Page 14 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

Why in the name of God had my great-grandmother chosen to settle on a little sliver of land tucked between two shifter packs? It made no sense when she could have simply lived near other humans. Although, I guess if you really wanted your privacy, it made sense, but still, it was making my life a living hell right now.

A few miles down the road, I pulled into the shoulder and yanked my phone from my purse. I had no clue who the alpha of Scottsdale was. The night before, Jace had mentioned a guy who was worse than himself, but that was all I had to go off. I had a hard time thinking anyone could be as much of a shithead as Jace Stone, so I’d take my chances and see. Thankfully, all shifters were registered, and within two minutes, I’d pulled up the info for the Scottsdale, Missouri pack.

There was no picture, just the name Eren Miller and an address. I punched the address into my phone and pulled back on the road, on my way again. I was less than excited about this next meet-and-greet, but what other option did I have? Scottsdale was only half an hour away. The next closest human town was almost a five-hour round trip there and back. Zero percent chance I was making that drive two or three times a week the whole summer. I wouldn’t even be able to buy a carton of ice cream before it all melted on the return trip.

During the drive, I allowed myself to enjoy the scenery. The Ozark Mountains in the distance wrapped around the land, almost cradling it. It was peak summer now, and everywhere I looked, all I could see were lush green trees. This part of the state hadn’t been overly developed, and for a while, I could imagine I’d gone back in time. I smirked, thinking of myself cruising through the woods in a Honda two hundred years ago, passing people on horseback, mouths hanging open as they thought they were witnessing a miracle.

Thirty minutes later, I arrived in Scottsdale, another quaint town similar to Crestwood. The GPS told me to turn down the main street to get to the alpha’s house. I didn’t know a lot about shifters, but turning up wholly unannounced was probably not a good idea. If I didn’t want to make an ass of myself, I’d need to find someone who could introduce me to him. Or at the very least, give me a phone number or something.

Downtown Scottsdale was one long drag with businesses on either side. As it was a shifter town, someone here had to know the alpha. I parked and hopped out, heading toward a cute little bookstore. The streets were pretty quiet, but that wasn’t surprising since it was still early in the morning.

Inside, the bookstore was almost as quiet as the street outside. A young woman stood behind the counter, flipping through a paperback.

“Good morning,” I said as I approached. “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

The woman smiled before looking up. She slipped a bookmark between the pages of her book, then turned to me. “Good morning. How can I, uh…” She faltered and frowned as she laid eyes on me. Her nose wrinkled as though she was sniffing the air and found something she either didn’t like or didn’t understand. “Well, um, can I help you?” she finally said.

These wolves were so damn weird. Were they all like this? Maybe I’d forgotten deodorant this morning before leaving. Was their sense of smell that good?

“Yes,” I continued. “I’m staying in a nearby cabin for the summer, and I wanted to find out who I should talk to about getting an audience with the alpha here. I wanted to introduce myself and make sure it was okay to shop in your town.”

As I spoke, the girl’s eyes widened even more, and by the time I was done, I thought she was even frightened. Had I said something wrong?

She took a hesitant step back, yet again sniffing the air. “Um, can you…” She frowned, obviously thinking. “Wait here. I’ll get the person you need. Hang on.”

Before I could say anything else, she vanished into the back room, leaving me alone.

“What is wrong with these people?” I muttered to myself.

I’d assumed she’d gone to a back office somewhere to call whoever she needed to, but after fifteen minutes, she still hadn’t returned. Frustrated but unwilling to go to another business and try the same thing, I passed the time by perusing the book selection. Ten more minutes went by before she reappeared. A huge, hulking man with a shaved head followed behind her.

“Morning,” the man said to me. “My name’s Poli. Brooke here says you need to speak to the alpha. If you’ll come with me, I can take you there. His name’s Eren, by the way.”

Replacing the book I was reading, I smiled at him. “That would be great, thank you. I don’t want to be any trouble. Though, can I ask what took so long?”

The girl, Brooke, spoke up then. “I had to call Poli, and then he came down to meet you in person. Sorry.” She shrugged, but still appeared uncomfortable about something.

“Follow me, ma’am,” Poli said.

Doing as the man said, I exited the store, and he walked toward a huge pickup truck parked across the street from mine.

“I’ll be in this,” he said, gesturing to his truck as he climbed into the cab. “Follow me, and I’ll lead you up to the house.”

“Déjà vu,” I whispered as I got back into my car.

For the second day in a row, I found myself following a pack alpha’s minion up to the alpha’s house. The truck, obviously a diesel, billowed a cloud of black smoke out as it pulled away from the curb. The trip was fairly short, leading down a few streets until we arrived at a small neighborhood on the outskirts of the downtown area.

Poli’s truck turned onto a driveway that led to what must have been the alpha’s house. The first thing I thought upon seeing it was that it was much bigger and more extravagant than Jace’s. Even thinking about Jace Stone made me hiss in annoyance. Why the hell was I even thinking about that guy right now? It was pointless, and I needed to concentrate on making a good impression on this Eren person.

Poli led me into the house, which was also decorated in an overly impressive sort of way. I had the sense that whoever had designed the interior had done it with the express intention of trying to dazzle anyone who visited.

“Well, well, well,” a voice said from behind me.

Flinching, I spun on the spot and found a man—roughly Jace’s age, maybe a bit younger—stepping through an archway. The moment I set eyes on the guy, an itchy tingle ignited across my body, like my skin wanted to crawl off on its own to get away from his gaze. He had a creepy vibe about him.

“All this time, we thought your kind was gone, yet here you are,” he continued as he walked closer. Poli stepped out of the way.

“My kind?” I asked, brow furrowing in confusion. “What do you mean by my kind?”

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