I enter the mess hall for lunch.I feel like everyone is watching me.I grab some meat and beeline for the table where my friends sit.“Rylie, how’s your nose?” Tomasina jokes the second my backside hits the bench.Ah, so news of my so-called failing instincts has already spread around the pack-house.That's just perfect...“Very funny," I say.Tomasina leans up on her elbows so our faces are close. “Rylie. Come on. What the heck happened?”I can't tell her.I can't tell any of my friends.They all peer at me expectantly.I shove meat into my mouth."I don't know what happened," I murmur as I chew. "My instincts are usually good.”Tomasina studies me. "I'll say. You're one of the best gammas out there."I chew, putting all my focus on the food rather than the burning questions in my friend's eyes."Did Hunter flip?" she asks."Of course.""What did you tell him."I stare at the ceiling. They are not going to drop this, are they?"I apologized.""And he bought it?"
Night falls.I am in my room, lying in bed.I can hear the music and laughter of the pack drifting through the trees. They have been enjoying their lives while I have been sitting in my room all evening, watching the shadows lengthen across my floor, pacing, wondering.And remembering.I cannot get his gold eyes out of my mind.I cannot forget his scent.He smelled as familiar to me as Tomasina or Alia.As Hunter. As myself.My mind is full of him.My body aches for him.I wonder if he thinks of me, too.Or has he forgotten me?Has he already moved on? Picked out a new mate? Someone more appropriate than an enemy gamma?My mind pulls back from that last thought.It is too painful.I need a plan.He is out there right now and I want to be with him.I chew my fingernails, staring into the darkness and wondering what I am supposed to do.I have found my mate.I have found love.My hand goes to my heart, which seems to be beating double-time.I cannot stop thinking of
I stare at him as my heart gallops."You came," he says."Yes.""I didn't know if you would. I was going to go to your territory to look for you."I gasp. "You can't do that! They will kill you on sight. They are extremely territorial and normally leaves no quarter for rogues or invaders.""It doesn't matter now. You came."He smiles at me.The embers light his face."Did you wait this whole time?" I ask.His hair falls across his face. He pushes it back. "Yes."I shiver against the frigid air. I'm surprised he didn't freeze to death.He takes a step toward me.I take a step toward him."We're mates," he says.I gasp. I know it to be true, but hearing the words from his lips is like music to my ears."Yes."We step closer.Ever closer.And then he is right there.Just a fingertip away.Just a hair's breadth apart.Close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his body.His golden eyes glint in the dark.He looks almost hungry.I close my eyes and step int
I return home.But it no longer feels familiar to me.Everything has changed.The world has shifted beneath my feet.I enter the pack dorm.My friends are snoring in their bunks.I fall into mine and pass out.My dreams are full of Patrick.I need him. I need to see him again.Just one hour without him feels like agony.When I wake, the dawn light is blistering through the window and Tomasina is bouncing on the bed beside me."Come on sleepyhead," she says. "Let's eat!"Alia is already half way out the door, eager for breakfast.I rub my sleepy eyes and follow them to the mess hall.All she can think about is him.Patrick.Patrick.My mate.My one true love.It makes me twitchy.Just thinking of him in this place feels dangerous.I realize my plan to meet with him secretly is never going to work. He was right to challenge me. To ask me to leave the pack. It would be too dangerous. His life would be in danger. How long would we last? A week. At most.But leave my p
I can hardly think as I work.Val keeps looking over at me, suspiciously.We've not talked about what happened with Hunter yet, and I'd rather we didn't."So," she says. "Are we going to talk about yesterday?"I groan. "Do we have to?""I saved your bacon," she says. "You didn't even say thank you.""I'm sorry," I say."Sorry isn't thank you," she corrects me."Thank you."She leans her head back and puffs out her cheeks. She taps her fingers on her lips. "You know, you're lucky I didn't tell Hunter what I really saw.""I know," I say.Val raises an eyebrow. "Why do you even bother coming out here when you're clearly not interested in working? What's going on with you? I don't like it."I sigh.Val is not going to stop until I tell her something."It's Hunter," I say.Her eyes narrow at the mention of his name. "What about him?""He's given me an ultimatum.""Oh?""He wants me to marry him."Val scoffs. "Oh please!" She's always held disdain for our alpha. "Tell him
"Rylie. Rylie. Rylie." Conner starts to laugh. "You're in big trouble."He hauls me roughly back to camp, marching me past the guards."Found her," he says triumphantly. "Our special little runaway."I realize then that the extra guards were for my benefit. Someone must have realized I was not in bed and raised the alarm."Can you let me walk?" I huff at Conner.He laughs. "You must think I was born yesterday."He hauls me to Hunter's.The alpha turns as I'm shoved inside."Told you I'd find her," Conner says.Hunter glowers at me."Leave us," he tells Conner, without so much as a thank you.The sniveling beta does as he's told.I am left alone with Hunter."I've been worried about you," he says."You didn't need to.""What were you doing?""Patrolling. Val thinks I'm slacking off. I wanted to prove her wrong."I'm surprised by how easily the lie slides out. I have lost all respect for my alpha since he gave me the ultimatum."You know it's dangerous to go alone," Hun
Next morning, Val shakes me awake.“Time for patrol.”“What about breakfast?”“We can eat on the job,” she says. She seems to be in a hurry.I dress quickly and grab my weapons, then we’re off and out.It’s a beautiful morning.Val takes the lead.She is silent, her eyes scanning the horizon.She marching briskly, heading in a direction we don't normally take.Soon, we're climbing a hill. It's not steep, but the terrain in unfamiliar and I have to watch my footing.“Why are we going up here?” I ask.“It’s safer,” she says."If you think the rogues won't bother us up here, I think you're wrong.”Val throws me a quick glance. "I mean it's safer from the pack."I look at her as we continue on upwards. She’s up to something and it's giving me a weird feeling inside.We wind our way through the bramble.It feels like we’re moving in circles.“Are you sure this is the right way?” I ask Val.“Yeah."“But that looks like the same bush we were just at.”Val doesn’t answer
I run down the hill as fast as I can go, slipping and sliding on the loose rocks.Please don’t be Patrick.Please don’t be Patrick.“Rylie!” Val calls after me. “Slow down!”She thinks I’m plowing head first into danger.Perhaps I am.But I have no choice.If my mate is in danger, I must go to him.I must help him.I can’t lose him.I push through the leafy undergrowth, clambering over dead branches and barking my shins on the rocks.I am so close now.Then I hear the howl again.He’s close.I push myself harder, faster.Brambles scratch at my arms and legs, but I hardly feel them.“Rylie!” Val calls after me. “Wait!”I ignore her.I’ll just have to hope that if I run into trouble, she’ll be there to help me.The howls are coming from the clearing.Our clearing.Mine and Patrick's.Panic grips me. The howl comes again. I can tell by how clear it is that whoever is howling, they're in trouble.More than ever, I want to be with my mate.I pick up my pace, push