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I observe him with interest. Marcus Lennox is the sheriff in town, everyone knows that. But who is this guy?
“No. I work for Alpha Steel. I was at Anderson’s pack visiting a friend.”
Leah’s brow wrinkles and she pauses, with a forkful of another one of Bodhi’s cakes paused in mid-air. He frowns at the bites that have disappeared from his food but says nothing, just presses his lips tightly together.
“Where is Ethan? Why isn’t he here?” It’s an obvious question given that I’m in their territory.
Embarrassed that I look like a complete stalker, lurking around Ethan’s home town when we’re not together and he doesn’t even know I’m here, I fidget in my seat.
“We’re not mated.” That’s the truth. “He told me how great this place is, so I wanted to check it out.” That’s only half of the truth, there’s so much more to it than that.
“But you’re not just friends either.” Gone is the bubbly blonde of a few minutes ago. “I don’t understand what’s going on.” When I stay quiet, not sure how to answer, she sits back and crosses her arms across her chest, staring at me, open-mouthed. “Oh my god. What did he do?”
19
ETHAN
Breakfast is torture.
I scan the room for any sign of Belle, but she’s not here, and I’m not surprised. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t want to participate in this lie either, watching my mate pretend to be with someone else. Still, my wolf is picking up on something, and it doesn’t feel right. Maybe she’s having a bad morning? I fire her text message, and it doesn’t even deliver, my anxiety ratchets up another gear.
Anxious to see Alpha Anderson so I can search for Belle, I join in with the stupid jokes around the table. The warriors talk shit about the rest of the pack and boast about all the dumb stuff Toby wasted pack money on.
It’s tempting to set them straight, to tell them it wasn’t his money to spend, but I’m keeping my eyes on the prize. I need to find out as much as I can while I’m here. Someone else can school them on how to be good packmates.
Belle’s friend Liv walks in with her mate, refusing to meet my eye even though I can tell she knows I’m here. When my phone vibrates in my pocket, I slide it out under the table and quickly read the message:
Belle: Good morning
That’s it? She’s fine, which is good, but something pricks at my consciousness, trying to push through.
Joseph stands up on the other side of the room and gives his mate a quick kiss on the top of her head, tilting his head toward the door. Go time. As I make my way between the tables, I make sure to pass behind Liv and Will.
“Where’s Belle?” The smile on my face disguises the steel in my voice. Something’s not right, I can feel it.
“I don’t know, honestly. Belle’s far too clever to have told me,” Liv gives me a wry smile. There are plenty of wolves who would resort to any means necessary to locate a wayward mate, and it doesn’t sit well that Belle thinks I’m one of those. “I think she just needs space to think, Ethan. Give her time while sort out whatever is going on here.”
The blood rushing through my ears is deafening and my vision tunnels as I struggle to stay calm. “When is she coming back?”
Will winces and looks to his mate for help; he can see I’m already hanging on by a thread. “Honestly, I don’t know whether she is coming back.”
Straightening, I turn toward the door, blind panic taking hold of me as adrenaline courses through my body. My first instinct is to race outside and hunt her down. How, I don’t know.
Liv's small hand lands on my arm. She catches my attention, dragging me out of my head and stopping me from creating a scene. “Belle can take care of herself, she’s not reckless. Reach out to her, she has her phone, but respect what she wants. When she’s ready to talk, you’ll know. This,” she motions around the room, “is just too hard for her to be around.”
I’m torn. Instinctively, I want to chase her, but then what do I do? Force her to listen to me apologise again?
“Ethan, come on.” Joseph peers around the corner. “His doctor says we can only have ten minutes,” he motions for me to hurry up.
It’s just ten minutes. I’ll talk to the alpha, and then if it still feels like the right thing to do, I’ll follow her. Squaring my shoulders, I force myself to pull back on the angry alpha energy I’m pouring into the room and ignore the curious looks I’m starting to attract and follow Joseph down the hall. It feels completely wrong to be continuing with business as usual, but this could be my last chance to speak to the Alpha.
“Lucia says he’s taken a bad turn. He’s weak and forgetful, we can’t stay long.” Pushing open the door to a giant suite, Joseph greets an older woman, in a nurse's uniform, who bustles around the bed. When she steps back, I’m stunned. Alpha Anderson looks like a shadow of the man I met the last time I was here. He had just regained control of the pack and was determined to turn things around.
Then he got sick.
“Come in. Come in.” He waves us forward, and I hang back, allowing Joseph to stand closest to the bed. The room has that hospital smell, antiseptic and clean sheets. Bandages, bottles, and towels litter a sideboard on the far side of the bedroom.
“Five minutes,” the nurse warns with a stern expression. She wags her finger at the alpha, who rolls his eyes with good humour. This is the alpha I remember. One who got on well with his pack and kept things light-hearted. Not like it is now.
