Page 14 of Tamed By the Alpha Wolf

“...meeting Maddy at Ink and Beans for a baby group,” Rafe was saying. “You good to split patrol with Orion?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it covered,” Elise replied, her tone clipped. “Anything else?”

“Here. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious.” A rustle of paper. “Quiet trails.”

Car doors slammed, engines roared to life. I watched from the shadows as they drove off in opposite directions. The choice was simple—I followed Elise.

I loped after her car, keeping to the tree line alongside the lonely road. My paws ate up the ground, muscles bunching andreleasing with each stride. It felt good to run. To have a purpose beyond mere survival.

The scent hit me as soon as I crossed the invisible boundary—wolf. Not just one, but many. Their mingled odors clung to every tree and bush, a clear warning to outsiders.

Nature gave way to civilization. A home here and there, then more. Voices. Engines. I peeled away from the road and gave their buildings a wide berth, sticking to the shadows as I tracked Elise’s familiar scent.

Her trail led me to a small cabin tucked away in the woods. I crouched in the underbrush, watching as she climbed out of her car. She rolled her shoulders, then reached back inside for something in the passenger seat.

For a moment, her body went rigid. Then she relaxed, clicked the lock on the car door, and strode for her door with a folder dangling from her fingers.

What had caused that reaction? I inched closer, straining my ears.

“Hey, Orion,” Elise’s voice drifted through an open window. “I won’t be able to make our patrol. Something came up I need to handle.”

A pause. Then, “Oh, fuck off. No, I will not sabotage cars just so they need your tow truck.”

There was no lie in her voice. Just exasperation and... fondness? The beast in my chest growled at the thought of her caring for another male.

I shook it off.Focus.

Footsteps stomped away, and her front door opened. Closed again. Her keys jangled at her car door.

Then she was gone.

I waited, counting seconds, then minutes. Nothing moved save for the wind whispering through the trees.

Breaking in was child’s play. I shifted and tried the handle. The lock gave way with barely a whisper, and then I was inside. Her scent wrapped around me, and for a moment I lost myself in it. Fur and wild heather. The promise of rain.

Home.

I stood at the edge of her living room, fighting to keep my wolf from surfacing. To cling to this form, as unfamiliar as it felt. The room was small and cozy. Paperbacks crammed the shelves of a small bookshelf, and a quilt hung haphazardly off the arm of an old sofa.

I shouldn’t be here.

I didn’t deserve to be anywhere near her. But I had to know what they’d found. Had to see how close they were to?—

There. On the kitchen counter.

My hands shook as I flipped it open. Crime scene photos spilled across the surface, each one a punch to the gut. Bodies torn apart. Blood splattered across walls and furniture. It was all so familiar. So horribly, painfully familiar.

The screams. The rush of power.

I remembered. I remembered all of it.

A year, the bear had said. How long until they learned about the two before that?

The lights flicked on.

“You know,” Elise drawled behind me, “if you wanted to read my mail, you could have just asked.”

Slowly, I turned to face her. She leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest. But it was her eyes that held me captive.

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