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Maya had gone to visit her brother in Crescent Pack territory and though he’d offered to take her, or go with her, she’s insisted she needed to talk to him alone. She had kissed him before leaving and told him she would be back in a couple of hours. He had tried lounging around the apartment, tried checking his emails and even reading a book but he was too distracted and he swore he could feel something inside of him telling him to go after Maya because there was too much distance between them.
He wasn’t sure he would ever truly understand how all of this mating, bonding, shifter magic stuff worked but he knew enough about women to know that following them when they’d said they wanted to be alone was a bad idea. He wasn’t a damn stalker. He wasn’t codependent. He’d been alone for most of his life and was certain he could go one afternoon without Maya at his side.
Only the itch to move, to go, to do something, had only grown stronger and eventually it was too much to bear. He found some clothes and a pair of tennis shoes among his stuff and hit the street. It was hot and humid, something he’d have to get accustomed to since he was going to be living in southern Louisiana full time. He wondered if the wolf shifters felt the humidity, heavy in their lungs, the same way humans did and made a mental note to ask Maya when she got home.
He started off slowly, walking and then eventually breaking into a jog. He wasn’t sure where he was headed until his feet carried him off the main road and down a familiar trail that cut through the woods and out towards the lake. Maya had shown him the trail that led to Zoey’s house and took half the time driving out there did. He smiled to himself as his feet found a good rhythm and he took in the beautiful scenery around him and enjoyed the shade the large trees provided from the summer sun.
He focused on his breathing as he jogged and after a while he realized that he was actually enjoying himself. He wasn’t as out of shape as he’d thought he was because pretty soon he was exiting the woods on the other side, near the lake and he could see Zoey’s house in the distance. Logically he knew that Noir was a small town and Zoey didn’t live all that far from Main Street where he’d started but he was still smiling with pride as he reached the gated front yard and stopped to catch his breath.
“Hey stranger.”
He glanced up and realized that it was Nova that had spoken. She was sitting on the front porch beneath the shade with a glass of what looked like lemonade in her hand. Zoey was sitting beside her and she grinned back at him and waved.
“Nova. Hey.” He stood back up, “I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”
“I figured.”
“Where’ve you been?”
Zoey laughed at his question, “You do realize I could ask you the same thing, only we already know the answer to that one. Congrats on the claiming. I can smell Maya all over you.”
“Oh god.” He made a face. “Seriously, Zo. Can you not say stuff like that? It’s weird.”
She shrugged, “Being a wolf is weird. You’ll find that out soon enough.”
“Nova.” He turned back to the girl but she only shook her head.
“Don’t look at me for help. She’s your sister.”
“Yeah, and Maya is yours. So why haven’t I seen you in like, a week?” He put his hands on his hips when Nova only shrugged.
“I’ve been at Leo’s mostly. You and Maya needed some time alone and Leo needed my help trying to track down a missing Pack Ambassador.”
“The one Maya went to check on?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah.”
“He’s still missing?”
“Missing. Dead.” Nova shook her head in frustration. “I can’t be sure. So far my visions have given me jack shit when it comes to locating him.”
“Is that unusual?”
“Very.” She frowned, “I’d think there was something wrong with my ability if I hadn’t gotten a vision about Zoey just this morning.”
“Oh God.” He gripped the fence, “Is is something bad? The baby?”
“No. No.” Nova rushed out, “My visions aren’t all bad no matter what my sister told you.”
Zander frowned, wanting to tell her that Maya hadn’t diminished her little sister’s gift. He wanted to tell her that Maya thought she was the most special of them all, that her sister worried about her and wanted to protect her. But it wasn’t his place to get involved in their relationship so he stayed quiet and let Nova continue.
“I just came to see if Zoey wanted to find out the sex of the baby.”
“A boy this time?” He grinned at Zoey but she only beamed and rubbed the little bump that had begun to grow beneath her shirt.
“Nope. According to Nova’s vision, I’m having another happy, healthy, baby girl.”
“Oh, I bet Rafe loves that.” he said truthfully.
