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Joseph smiles and tidies away the documents in front of him.
“He has practically insisted on it.” Standing, he rubs his belly. “Dinner is in an hour. I’m going back to check on Shauna first. How about we check on him after and see if he’s well enough to see us.”
The forest in the distance is dark and old, the trees far more mature than those in Grey Ridge. My wolf is itching to get out and explore; he’s frustrated that we can’t contact Belle, and it’s making him edgy. A run would be good right about now. Then, after we see Alpha Anderson, I’m going to have to make an excuse to leave and track Belle down. Maybe the nosy old codger at the cabins asked where she was going. I should know. If I was a decent mate, I would have insisted on knowing so I could make sure she got there safely.
“I might go for a run before dinner. My wolf is keen to explore. He doesn’t like not knowing his surroundings.”
Joseph nods and turns, pointing out the window. “If you start at the break in the trees, there’s a nice trail running almost all the way around the perimeter. That’s the normal route we take for the pack run.”
“Sounds good.” Giving him an easy smile, I stare at the path. There’s no way my wolf will stick to a fixed trail in a new territory. He’ll want to see it all. Get his scent everywhere just to piss off anyone who doesn’t want me here. I look at my phone one more time and growl. Still nothing. Fuck.
“You can stop checking your phone. She’s in a meeting, but she’ll be joining us for dinner.”
My blood turns to ice at his words and I stop dead in my tracks. “What?”
“Lucia. She’s going to join us for dinner. Man, you have it bad.” Shaking his head, he chuckles and walks ahead. He thinks my mind is consumed with Lucia, when he couldn’t be further from the truth. My mind is stuck on a feisty little brunette who I need to see again, and soon.
13
ETHAN
Leaving Joseph to find his mate, I wander through the packhouse, observing as much as I can about the layout, which rooms are accessible, and which are locked. One door bears a sign stating: Senior Pack Officials Only.
Ignoring it, I push through to find a grand library, with books of all sorts lining shelves that reach from floor to ceiling. Why would books be reserved only for use by ranking pack members? They should be for everyone.
The more I look, the more I find that is contrary to how I imagined Alpha Anderson would run his pack. I really need to speak to him.
Heading outside, I strip and tuck my clothes behind a tree. Taking off into the dense woods, for the first time in my life, my wolf resists the shift, and it is far more painful than normal.
As I expected, my wolf refuses to stay on the well-worn path. Instead, he launches us deep into the dark forest, revelling in the new scents and different landscape. I can see why the pack doesn't come this way often, but there are still traces of scents, where some have gone off the beaten track and where the border patrol does their sweeps.
The harder I run, the more he relents, giving up on his attempts to steer me back the way we came. I get it. I want to search for her, too, but I didn’t leave my pack, my life, to return with my tail between my legs.
What kind of man would I be if I returned home to my friends and family with my mate, just waiting for the next attack on theirs? Whenever I feel my resolve waiver, I picture Rex’s face when I pulled Leah’s lifeless body from the water, and the helplessness we all felt while Leila tried to revive her. I never want to experience that, ever again.
The briars are thick and the scrub is dense. After more than a few thorns to the face, I force him to slow down and pick a path through the thicket more carefully. Crawling along on our belly, I’m about to call a halt on his fun when I spot a path worn through the undergrowth to form a tunnel. That would have been a much easier option.
Frowning, I trot closer and sniff. This is used by some of Lucia’s pack, and regularly, too, judging by how accessible the path is. Nose down, I memorise the scents, recognising Lucia’s security detail among them. Interesting.
I stand, ears pricked, and scan the area. There’s nobody else here but something tickles my senses, making the fur on the back of my neck stand up. My wolf doesn’t like it, which means I’m probably in the right place.
Following the route from the tunnel through the trees, I’m surprised to see a rickety old bridge over the river that marks the outer edge of Anderson territory. Most packs don’t try to make it easy for anyone else to enter their land. Stepping onto it, I inch along, a feeling of dread settling heavy in my stomach as I near the other side. There’s a semi-circle of logs around one big upturned tree.
It’s a meeting place. And it stinks of bear.
Deciding I need to make myself scarce before someone finds me snooping, I catalogue as many scents as I can without setting foot on the other side of the bridge. I’m both excited at finding something potentially useful and dismayed to see that my bad feelings about this pack are well founded. Turning and racing back the way I came, I keep an eye out for any other wolves lurking in this remote part of the territory, but, thankfully, I don’t see anyone. They’re sloppy and over-confident, which bodes well for me but it also makes them unpredictable. Who knows what they’ll do next.
After a quick shower and change, my mind is still reeling as I make my way to the dining room. That clearing was filled with the scents of bears and wolves, wolves from this pack. The bears never crossed onto Anderson territory, but they were regularly meeting members of this pack. There’s nothing wrong with that in theory, if they were catching up with friends at a bar, or even visiting the packhouse. Afterall, we have bears in Grey Ridge, even Lennox’s, and a lion. All kinds of shifters are welcome, even though they probably don’t want to be. Marcus and Natalie, and even Bodhi when he emerges from the woods, are an extension of our pack.
No, it’s the secretive nature of these gatherings, in a dark secluded part of the forest away from prying eyes, that makes them problematic.
Belle will understand, she’s a warrior, but I should have given her the respect she deserves and told her what I was doing. I’m an idiot, and I can’t wait to hear her telling me that. My wolf grumbles, not as confident that I’ll get the chance to tell her anything, but I can’t think like that, so I push on. It’ll be okay. It has to be.
I’m still mulling over what to do next, pausing in the doorway while I regain my composure, when my wolf resumes pushing at me, even harder than before. The run didn’t tire him enough to stop him from tormenting me. He wants his mate, but I need to speak to Alpha Anderson before we can leave to find her. This meal is going to be torture.
“Ethan!” Lucia smiles and waves, just about to take her seat at the head of the top table. My feet refuse to move toward her, my wolf stubbornly refusing to cooperate. He doesn't want her to touch us.
My vision sharpens as I scan the room, looking for whatever it is that’s caught his attention. Someone brushes past with a polite “excuse me”, and I immediately know what has my wolf so riled up - but it doesn’t make sense.
