Chapter 6

ONE MONTH LATER

* * *

Maya glided silently through the forest, as quietly as her human half could move, and expanded her wolf"s senses as far as she could while keeping a firm grip on her other half. She couldn't risk letting out her wolf, not with her emotions running as high as they were. As a human, she could maintain control, not let the rage, pain, and grief explode into the night. There was only one way that could go, and it would be bad for anyone around. As a result, she locked her emotions down tightly into a vault, muting everything she could to reduce the pain to a numbness. It also numbed the mating bond that had been a raw wound for the past few weeks since she left Garrett at the Council Headquarters, but she'd better get used to that pain since it was highly unlikely that she'd ever be able to complete that bond now that the situation between their packs had turned to shit.

No, she relied on the strict control her Alpha demanded, what had been ingrained in her, in their entire pack, since the day she began training to shift. That control was only reinforced and built upon during her years of enforcer training when her true strength as a powerful, dominant member of the pack had revealed itself.

Where was that strength when the most vulnerable members of her pack, the pups and caretakers who relied on her for protection, needed it? Where was she when they were slaughtered and the survivors kidnapped by unknown assailants, leaving behind a blood-soaked ground and broken bodies?

A growl erupted from her throat and she paused, her hands fisted at her side as she fought against the overwhelming tide of grief coming from inside of her and through the pack bonds. A wave of soothing energy flowed through, a power smoothing out the rough edges, and she felt the band around her chest loosen. Her Alpha, checking on the pack and letting them all know he was with them.

Maya bent over at the waist, her hands braced on her knees as she gulped air, feeling like she could breathe for the first time since that awful moment earlier that day. The band around her chest easing just enough to let her think clearly for a moment. It was in that split second that her wolf caught the scent of something. She pushed at the restrictions that Maya had placed on her, almost breaking free, but Maya wrestled her back to let the human surface and consider the information.

The scent was something that was familiar, something that made her wolf perk up inside, yet it didn't belong on Dirigo Pack land. She suppressed a growl and moved quietly, yet swiftly, in the direction of the scent on the wind. She slowed as she approached the clearing, crouching behind the brush to spy on the source of the smell.

A male dressed quickly in the clearing, as if he had just shifted, shrugging into a flannel shirt to ward off the chill in the spring evening air. He already wore a pair of jeans and shoes and, as she watched, balled up a soft bag to stuff in his pocket, a bag some shifters carried a change of clothes in while shifted. His posture was awfully comfortable and relaxed, considering he wasn't Dirigo and could be killed for trespassing. In fact, if any other enforcer had found him, they already would have killed him, considering the heightened emotions and state of emergency they were operating under. Yet he acted as if it was a normal day.

Could he be one of the Council Enforcers, sent to investigate the situation? If so, he got here rather quickly since her pack leadership had only put the call in a few hours previously. That was the only reason she hesitated to act. Well, that and the fact that her Alpha ordered her and all enforcers not to react violently no matter what, in an effort to avoid further bloodshed.

She eased into the meadow and shifted her hand, placing her claws against his throat, even as a familiar scent teased at her memory.

"Why are you on Dirigo land? Speak quickly before you can't say anything."

* * *

Garrett stretched and settled back into his human skin after the pleasure of running in wolf form for the better part of the afternoon. He'd just returned to this part of the Saranac Pack lands and his uncle, Linc, the beta of the entire pack, directed him to get accustomed to their boundaries and any gaps they had in the line. To his dismay, there were a considerable number of gaps based on his memory of the map his uncle showed him. In fact, he'd barely seen any of his pack mates along the line and instead had to avoid several members of their rivals, the Dirigo Pack, which was alarming.

The fact that the Dirigo wolves appeared to be out in force and, based on his wolf's senses, had heightened emotions for some reason, concerned him. He had considered remaining in the wolf form, but needed to let the human take the lead for a while and evaluate the situation. While the human and wolf were linked, when one was ascendant, the other wasn't always in control, so it was easier to switch when needed.

He had just shrugged into his shirt and started to button it when a scent wafted on the breeze, teasing him with the familiar scent. He had just been about to turn with a smile, pleased that she had found him first. He hadn't even had a chance to call her yet, when claws pricked the skin at his throat and he froze.

"Why are you on Dirigo land? Speak quickly before you can't say anything."

A husky female voice spoke from behind and to the right of him. Maya was a bit shorter than him, as he well knew from their week together a month ago, but he also knew that she was a strong and fierce fighter. Since she didn't appear to recognize him, which was strange, and was on edge, judging by the tone in her voice, so he wasn't going to assume he could take her. He'd fought against enough wolves of all shapes and sizes to assume size equated strength. He also wasn't his uncle, who assumed all females were weak. She was Dirigo, and they trained all of their pack members in lethal force, males and females. His wolf howled at being so close to his mate, finally happy and eager to complete the mating, though her side of the bond was closed off.

He stared straight ahead, barely breathing. The throb of his pulse pressed against the sharp claw and he hoped Maya wasn't feeling twitchy. "I'm not on Dirigo land. I'm on Saranac."

"You lie," she hissed, the venom in her tone catching him off guard.

She wrenched away from him, pushing him, her claw slicing a shallow cut across his skin. He whirled around and moved out of reach, maintaining a loose-limbed stance to not escalate the situation but prepared in case she attacked.

The auburn-haired she-wolf glared at him from a few paces away, her green eyes snapping with a hidden fire that he remembered from a month ago, but the anger, the pain rolling off of her was new. "Maya?"

She grew still, her eyes widening. "Garrett? What are doing here?"

The fact that she didn't run to him or appear to be at all welcoming was concerning and his wolf sat back, watchful, also confused by her reaction. Maybe she was pissed that he didn't call her first, give her a heads up he was back. But he hadn't expected to be back so quickly. The Council hadn't had any investigations for him to work on, so they sent him back, after a request from his pack. He was only told that morning to head out.

"I just got back earlier today and my father set me to run the line, to familiarize myself with the borders. I was going to call when I got to a stopping point, but things seem tense everywhere I've run. Why didn't the mating bond tell you I was here?"

Maya took a step back, then stopped as if realizing what she'd done. "I don't know. Things have been really emotional, and I had to lock everything down. It muted the bond, so I didn't sense you. Look, Garrett, this is not a good time."

He took a step forward and stopped at her warning look. "I'm getting that. Maya, it's me. Your mate. What's going on?"

She heaved a sigh. "Things have turned to shit between our packs. I don't know why the bond didn't tell me you were here. Probably because I'm barely holding everything together right now. But, trust me. You don't belong here. This is Dirigo land and you, especially you as a Saranac wolf, are not welcome here."

Tension leached from his muscles, and he relaxed just a bit, sensing the initial danger had passed, though he wasn't out of the woods, metaphorically speaking. He leaned against a tree and folded his arms in front of him, trying to appear less threatening. Though he wanted to understand why the mate was muted.

"Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but I saw the boundary maps and I'm clearly on our land. You're the one who's trespassing." He swiped a bead of blood from his neck. "And with that little trick with your claws? Well, I could claim you attacked me."

Her jaw dropped, and she struggled for her next words, but only for a moment. Then a strangled scream erupted. "I would expect such deviousness from a Saranac wolf, but I had thought you would have more sense than to believe the bullshit. You can claim the land all you want, but it doesn't make it yours. The Council would definitely disagree on your version of the boundary. Which makes me defending our land and you the invader. You should know that, having been a Council Enforcer for the past four years."

He barked a laugh. "You're delusional, sweetheart."

"When the Council gets here tomorrow, they'll show you how wrong you are."

He straightened and frowned. They hadn't told him they were coming here when they cut him loose. "The Council is coming here? Why?"

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms in front of her. But it wasn't casual, not like him. No, it was more of a defensive move, and somewhat of a protective posture. His wolf told him that there was something off with Maya, off with the she-wolf he knew and hoped to mate. She was closing herself off from him, from the bond that should be reconnecting with their proximity. Instead, there was deep pain radiating from her and anger, but he couldn't understand why. And the rivalry between their packs, the same enmity that had driven their friendship apart years before, prevented him from asking her about it now. Though he sensed his pack was at the heart of it.

"Like you're not aware of what's going on. Your uncle is at the heart of it, I'm sure."

He scowled at her sneering tone regarding his uncle, the Beta of their pack. "I don't know what you're insinuating. Uncle Linc might be tough, demanding, and a bit archaic in his views on females, but he is a decent wolf."

She gave a raw, harsh laugh. "You are so deluded. Archaic is not the word I'd use for him. Asshole, abuser, twisted fuck might be more appropriate. Tell me you didn't know that your pack attacked a nursery of ours, a group of pups and their caregivers while on a picnic, well within our pack lands, miles from your territory. They killed the adults and a couple of pups, but kidnapped the rest of them. Tell me you didn't know about that."

His stomach dropped at her words, icy tendrils of horror clutching at his stomach. Pups were noncombatants. Everyone knew that. They were never to be touched or used as pawns. If someone attacked Dirigo and took their pups, that would explain the heightened level of tension he sensed on his run.

"I had no idea. I'm sorry, Maya. Really. Is there anything I can do?"

She glared at him. "Weren't you listening? You can go back to your asshole uncle and get our pups."

He sighed and pushed off the tree. "We had nothing to do with this, but I'll ask around, okay?"

She snorted and turned away. He reached out and grabbed her arm before he could think. She whirled and slashed at him with her claws, slicing four thin lines down his chest. Not enough to cause damage but a warning.

"Don't touch me, Garrett."

He backed up, hands in the air. "Apologies. But Maya, it's me. You know I would never do this or condone it. I will look into it."

"It doesn't matter. You're Saranac and I'm Dirigo. There's too much between us, especially now. Good luck asking around."

The last was said with a sneer, and he snarled. "I said I would look into it. My word is good, Maya."

"Then you would be the only Saranac who can say that. Get off our land before someone kills you without talking to you first."

She turned and melted into the forest, leaving him staring after her and wondering what this all meant for the mating bond that was withering even now.