Chapter 13

Chapter

Thirteen

Evelyn

I was meeting with a witch today. I repeated that sentence in my head, and it never sounded less ridiculous. If I, a supernatural creature, couldn't wrap my head around there being a witch that lived in the woods, then who could?

My wolf pawed at my consciousness, flashing yet another image of Rowan standing in the door of my hotel room. I groaned and took a cup from the TV stand into the bathroom for a drink of water. Rowan had played on repeat in my head all night long.

I think you know why it's different.

Based on the way my wolf was acting any time he was around, I had a pretty good idea of what he was alluding to. But what kind of cruel joke was this? Rowan was the worst person I could be fated to. Okay, maybe worst was the wrong word. Most complicated? Most dangerous?

Exhibit A, he was an alpha. He was powerful and wasn't used to hearing no for an answer. He had a responsibility to his pack, and there was no way he'd ever be leaving Black Lake, which led to Exhibit B. Black Lake was barely twenty kilometers from the heart of Kitimat territory. Nathan was the alpha there, and he thought he had a claim on me, though I had plenty of four letter words at the ready for the day he tried to enforce that.

I wanted to believe Nathan had forgotten about me, that he'd moved on to some other unsuspecting she-wolf flattered by his love bombing. But I knew that wasn't true. It would never be true.

That was due to Exhibit C. Nathan hated Rowan Steele. It had been five years since our packs split, and before I left, he was still explosive when anyone mentioned Rowan or Black Lake. It wasn't hard to understand why.

Rowan was a friend to me and Nathan, and he'd only taken over after Nathan challenged his father and left. Nathan didn't see it that way. The fact that Rowan didn't follow him to Kitimat was all the evidence he needed.

On top of that, I chose to leave Nathan. After he'd made it clear to the entire pack that I was his. Nathan wouldn't forget that, and he certainly wouldn't forgive. If he found out I was here? With Rowan?

I shuddered at the thought and reached for my toothbrush. But I was here with Rowan, wasn't I? He'd been at my hotel room last night.

Had I given him permission to come with me today?

Not exactly. But not… not exactly.

Still. When he was around, my wolf seemed to be more steady. I was beginning to trust that she wasn't going to rip someone's head off unexpectedly.

What did that mean? Wasn't it a thing that when you got out of one terrible relationship you were extremely likely to jump into another? Was wolf psychology the same as humans?

I paused by the door, taking a deep breath. The thought of relying on another alpha knotted my stomach. Sure, Rowan was funny. Nice. Adorable, even. But power transformed alphas, twisted them into beings who saw loyalty as a resource to exploit. I would not fall under the sway of any wolf's command again, especially an alpha.

All of it was impossible. Yet rehearsing that in my head did nothing to settle my wolf. That was a problem. I needed her for tracking, and then I needed her to take a backseat. The more I was around Rowan, the less she seemed willing to fade away like she had in Seattle.

With one last glance at the room that had been my refuge, I pushed the door open and stepped outside. The cool morning air kissed my cheeks, but my tranquility shattered when something smacked into my shins, sending me backward into the door.

I cursed, my hand instinctively reaching for the knife strapped to my hip before recognition hit. "Rowan?"

Rowan Steele unfolded himself from where he lay sprawled at my feet, startling me into a defensive stance.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed.

Rowan straightened up, towering over me with those piercing blue eyes and dark hair disheveled like he'd been…well, like he'd been sleeping against my door. His grin was sheepish. "Hey. I got here early. Didn't want to make you late."

"How early?" I scoffed, eyeing the leaves clinging to the same clothes he'd been wearing the night before.

"Early." He brushed off his jacket.

I pursed my lips. "Were you sleeping here outside my door?"

Rowan yawned and covered his mouth. "I may have nodded off."

I shook my head and started toward the stairs. "Unbelievable."

"You're mad?" Rowan's steps were heavy behind me.

"Annoyed would be the better term." The soles of my boots reverberated on the metal steps as I descended to the parking lot.

"Justin looked like someone pissed in his pop last night. I was worried he might do something."

I spun as I reached the pavement and had to look straight up since Rowan was still two steps up on the staircase. "Blake was the only person who knew where I was staying, and he wouldn't tell Justin."

Rowan raised an eyebrow and glanced back up toward my door. I swallowed hard. "Okay, fine, yes. Justin could've followed us here, but he didn't."

"But he could've."

I let out an exasperated breath. "Don't you have a pack to take care of?"

The rumble of an engine sliced through the morning stillness, and I turned just as Blake rolled up in his battered old truck, kicking up a cloud of gravel and dust. Rowan dropped to the ground next to me, his shoulders tense.

"Why is Blake here?" Rowan's voice was gruff.

"It's his sister who's missing. Didn't we talk about taking his truck last night?"

Rowan shot me a look, his eyes dark. I stifled a grin.

Blake cut the engine and stepped out, his muscular build momentarily outlined against the glare of the early sun. He frowned as he caught sight of Rowan standing next to me. "Did he—?" Blake looked between the two of us. "Evelyn, did you?—?"

"Good morning, Blake." I stomped toward the truck and hopped into the backseat. "You two can discuss what I did or didn't do on the drive. Sound good?" I slammed the door closed.

Blake stared at Rowan a moment longer, then retreated to the driver's seat. Rowan got into the passenger seat a moment later, his frame filling his side of the cab.

"I can't have him in here, you know that." Blake's voice was low.

"He has our directions, Blake. And he's just as concerned about these disappearances as we are," I countered. Blake had been at the meeting just as I had. He'd heard how the packs wanted to band together.

Blake's jaw tensed, and Rowan put an arm up on the back of the seat. "I can wipe down the truck for you after we get back. So nobody smells me on your leather."

I held my breath. It was harder to keep my wolf from reacting to his scent when we were in such close quarters. She whined, and Rowan turned his head to look at me. He couldn't hear her, could he? We weren't pack mates, but truth be told, I knew nothing about mating bonds. Not that I'd accepted one, and not that I would accept it, but what if there was something I didn't understand?

"Which direction?" Blake started the engine.

"East." Rowan snapped, his gaze still fixed on Blake as if daring him to say more.

This was going to be a long drive.

The dense canopy of the northern forest blurred past us as Blake's truck jostled along the rugged trail.

"Your family had a chance to make things right," Blake grumbled from the driver's seat, his eyes flicking to Rowan. "Nathan challenged fair and square, but your lot just couldn't let go."

They'd been sending subtle jabs since we left the highway, and now they weren't mincing words. The conflict made my wolf lie down with her head on her paws, but I couldn't bring myself to stop them. These were questions I had, too. Better Blake bring it up than me.

Rowan gave a sardonic laugh. "Is that the story he tells? At least he's consistent."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Rowan's jaw tensed. "It means he's always going to spin things to his benefit. What I can't understand is why you'd believe it."

"I'm living in the aftermath, Steele. You pushed us out."

"False." That word felt like a prelude to a storm. "We recognized Nathan as alpha, but he'd burned too many bridges. When he realized he wasn't going to be able to keep control, he poisoned anyone he could and left. I'm living in the aftermath."

"You think I'm an idiot? Just followed him blindly?"

"No, I think he's damn good at making people see what he wants them to see."

That hit too close to home. I leaned forward from the backseat. "You know, if you two keep this up, I'll have to sit between you."

Rowan's blue eyes met mine, and I felt it—the pull of his wolf to mine, an invisible thread tugging at my senses, stirring something deep within me. "There's room." He patted the seat next to him.

"Shut the hell up. Are you shitting me?" Blake pulled over to the side of the road, and even though I was buckled, I slammed forward but didn't hit the seat.

Rowan was halfway over his headrest, bracing my shoulder with one arm and cupping my face with the other. "Ash, I'm going to?—"

"She's your mate? "

"No!" I yelled at the same time Rowan growled, "Yes." I slapped his hands off me and pressed myself against the seat. His hands left streaks of heat across my skin.

Blake turned to look at me. "This can't happen."

"Don't you think I know that?" I struggled to catch my breath.

"If Nathan finds out?—"

"If Nathan finds out, he can deal with me." Rowan's eyes were so bright, they shone. His wolf pressed forward, his power radiating through me, and that's when my hands started to shake.

No . I started to hyperventilate. "Shit," I hissed, scrambling for the red button to release my buckle. "Shit, shit?—"

"Evs—"

"Do not call me that!" I shoved the door open and dropped to the ground just as my wolf burst forward, and I shifted for the first time in two years.

On the side of the highway.

At 9 am on a Friday.