Page 11 of Drew

Once more, Drew shared a look with Callum. Despite wanting to limit the potentially controversial conversation surrounding his mate, Drew tilted his head to one side and asked, “You know her?”

“Fredrica mentioned her. Apparently, she’s some hot new talent on the art scene.”

Maddox’s mate was into all things art-related. She did all the graphic design, promotion, and website development for Master’s Grilling.

Drew shifted closer. “Did she say anything else about her?”

Maddox thought for a moment. “Nope. Just mentioned her. I have no idea what she looks like, old or young.” With a shrug, he continued, “Just that she’s making a name for herself in the art world.” He pressed a finger to his chin before announcing, “Landscapes, I think.”

Learning nothing new, Drew broke off the conversation with a whispered order. “Until I know more about her, you speak nothing to anyone else.” He looked hard at each man, focusing longer on Maddox as he instructed, “Including Fredrica.”

Both men nodded.

“Understood.”

“Lips sealed.” Callum made a zipper motion across his mouth. Drew doubted he had much to worry about with Callum. But a mated wolf might let something slip over pillow-talk.

“Let’s get on with this run,” he finally announced, marching off. With some luck, his wolf would give him peace and a break from thinking of his responsibilities and his mysterious mate.

* * *

Drew weaved between the pine trees, his paws sinking in the deep snow as he led his pack on their run. A few members had slipped away to chase down the scent of a rabbit, and more than one couple had broken off, presumably to shift back to human form and make love on the forest floor. There was something about the freedom of the night, the moon guiding each movement, that made a wolf shifter shiver with sexual need.

For Drew, tonight was especially difficult. The night called to his primal instincts, but for mated shifters, it fed their insatiable need for one another. Tonight, Drew felt the sexual need as he never had before. Any hope for a reprieve from thoughts of Alyssa disappeared as the moonbeams fueled his desire, and a paint-speckled Alyssa filled his mind.

Even with a few members exploring various indulgences, a good dozen were still running together. His pack was small by wolf shifter standards. Most were mated, but there were a few single members of both sexes, Callum being one of those. Single members never dated within the pack. Often, males would roam around from pack to pack, searching for their mate. Until Callum felt the urge to mate, a desire directed by fate, he would remain with Drew’s pack. He made an excellent beta and a hell of a VP for Master’s Grilling, and he and Drew had been friends for years. When Callum was finally driven by the need to locate his mate, he could either assimilate into her pack or rejoin their pack with his mate by his side.

Drew, on the other hand, had less choice. If he wanted to search for his mate, he’d have to relinquish his pack to search for her, leaving them to another alpha, which could cause strife within their ranks or between them and neighboring packs. Currently, he was the only alpha in his pack, but it wasn’t uncommon for larger packs to have multiple alphas among their members.

When he traveled for business, he always booked a few extra days to explore the territory and learn about nearby packs, hoping to find his mate. He wasn’t rushing into a mating, but there was no harm in trying to sniff her out while on his travels.

Now, his single days were over. Alyssa’s presence had changed everything.

If she was human, he was in trouble. Not only would he have to explain that wolf shifters were real and not some fictional construct, but he’d also have to bite and change her. Mating a human didn’t always mean forcing them to become a shifter, but it dramatically improved everything—pack, family, and mated life. She’d be able to shift. She’d have a long life, one without pain and illness. It would be helpful for their future children if she could shift. If she remained human, it left their children weak. There was no guarantee that a half-breed could even shift, or worse, they could die in the process of their first shift. Drew wouldn’t let that happen. She’d have to become a shifter.

Not to mention, mating a human left him vulnerable to challenges for the pack's leadership. Callum or any other pack member could try to assume leadership, or even neighboring alphas could fight him for control.

Alternatively, she could be a half-breed herself, though it was unlikely. Mating humans was rare, so half-breeds were rare as well.

He knew she was his mate. She must feel the mating pull, which made him question why she continued to reject him. If so, she had to be human. It was the only thing that made sense.

A long, low train horn echoed through the still night. Drew dodged a low-hanging tree branch before exerting a burst of speed.

A distant howl did more to distract Drew from his musings than any run. He stopped, his pack following suit as they all strained to listen for the sound again.

The facility’s property was their pack’s territory. Neighboring packs didn’t venture onto their land without an invitation, and they had issued no such invitation for tonight.

When it came again, Drew turned toward the sound. Any stray hunting on their land would meet a grisly end.

Knowing the area intimately, Drew took several turns, rounded a hill, and crossed a trail. Even if the sound didn’t come again, he’d be able to find the intruder. Soon they’d be able to scent the loner, and not long after that, they’d have him.

But as they grew closer to the north end of the property, the scent hit Drew like a freight train. Saliva pooled in his mouth, his fur itched, and his body was on alert and primed.

Alyssa.

A fresh set of paw prints appeared in the snow, and seconds later, he spotted a single black wolf on the horizon.

Too late. She realized she wasn’t alone. Her head snapped toward them as the snow crunched beneath multiple paws. Her scent changed, becoming sharp and acidic. She was scared.

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