Page 24

A lina

It’s barely been three hours since Rowan left this morning. Or maybe almost four hours. I haven’t really been able to keep track.

Before he left, which had been fairly early, he’d left a note for me on the kitchen counter, along with a fresh pot of coffee.

I’ll be back soon. Be safe, my beloved Mate.

My heart had thrummed like a hummingbird’s wings, and I ended up rereading the note at least a dozen times before I could actually remember how to function like a normal person again.

Left with little else to do, and with the wolf within begging to take form, I shift and take a quick jog around my property.

I don’t go far into the woods, and I keep my nose tuned to the sourness of the Blackburn scent just in case.

I run for about an hour, enjoying the newfound mightiness and dominance in my limbs from the healed Mating bond, knowing that if things were different, I could have felt this way all along.

Unstoppable. Gorgeously terrifying. Wonderfully deadly.

I run through the trees, knowing that Noah is safe and sound at school, and allow myself to replay the most precious scenes from the day before .

The moment when, after merely ten minutes of catching his breath once our first round was over, Rowan pulled me to him again, and I rode him until we both unraveled a second time.

Then, later, when he tangled his hands in my hair and kissed me breathless.

And, after that, when he traced his name onto my bare spine with an idle finger, murmuring to me about old childhood memories and whispering the truth that, even when we were kids, he knew there was something special about me.

It had all been so sweet. So perfect.

So easily destroyed, too.

Don’t think about that yet, I remind myself.

I finish my run, shift back into human form, and head into the house. In the shower, I get distracted for several minutes when I remember the taste of Rowan on my tongue, and end up slipping a hand between my thighs to pleasure myself just to take the edge off.

Once I’m dried off and dressed, I dare to check my phone.

Weirdly, there’s no text from Tim asking me why I haven’t shown up for my shift today. If he was really involved with the treacherous Whiteroses that have allied with Samson Blackburn, does he already know that Rowan rescued me? Does he know I’m still alive?

Even Caitlyn hasn’t texted me, but then I remember the young waitress has today off anyway.

If anyone is worried that I’m not at The Diner, taking up my usual spot behind the bar, nobody has come banging down my door to investigate.

Honestly, that’s more suspicious than anything. It’s almost like they expected me not to show up, even though I’ve been working almost every weekday for years now.

An idea occurs to me. I need answers of my own. So, instead of waiting around for Rowan to return, I slip on my shoes and head into town.

It’s barely midmorning when I storm into The Diner, an inferno raging inside me that can only be quelled by a necessary confrontation.

The dining room is mostly empty, as it usually is this time of day, but Old Betty spots me and hops out of her barstool right away .

She scurries toward me, eyes wide with concern, and Old Joe isn’t far behind her.

“Alina! Goodness! I’m so glad to see you. Me and Joe were just saying we should head up the road and check on you. What happened here yesterday didn’t sit right with us.”

I blink at her, slowing my footsteps. There are a hundred questions I could ask. Did she suspect that Tim was a traitor? If so, why didn’t she intervene sooner? But also, would she truly come and check on me? Does she truly care that much?

I’ve gone through my life here in West Pond so numbly at times that it never occurred to me that the locals would act like I’m one of their own, would care for me like I’m in their pack.

But maybe I was always wrong about that.

Maybe I’d been too terrified to see how others cared for me because I knew what it felt like to have that kind of thing ripped away.

Not just with Rowan ten years ago, but because of how I lost my parents.

But I don’t have time for any of those thoughts. I know Old Betty and Old Joe are good people.

“Is Tim here?” I ask, knowing that it’s a little rude to cut right through her declaration like that, but having no patience for niceties at the moment.

Old Betty’s brow knits with worry. “Yes, I do believe he is, but—”

I don’t wait for the end of her sentence.

I keep marching right through the restaurant, ignoring the sideways glance, and push through the swinging kitchen door.

The kitchen staff startles for a moment at my presence, and I’m pretty sure Caitlyn squeaks a greeting at me, but I’m a wronged woman on a mission, and I won’t stop until I do what I came here to accomplish.

When I reach the tiny administrative office at the end of the hall, I’m pleased to find the door cracked open. I slam my fist against it, and the wolf within gives me a boost of strength so mighty that it flies open and crashes against the opposite wall.

Tim, in his ratty clothes, leaps up from the desk where he’d been frowning at the outdated monitor.

“Alina! ”

I’m satisfied to discover that he looks absolutely horrified to see him.

My manager backs up a step on instinct, perhaps sensing that the Luna inside me has been fully awakened now, but the space is so small that he only serves to corner himself against the wall. He has no escape.

“Surprised to see me still in one piece?” I sneer.

Tim swallows hard and does his best to straighten his spine and look confident. He’s just a Beta, though, and it’s really not that impressive.

“I don’t know what y-you’re talking about,” he says, stumbling on the lie. “But it’s good of you to finally show up for your shift.”

I bark out a sarcastic laugh and take a threatening step toward him. Tim flinches, and it makes me grin.

“Listen to me, you unwashed miscreant,” I snarl.

“I quit. As long as you manage this place, I refuse to work for a traitorous piece of filth who would so blatantly disrespect his Alpha. Not to mention that you endangered my life, when I have done absolutely nothing to deserve that kind of treatment from you!”

“Did nothing to deserve it?” Tim snickers, but there’s still a healthy amount of fear in his eyes.

“It’s not personal, cupcake. You’re Rowan Greenbriar’s Mate, and that’s the only motivation we needed to get you involved.

The Whiteroses have been a weak and simpering pack for too long! We need stronger leadership!”

“And your methodology for getting a strong leader is to sacrifice an innocent woman to the monsters who murdered my parents?”

At that, Tim balks. He must not have known the full details. It doesn’t matter, anyway. It’s not like I came here to let him defend himself.

I came here to deliver a message.

I step forward, sinking deep into my wolf nature to look as menacing as possible. It has the desired effect, because Tim looks like he’s about to wet himself.

“I’ll do you the honor of explaining this to you once, but know that I won’t repeat myself,” I hiss.

“If you ever threaten my life, my Mate’s life, or my son’s life ever again, I will skin you alive.

In fact, I’m tempted to do it right here, right now.

But I don’t want to ruin anyone else’s day by forcing them to clean up what’s left of you. ”

Tim’s throat bobs with a swallow. He’s doing his best to look strong in the face of a vengeful queen, but I can see right through it.

“Is that a threat?” he asks.

I grin at him, allowing the expression to drip with poison. “It’s a promise, cupcake.”

And with that, I turn on my heel and march right back out of there. With a glance at my watch, I can see that it’s almost time for Noah to get off the bus again, since today is a half-day at school.

I ignore the stunned kitchen staff, and I even ignore Old Betty. I said my piece, delivered my promise of violence, and now I’m eager to get back home before Rowan shows up and finds the place empty. I want to apologize to him for doubting him earlier when he mentioned his suspicions about Tim.

When I get back home, I feel less restless and antsy, but confronting Tim definitely satisfied my instincts enough that I’m no longer fighting the urge to crawl out of my skin.

I cut up some fruit for Noah’s snack, humming under my breath, and then, when I’m done with that, I keep myself busy by pacing up and down the driveway for several minutes.

I don’t know what to do with myself. I just want to see Rowan again.

I want answers. Like a naive child, I want to be told that I actually can have everything I’ve ever wanted—my Mate, a healthy child, and a happy home.

Only, when I hear the school bus rumbling its way down the road, I feel an odd flicker of premonition in the pit of my stomach.

Standing in the yard, I wait for the yellow bus to emerge from the cover of the dense trees that block most of my property from view of the road. When it comes into sight, I smile softly as it slows slightly, preparing to stop at the head of the driveway and deposit a smiling Noah off.

Except that’s not what happens .

In reality, the bus keeps driving past and continues on down the road.

I freeze, brow furrowed. I wait another minute, wondering if the driver has accidentally forgotten where Noah gets off, since he usually hops off the bus at The Diner, but I don’t hear the bus stop further down the road. It disappears around the bend, and my son is nowhere to be seen.

I whirl around to face the house, as if I’ll suddenly see Noah materializing on the porch, but I’m completely alone.

Alone, that is, until a medium-sized wolf comes barreling through the woods and skids to a halt in front of me. I recognize the auburn coat and black eyes immediately—it’s Zahra.

I jump into action, following her as she lunges for my front door, panting heavily like she’s run halfway across Whiterose territory to get to me.

Throwing open the door, wolf-Zahra dashes into the house, shifts into her human form, and snatches a throw blanket off the back of the coach to cover her naked body before turning to me with wild, frantic eyes as I hover anxiously in the entryway.

“Rowan was right,” she says.

My first reaction to those words is positive, mostly because that seems to be my automatic reaction to Rowan now that the Mating bond is healed.

But then I realize what, exactly, Rowan would be right about.

Zahra brushes her hair out of her face, clutching the blanket around her with one hand as she quickly tries to catch her breath.

“It’s Jay,” Zahra continues. “Jay Randall.”

It takes me a second to connect the dots. “Tim’s brother?”

She nods, her throat bobbing with a swallow. “Jay challenged Henry this morning.”

I balk. “Challenged him?”

“For Alpha. Or rather, he challenged Henry’s nephew. He thinks their bloodline is weak, and was clearly inspired by the Blackburns to fight to the death for the chance to lead the Whiteroses.”

“But that’s not how things are done here. ”

“I know that. We all know that.” Zahra shakes her head, cringing. “Well, most of us know that. It turns out that Jay and Tim have been hard at work gaining a loyal following among the pack. It’s not many. Maybe a dozen. But, Lina, there’s a bigger problem.”

Bigger than mutiny among the most historically pacifistic and diplomatic wolf pack in the Appalachians?

I stare at her. “What is it?”

“Henry’s Betas—the ones he can still trust, that is—are rounding up the traitors right now…but they’ve already told Samson Blackburn everything.”

“Everything? Z, what are you saying?”

“They told him about Noah. They know that the Greenbriar Alpha heir has a son.”

For several long, painful seconds, there’s nothing but a strange ringing noise in my ears. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to believe what she’s saying.

I don’t want to realize the truth that is sinking in little by little.

Zahra steps toward me. “Where’s Noah? At school?”

It takes me a minute to find my voice. “He had a half-day, but he—fuck—Zahra, he didn’t get off the bus. It just went by—I didn’t—oh, God…”

My best friend looks so horrified by the words coming out of my mouth that it turns my stomach.

Only, before she can say anything, there’s the sound of a rumbling engine and the crunch of tires on gravel. Both of us turn and rush back to the open door to see Rowan’s truck pulling back into the driveway.

But I can’t feel relief. Not right now. Not when I know, without a doubt, with a mother’s instincts, that something is deeply, terribly wrong.

Rowan hops out of the truck, and there’s a lightness in his step and a soft smile on his lips that breaks my heart.

He takes exactly two steps toward the house before he notices me and Zahra standing there. In half a second, his entire demeanor changes as he assesses the mood, smells Zahra’s fear, and notices the change in my own scent .

Rowan makes a beeline for me, halting just shy of sweeping me into his arms once he realizes that Zahra is standing close, mostly naked.

He stares at me, waiting for an explanation.

“It’s Noah,” I choke out.

That’s all I have to say for Rowan to launch into action.