Page 15 of Alpha’s One-Night Stand (Shifters of Clarion #3)

S omething’s wrong. Yarra isn’t here. This is the third Labors class for the day, and I’ve seen no sign of her. Her scent’s very distant. I think it might be connected to her nocturnal visits outside Moonhelm.

Ignoring her strange behavior, I still feel like her Alpha. And being her Alpha, I can sense her movements. With my wolf being as out of control as it is, I’ve gotten woken up in the middle of the night more than once from her midnight trips off campus. More out of curiosity than being compelled (since my wolf is on an ever-lengthening leash), I’ve followed her and seen her meet with a human man the previous night and a night or two before that.

I don’t know who this man is, but my wolf was straining against its cage to jump on the car from the shadows and tear him apart. Who is he? And more importantly, what are they doing together, alone at night?

“Someone is missing.”

I look up, pulled from my thoughts. My mother scans her students with furrowed brows, her eyes looking at each face individually.

“Yarra is sick.”

All eyes turn to me, including my mother’s. Her eyebrows are raised in surprise and . . . Well, I share the sentiment. I’d said it without thinking.

“Okay,” she says, narrowing her eyes slightly. She doesn’t buy it, but I doubt she’ll challenge me. At least not in class. We were definitely going to talk about it later.

I glance over and see the Scarlet smirking at me like she knows something I don’t. Fucking Scarlet. I don’t like it that Yarra has seemed to befriend her. Hasn’t anyone told her how dangerous and untrustworthy Scarlets are? She must have been raised under a rock.

I’m going to have to keep an eye on her. Yarra cavorting with a Scarlet Wolf won’t do. I won’t have her hurt by someone like that.

Class ends, and I decide to go looking for Yarra. Mother doesn’t give me too much of a hard time as I leave with only a few words of goodbye to her. Good. I don’t need her on my case right now.

As I walk through the halls, I lift my nose to pick up her scent. It takes me a minute, but I start to register it somewhere outside of this building. I follow her scent across campus, walking past the dorms and most of the other buildings until I spot the Spyral building, the first and oldest Moonhelm library.

She’s studying, perhaps? I guess that’s not so strange, but it’s in the middle of the day. Who studies instead of going to class?

Unless she’s meeting someone there. The human she meets up with at night, perhaps? No, it would be too risky for a human to meet her here.

Then why? I bound up the stone stairs and toward the doors. I walk in, and the musty air hits me. The old smell of parchment and ink that used to fill my nights. I walk past towering shelves that stretch up to the ceiling, thousands of books on them detailing so much of our world. Not all of it, though. I’ve heard of libraries in Clarion that put this one to shame with their catalogues.

There doesn’t appear to be anyone here, but again, it’s midday. Most of the students are in class right now. I walk along the aisles, tracking Yarra’s scent as it carries over the smell of books.

I make my way through the labyrinthine aisles, each turn revealing another view of sprawling collections. I finally spot her tucked away in a secluded corner, her eyes scanning the pages of an ancient-looking tome.

I’m tempted to step away. I feel like I’ve stepped into a moment in time. Some private thing that I’m viewing from afar, like in a painting. The amber light from a window above her shines down on her amethyst hair and warms up her soft skin, making it glow.

If I stand here much longer, she’ll notice me. And now I’m thinking that maybe she shouldn’t. I turn to leave.

“Chad?”

I stop. Too late. I turn back around to see her looking up at me, the space between her eyes creased with mild confusion.

“Yarra,” I say. “There you are. I didn’t see you in class today.”

“I skipped,” she says, closing the book in her lap. “You came looking for me?”

Now I know why I felt like this was an intrusion. It sort of is. We haven’t even spoken since the night we were together. I must look like a creep to her right now.

“No,” I say with a slight chuckle. “Of course not. My mother sent me here to find a book for her next class. It’s funny that you’re here. Most people don’t study until after their classes are done.”

“I’m not most people.”

“So I’m learning,” I say with a smile. “It’s not like I didn’t know you were in here, though . . . or that you tend to take midnight walks from time to time.”

I know I’m pushing the limit here, but I have to know what that’s about. She gives me a slight sidelong glance, then says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She’s gotta be kidding me. Where did this woman come from? “You really didn’t think anyone would notice? Not even me of all people?”

She blinks at me, and I see something behind her eyes. Fear and curiosity, like I’d just shown her a door that she’s been looking for, and now she’s afraid to open it.

“How did . . .” she stammers.

“Followed your scent.”

That fear shifts to disgust. “I don’t know what this whole business is with you smelling me, but it’s really creepy. You shouldn’t go around telling women things like that—”

“What are you doing, speaking to humans outside of Moonhelm?”

She stiffens. “It’s my personal business.”

“Hmm,” I say as I cross my arms. “You know, if the wrong person saw you cavorting with a human, it might get you kicked out of here.”

She shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “You gonna rat me out?”

“No. But I’d love to know what you’re really up to.”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s not anything illegal or even immoral or anything. I’m just . . . I’m searching for my mom. She’s been missing for about ten years.”

“I’m sorry for that, but I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”

She sighs, her fingers drumming lightly on the book’s cover. “I just found out she was a student here. So, I enrolled hoping to find some answers. So far, all I keep finding are more questions.”

“Huh.” She’s not the only one. “And the man you meet at night is . . . ?”

“A detective. He’s been helping me out.” Her crystal blue eyes scan me briefly. “So, you’re not going to tell on me?”

“Why would I do that? Because my mother teaches here? You assume quite a bit for someone who’s only just met me.”

Her face softens a little, and I feel like I’m paving the way to some trust. I hope so.

“So, you’re looking for answers to your mother’s disappearance,” I say, “and so far, the clues have led you to the library? How does that work?”

She stands up, tucking the book under her arm. “That’s complicated. And personal. I’d rather not talk about it.”

“You can trust me, Yarra,” I say, getting a little tired of this game she keeps playing. “I’m your Alpha. I would never betray you.”

She scowls at me. “You’re my what? ”

“Your Alpha.” She just stares, brows furrowed and mouth upturned. I can’t tell if she’s confused or horrified. “Come on. Don’t tell me you don’t sense it. Or didn’t pick up my scent.”

“Your . . . your scent . . . ?” She steps back from me, her eyes widening slightly. “I . . . I don’t know what you mean.”

I tilt my head. Her heart is beating fast, like she’s afraid all of a sudden. “Yarra, you understand what I am to you, don’t you? Why we were drawn together that night? You know what it all means. We’re the same. You’re a wolf like me.”

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m not a wolf. I’m a human.”

My stomach drops as I realize it. It all makes sense now. How she acted in the Labor classes, her comment about my eyes after sex, how lost she seems here . . .

“Oh, wow. You don’t know.”

She clenches her jaw and stands stiffly before me, like her feet were suddenly rooted to the ground. Her heartbeat is loud in my ears.

Dear God. She really has no idea.

“I . . . I’m human,” she insists. “I’m not like you or anyone here. I’m . . . I’m . . .”

Her breath starts to hitch. I close the gap between us as she drops the book, her breath shaky and irregular as I pull her into my arms. “It’s okay,” I say to her. “Come on, sit.”

I guide her back to her chair, and I kneel down next to her. She seems to be catching her breath now. “I don’t have a lycan,” she says. “I can’t be a werewolf. I mean, I can wear silver jewelry. The moon has no effect on me.”

“Those are myths, things made up by those who once hunted us.”

She looks at me, her blue eyes narrowing. “How are you so sure what I am? Just by how I smell?”

“That and the fact that I can never be an Alpha to a human woman. Didn’t you wonder about the claw marks on your body the night we were together? Or how connected we seemed to be?”

She rubs her hips absently. “I just thought you needed to clip your nails. God, I’m so confused.” She goes silent, and I can see her mind is spinning behind her eyes. “Could you be an Alpha for something else?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Something else? Like what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. A jabberwocky or a fairy princess . . .” She pauses, then, “Or maybe a witch?”

I smile at her. “First of all, I have no idea what a jabberwocky is. And even if I did, the answer would be no for all three. Only wolves.”

“Are you sure?”

And then it hits me. Why she’s in the library. She must have sensed something different about herself. Maybe even about her attraction to me. “Is that why you’re here? To find out?”

That’s the wrong answer. She rolls her eyes and looks away from me. “Not everything’s about you.” She gets up and turns to me as I stand.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any idea how books are checked out here?” she asks. “I didn’t see a librarian.”

I stand up and say, “Just leave with it. It’ll return here in about a week.”

She smirks at me. “You’re kidding.”

“Of course not.”

The cold fear on her face has melted away as she nods, glancing down at her book. “All right. I’d better get going then.” She starts to leave.

“Yarra, wait. We should discuss this further. There’s so much that you need to know about your lycan and—”

“I’m only here to find out what happened to my mother,” she says stiffly. “That’s all. Once I get that straight, I’ll be out of your hair and away from this madhouse.”

My heart stings at her words. I stiffen, blocking the emotion from my mind. “You can’t just leave. I’m your Alpha. You are meant to be with me.”

She scoffs. “Don’t make me get a restraining order.” Without another word, she walks away. The wolf inside me growls, its restraints holding back its true rage.

She’s about as stubborn as I am. She needs to know who she truly is, especially since we are bound together. I don’t know how I’m going to convince her, but it seems that I have to do it. One way or another.