Page 17 of Claimed by the Wolf (Wild Fated Shifters #1)

“Were you alone here, or is someone else cleaning or working in this area?”

“Oh… um.” She frowns. “I’m not sure. I could find out for you.”

My eyes dart toward the corners of the corridors, looking for cameras, but if Emeric uses them, they aren’t visible to the naked eye.

“Is everything all right, Miss Brynn?”

I glance at her.

Could she have sent me the note? Maybe she’s reaching out after I attempted to befriend her earlier?

“Yes, Kayla,” I tell her quickly. “I think I’m going to have a nap.”

“Alright then, Miss Brynn.”

I retreat to my room and begin to pace as I consider what it means.

Eleven o’clock is so far away now, and my nerves are already stretched to their breaking point.

I don’t see Emeric at dinner. Kayla tells me the pack is on guard duty, and the information alarms me. What if they’re around the ranch when I go to meet this mysterious visitor? What if the visitor is Nox, and he gets caught coming back?

I’m going to drive myself crazy if I keep up with this.

After dinner, I shower and dress in dark leggings and a sweatshirt, pinning my giveaway blonde tresses into a messy bun and tucking it under the hood. I try to distract myself by texting the twins in a group chat.

But the conversation isn’t helping my nerves any.

Sienna: How big is he?

She follows up her question with an eggplant emoji.

Sierra: He has cousins, right? I wouldn’t mind tapping into some of that Alpha action by proxy.

Flabbergasted, I stare at their vapid texts, remembering the last things they said to me when I’d left them at the All Hat Saloon.

Me: Weren’t you two giving me grief about coming up here in the first place?

Sienna: Things have been peaceful around here . And we get to go to whatever clubs we want without having to double-check the territory now.

I frown at her response. Is that all they care about? What parties they can go to?

Me: I’m glad my sacrifice works out for your social calendar .

Sienna: Aw, come on, honey! You know we wish you were here with us .

I don’t answer right away, and my phone pings again.

Sierra: We told you to stay, didn’t we?

Yeah, they told me to stay, but at what cost?

I eye the time on the phone, and my heart jumps.

Me: I have to go .

Sierra: Ooh, Daddy Alpha is coming to call. Have fun for us!

Sienna: We want details next time!

I roll my eyes but don’t respond, and I stand from the couch, tucking my phone in my pocket. I’m tempted to meet this mysterious stranger in my animal form, but I decide against it for the time being. I can shift on a dime if I feel endangered.

But if it’s Nox…

Stop it. It’s not Nox. I have to stop thinking it’s Nox.

Checking to ensure I’m not being followed, I head out of the house through the front door and around the back of the barn and stables, beyond the bunkhouse, where the ranch hands sleep.

A greenhouse and rose garden lie just over the knoll on the other side, a little oasis where the ceremony will be held this weekend.

My senses pick up on a presence as I approach, and my hackles rise.

It’s not Nox.

“Who’s there?” I demand, but my voice is a strangled whisper, fear gripping me as I wonder if I made a terrible mistake by coming out here on my own. No one knows where I am. What if I’ve walked into some kind of a trap? What if Emeric learned about Nox and me?

“Hello there.”

A semi-familiar voice calls out in the darkness, and I whirl around, enacting my lioness vision to look. Perched on the bench, next to the wisteria, sits a brunette, watching me with a coy smile on her face.

“You were at the party.” Cautiously, I draw closer to her, unsure of what to make of her.

“I was.” She hops off the bench to approach me. “You can call me Alessa.”

My frown deepens as she nears, her cocksure attitude neither alarming me nor putting me at ease.

“What do you want, Alessa?” I ask warily, half-ready to shift. “Why did you send me that note?”

She laughs, and the sound troubles me as I look back, expecting someone to hear.

“Don’t worry,” she reassures me. “The pack is out on guard duty tonight. No one but the staff is around, and they’re not doing any work while Emeric is gone.”

“How do you know so much about what goes on here?”

Alessa shrugs nonchalantly. “I’m a respected pack member.”

Confusion overwhelms me. “What do you want with me?”

Her smile falters slightly. “I’m trying to help you. If you want my help, that is.”

“What makes you think I need help?”

She rolls her eyes and folds her arms over her chest. “Look, we can play games with each other, or I can work with you to get back to your rightful mate.”

I gasp aloud as reality hits me full force. Why didn’t I foresee this in all the other scenarios I played out in my mind? No, I’d been too fixated on the idea that it might be Nox waiting for me…

“Oh… shit,” I moan. “I don’t have any money.”

Alessa stares at me like I’ve sprouted another head. “What are you talking about?”

“How much do you want? Maybe Nox will pay…”

Alessa gawks at me. Then she bursts into a bout of hysterical laughter, doubling over to slap her upper thigh as if I’d cracked the most hilarious joke she’d ever heard.

“You think I’m blackmailing you?” she gasps between snorts. “You? Me?”

Tears trickle down her cheeks, and I can only gape back at her.

“No!” she finally concludes, sucking in a deep breath and righting herself. “I’m not trying to extort you, Brynn.”

She wipes her face of the tears and pats my shoulder reassuringly. “Honestly.”

“But then why are you trying to help me?”

She sniffles and grins. “Because you obviously don’t belong here. And Emeric clearly doesn’t want you here, or else he would have brought you on from the moment he agreed to this alliance.”

Does Emeric want Alessa? If he did, he would have mated with her already, right?

“Do you want my help or not?” she huffs.

“I don’t know,” I reply slowly. “What are you going to do?”

She titters. “Absolutely nothing untoward,” she promises.

And despite the bizarre circumstances and not knowing her at all, I believe her. She doesn’t set off my danger radar.

Could her help really be the solution Nox hadn’t been able to find before?

I won’t get my hopes up.

“My life and the future of my pack depend on your discretion,” I tell her quietly. “I don’t want to antagonize Emeric.”

She quirks a mirthless smile at me. “Oh no. You don’t ever want to antagonize Emeric,” she agrees sarcastically. “Nothing good ever comes from that.”

She spins around to leave and vanishes into thin air.

Startled, I look around. “Alessa?”

A gentle meow calls my attention downward, and a sleek gray cat rubs against my legs.

“Oh!” I laugh, realizing now how she had managed to sneak onto the ranch without being detected.

She shoots off into the night, and I exhale, feeling slightly more confident, now that I have an ally on my side for the first time since arriving in Willow Grove territory.