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“Can you pull your coat off, please? He’s a bit on edge,” he says.

Doing as he asks, I glance to the side. The alpha who is growling is tall with wide shoulders and dark eyes that almost appear black from here. There are sections of his hair that are darker than others, making me wonder if it lightens in the sun. It’s an odd thing to think about, and I move my eyes to where his fists are clenched and his lip snarled.

“On edge” is an understatement. Silas hangs up my coat before giving me his full attention.

“I know this sounds crazy,” he tells me. “However, I know the hospital took memories from you as well. Everything youtold me corroborates their story, even though it makes me want to rip your mother’s heart out of her chest.”

The growl died down a bit, making Silas smirk in amusement.

“I need you to take a leap of faith for me,” he says. “You know Ellis, and there’s a reason we all invited him to everything possible. It’s also why we don’t care if you kiss him, or if he constantly has his hand around your shoulders. You’re his, you just don’t remember. I know you can’t get back the time you lost, but the only way to escape your mother is to connect with them now.”

I can hear the truth of every word he says to me, even though it seems bizarre. I read a book this week that was an Alice in Wonderland retelling, and I feel as if I just fell through the looking glass. I force myself to stay in the present and not drift, curling my toes in my boots until they cramp, grounding me.

In for a penny, in for a pound. It looks like I am going to need to see this through.

“Okay,” I whisper.

Twenty

Cooper

She’s here.I keep my feet planted as I watch her, but there’s another alpha who keeps touching her. I don’t fucking like that.

Her glances keep moving between us, and I flinch as Ethan puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Chill, old man,” he mutters. “We have a lot to talk to her about, and none of it will be easy. Keep it together.”

Yeah, that’s easier said than done. I’m losing myself. I know that, but I can’t keep it from happening. Inhaling deeply, my eyes nearly cross as I smell her heavenly scent.

Fuck, I’ve missed everything about her. I’ve kept myself from being anywhere near Nina, because I can’t be trusted right now. I’m being ridden hard by my baser instincts. In fact, it feels as if logic is not only taking a back seat, but I threw it out of the fucking car.

Breathe.

Yeah, I’m really losing it here.

“What does it mean to be a feral alpha?” Nina asks tentatively, peeking at me again from underneath her long lashes.

Standing taller because my omega is lookingat me, I puff out my chest. While I don’t think Silas told her that I was an alpha, there’s no way I could be anything else.

“It means that he’s met his scent match, but hasn’t bonded with her,” Riley replies, pulling her attention. “He’s constantly pining for his omega, and it’s making him lose his ability to process anything outside of finding her. Logic doesn’t matter to him, nothing does outside of his omega.”

“Can… it be reversed?” she asks. There’s no pity in her mismatched eyes, just wonder.

I need her more than anything else. Even breathing, food, or sleep. Anything else isn’t important.

“No idea,” I rumble, my voice sounding like broken glass. It barely passes for words at this point.

“Nina, I need to get on the road before I get stuck here. You saw how the snow is coming down,” Silas murmurs.

There’s a hint of unease in her face before she nods.

“Are you going all the way back to Georgia?” she asks.

“No, I’m staying in a cabin not far from here,” he says. “My pack really did come up before me. However, I want you to spend time with your pack, because they have been waiting a long time for you. It was never that we didn’t want you, Nina. We just knew it was up to us to help you find what you’ve lost.”

“Lost…” she whispers, rubbing her temple as if it hurts.

“Take your time,” Silas murmurs. “Can you handle this?”