Page 13 of Primal (The Prey Drive #1)

Chapter 12

Rennick

I t doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that Thalassa Alderwood fled to a town ruled by witches.

She was always more witch than wolf, and I’m sure she felt right at home here in Ashvale. What does surprise me, though, is that she managed to do the impossible by not only befriending the notoriously secretive Ashvale Coven but also gaining the trust of the all-female Craddock Pack. The weaver had set up the perfect refuge for herself and her daughter, a place where they could remain not just hidden, but truly protected. Thalassa, despite all her glaring faults and the crimes she committed against her own child, was always the sharpest mind in any room. Her choice of allies is just further proof of that cunning wit.

The moment our caravan crossed the border into the small, picturesque Washington town, my wolf—still shackled with every ounce of restraint I could muster—snapped to attention. His focus sharpened, instincts humming with awareness. I didn’t have to dig deep to know what he sensed, because I felt it too.

Noa.

My reaction to being in her hometown was so visceral I discreetly checked the others in my SUV, wondering if they had felt it too. But Canaan, silent and statue-like in the passenger seat, remained unbothered, his sharp focus locked on the passing surroundings. His mate, seated behind him, was lost in her own storm of emotions. Her usually fiery green eyes were dim with sadness, her freckled skin pale. Like with most causes she believes in, she had been the loudest voice of disappointment over my decision to come here today. Canaan and I had both insisted she stay behind, but she refused, determined to act as a witness. I couldn’t tell you why it mattered so much to her, but the disapproval in her eyes cut deeper than I was willing to admit.

And then there was the last passenger. The one whose presence I despise more than anything.

Talis.

My betrothed.

There was no mystery about why she wanted to tag along on this quest. Her cat-that-ate-the-cannery smirk made her intentions painfully clear.

We’d made it no more than thirty yards into Ashvale before the wolves emerged from the trees. Ten in total, their massive sizes and fluid movements gave away their shifter status. As one, they broke apart to run along the sides of our two vehicles. Keeping perfect pace, they made no move to attack or stop us. They watched, observed, and corralled us. Their message was clear but not threatening. It was the Craddock Pack’s way of reminding us that we were on their terrain now.

My fingers had tightened around the steering wheel as I kept a vigilant eye on them in the car’s mirrors. Muscles coiled and ready to act if the tentative civility took a turn, my wolf paced beneath my skin. He was more than ready to meet their challenge if one arose. As I’ve done the past five days, I kept him locked down. We weren’t here to make enemies.

The female wolves herded us away from the road that leads toward Ashvale’s tree-lined main street where Noa’s apothecary sat and instead pushed us to the unpaved single-lane road that runs along the river on the edge of town. And that’s where we were greeted by her.

Lowri Craddock. Pack Alpha.

Because Ashvale is not technically her territory, my pack showing up here today unannounced is not officially a slight against her, but had I known the town was under her pack’s protection, I would have given the Alpha female the common courtesy that is expected and alerted her of our arrival.

She stood dead center in the road, completely unfazed by the approaching SUVs. Lowri, who is probably nearing fifty, is a tall, fit woman, and like any Alpha worth their salt, commands attention without having to bare her teeth. From inside my vehicle, I could sense the no-nonsense energy that radiated from her. She could and she would take down anyone foolish enough to underestimate her. She had my respect almost instantly.

Her wild red hair was bound in a thick braid down her back and her gaze was sharp as a blade as she watched us approach.

I’d slowed to a stop and shifted into park. Mercer, who drove the twin SUV behind mine, did the same. When I’d reached for the door handle, Canaan, always the one to watch my back, had mirrored my movement until I’d silently ordered him to stay put. I ignored his unspoken protest and climbed out alone to meet the female Alpha.

The wolves that had flanked us on the drive in moved to stand in an evenly spaced half circle behind their leader. All of their stances were alert, but not outwardly hostile.

My own wolf, pacing just beneath my flesh, continued to keep a watchful eye.

For a long moment, no one moved or said a word.

Lowri continued to observe, her calculating eyes sizing me up until finally her head tilted and she huffed, “Well, don’t just stand there and look pretty. State your business, Alpha Fallamhain. And before you think about getting smart on me, know that we’re already aware of the man you sent here last night. Was he sent to stalk his target or to scout ahead for you?”

It doesn’t surprise me that they were aware of Mercer’s presence last. We’re in a town full of witches, who the fuck knows what they’re capable of?

Suppressing the low snarl from my wolf, who didn’t take kindly to being so openly challenged, I kept my voice steady. “We didn’t come here for a fight. I need to speak to Noa Alderwood.” Just saying her name out loud sent a ripple of tension through the wolves. Their muscles tightened and a few even flashed their fangs. I lifted a brow but retained my relaxed posture. “I was under the impression she wasn’t part of your pack. Or any pack, for that matter.”

Lowri’s easy demeanor hardened, her eyes narrowing as she took a measured step forward.“Pack or not, it doesn’t matter. Noa is precious to us and under our protection.”Her voice was steady, but there was no mistaking the warning beneath it.“It’d do you well to remember that, kid.”

My wolf thrashed against the restraints I’d only recently forced upon him, furious at the very suggestion that Noa needed protection from him. From us .

The sickening reality that he’s yet to fully grasp is that he’s wrong. She does need to be safeguarded from me and while I dislike it as much as he does that the task wouldn’t fall to us, I had found a semblance of relief in that tense moment with Lowri, knowing Noa will have protection after I was gone.

“Noted,” I’d ground out, every one of my nerves exposed and aflame. My gruff behavior is something I earned after these past five days. Finding Carly and dealing with the subsequent fallout of that had been a lot to bear. The heaviness of the responsibility fell upon me as their Alpha to lead the pack through her funeral service and pyre. To be their symbol of strength through such a devastating time. All the while the knowledge I would have to come here and face Noa hung over my head like a taunting cloud. It had stolen my ability to sleep and my appetite, two things that have only aided in my secret, internal downward spiral. “As I said, I only need to speak to her.”

Lowri’s intense scrutiny amped up before she gave a single, stiff nod. “There is a clearing about two miles from here. It’s neutral ground. My enforcers will lead you there and stand watch while you wait for us.”

I hadn’t bothered asking who “us” consisted of, but I had allowed her wolves to guide us to this clearing where we all now stand and silently wait outside of the cars. My team of four enforcers has spread out, scanning the area for threats, while Canaan and I stand in the center.

Without looking, I feel bothRhosyn and Talisglaring at me. Their reasons are different, but the weight of their judgment is equally heavy. Talis, who’s perpetually in a shit mood, is pissed because I ordered her to stay back by the car. Rhosyn, meanwhile, remains locked in her silent protest, arms crossed as she leans against the driver’s door, her disapproval written all over her face.

The bitter truth is I don’t want to be here any more than she wants me to be. And I sure as hell don’t want to go through with this. If there were another way, I’d take it. That’s exactly what I told her days ago when I first admitted my intentions toCanaan and her. Even going as far as to admit Cathal McNamara’s involvement in my decision to them. Rhosyn hadn’t hesitated in arguing . “Nick, please. Just stop and take a breath. I know you can’t see it right now because of Carly, but there’s another way. I swear, it’s there. If you let them push you into this, there’s no undoing it. And trust me…you’ll regret it and once you realize what a mistake it is, it’ll be too late.”

I had clung to my waning denial, arguing that I was only giving up the possibility of something, that whatever connection Noa and I shared hadn’t been confirmed as anything more. The scoff and eye roll I got from my second’s mate weredownright award-winning and would have put a weaker man on his ass.

Rhosyn has theluxuryof seeing this whole mess from the outside, unburdened by the weight of an alpha’s responsibility. She has thefreedomto be a little selfish, to argue from a place of emotion rather than duty. I don’t have that privilege. I know what’s at stake and a solution has been offered to me. The cost is steeper than most could bear to part with, but if it means keeping more of my omegas from ending up like Carly, then I’ll pay it.

Even though the longer I stand in this clearing, waiting, the harder it is to keep my resolve intact. My stomach churns with something close to nausea, my body screaming at me to walk away before she arrives. Before I have tosee herand shatter whatever fragile, unspoken thing exists between us.

I clench my fists to the point of pain and focus on the ache in my knuckles, anything to keep my mind from drifting back to that damn dream.

Her voice, soft but desperate.

Her eyes, full of something raw, something I didn’t deserve.

Her plea.

“Pick me.”

For about five seconds, caught between the living and the dreaming, I had made my choice. I had decided to shove aside my doubt and follow the ache in my chest, to reach for the thread that, without question, would have led me toher.

But then Canaan’s arrival and harrowing news had shattered it.

For those five fleeting seconds, I had felt a kind of peace I never knew was possible. And then it was gone, and I was bitch-slapped by reality.

My eyes squeeze shut for a brief second, forcing the memory of the haunting dream—and the subsequent emotions—out of my mind and heart. It wasn’t real.It. Wasn’t. Real. But the guilt doesn’t agree. It slithers around my ribs, tightening like a noose, strangling what little composure I have left. I can’t afford this right now.

A slow, steady breath does little to elevate the crushing weight. With a heaving shove, I push it all down,burying it beneath ice.There’s no room for emotion, not here, not today. Piece by piece, I lock it all away and let myself turn cold.Emotionless. Untouchable.

That is how I will get through this.

Just as I settle into the numbness, the sound of approaching vehicles cuts through the stillness of the clearing. An army green Jeep Wrangler is the first to drive through the narrow passageway between the aspen and pine trees. It’s closely followed by a dark red midsized SUV.

I sense her before I see her behind the wheel of the Jeep.

It’s like a punch to the gut.

Sweet Noa.

For a second, everything within me stalls, the new precarious grip I have on my emotions, my control, slipping. My wolf shoves forward, claws scraping at the edges of my mind, his instincts roaring. She’s here and nothing else should matter. To him and his primal desires, there is no reason to fight the pull between us, no reason I shouldn’t go to her and bathe her in my scent, marking her so everyone knows who she belongs to.

I can’t afford to allow myself to think like that— my pack can’t afford it.

Smothering my reaction before it has a chance to truly take hold, I lock it away beneath the new reinforced layers of ice. My pulse slows. My face remains unreadable.I don’t blink. I don’t move.

But every inch of restraint feels like it'stearing me apart.

Not daring to look away from her approaching car, I don’t give my full attention to Canaan as he leans close and speaks under his breath. “I’m going to ask you this one last time—are you sure? The second those words leave your mouth, there will be no taking them back. You will have to live with this choice for the rest of your days, brother.”

Jeep crawling to a stop fifteen yards away, Noa turns off the engine and turns to say something to the blonde in the passenger seat. Who the woman is I don’t care, because once I walk away from this clearing,Noa Alderwood will no longer be my concern. By going through with this, I’m severing the last tie, giving up any right to care. Whatever claim I had—real or not—it ends here.

“You say that like there’s a choice to be made here, Canaan.”

My friend exhales sharply, and for the first time in all our years at each other’s sides, Ifeelhis disappointment—blatant, cutting, unforgiving.It lands like a kick to the teeth.

“I have stood by you, supported you without question, for years, Nick. Not once have I ever doubted you as an Alpha. But right now? Right now, you are so fucking consumed by your sense of duty you can’t fully comprehend the gravity of the mistake you’re making.” His words hit harder than expected and he’s not done. “You keep saying this is the only way. That you don’t have a choice. But you’re wrong. One day soon you’re going to wake up and realize it. I just hope for your sake that you can survive it. What you’re about to do, strong men have withered away from less.” The weight of his pause hangs heavy between us. “And I hope for that girl—that innocent fucking girl—to be able to survive it too, because you’re about to wreck her.”

Canaan doesn’t wait for a response, which is probably for the best, considering I don’t have one.At least not one worth saying aloud. Without another word, he turns, heading toward his mate—where he belongs—and leaves me to face the decimation of my future.

Alone.