Chapter 3 - Kaiden

I hurried with Lupe to the door, assuring the pack that everyone was accounted for and they could be dismissed to find their meals. Sunny and River could tell something was up, but they nodded respectfully, and Sunny put a hand on my arm as she passed, smiling.

"If you need anything, Alpha, please let me know."

The pack was so much smaller than it had been under Terrance. Many of the wolves who enjoyed his way of doing things had fled into the woods when I'd killed him, roaming without territories or alphas now. Mutts.

But having Sunny here was worth triple any of those traitors, and I was endlessly glad for her support.

Smiling gently back at her and sending through a wave of appreciation, I nodded. "I will. Thank you."

When the vestibule was clear, I turned to the front door again. That scent still lingered in the air, and I recognized it even after all these years. My heart hammered against my ribs, the feeling of acid slithering through my veins making my skin itch, my eye twitch.

I didn't know what to do with this pent-up energy, and my wolf stalked inside me invisibly, wanting to leap free and chase down the source of that scent. My mind circled back to the day my wolf had appeared. The morning of my first shift had come with so much pain and exhilaration and…clarity.

Years of confusing emotions solidified into place, and I realized—not without a heaping dose of regret—why a particular person had infiltrated my thoughts so completely.

"Alpha, we've captured one of Eli's as she was fleeing Williams land. We brought her to you straight away."

Lupe's voice was even, but I could sense the excitement bubbling within him. He'd done well for the pack, giving us a lead to work off of. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know whom he'd brought home.

Frozen in place, I just stood there and watched as Lupe went to the door and pulled it open. Gunner stood outside with a tiny woman held in his grip, and he stepped forward. As they crossed the threshold, that scent swirled higher, and I stiffened.

Wolves had twin scents, two fragrances that mingled together to create something unique. Jet had been pine and leather. MacKenzie was ocean and old paper. I'd been told I smelled like dew and fallen leaves.

Humans did not have two scents.

With just one, I could pinpoint it in an instant, and this human really shouldn't have smelled so good. It went against everything we'd been taught. However, I realized as I got older that much of our discrimination and regulations about interacting with humans were just based on fear.

I did not fear this human. Quite the contrary.

Lilacs. Lilacs in the summertime.

My mind reeled as I looked down at the woman shoved to my feet. It had been twelve years, and despite how ragged she looked right now, Kit was as beautiful as ever.

Her wavy, chestnut red hair still hung around her round, sweet face, and the deep blue of her eyes peered up at me with the same sapphire shine as they had when we were both living with the Edwards pack. My eyes flicked down to the fullness of her heart-shaped mouth, and something cracked behind my ribs.

"You?! You're the Alpha?"

Kit's eyes went wide, and my two wolves exchanged looks with each other before Lupe came up to my side and whispered low, "Do you know her, Kaiden?"

I rolled my lips between my teeth, sucking in a breath as I nodded once. "I do. This is Kit, formally of the Edwards pack under Jet. We…grew up together."

***

I fucking did it now. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I have to fucking tease her so much?

Kit had run off somewhere, and I stood there in the activity center feeling like a royal piece of shit because I couldn't just talk to her like a normal person. My wolf growled as I let her run away, and I sighed.

The asshole was always trying to run the show now, and dammit, if I didn't hate it all the damn time. Maybe that was why I was constantly pushing against my instincts, deliberately doing the opposite thing.

I wanted to feel like I had some semblance of control in my fucking life. It had been years of just having things "happen" to me, and I was sick of it.

But Kit…she didn't deserve that shit. She was…amazing.

"Great, look what you did now! Ugh," Sandy groaned. "Just get out of here, both of you."

My skin itched like a shift was coming, and I knew I needed to get out of there. Worse, I knew I needed to follow her. Kit was running off because of me, and I really should apologize. Ugh, this was going to suck.

I took off from the room, not bothering to wait or listen to whatever Grayson was on about. I'd catch him later, anyway.

Yanking off my shirt as I ran, following Kit's scent, I dropped it to the grass and started on my pants as I kept moving. As soon as the clothes weren't an issue, I shifted, letting my wolf come free.

He burst into action, sprinting after Kit's scent—lilacs.

It wasn't too long before I caught up with her at the little trailer she and Grayson had been allowed to use since she was human. I watched Kit gather up a few things, knowing that she was getting ready to leave the territory altogether.

Do something, you moron. She's going to fucking leave the pack. Stop her. Tell her she's your—

But then the door to her trailer was swinging closed behind her. She ran off again, going straight for the wood and not looking back. I followed behind her, sticking to the shadows where my black fur would blend in.

Why wasn't I running up to her? Why was I letting Kit get away again without fucking owning up to my bullshit and admitting that I thought she was fucking perfect?

Frustration and anger boiled in my veins, and I nearly lost sight of her as Kit turned east and headed deeper into the trees.

I couldn't get closer; something was holding me back, and I was trapped there, following along behind her in wolf form like an idiot. I wanted to talk to her; I needed to apologize, but instead, I was just hovering here in the background, doing nothing to make the situation better.

Because you're a fucking coward, I thought. Come on, Kaiden. It's now or never.

Getting up the nerve, I launched myself forward, ready to cut off Kit's path and shift back so we could finally talk. Just as my front paw took another step forward, I stopped in my tracks.

The smell of the air changed, the tainted darkness of gasoline and alpha energy humming through the air.

I couldn't follow her. This was Collins territory. Which meant exactly one thing.

I'd missed my chance.

***

As I blinked, Kit's expression changed from the shock she'd worn to undeniable anger. She glared at me, her brows down, and I was sure that if she had a wolf, it would be growling.

"That's one what to put it." She yanked her arm free of Gunner, who looked at me for a moment before I shook my head. "What on earth are you doing here, of all places? This isn't Jet's land."

Sighing I folded my arms over my chest, I could sense the confusion coming from my wolves, and it needed to be put to bed quickly. I hadn't been alpha for long, after all, and a display of weakness right now would not do.

"I'm Alpha here, Kit. So, I'll be asking the questions. Lock her up. I think this particular Williams requires the hand of an alpha."

Kit's eyes flared wide, and she scoffed at me, fighting against the hold that Gunner and Lupe took up again. Seeing her tussle against them made something behind my ribs ache, and as they headed for the back door, I couldn't stop myself from speaking up again.

"Wait." Both wolves stopped, and I turned around and walked up to them, my body feeling like it wanted to tear itself apart. "Take her to my quarters in the compound house around back, not the cell downstairs. Have guards posted outside in case she gets any bright ideas."

Lupe and Gunner exchanged looks, their brows down as they obviously questioned my orders. The swell of apprehension in the pack bond stung, and I let out a low growl.

Looking between them, I narrowed my stare, particularly on my beta. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He quickly snapped to attention, shaking his head. "Of course not, Alpha. Gunner and I will lock her in your chambers and ensure she is well-guarded."

"Good." I softened, clapping a hand down on Lupe's shoulder. "And then get some food and rest. You both deserve it."

He nodded, and the two of them set off to contain Kit in my room.

When they were out of eyeline, I let my shoulders droop, sighing. What in the absolute fuck was my luck? Kit? Seriously?

My wolf howled beneath my skin, and I did my best to shake him off.

"Shut up, you. We have more important things to be concerned with, and I still don't know if she can be trusted. She was with the Williams pack, for fuck's sake."

But that primal part of me didn't care. Kit was here, by whatever means fate had arranged, and that animal part of me was responding even more than when I was young, it seemed. He was ecstatic, pacing around in my brain somewhere because…

Because my mate had returned.