Chapter 2 - Alek

There was something uncomfortable about being an eleventh wheel. Don't get me wrong; I loved all my friends. We'd been in life-and-death situations together, and I trusted them with my life. But when most of your friends had their mates leaning against them or sitting on their laps, it made you stick out like a sore thumb.

"You all right, Alek?" Klyte, my best friend, asked. Jenn was curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder while he ran his hand up and down her back. Beside him, Sam and Stella were nursing beers, laughing at something Jameson had said.

"Yeah, fine," I said, though I really wished any of the still-single Silver Wolves—Rand, Tannen, Mark, or even Malcolm, our old boss—had shown up to the mansion that day. But they were out doing their own thing, leaving me with my old spec-ops group and their mates.

It wasn't that I disliked any of their mates; I thought they were great. It was only when I was surrounded by all of them at once that I remembered I was the odd one out. I had always been content on my own, but these types of hangouts made me wonder what it would be like to have a mate. Even if I didn't see that happening anytime soon.

That was the thing, though—at one point, I thought I might have found someone. A human, but that hadn't mattered to me. She was perfect. I could still remember her scent: lavender and honey. But one day, when we were supposed to meet in the woods, she didn't show up. I couldn't find any trace of her. It was like she'd vanished off the face of the earth.

I still thought about her from time to time, wondering what had happened to her and how she was doing. I'd searched for her for days, but never found her again. It still ate at me sometimes.

Jameson, our alpha, stretched, rubbing his mate Georgia's shoulders. "Anyone up for a swim?" he asked, nodding toward the lake.

"Works for me." Luke stood. He looked down at Andi, his mate. "Andi?"

"Sounds great to me," Andi said.

All the couples stood, stretching and laughing as they chatted. And all of a sudden, I really didn't want to be here.

"I'm gonna pass," I said. "You guys have fun."

A chorus of "byes" and "see you laters" followed me as I stepped back into the mansion, walking through the expansive halls toward the front. As I did, I fished out my phone, wanting to hang out with someone without feeling like an intruder.

"Hey, Dan," I said. "Up for a hunt?"

***

I'd met Dan not long after coming to Brixton. He was a good guy, if a little brusque at times. But it was nice having some friends in the area who weren't part of the Silver Wolves, especially when everyone else was busy.

Dan was leaning against a tree when I ran up. His hulking frame pushed away from the bark when he saw me.

"Took you long enough," he said. "I was about to go off without you."

"That assumes you'd be able to outrun me," I retorted.

Dan barked out a laugh, his blue eyes sparkling as he stretched. "In any case, you ready?"

Before I could answer, he shifted, and a massive brown-furred wolf stood in front of me. I followed suit, and a moment later, my wolf stretched his claws, relishing the feel of the earth beneath his paws and digging his claws into the dirt.

With a chuff, I darted deeper into the woods, letting Dan race after me. I hadn't been kidding when I said I could outrun him; I could outrun most anyone in town. I loved the way the air rushed through my fur and the feeling of darting through the woods, dipping into the brush and letting my wolf run free.

Shifters had a good sense of smell in their human form. As wolves, the scents of the forest—of dirt and earth and fresh prey—slammed into us. Dan and I raced through the forest, tracking the enticing scent of deer.

It wasn't long before the scent grew stronger, and my wolf growled at the smell and the thrill of the hunt. This is what Dan and I had needed for days now, trying to get rid of some of that pent-up energy.

The deer was in a clearing, and it wasn't fast enough. Within seconds, the deer was on the ground, dead.

I shifted back to human, waiting for Dan, who shifted moments later.

"Nice one," Dan said, clapping me on the back. "We'll be eating well tonight."

I cracked a grin. But just as I was about to grab the wolf and haul it back into town, a new scent brushed against my nose. Not new, actually…a familiar scent, but one I hadn't smelled in years. My head swiveled to my right as the rest of my body froze.

"You all right?" Dan asked, waving his hand in front of me. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Not quite," I said. I sounded absent-minded, but I was anything but. All my attention was focused on that scent, a mix of lavender and honey that brought back memories I hadn't fully forgotten.

Without any further explanation, I took off, racing through the woods as fast as I could, tracking the scent as my heart raced. There was no way. Not after all this time.

The smell grew stronger, and the closer I got, the more my disbelief grew and the more certain I was that I wasn't imagining it. It was her. It had to be. It was impossible, but it had to be.

"Stop dragging your feet and get moving," a raspy voice snapped as I got closer. "I've got other work to do."

"Sorry."

My heart pounded as the voice reached my ears. It was a voice I hadn't heard in years. I gave an almost breathless laugh the closer I got.

It was her. After all these years, it was her.

"Don't be sorry," the harsh voice replied. "Speed up."

I pulled up short behind a tree. I was naked, and I didn't think startling her by bursting out of the woods was the best course of action. Instead, I watched silently.

There she was. Iris. I hadn't seen her in years, but she was unmistakable. Her light brown hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, and her face was red from exertion, but she was just as stunning as the last time I saw her. Despite her petite frame, she was trying to juggle multiple dead rabbits in her arms.

Two others were with her—an older man and a younger one. Based on their noses and eye shapes, they were her relatives. But they certainly weren't treating her like family.

"She's just being lazy," the younger man dismissed. I noticed that while Iris was carrying at least half a dozen rabbits, he only carried a single rifle. "You know how she is."

My wolf bristled, and I did, too. My fists clenched as I watched. I was half-tempted to step out right then and there to teach those two a lesson for berating Iris. But just as I'd made up my mind to step out, the older man—her father, presumably—said, "Maybe we should just leave her out for the wolf men. Let them take her off our hands."

Iris's eyes widened in alarm. She didn't say anything, but it was obvious by the tension in her shoulders and the way her eyes darted all over that she was frightened.

I froze, nearly kicking myself. I'd forgotten that Iris's entire town was suspicious of shifters. She'd mentioned it to me the first time we met, and I'd just been working up the courage to tell her the truth about me when she'd vanished.

I'd always wondered what happened to her, why she had vanished the way she had. But I'd always expected it would be one of those mysteries I would never get the chance to solve.

As I watched, the brush rustled behind me, and Dan appeared in the corner of my vision.

"What—?" he began, but I held up my finger, still wanting to listen. I kept expecting Iris to stand up for herself, but she kept quiet, shuffling after the two men like a mouse. The men resumed chatting about the hunt and the weather, acting like she wasn't even there.

I couldn't believe she wouldn't tell them to knock it off. They were bullying her, making her carry all their kills, and she wasn't saying a word in her own defense. She just ambled after them, her head bent resignedly.

I watched her walk away, my heart thudding.

"You gonna tell me what that was about?" Dan asked when the three of them vanished out of sight.

"The girl," I said.

Dan shrugged. "I mean, I guess she was good-looking for a human. But she's human, so that kind of negates anything else."

"I used to know her," I said. "Haven't seen her in years."

Dan frowned, looked at me harder, then shrugged again. "Well, that was years ago. Don't be too hard on yourself for it."

I wasn't sure what he'd meant by that, but I didn't particularly care at the moment. Right then, all I could think about was Iris. I thought I'd lost her, but now it was quite obvious that she wasn't only still in the area, but wasn't in a great situation.

The least I could do was help.