Chapter 1
Levi
I knocked once, then stood there with my hands curled into fists at my sides like I was about to be called into a fight instead of an office.
“Come in,” Cooper’s voice called.
I drew a breath and opened the door. Cooper’s office always smelled faintly of coffee gone cold and old wood polish.
“Take a seat,” Cooper said.
I did, perching on the edge of the chair opposite his desk before forcing myself to sit back properly. My leg bounced before I could stop it. I clenched my jaw and stilled it.
This wasn’t my first time in his office, but it was the first time I’d been called in alone for something that felt official.
Gino sat to my right, already settled in. The old tracker gave me a brief nod, his mouth twitching in something close to a smile. If Gino was here, this wasn’t a reprimand. That helped.
Cooper leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, and I noticed the dark circles under his eyes.
The lines around his mouth were deeper than usual, his shoulders tight despite the attempt at casual posture.
Our lead alpha looked like he was running on too little sleep and too many unanswered questions.
“Thanks for coming in,” Cooper said. “Both of you.”
My chest tightened.Both of you.A job, then.
“Yes, Alpha,” I said, the title still coming out stiff despite nearly a year here.
Old habits from living packless died hard.
Cooper waved it off with a tired huff. “At ease, Levi. You’re not in trouble.”
That didn’t stop the spark of anxious energy from racing through me. If anything, it made it worse. I wanted this. I needed it.
Nearly a year ago, my family had packed up everything we owned and left the mountains. Years of isolation. Of being careful, quiet, unseen.
We’d survived, sure, but survival wasn’t the same as belonging. Pecan Pines had given us that chance.
Having moved here first, Devon had found his footing almost immediately, slipping into the healer role like it had been waiting for him all along. Chris had practically bloomed.
Watching my younger brother stand tall beside Jaime after the dog show mission had been a mix of pride and something sharp and restless in my chest.
He’d proven himself to the pack, and to himself. Now it was my turn.
Cooper shifted forward, elbows resting on the desk. “We received a tip early this morning. Anonymous call.”
My ears pricked despite myself.
“About what?” Gino asked, calm and steady.
“A group of packless shifters,” Cooper said. “They’ve gone missing near the old logging roads outside Pecan Pines.”
The room seemed to narrow, air thickening.
Images rose unbidden. Years of living quietly in the mountains, avoiding other shifters and always keeping our guard up.
We’d had each other, my family, but we’d known other packless shifters who didn’t. Wolves who drifted, and who slipped through cracks no one bothered to look into.
