Chapter 2 - Elena

Who the hell does this guy think he is?

Elena stood on the steps of the Nightstar manor with her arms crossed over her chest, glowering at the giant of a man who had decided to stand in her way.

She didn't know him. He had no authority over her. She was a lone wolf—now, at least—but she knew every senior member of Jack's pack and he most definitely wasn't one of them.

Like hell she was about to tell him her business. No, she would see her brother or Jack and that would be the end of it.

"Your brother?" the guy looked dumbfounded. It was actually kind of a sweet expression on him, but in her current mood, Elena had no time for this shit. "I didn't know Jack had a sister."

"Not Jack, you buffoon," she growled at him, and saw the way he flinched at her words. For a second, she actually felt sorry for him—she was being one hell of a bitch. But again, she didn't have time for any of this. "Eddie."

If he heard her, he didn't respond, and Elena didn't like the way he was looking at her. There was something wild and dangerous in his dark chocolate-brown eyes, something that drew her in, something that made her heart hammer.

She struggled not to breathe too deeply. His scent had been bad enough when she had climbed out of her damn truck. It had hit her like a giant slap in the face. Smoky, musky and masculine, it did things to her and her wolf that she would much rather not acknowledge. The scent of earth and fresh air that clung to him made her wolf claw at her insides. She desperately needed a run—with him —but she had been running in another way all night long, and she didn't have the time or energy to waste on whatever the hell her instincts were trying to tell her about him right now.

"Did you hear me? I said I need to see Eddie."

Guilt nipped at her insides at the harshness of her tone.

"It's the middle of the night," the wolf-man pointed out.

"Like that matters," Elena countered. "You and I both know werewolves prefer the night. Either go get Eddie from whatever extracurricular activities he's up to right now or let me in so I can get him myself."

It would be just like her brother to be fucking some nameless pack she-wolf when she needed him. He'd always been a rebel, a womanizer, a downright idiot. But he was her brother, and he had always been there for her. She loved him. She needed him. And this drop-dead gorgeous man standing in her way wasn't about to stay there for long.

"So help me, if you don't stop staring at me like a damned idiot and get out of my way, I'll—" Elena threatened, but she was cut off by the door opening behind him.

"Hanson, get the fuck away from my sister!"

Hanson! So that was his name. She'd heard a lot about him from Eddie over the last few months, about how he'd helped them get rid of the previous alpha to take over Nightstar, how he had been one of the last alpha's main men, how he had betrayed his own pack to put Jack in charge.

A low growl erupted in Elena's throat as Hanson moved to step out of the way. No way in hell was she about to get all warm and fluttery over a traitor. Hell, she wasn't looking to be like that over anybody right now, or ever.

But when Eddie stepped out onto the porch, placing himself between them, Elena felt the oddest urge to shove him back out of the way. She didn't like the way he glowered at Hanson or the way he growled until the red-blonde wolf averted his gaze submissively to the floor.

The second his gaze was gone from her, she missed it.

What the hell is wrong with me? she wondered, even as she tried to get one last glimpse of him past her brother.

Whatever was going on between the two of them, it was likely pack hierarchy and absolutely nothing to do with her, so she tried her hardest to ignore it.

"Eddie, I need to talk to you. Alone."

At first, Eddie seemed not to hear her, either, and she would have liked to slam their skulls together.

Then Eddie spoke, still glaring at Hanson. "I was just about to head out on the next patrol. You can join me. I'm sure Jack won't mind."

Elena was just at the right angle to see how Hanson's head shot up. Clearly, he was about to protest, but before he could, Eddie snarled, "If you've got a problem with that, feel free to take it up with Jack yourself."

Then, before his packmate could respond, Eddie turned, gripped Elena's arm, and started to drag her back down the porch steps.

As the distance grew between her and the porch, between her and him , Elena's heart clenched.

"Don't manhandle me," she snapped in an overly aggressive manner at her brother, yanking her arm free of his grip. "You aren't Dad."

"Good, because Dad's dead," Eddie growled back at her. "What are you doing here, El? You can't just come onto pack territory like this without good reason."

The seriousness of the situation was not lost on Elena, but she struggled to answer her brother, still caught in Hanson's line of sight. She could feel him watching her as they drew closer and closer to the tree line.

"Don't I know it," she grumbled. "I thought your boy back there was going to give me hell."

She used her words as a chance to glance back over her shoulder, disdainfully hoping for one last glimpse of the redheaded wolf.

"Don't mind Hanson, he's nobody," Eddie growled, nudging her with his elbow.

Then they were alone in the woods, and Elena was entirely cut off from Hanson's gaze. She felt immediately cold all over. It was a strange and uncomfortable sensation, one that she tried hard to ignore.

"What's going on with you two?" Elena asked, raising a brow, not quite ready to get to the point of why she was there. "I thought Hanson was starting to integrate into the pack well. Last I heard, you were all praising him."

Whether she agreed with keeping a traitor in their midst or not, she'd heard some good things about the man.

Eddie scoffed and shook his head. "It's nothing."

Shoving his hands into his jeans pockets, he glanced away, but not before Elena saw the look in his eyes. It most definitely wasn't nothing.

She opened her mouth to protest, preparing to slap him silly for the truth just as she had so often when they were pups, but before she could, he demanded, "Elena, what are you doing here? Damn it. You know you can't just waltz onto another pack's territory without invitation or one hell of a good reason."

His gaze met hers then, and the concern was evident. Whatever was going on between him and Hanson, it didn't compare to his concern for her.

This time, it was Elena who dropped her gaze. Wringing her hands together, she grumbled, "Do you think I don't know that?"

She felt more than saw her brother stiffen and knew he sensed the seriousness of her situation.

"What's going on, El?"

The way he stepped forward and gripped hold of her arms made her cringe. She wasn't sure she could bear her brother's comforting touch right now.

With tears in her eyes, she lifted her gaze to his and admitted, "I need sanctuary, Ed."

As if she had struck him in the face, Eddie stepped back, his hands falling limp at his sides. "What have you done, Elena?"

Anger boiled in her veins then. Jaw and fists clenched, she glared at her brother and snapped, "I haven't done anything. I just…I can't go back to the home pack."

Eddie examined her closely, his eyes probing into hers as if he were trying to decipher the truth from them.

"What's happened, El? What about Jason?"

Elena flinched. The mention of her mate's name made her blood run cold. Numbness threatened her insides and she let it in. It was all she could do to stop from feeling.

"He…he's gone," she said, unwilling to say anymore. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But he's your mate? How can he just he gone? Elena, you've got to give me something here, damn it!"

Eddie stepped forward again as if to hug her, or maybe even try to shake the truth out of her. Either way, she couldn't stand the thought of being touched again. She feared if he did touch her, he would know everything. That, or she would spill the beans about everything and end up a puddle of tears on the ground. Neither of which she was ready for, and so she stepped back.

"You left the home pack a long time ago, Ed. Things have changed since you left for the military."

"Surely they can't have changed so much you need sanctuary?" Eddie protested, shaking his head. "What are you running from, El? Is Malcolm coming after you?"

Elena shivered. The alpha of their birth pack was the least of her worries right now. Yes, she was running, but not from him—not really from anyone. Still, she wasn't ready to give him the answer, and so she simply shook her head.

Looking her brother dead in the eye, she pleaded, "Please, Eddie, will you help me or not?"