Page 54 of Her Shifter Pack

Chapter 16

OLLIE

I didn’t go to work the next day, calling in sick, citing a family emergency. My boss wasn’t thrilled, but I didn’t give a shit. My brother was more important than any job, let alone one I didn’t even enjoy.

Markus and I had always talked about working together. Me overseeing his company and personal finances, and some freelance work on the side. Maybe now was the time to start changing things up.

Only, there was something off in my gut when I thought about Markus. I couldn’t explain it, but when Lexie and I woke up this morning and he wasn’t back, my worry grew.

Not that either of us had managed much sleep at all.

“Something’s wrong. I can feel it,” Lexie said in an echo of my own concern. She was audibly shivering even though I had the furnace cranked up.

“The rain’s stopped.” I glanced out the window and came to a decision. “I’m going to make some phone calls and see if I can find Markus.”

“If you can’t, we’ve gotta go find him,” Lexie managed to say though her teeth were chattering now.

I glanced at the clock. “It’s only noon. He could be sleeping off a hangover somewhere, so how about you go have a hot shower, and I’ll see if I can find out where he is.”

Lexie nodded and ran up the stairs to the bathroom.

I picked up the phone and called Nancy first. She picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Ollie, what’s up?”

“Have you seen Markus today?”

I could almost hear her smirk. “Well, not today, but yesterday...”

“He didn’t fuck you, Nancy. I know. So, what really happened? Did he reject you? Is that why you came over to our home to stir up shit with our mate?”

The silence on the other end of the line was all I needed. “Oh... you little bitch.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Fine,” I managed. “But I’m calling my parents as well, and if they haven’t seen him, I’m sending out a text for a wolf council meeting.”

Nancy groaned on the other end of the line. “Stop being such a drama queen, Ollie. Markus doesn’t buy into any of that Fated mate bullshit. And if he’s missing, it’s because he wants to be. You know what he’s like. He’s a lone wolf.”

I closed my eyes and pressed the palm of my right hand to my forehead. “You don’t know anything about him, do you? He’s part of a perfect pair, Nancy. A twin. Born to be part of a triad, a large pack. He’s anything but a lone wolf. And if something bad has happened to him because you fucked him over with Lexie, you’ll regret it. I promise.”

In the end I hung up on her. I didn’t wait to hear her bullshit response.

The conversation went pretty much the same with my parents, both of them assuming that Markus was just hiding out, shirking his responsibilities of work and his mate.

But I knew my brother. Maybe not perfectly, but better than anyone else.

When Lexie came back downstairs dressed in warm leggings, a turtleneck and a leather jacket, I froze. “Where are you off to?”

She looked dressed for traveling, even wearing sneakers and thick socks.

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