“Jana’s tavern,” he spits.
I go rigid. The seedy tavern is where I’ve heard my uncle is known to harp about how good he had it coming up under my grandfather until he wasn’t named heir. There’s no doubt in my mind this traces back to him influencing drunken packmates who feel overworked and overlooked. If he sways enough of them to splinter the pack into factions, I’ll lose the footing I’ve busted my ass to stabilize in the wake of the trouble with the Morgans turning on my father.
The pack won’t survive a second revolt.
“Liam, Ford, take them to the patrol cabin,” I order.
“Don’t worry, we’ll deal with them,” Liam says.
“Alpha Dempsey never shoulda named you his heir,” the older male gripes as he’s dragged off.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and turn to the rest of the workers. “Let’s get this cleaned up. I’ll have the other teams from maintenance send over replacements until this is all resolved so your group won’t be shorthanded.”
The she-wolf that held her own against two of the workers in the fight gives me an approving smile. “You heard the alpha.”
I help them get their truck out of the ditch the other three drove it into and stay with them until everything’s righted. By the time we’re done, the minor injuries from the fight have healed and they offer to share their lunch with me.
“Thank you. I would, but I have to get back. Your efforts are an important part of the community. If you have any problems or wish for a reassignment, come see my office.”
“You don’t have to tell us,” Candace, the strong female, says with a hearty chuckle. “There’s no such thing as a pack full of people that can scratch their asses all day, or nothing would ever get done. Someone’s gotta do this, and right now it’s us. Honestly, I like this assignment better than my last one in laundry. I like being outdoors all day.”
I nod in appreciation, thanking each of them again before I head back to the lodge.
Dealing with the disgruntled maintenance workers makes me late getting back in time for my meeting with Timber Hollow Pack’s liaison.
“Apologies,” I say when I stride into my office. “There was an urgent matter I needed to resolve.”
The last thing I need is other packs hearing I don’t have things in hand. It won’t help my bid for better trade agreements if they think we’re in shambles.
The liaison is old enough to be my mother, with her blonde hair pulled into a severe bun. She gives me a judicious once over.
“Thank you for fitting me into your busy day, Alpha Blackburn. Gina of Timber Hollow Pack.”
I shake her hand. “I hope your travels were pleasant.”
“Quite. The foothills between here and Timber Hollow’s forest to the south are beautiful this time of year.”
“Let’s get right into it,” I suggest.
She loses some of her curtness and launches into an overview of this year’s gathering. The packs first come together for a welcome feast celebrating our continued harmony before any updates are made to the accords.
As she talks about the formal meeting following the feast, my focus derails. I swear I catch a hint of honeysuckle in bloom and drowsy summer showers spent on the porch through the cracks in the window.
Avery.
My wolf is more interested in following her heavenly scent than sitting through the meeting. Instead of fighting his influence over my instincts again, I hesitate. Her scent acts like a drug that leaves me in a disorienting haze that fills my mind with her, her, her.
Everything I shut down floods back in. My imagination is out of control, supplying me with a vivid recreation of the first moments the bond unfurled.
The way she felt pressed against me last night, with her hand splayed on my chest sparks heat in my veins. She fits in my arms so perfectly. Her bright eyes captivatingly locked on me, so soft and lovely. Those full lips parting in awe, inviting me to claim something I used to dream of with her, even after things changed between us.
I struggle to shut down the line of thought, failing to remember why I shouldn’t want to kiss her to learn what sounds she makes. Or find out the answer to the burning question I’ve always wondered—if she tastes as delicious as she smells.
“Alpha Blackburn?”
I stiffen, tuning back in. The liaison peers at me expectantly. I missed the question.
Damn it, this meeting has been on my schedule for weeks. It’s important, and I’m sitting here thinking of Avery in every way I shouldn’t be. My fist clenches.
Fate changes nothing. I’ll never go there with her.
“You’ve selected the members of your pack you’ll be attending the Pack Summit with?” she repeats.
“Yes. We’re still appointing volunteers to help Timber Wolf Pack put on the event.” As part of the accords, the summit’s host bears the brunt of the work with help from each pack to bring us all together. “This list has the Silver Falls Pack members joining me as part of my entourage.”
She takes the paper and scans it, copying names down. “And just to confirm for the headcount of your group, you are unmated? I don’t see one included here.”
“That’s correct. I don’t have a ma—”
The end of my sentence becomes garbled, my wolf jerking control from me with a howl that rattles the windows. He’s pissed at me and the female for discounting his mate. My nails become claws and my arm swings across the desk without my permission, knocking a stack of paperwork to the floor.
The wolf is done with this. He wants to leave, to spend the day at his mate’s side. I won’t let him take my skin, gritting my teeth until I have him locked away where all my thoughts of Avery should remain—buried in my mind.
I clear my throat, gripping the armrests so hard that my shifted claws dig into the lacquered wood while my expression settles into a blank mask. Rather than apologize or make excuses for my wolf, I plow on with the meeting.
“I’ll send a final headcount for the group ahead of the gathering.”
“Very well.” She quirks her brow. “Please do so with at least three weeks notice so arrangements can be finalized.”
I’ll be hearing about this outburst from Alistair when she returns to his territory. Great.
“Of course.”
She shuffles her notes and stands. “Thank you for your cooperation and accommodation, Alpha Blackburn. We look forward to hosting this year’s event and seeing your pack there.”
I nod, shaking her hand. “Thanks.”
Once she’s out of my office, I lean my elbows on the desk and rest my head between my hands. An insistent tug yanks an invisible cord rooted in my chest. Fucking mate bond.
13AVERY
Something wakes me with a gasp in the middle of the night. I scramble to sit up, straining my ears.
There it is again, outside my window. Even with better sight, the cloudy night makes it too dark to make out any detail besides the fur of a huge dark shadow. I hope my garden plots haven’t attracted bears again.
I slip from the sheets and grab a knife from my satchel hanging on the wall, then creep to the window.
The beast lifts its head, snout raised and ears forward with interest. It’s not a bear.
I lower my small knife. It’s Caden. He’s out there again, this time as his wolf.
Sighing, I brace on the windowsill while he paces outside my room. He rises to his hind legs to sniff at the trim. I squint, tilting my head. He seems more beast than man at the moment.
I’m inclined to believe Caden’s not in the driver’s seat, so to speak, because there’s no way he’d come out here at two in the morning for no reason.