Yet, I wondered what had happened to him, what he was doing now. I liked to think he was happy. I liked to think he wasn’t mad at me for vanishing the way I did. But none of that really mattered anymore.

“Iris!” Dad yelled. “Stop stalling and get up here! I’m not asking you again.”

“Sorry, Dad!” I called, and hurried off to follow my family, leaving the treasured memories of Alek behind me as I did.

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.”