Chapter 17

Rhett

The audacity.

The audacity of that fucking scumbag to stroll into town a month after he'd abandoned my mate in the woods. More than three weeks after that storm had hit the exact same spot where he'd left Levi behind to fend for himself. Fuck, he hadn't even filed a missing person's report for Levi after the storm, even though he'd known he'd been out there. He hadn't come looking for him either. Nope. He'd kept quiet and said nothing.

And he damn sure hadn't been back to pick Levi up after that one week like he'd promised. I knew because I'd sent someone out there to check.

Maim, my wolf suggested. Kill.

That scumbag excuse of a human being deserved to die. And I'd be happy to be the one to end his life for leaving my mate to die… but I couldn't just leisurely stroll into town and do it.

Even though I really wanted to.

I didn't know if Levi was aware that his manager hadn't even tried to pick him up after the agreed-upon week in the woods had been over. He hadn't asked and I hadn't wanted to be the one to tell him, but I was sure part of him knew and didn't want to think about what that meant.

He'd come so close to dying. If I hadn't been there, he wouldn't have survived. Either the storm would've killed him or he'd eventually have starved or frozen to death because that asshole hadn't wanted to take responsibility for his actions.

"We're supposed to be on our honeymoon right now," Levi grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest while staring right out of the windshield. "We just got shifter married . We're supposed to be in bed, fucking each other's brains out instead of driving into town to deal with that asshole. He ruined my life once… why does he get to do it again?"

I couldn't help but snort at Levi's antics even though there wasn't anything remotely funny about the situation.

"We'll pick up where we left off as soon as we're back home, okay?" I promised.

"We shouldn't have had to leave off in the first place." Levi pouted, pushing out his bottom lip, and I had to fight a smile. A pouty Levi was a cute Levi. Also, he hadn't said anything about me implying my house was home for both of us.

Mate, my wolf supplied. Ours. Stays.

Yes. He'd stay with us.

My heart beat faster in my chest, a million different ideas and thoughts flooding my mind. I needed to up the timeline on the renovations I wanted to get done. Open up the kitchen to create more space, maybe add another room or two.

He'd said he wanted to use the sitting area in our bedroom for his filming stuff, but surely, he'd prefer to have his own room, right? A studio maybe? I could add another room or build a small cabin just for him and his vlogging business. Or resume the original plan of adding another floor to the house.

We'll see.

"How is your neck?" I asked instead, glimpsing at the big piece of gauze right at the nape of his neck.

"It feels fine. A little tender maybe, but it also tingles in a good way?"

I released a breath. I'd always dreamed about this. About being mated. Claiming my fated mate. Never once had I imagined the claiming bite would be something I would feel conflicted or even guilty about.

But here I was, staring at that big patch of white gauze I'd used to cover up the wound after I'd thoroughly cleaned it. Shifters had advanced healing. Something in our bodies just worked differently, so wounds closed up in minutes. A bite, even one deep enough to draw blood and scar over wasn't a big deal.

But for a human…

I shuddered. It felt like so long ago, but it'd been a mere five hours since I'd frantically called Jasper because the bite hadn't stopped bleeding yet and Levi was unconscious.

As we entered the pack house, Paul and Gray were waiting for me, as were Jasper and Heath, sitting in the dining room with papers strewn on the table in front of them. Empty plates were shoved to the side while two bowls filled with poutine were sitting there, Levi's and my name basically written all over them.

My stomach let out a loud growl and Levi smirked.

"Hungry?" he whispered.

"Not for food," I answered and winked at him, squeezing his hand. It was a lie, of course, because I was fucking starving. I'd been making dinner when I'd felt Levi waking up, but we hadn't gotten around to eating it before that damn fucking phone call had destroyed our naked evening in.

"Please don't be gross," Gray said and rolled his eyes. "It's bad enough you're stinking up the whole place. You guys do know showers exist, right?" He scrunched up his nose, then smiled at us. "Just kidding. Let me be the first one to congratulate you on your mating. I'm so happy for you guys. Now Rhett can finally stop being a frantic, impulsive mess. My job isn't even remotely fun if I actually have to be the calm, thoughtful one."

"You're the Alpha," I said. "Being calm and thoughtful is kind of your job."

"Nope." Gray shook his head. "My job is delegating and leading. You're my second. Your job is to keep me in check."

Paul cleared his throat. "Could you maybe stop bickering for a moment? I'm afraid this is serious."

The laughter instantly died down, the air growing heavier and heavier with every passing second.

"Sorry," I said, turning my head to face Levi. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

His cheeks were bright red, probably, but he gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't stop on my accord. I don't want Alistair to have any power over me, so I refuse to let him bring down the mood. He's already taken our shifter wedding night away from us."

Gray laughed, but Paul's face was edged with worry.

"I'm afraid the situation is a little more serious than I've let on," he said, gesturing for us to sit down. "There's a warrant out for Alistair's arrest. Vancouver PD was supposed to arrest him this morning, but found his apartment empty. It appears he left in a hurry. I talked to the detective working on the case and he warned me that Alistair might be dangerous. Even though you, Levi, haven't uploaded any videos or posts about what happened, word has gotten out. Alistair was at the police station a couple of times, demanding his name to be cleared of any wrongdoing. His clients are dropping him left and right. In short: he's desperate."

Levi dropped my hand, leaning in, his brows furrowed. "But how did word get out? Not that I feel even an ounce of pity for that bastard, I just don't understand how anyone could've known about this."

Paul shrugged. "The detective questioned a couple of Alistair's business associates. It probably wasn't hard to put two and two together afterwards—especially since Alistair freely talked about your grand new format coming soon."

A small smile ghosted over Levi's lips. "If anyone deserves to be cancelled, it's him. I'm so glad people are finding out what kind of person he is and are dropping him before he actually manages to kill someone with another bright idea."

"But what does that have to do with us?" I asked. "Why did we have to drop everything and come here?"

"We don't know about Alistair's state of mind. Mave said he felt off, and I trust her instincts. So, I wanted Levi to be in a safe location before I go out to arrest him."

"I'm coming with you," I blurted.

"The hell you are," Gray said at the same time as Levi shouted, "Absolutely not."

My best friend and alpha exchanged glances with my mate, a grin spreading over Gray's face.

"I think I'm going to like you," he told Levi and winked.

Levi snorted. "I sure hope so because I'm going to stick around… I'm told the bite on my neck basically means it's a done deal."

I rolled my eyes, but my heart flipped in my chest, a wave of contentment washing through me. It wasn't like I'd expected Levi and Gray not to get along, yet it was a relief to see they did.

"I'm going with Paul," I repeated, putting all the conviction I felt in my very soul into the words. It'd neither been a question nor a request. I would be tagging along. Period.

"No." Levi shook his head. "If he feels off, I don't want you anywhere close to him."

I heard his heartrate pick up and felt a coldness spreading through my body that wasn't my own. A strange feeling for sure, but one that made my own heart skip a beat in excitement.

Not everyone had the luck to find their fated mate. Having Levi was a blessing, a gift from the goddess.

So to have someone threaten his safety was a direct threat against me. It was my duty to protect him—a duty I'd take seriously.

"Rhett," Gray started, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. He was an imposing man, easily towering over me, and I was no small man. Shifters and humans alike tended to be intimidated by him, and more than a fair share of our newcomers were outright terrified he was an Alpha that ruled with an iron fist, beating everyone into submission, forcing his will onto the whole pack.

In theory, he had every right to order me to stay. He could use his wolf's dominance over my wolf to force my hand.

But it was Gray we were talking about. My best friend. My brother by heart. He'd rather chop his hand off than use that special dominance he could lace his voice with to force his will onto me. Hence the pleading in his tone.

"No." I shook my head and turned to face Levi. "Sweetheart, I know you don't want me in danger, and I promise I'll be careful, but I have to go, okay? I have to. You're my mate, and Alistair is a threat to you. My wolf and I… we need to protect you."

Levi pursed his lips, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Fuck. He didn't look happy at all. Annoyance radiated off of him, mixed with hints of exasperation and fear.

"You know," he started before taking a deep breath. "You won't get away with using your wolf and his… your instincts as an excuse for everything."

"But I'm getting away with it now?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

Yes , my wolf shouted. Hunt. Maim.

Yeah… we wouldn't be doing any of that. Probably. Not unless we didn't have any chance.

Levi wrapped his arms around his middle, hugging himself, his face twisted with indecision, his eyes clouded with doubts. After a while, he started rubbing his sternum, his expression turning almost pained.

My wolf whined, and I got it. I wanted to soothe the ache I felt echoing through my body. Wanted to calm him. Reassure him.

"I feel your need to protect me," Levi said quietly, his hand fisting the fabric covering his chest. "It's… god, I think I'm getting a headache from all the feelings rushing through my body. There's this drive inside of me. Well, technically inside of you. It's hard to ignore for me, so I can't imagine how it feels to you, so… go." He shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. Then he raised his hand, holding his index finger out. "Under one condition," he added, "You're the bystander, capiche? Arresting Alistair is Paul's job, and I happen to know he's very capable. You said so yourself. So let him do his job. You're the back-up he hopefully won't need."

His steely gaze met me, then shifted over to Paul who nodded in understanding. Tipping his head, he gave Levi a grin.

"I'll handle it. You'll have your mate back in no time at all."

Levi let out a breath, face softening into a tender expression. "I sure as shit hope so. After all, it's our shifter wedding night."

Gray chuckled. "Yeah, we'll make sure to get your groom back to you in one piece. I swear. I'll tag along. Three shifters are no match for one human, no matter how crazy he is."

I laughed, but my stomach dropped at his words.

Famous last words…

Nothing.

I wanted to scream in frustration.

We'd driven through town for the third fucking time and still hadn't found him.

This really shouldn't be so hard. Balwood was a small-town – emphasis on small, yet no one had seen Alistair since he'd asked for directions for the Inn. And, as Mave had assured us, he'd left there hours ago.

"If you keep grinding your teeth like that there won't be anything left," Gray remarked, taking his eyes off the road to give me a meaningful look.

"We should've found him by now," I growled, my wolf coming dangerously close to the surface, waiting just beneath my skin for the opportunity to avenge our mate.

"That's what you keep saying."

"Because it's the truth!" I snapped at him, then sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Gray chuckled, his face twisting into a grin. "Quite frankly, it's kind of funny how riled up you get as soon as your mate's concerned. Our whole life, you've been the calm and patient one, the one everybody said would be the better Alpha."

"You know I never thought that was true."

Gray snorted. "Yeah. You were the only one who didn't. Hell, even I used to think it'd be better if Dad picked you as his successor."

My heart clenched at Gray's pained voice. Memories came back to my mind. Gray and me sitting beneath the cedarwood tree that was the very heart of our packlands, him talking about how he wasn't good enough. Not right for the position that was supposed to be his. How the pack didn't want him as the Alpha.

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"You're the best damn thing that could've ever happened to this pack."

Gray snorted a laugh. "I'm not arrogant enough to agree with you, but I do think I'm doing a good job. Still, in a fucked up way, it's kind of validating to see you lose your cool. I never believed the day would come."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, giving him the finger.

But for all his teasing and for all the painful memories our conversation had brought up, I felt lighter now.

"I think Paul got a lead." Gray nodded to the road. Paul was in front of us, his cruiser suddenly lighting up, the siren blasting through the speaker.

My heart skipped a beat, my wolf pawed at my chest.

Finally.

"I think we're heading back to the Inn," Gray said, speeding up in order to stay right behind Paul.

Seconds later, we were racing along Main Street, getting closer and closer to the edge of town where Mave's Inn sat.

As we turned into the driveway, my heart stopped. It didn't just skip a beat, it outright stopped.

Because there, in one of the parking lots in front of the Inn sat my truck. The truck I'd left at the packhouse.

Which could only mean…

Oh fuck.

My wolf howled at the same time as a scream shattered the silence.

"Levi!"