Page 16 of The Alpha’s Runaway Mate (Evermore Hollow #1)

TWELVE

NOLAN

The forest is too quiet. I reach for the link, the invisible current that connects every shifter under my command. It thrums instantly, the pulse of my pack vibrating through my veins.

It’s not speech. It’s instinct, magic older than time.

Through it, we share thought, emotion, and awareness.

Every shifter in Hollow Ridge tied to one another by that ancient power.

My brothers’ heartbeats pulse through it the strongest, Kolt and Xander, my second and third, the ones who’ve been gone for weeks searching for Declan.

Report, I send, the command edged with power.

Kolt: Grayson’s right. We smelled it before he called. Blood’s thick in the air.

Xander: We’re near the ridge line now. You’ll want to see this.

I break into a run.

By the time I reach them, the sun’s climbing over the trees. Kolt and Xander are standing in a churned-up clearing, dirt torn to shreds, blood splattered across roots and leaves. The smell is enough to curdle my stomach. Iron, decay… and something wrong. Magic. Old.

“What the hell,” I mutter, crouching near a print in the mud. Big. Too big. And glowing faintly with residual energy.

“Found more of them on the other side,” Kolt says. His voice is tight, jaw hard. “Whatever it was, it’s gone now.”

Xander kicks a broken branch aside. “But not before it nearly killed Kellan.”

I look between them. They’ve barely been home twelve hours, both still running on adrenaline and exhaustion after weeks on the road. I can see it in the tight lines around their eyes, the frustration, the guilt, the weight of coming back without Declan.

“Tracks head south,” Xander says, motioning toward the slope. “We followed them until they disappeared into the river. The water’s masking whatever it was.”

“Same thing you saw near the state line?” I ask quietly.

Kolt’s gaze meets mine. “Feels the same. Wrong magic. Old. And that smell…” He trails off, rubbing a hand over his beard. “It’s just like what we found around Declan.”

The words hit like a blow.

For a moment, none of us speak. The forest presses in, still, heavy, listening. I can feel the guilt rolling off both of them, thick as the scent of blood in the dirt. They’ve barely been home twelve hours after three weeks chasing a ghost, and the failure sits heavy on their shoulders.

“You did what you could,” I say quietly, meeting Kolt’s eyes first, then Xander’s. “Declan wanted to disappear. Doesn’t mean he’s lost.”

Xander shakes his head. “We should’ve brought him in when we had the chance. He wasn’t himself, Nolan. There was something off.”

“I know.” My voice roughens. “But beating ourselves up won’t help now. We’ve got a man down, and if Kellan can talk, he might give us something that points to what we’re dealing with.”

Kolt exhales, steadying himself. “You think he saw it?”

“Maybe.” I straighten, brushing dirt from my hands. “We need to get to the clinic and see what we can find out. If Kellan’s still conscious, I want every detail he remembers before shock sets in.”

“On it,” Xander says, already turning toward the trail. Kolt falls in beside him, his jaw tight, shoulders squared. The three of us move fast, the unspoken rhythm of brothers and pack filling the silence between us.

I kneel beside the cot. “Kellan.”

His eyes flicker open. “Alpha…”

“I’m here. Tell me what happened.”

His voice trembles. “Patrol by the river. Smelled something dead. Thought it was a bear, then it stood up.” His fingers twitch against the blanket. “Eyes glowed green. Moved like smoke. It… it laughed.”

Kolt curses under his breath. Xander’s jaw clenches.

I glance at Kellen. “He going to make it?”

“He’ll live,” Kellen says. “Barely.”

I press my hand to Kellan’s arm. “Rest. You did good.”

Then I stand, letting the weight of Alpha settle into me again. I open the link, sending my command across the territory.

All patrols hold position. No one moves alone. Whatever this thing is, it’s on our land now. And we find out why.

Dozens of minds answer back at once, their unity pulsing like a heartbeat through the magic.

***

Snarl is closed when the three of us step inside.

Midday sun filters through the blinds, cutting bands of gold across the bar top. The place smells like smoke, pine oil, and whiskey. It’s quiet, too quiet for us.

Xander moves behind the counter, grabs a bottle, and pours three glasses without asking. “We probably shouldn’t drink before sundown,” he mutters, sliding me one.

Kolt gives a short, humorless laugh. “We probably shouldn’t have one of ours bleeding out on the border either, but here we are.”

I take the drink. The burn sits heavy in my chest. “Talk.”

Kolt’s the first to break the silence. “Declan.”

Xander exhales, his shoulders slumping like the weight of the name has been pressing there all day. “Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.”

I swirl the whiskey, watching the light bend through it. “You sure?”

“No,” Kolt admits. “But the energy felt the same. That twisted, rotted magic, we felt it when we found him.”

My jaw tightens. “You never told me it was that strong.”

Kolt’s gaze meets mine, guilt flickering behind his eyes. “We wanted to be sure. But he’s not the same, Nolan. Whatever’s inside him, it’s dark. Angry. Feels like something hollow wearing his skin.”

Xander leans on the bar. “We almost had him. He looked at us, knew us, and then he was gone. Just slipped through our hands like smoke. We came back to regroup, and now this happens. Same scent. Same magic.”

The silence that follows is thick, heavy. The only sound is the faint hum of the fridge and Kolt’s glass tapping against the wood.

“He wouldn’t hurt one of ours,” I say quietly.

“Not the Declan we knew,” Kolt says. “But if something’s steering him, we can’t rule out anything.”

I drag a hand down my face. “We find him. Bring him home. Whatever happened, we end it before anyone else gets hurt.”

Kolt nods. “If he’s still in there.”

“There is,” I say, though I don’t know if I believe it. “We owe him that much.”

Xander lifts his glass in a quiet toast. “To finding him before something worse does.”

We drink. The whiskey burns a trail through my chest, anchoring me to the moment.

I reach through the pack link, steady heartbeats humming across the Hollow.

Grayson’s pulse is strong and sure on the east line.

Kellen’s calm at the clinic. The low hum of my people is grounding.

It’s also a reminder that every single one of them depends on me to keep this place standing.

I ease back from the link and glance at my brothers. Xander’s watching me with that look that says he knows exactly where my thoughts have gone. “You’re thinking about her,” he says.

“Jessica?” I ask, even though we both know he means her.

He nods. “You haven’t marked her yet, have you?”

I shake my head. “No.”

Kolt tilts his head, voice quieter now. “Does she know what that means? That the bite ties her into the pack’s protection, our magic, and extends her life?”

“She doesn’t,” I admit. “We haven’t had time to talk about it.”

“Then make time,” Kolt says simply. “You can’t leave her blind, not with what’s circling the territory. If something’s using Declan, it’s not going to stop at the border. She needs to understand what being your mate really means.”

Xander’s expression hardens. “Unmarked mates are vulnerable, Nolan. If something comes for you, it’ll come for her too. You mark her, she’s under our wards, under our protection.”

My jaw flexes. “I know. But she’s running from something human, a man. I can smell the fear on her when she thinks I’m not looking. Until I know what that is, I’m not putting a permanent mark on her. Not when she doesn’t even know what she’s agreeing to.”

Kolt exhales slowly. “Then talk to her. Tell her about the bond, the magic, all of it. She deserves the truth.”

“I plan to,” I say. “Tonight.”

Xander leans forward, resting his forearms on the counter. “And if she says no?”

“Then she says no,” I answer. “I’ll respect it. But she deserves the choice.”

Kolt gives me a look that’s half respect, half warning. “Choice is good. But don’t wait too long. You know how fast an enemy can find a weakness.”

“She’s not a weakness,” I say sharply.

“I didn’t say she was,” he answers evenly. “But the world will see her that way until you make sure it can’t touch her.”

I sit back, staring into my half-empty glass. “Once she knows what the bite means, I’ll explain everything. The bond. The wards. The protection. The fact that the pack will feel her presence like they feel mine. She needs to know that before I take that step.”

Kolt nods slowly. “And about Declan?”

“She’ll hear that too,” I say. “She deserves to know what she’s walking into, what we’re up against. She’s already in it whether she realizes it or not.”

Xander huffs a quiet laugh. “You sure she’s going to sit still for all that? You’re not exactly a small talk guy.”

“I’ll figure it out.” I down the rest of my drink and set the glass aside. “I owe her honesty.”

Kolt smirks faintly. “Maybe start with that part first. Then work your way to the whole ‘bite that lasts forever’ thing.”

“Noted,” I mutter.

Xander pushes away from the counter. “She’s strong. She won’t break.”

“I know,” I say quietly. “That’s what scares me.”

The three of us lapse into silence again, the air heavy with thoughts none of us want to say out loud. Outside, the afternoon light fades, turning gold to amber. The town beyond Snarl is still waiting.

I check the link one more time, Grayson steady, wards humming, the Hollow quiet for now. Jessica’s presence hums faintly against the edge of my awareness. Warm. Safe. Waiting.

I rise from my seat. “After patrol tonight, I’m heading home. She deserves the truth about everything, the bond, the danger, Declan. All of it.”

Kolt nods once. “Good. Just don’t wait too long to claim her. If you don’t, something else might.”

Xander tosses a towel onto the bar. “And if she throws something at your head when you tell her, I’m not cleaning up the mess.”

I smirk faintly. “Appreciate the faith.”

The three of us sit for a minute longer, quiet settling in like a familiar weight. Plans take shape. Routes finalize. The Hollow hums steady under the surface.

When I stand to leave, Kolt grips my shoulder briefly. “We’ve got the borders. Go deal with your girl.”

I nod once, the words heavier than they should be. “Keep me updated.”

He releases me, and I turn toward the door.

For now, I leave the bar with my brothers behind me, the whiskey still burning in my throat and a plan forming in my head.

Tonight, I’ll tell Jessica everything, about Declan, about the danger, and about what it really means to be mine. The truth won’t be easy. But she deserves it. And hell, if I’m going to mark her, she needs to know exactly what kind of man, and monster, she’s saying yes to.