputy.”“Since Hayley’s attack, we have had a continuous stream of minor incidents, vandalism and robberies, all directed at pack properties and businesses. The break-in at the coffee shop was the worst yet. We need to understand what is going on before it escalates. Toby is our number one suspect, but he can’t be working alone.” Cooper chimes in, “And you can’t do that on yo

Marcus POVEthan slams the door shut and without saying a word, I pull away from the packhouse, already dreading the long drive to Anderson’s territory. Red Creek is a good 3-hour trip and I’m not feeling chatty. Ethan, though, as always, ignores my introverted ways and immediately launches into mindless chatter. I sigh loudly and scrub a hand down my face and over my beard which is longer and untidier than normal. A big gulp of the coffee I now need to mainline since my sleeping patterns have gone to shit burns my mouth and I curse. I already know this day is going to suck.“That was quite a performance you put on for us yesterday,” he teases. I groan as I turn to glance at Ethan’s smirking face. He’s Cooper’s beta and is soon to be second in command of the pack. Jonathan Jones, Cooper’s father, is going to retire as soon as Cooper is married, and the Luna ceremony is complete. Ethan’s aura isn’t far off the

Marcus POV As soon as I step inside the building, the smell of accelerant is obvious. No wonder the place has gone up like a bonfire. Toby and his buddies have doused the ground floor in gasoline. I doubt my father is stupid enough to have actively helped him, but he helped him hide and evade us, knowing he was going to do something awful, which makes him just as guilty in my mind. He loves the chaos. He only came to town for a front-row seat. And to rub my face in it, can’t forget about that. I take the stairs two at a time, keeping tight to the wall and as low to the ground as I can, and bat away bits of falling debris. Each step groans under my weight and I know that coming back this way will not be an option for getting back out. My skin stings from the incredible heat and I’m already choking by the time I reach the first-floor landing. I crawl along on my hands and knees, trying to reach the room John pointed to at the end of the corridor. My skin melts onto the

Leila POVNatalie watches me closely as I pull myself together and examine him with a doctor’s eye before excusing herself to find Cooper and get an update on what’s going on. As the new deputy town, she’s technically in charge now that Marcus is out of action. She’s going to need to get up to speed quickly.Burns cover his body and his two broken legs are splinted to ensure that when the healing process starts, they will set in the correct position. It is the best they could do because of the extensive damage to his skin. His dark brown hair is wet from where they have tried to wash the soot and ash off him.I drag over a chair and take his chart from the end of the bed, before flicking through the details of his admission and treatment so far. Burns, crush injuries, smoke inhalation. The list is endless, and I struggle not to bawl my eyes out as I read what has happened to him, to his body.“You stupid bear. Who runs into a