Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

Rowan

S omeone was seeking relics? Relics existed? How the hell hadn't I been aware of that? How had one been sitting a few kilometers from us? My wolf growled at the thought of it. Protecting my pack was more than an obligation. It was the very essence of my being, the drumbeat to which my heart synchronized.

With every step I took through the underbrush, the coil of anticipation tightened within me. My muscles thrummed with restless energy, the kind that only came when the stakes were this high. Betrayal had once torn through our ranks like wildfire, leaving scars that ached at the mere thought of history repeating itself. I couldn't—wouldn't—let that happen again.

I jumped to the lower branch of a cedar and pressed my boots against the trunk, then monkeyed my way up into the branches until I had a clear view of Evelyn's hotel room across the street. I wasn't going to sit outside her door again after the look she'd given me, but I sure as hell wasn't going to leave her defenseless.

Rowan. Jasper's voice cut through the mental fog. I wasn't in my wolf form, and I knew how much effort that took. We've got patrols covered. Stay where you are. We trust you.

After Blake dropped me off at my truck, I'd gone back to the garage and talked with Jasper there. I was supposed to be working. More than that, I was supposed to be fulfilling our obligations with Tori and Mara.

But while Jasper hadn't mated, he knew the storm roiling inside me. His words were a balm, a reminder that I wasn't alone in this fight. As my second-in-command, he was more than just a loyal wolf. He was the backbone of our pack when uncertainty loomed overhead. With him holding down the fort, I could chase the elusive threads of this mystery and protect my mate without fear for the safety of those I held dear.

Theoretically. It was never going to be possible for me to sit back and relax.

I'm here , I projected back, my mind's voice as firm as the set of my jaw. Thank you .

I don't mess around, Jasper replied, the mental equivalent of his usual curt nod. I chuckled, shifting in the tree until my back rested against the trunk. I rubbed my sap-smeared palms on my jeans and drew a deep breath.

I would stay here all night if I had to. I'd never needed as much sleep as other wolves, and since becoming alpha, that disparity had only grown. It was convenient on nights like this. Less convenient when I was pacing around my empty house in the middle of the night.

My heart picked up speed at the thought of Evelyn standing in my living room. Of her sharing my bed. I stared hard enough at her door, I wondered if it might spontaneously combust. Was she undressing? Showering? Pulling her hair up and?—

I jolted so hard, I nearly lost my seat. Evelyn's door was opening. I gripped the branch above me and leaned forward, then cursed under my breath. That little minx.

Evelyn was dressed in all black, carrying her backpack. She closed the door and walked to the stairs with her head down.

"Damn it, Strawberry." I launched myself out of the tree, the bark scraping my neck and arms as I crashed to the ground. What the hell was she thinking?

I blew out a breath. I knew what she was thinking. She was a tracker, and she'd obviously kept to herself some of the clues she'd gathered. My wolf groaned at the thought. I wanted her to share things with me. To let me protect her. If anything happened to her…

I broke into a run. She was already crossing the street and I was a block behind her. With every step, my senses stretched out like tendrils, seeking her scent.

I moved silently, my boots pressing into the soft forest floor, until her sweet scent filled my nostrils. I hesitated. She hadn't told me she was leaving. I doubted she'd be happy to find me following her.

I wanted to call out, to demand answers like I did from my pack. But I wasn't Evelyn's alpha. Not yet. There was more to this than met the eye, and if there was one thing I'd learned as an alpha, it was that patience often revealed more than rash action ever could.

Easier said than done.

So, I followed, keeping my presence a secret. The distance between us remained constant, her figure visible between the trees ahead of me. But when I glanced once at the rising gibbous moon, I lost her. My wolf pressed so hard against my senses, I nearly cried out.

I abandoned all pretense of stealth and bolted, my head whipping from side to side. Tracking Evelyn should have been easy—my senses were honed for this—but she was no ordinary wolf.

"Following me, Rowan?" Her voice cut through the silence, an accusatory lilt to her words.

I skidded to a stop in the leaves, relief flooding through me. When I could finally draw a full breath, I turned to face her. "Just out for a run."

Evelyn took a step toward me. Her hair was tucked in her hood, her hands wrapped around the straps of her backpack. "You're a terrible liar."

A grin tugged at the corner of my lips despite my wolf still pacing restlessly. He was pissed. I should've been pissed. But standing in front of her, I knew that was never going to be a possibility. "You look good."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "That's what you're saying to me right now? Not ‘I'm sorry, Evelyn, I realize you're a grown-ass wolf, and you don't need a chaperone?'" She leaned against a tree, arms crossed over her chest, one brow arched in challenge.

"I realize you're a grown-ass wolf."

"What about the apology?"

My jaw worked. "You said I was a terrible liar."

Evelyn pursed her lips. "You are…"

"Incredible."

She scoffed, pushing off the tree.

"So hot you want to put down your bag and come back to my place." I grinned as I fell into step next to her.

"In your dreams."

"Literally." The clock was ticking. I wasn't going to pretend I felt less than I did.

Evelyn shot me a look and walked faster.

"So where are we headed?" I trailed her like a pup. She didn't answer but also didn't tell me to get the hell out of Dodge, so I figured that was best case scenario.

We moved in unison through the dark tapestry of the woods. When she slowed, I slowed. My curiosity itched at the back of my throat, but I kept my mouth shut. I was there next to her. It didn't matter where we ended up.

The scent of damp earth and decaying leaves mingled with the faint smell of wood smoke as we neared the edge of the clearing. That's when I saw it. A low cabin nestled against the hill. I growled low in my throat, and Evelyn held up a finger. Every instinct screamed caution, every rustle of the trees a potential threat. We were wolves in enemy territory, and the pounding of my heart matched the thrum of danger in the air.

I moved closer, pressing my shoulder against hers. What is this place? I sent to her head.

Evelyn's eyes widened. I watched her trying to answer the same way I'd asked, then finally gave a frustrated huff and leaned in. "This is a cabin."

I breathed a laugh. "No shit."

Her lips twitched. "I caught Callista's scent at the pack meeting on Justin. Then I caught it again when we were leaving the parking lot. I wondered if there was something in the woods, and there was."

"It's here?"

She nodded. "Window on the left looks open."

"No, Ev?—"

She was already moving.

I bolted after her, staying glued to her flank. There were no lights on. No vehicle in the drive. That didn't mean anything with shifters. I scanned the ground, looking for fresh footprints.

A rustle to our right froze us both, our bodies instinctively crouching low against the wet earth. The forest had been eerily silent around the house, a silence that now shattered with the subtle snap of a twig under careful weight. My wolf senses prickled with an awareness that tightened my muscles, ready for anything.

"Scouts," Evelyn breathed out, her voice barely a sound in the still night. "Kitimat."

The truth of it sank into my bones. I hadn't been paying attention to how far we'd traveled. How had I not recognized when we'd passed over the Kitimat boundary?

It was one thing to risk a stealthy break-in. It was another to do so with the enemy lurking just within striking distance. "Whose house is this?" I mouthed.

Evelyn dropped her eyes, and I had my answer. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. She was coming to Nathan's cabin alone? I didn't give a shit if he was still rumored to be up north, he was an alpha. Justin had nearly gone for her throat at the meeting, and out here? There would be nothing to stop him.

"Stay down," I commanded, though I knew there was no need. Evelyn understood the stakes as well as I did, her body already pressed to the ground, her athletic form blending seamlessly with the night.

My eyes never left the dark outline of the trees where the noise had come from, my ears straining for any other giveaway signs. A flicker of movement, a whisper of displaced air—anything that would give away their position. But the scouts were good, trained to move unseen, unheard.

Evelyn's nostrils flared as she closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. "She was inside, Rowan. I have to go in."

My heart sped in my chest. No, my wolf barked. He was right. This was stupidity at its finest. But as her hazel eyes gazed up at me, I couldn't put my paw down.

I put out my hands in a stirrup. "Give me your damn foot."