Page 17 of Wild Alpha (Cold-Blooded Alpha #12)

I drop my plate and bolt toward my brother.

I slam into him, sending him rocking with the force of my hug. My vision is blurry, the back of my eyelids burning, and I have my arms wrapped tight around someone I thought was dead. “Vaden.”

“ Averie .” His arms are painful around me. I don’t care. I like the pain. The pain reminds me that this is real. This is happening.

“You’re alive,” I breathe in the scent of home, my eyes filling with tears that I brush away before they can fall.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, sis.” His voice is husky. “I was getting ready to go to war against the cold-blooded alpha to save you, and instead I find you having a barbecue with the guy.”

Reluctantly, I let go of my big brother and turn to face the Blackshaws heading our way.

Dayne is in front, which doesn’t surprise me.

Everything I’d heard about him suggested he was the type to lead from the front.

Talis has Angel and Patrick. Her pack has moved around them, protecting them.

Jenna and Lila are probably in the middle because I can’t see the submissive shifter and her daughter either.

Fisher either dropped his plate or knocked it over as he stood. He’s watching me, and his face is blank, but I know what’s wrong.

“This is Vaden,” I tell him. “My brother.”

His shoulders slump. “Thank fuck.”

Nathan laughs, and I smile.

Dayne, I can’t help but notice, doesn't smile. He’s eyeing Vaden with laser-focused intensity, as if waiting for the first opportunity to kill him. It’s not what I expected when he was so welcoming to me.

“There’s a lot I haven’t told you,” I tell Dayne. “About me, my brother, and my pack.”

I thought everyone was dead, but if Vaden is here, maybe others survived too.

“An alpha is hunting her,” Vaden explains. “I’m here to take her somewhere safe.”

The emphasis on 'safe' indicates he is aware of Dayne’s reputation.

Silence.

“She’s safe here,” Dayne says, scowling.

Dayne is an alpha. My brother isn't an alpha, but he's a very dominant enforcer who isn't easily scared. He holds Dayne’s gaze just long enough that it’s clear they absolutely do not like each other.

Which is a problem. A big one. I want to stay here with Fisher, and now that my brother has found me, he’s not going anywhere, and I wouldn’t want him to. I love him. I don’t want to lose him again.

Vaden has lost a little weight, and his reddish-brown hair is darker.

He's a little more tan than I remember, and his black jeans and gray T-shirt are creased, probably from spending hours in the dark gray car he parked nearby. I don’t recognize the car—he used to drive a black Subaru—and I wonder when he got it and what happened to his old car.

My brother turns to me. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

I bet I know exactly what he wants to talk about

He leads the way toward the house. I glance back at Fisher, giving him a reassuring smile.

“We have to get you out of here before that psycho kills you,” my brother whispers urgently the moment we’ve put distance between us and the curious Blackshaws. “I can’t believe you came here.”

I drag him farther away, but from Dayne’s growl, I fear I would have to get in a car to escape Dayne’s eavesdropping. “He is not a psycho, and I was desperate.”

He raises a dark eyebrow. “You got the order wrong. You were desperate, so you came to hide from Xavier with a psycho.”

Rolling my eyes, I nudge him. “Two minutes and you’re already pissing me off.”

Amusement stirring in his silver-green gaze, he hugs me again. “It’s good to see you, sis.”

“You too.”

When he sniffs, I release a quiet sigh, anticipating his question.

“Is there a reason you smell like a dog?”

I pull away. “It’s a long story.”

He studies me for a beat longer, shaking his head when he glances back at the Blackshaws. “He could have killed you, sis. When I followed your tracks here, I thought I would be too late. You shouldn’t have come here.”

“He won’t kill me. And I was tired of running, Vaden,” I whisper. “After three years, I was sick of it.”

His expression softens. “Shit, I wasn’t blaming you. I’m relieved you’re still alive, that’s all. I was expecting to have to fight, and you were there eating BBQ, looking happy.”

I nervously bite my lip as I finally ask the question I’ve feared and longed to know for three years: “What happened?”

“Back home?” His reluctance to answer ramps up my fear.

I nod. “The last thing I saw was Dad…” My throat tightens.

I clear it, recalling the splash of hot blood hitting my face.

He died right in front of me—was killed right in front of me—and I will never get that out of my mind for as long as I live.

“I saw Dad fall, and I ran when I should have stayed and fought.”

He cradles the back of my hair, dragging me into another hard hug. “Not your fault, sis. Lose the guilt. Xavier was going to kill you, and we couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

I wrap my arms around him. “Better me than the whole pack.”

Cursing, he pulls away and stares down at me, stunned. “You thought the pack was dead ?”

My stomach clenches as fear and hope merge. “They aren’t?”

He shakes his head, the action almost violent. “No. Once you got away, Xavier sent his pack after you. He wanted you . The fighting ended after you ran. I followed as soon as I could, but you were gone. Every time I’d find your tracks, I found his as well.”

I stare up at him, gripping the front of his shirt. “I could have gone home?” My voice trembles. All this time I’ve been alone, and I didn’t need to be.

I could have been with my pack instead of struggling to survive.

Sighing heavily, he scrubs a hand over his face. “Not exactly.”

I frown. “What do you mean, not exactly?”

“His enforcers have been checking. If you’d gone home, they’d have taken you straight to Xavier. That’s why I was looking for you. I’d check back with the rest of the pack when I could, but I’ve been on the road for a long time.”

“Looking for me?”

He nods. “You’re my little sister. It’s my job to look out for you.”

My smile is wobbly. “Your job is head enforcer.”

He shakes his head, his expression pained. “Not anymore.”

“Because Dad…” Died . Shit. I still can’t even say it.

He nods. “There’s a new alpha now. You remember Fion?”

I recall the alpha in his late thirties.

Dad was a young alpha, so no one really spoke about who would take over when he died.

It wouldn’t have been Vaden because my brother isn’t an alpha.

And it wouldn’t have been me, because I’m an alpha, but I wasn’t the most dominant in the pack.

Even if I were dominant, it’s a position that almost always goes to a man.

A female alpha is usually the Luna, his mate.

“So, he’s the alpha of Pack Rowe now?”

“Yeah. I told him I couldn’t be his head enforcer. I had to look for you.”

“And he understood?”

“Did you lose some brain cells on the road, sis?” he says, smiling as he dodges my playful jab to his gut. “He’s pack. You’re pack. Family . Of course he understood.”

I’m reflecting on what happened while I was away when Vaden hugs me, saying, “Now I’ve found you, we can leave. Find somewhere safer.”

My gaze connects with Fisher.

He looks troubled. He’s human, so he can’t have heard what we were talking about or what Vaden just said, but it’s as if he’s worked out that Vaden is here to take me away from him.

Talis walks over to us then, proving she was listening all along and guessed we’d finished our conversation. “It’s been a long day. Do you have anywhere to stay tonight, Vaden?”

Vaden shrugs. “I can find a hotel.”

“No need,” she says. “We have a cabin you can stay in. We can rest up tonight and talk about what we can all do to keep Averie safe tomorrow after breakfast at the house.”

He silently studies her.

I hope he doesn’t fight her on this because I don’t want to leave Fisher, but I don’t know how to tell my brother that I think I’ve found the place I want to stay without hurting him.

He spent three years tracking me. I can’t just tell him to go home.

Vaden gives me a long look and nods. “Sure. That sounds good. I appreciate it.”

“Do you have any bags?” Nathan walks over to us. “I can show you where the cabin is.”

“If you haven’t eaten, I can make up a plate for you. We have plenty,” Clara offers. “Averie made a rub for the steak and burgers that’s fantastic."

Vaden jerks his head toward me. “You made the rub?”

My smile is small. “You can probably make it better.”

As Fisher takes my hand, Vaden's gaze shifts from me to him.

Vaden studies him for a beat, his gaze curious and a touch wary. Fisher is human, and shifters and humans rarely mate. We are too different, and there are parts of ourselves we can never share with a human.

At least, that’s what I thought before I found Fisher.

There's a lot Vaden could say. I’m surprised he hasn’t already warned me not to get involved with a human, saying it will only lead to heartbreak sooner rather than later.

Vaden turns to Nathan. “I just need to grab my bag from the car. Then you can show me this cabin.”

“I’ll make a plate for you,” Talis says, tugging Dayne away with her when he keeps eyeing my brother suspiciously.

And as Nathan and Clara go with my brother to help him with his bag, I follow Fisher to our cabin in the woods, dreading the conversation to come.