Page 4 of The Alpha’s Runaway Mate (Evermore Hollow #1)

FOUR

NOLAN

The second Jessica walks out of Snarl, something inside me snaps tight.

The bond doesn’t whisper, it roars. Fire floods my veins, clawing through my chest, dragging the animal inside me closer to the surface.

My bear growls low, ready to tear through the woods after her, and I have to grab the edge of the bar just to keep myself rooted.

The place is alive tonight, packed shoulder to shoulder.

Voices rise and fall in uneven waves, blending with the lazy slide of blues from the jukebox.

The air’s thick, whiskey, sweat, smoke, and that faint metallic tang that always shows up before a full moon.

I’ve ruled this bar and town long enough to know that even when people laugh, there’s danger hiding under every grin.

Snarl isn’t just a bar. It’s the heart of Evermore Hollow.

Neutral ground. My ground. Every supernatural in this town, witches, wolves, fae, vamps, demons, they all come here, and they all follow my rules.

They don’t have to like me, but they damn sure respect me.

And when they forget, I remind them why they should.

My bear’s pacing under my skin, claws raking.

He’s restless. Starved. Every time her name crosses my mind, the bond pulses hotter, dragging me toward the road she took.

I can feel her through it, nervous, exhausted, but safe for now.

That faint connection is the only thing keeping me from losing my damn mind.

I force myself to focus on the room. Ezra’s near the pool table, scanning the crowd with his usual soldier’s calm. He catches my eye and tips his chin in silent question. I give him a look that says I’m fine. Mostly.

The air changes, subtle, but sharp. They can feel it.

Every supe in the room stiffens as my power bleeds into the space.

Conversations stutter. Glasses pause midair.

The second my bond flares to life, every predator here knows it.

The witches glance up from their drinks, wolves go still, and even the fae look interested, which never means anything good.

“Everything good, Alpha?” a vamp near the end of the bar asks. His voice is too smooth, too knowing.

I meet his gaze, cold. “You know the rules, Carter. No glamoring inside the ward line.”

He smirks, holding his hands up in fake surrender. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Then drink. Quietly.”

He nods, getting the message fast.

The wards that run through Snarl thrum under my palms, feeding off my power. They hum like they’re alive, steadying me when the bond tries to pull me apart. That’s how it works, the Alpha keeps the peace, and the peace keeps the town breathing.

Xander should be here. Kolt too. My second and third would’ve already caught the shift in energy and been on either side of me, making sure no one tested the boundaries.

But they’re both gone, still chasing our cousin Declan’s trail.

So it’s just me. Holding the town together while my instincts burn to hunt down the woman fate just threw into my path.

Jessica. Her name alone makes the bond thrum harder. Through it, I catch flashes. Her fingers gripping the steering wheel. The quick flutter of her pulse. The way she keeps checking the shadows even though she doesn’t know why. My chest tightens. I can taste her on the air, warm, human, and mine.

The bear inside me snarls, wanting to run, wanting to find her and press her into the earth until her skin smells like us.

I drag a rough breath through my teeth. Not yet.

She’s human. She doesn’t know what’s happening.

If I show up in the middle of the night half-shifted and feral, I’ll scare the shit out of her and ruin everything.

A crash by the jukebox snaps me back. A chair flips, two shifters squaring off. I move before the sound’s done echoing. One step, one growl, and the whole room goes still.

“You want to fight,” I say quietly, “you do it outside the ward line. You bleed in here, and I’ll make sure it’s the last time you do.”

Both men lower their heads instantly. “Sorry, Alpha.”

“Good.”

I give Ezra a nod, and he moves in, cleaning up the mess while I pull my power back down to a simmer. The energy in the room shifts again, relief, fear, respect. All the right combinations. They remember who’s in charge.

The rest of the night crawls. The crowd thins, but the tension doesn’t. I pour drinks. Stop two more fights before they start. Keep my power locked down even as my blood stays lit up like a fuse.

When the clock finally hits six, the bond flares again. Her heartbeat, steady, slow, safe. She’s asleep. Dreaming. The sound of it calms me more than it should.

I close out the register and toss Ezra the keys. “Run the count. I’ll be back later.”

He studies me for a second. “You going to her?”

“Taking a walk,” I say.

He smirks. “Bring coffee. Humans like that.”

I roll my eyes but don’t answer. He’s not wrong.

Outside, the early morning air hits my lungs like a cold wave.

The sky’s turning gray-blue, and mist clings to the trees beyond the lot.

The woods smell like rain and pine, and her.

Always her. Somewhere out there, wolves are running the ridge like I told them to.

Keeping the borders tight. Keeping her safe.

The bond hums again, low and steady. She’s dreaming. About me. The image hits like a punch. Her lips parted on my name, her body shifting restlessly, heat rolling through her blood. My claws dig into my palms before I can stop them.

I breathe through it, forcing the bear back down. The Hollow hums beneath my feet, alive and listening. This town is tied to me, the peace, the balance, the power. If I lose control, it all shakes with me.

So I walk. The road’s damp under my boots, the air sharp with morning chill. The world’s quiet except for the wind whispering through the pines. Every step pulls me closer to her scent, sweet and human with just enough wild to make my chest ache.

By the time I hit the tree line near her camp, the bond’s pulsing strong again. I stop, letting it wash through me. I can feel her. Her heartbeat syncing to mine, her breath soft and even. She’s still dreaming of me. The bear rumbles low in approval, claws scraping against my ribs.

The sound that tears from my throat isn’t human.

It’s low, rough, and dangerous enough to make the ridge echo back.

Birds scatter from the trees. The Hollow listens.

Enough. I strip off my shirt and boots, leaving them in the wet grass.

Heat ripples through me as the shift takes over.

My skin ignites, muscles tearing and reforming in a rush of fire and relief.

Bones pop, stretch, reshape. Fur spills down my arms and across my back until the world tilts and the bear stands where the man was.

He doesn’t hesitate. We run. Through mist and shadow, claws tearing into the soft earth, breath clouding the air.

The world sharpens, every scent, every sound, every heartbeat within a mile.

Jessica’s trail winds through the trees, faint but perfect.

I follow it, never crossing into her camp, but close enough that no one will mistake who she belongs to.

The wolves catch my scent and howl, their voices carrying through the ridge. I answer with a growl that shakes the ground, a warning and a promise.

The bond hums steady now, no longer wild or sharp, just a thread of heat connecting us. She’s safe. She’s mine.

This is what I am, the Alpha of Evermore Hollow. The balance. The bite. The one thing keeping this town from tearing itself apart.

And for the first time in too damn long, I’m not running the woods for duty. I’m running for her.

When the first light of dawn spills through the trees, I slow. The bear lifts his head, breathing her scent in deep, and everything in me finally settles. She’s there. Safe. Soon, she’ll know exactly what that means.