Page 5 of Wolf Forgotten

We hung up, and I slid my phone in my pocket. My ears perked up, and I ducked just as a fist came flying at the back of my head. It went through the side window, sending shards of glass tinkling to the pavement and all over the inside of the cab of my truck.

I swiped my foot out, knocking the assailant onto his ass, and dodged another punch from another attacker and sent him to the ground.

Wolves.

Their stench was enough to wake the dead, and I'd been so distracted that I'd let them sneak up on me.

I jumped into the bed of my truck as they got to their feet and looked up at me. My wolf was clawing to get out, and I clenched my hands into fists. Shifting in town would spell disaster.

"Why are you here?" I spoke between gritted teeth as I looked down my nose at them. They were subordinates; I could tell from the way they backed away from me.

"A little birdy told us that your pack has been sniffing around town this week. Our alpha sent us to see why." The taller of the two took a brave step forward. "I imagine he's not going to be happy to hearyou'rehere."

"This is neutral territory." Before I drew attention to myself standing in the back of my truck, I jumped and landed perfectly on my feet. "Youralpha is the one that couldn't come to an agreement."

The shorter wolf growled. "The town should be ours."

I growled right back, and they backed up into the middle of the street. There was no traffic since it was so late. "Tell your alpha that if he has an issue with me coming for a drink, he can send me an email. Or better yet, I'll email him about the window you shattered. I'm sure he told you not to be aggressive."

When I didn't see any behavior that indicated contacting their alpha made them nervous, I let out another growl that sent them running. Things had become increasingly more volatile between the packs over the years, and not from lack of me trying to ease the tension.

After using a rag to sweep out the glass on my seat, I got in my truck, not surprised Silas had sent two wolves to rough up members of my pack. He never considered the wolf who would be slinking around town would be me.

* * *

I rolledover to the smell of food cooking downstairs and groaned. I tossed and turned all night thinking about her. Who was she? Why was she here? Why was her scent almost nonexistent?

And then I remembered my bar tab. Son of a bitch.

After a quick shower, I got dressed and went downstairs. I could smell bacon from a mile away, and my stomach grumbled.

"Morning, Cole." Eli stood at the stove frying cut up corn tortillas. "I hope you're in the mood for migas."

"Always." I poured myself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. "Did you find out anything new about the woman?"

"Her name is Ivy." I didn't need his reminder of her name. I wanted him to think I needed a reminder because he could usually see right through me. "I hacked into the county records office where her birth certificate was issued. She was adopted from here."

I watched as he poured scrambled egg over the fried tortilla strips. My mouth watered and I licked my lips. "Where exactly?"

"I did a little bit of digging, but she was abandoned outside the Arbor Falls medical clinic. There's no record of her birth parents." He turned off the oven. "Mind getting the bacon out?"

"Are you giving me an order?" I grabbed the potholders and laughed as he paled at my remark. "Don't get your panties in a twist. You should be used to me joking by now."

"Well, I'm not. You're my alpha. It was one thing when your father was still in charge, but now you should be treating me as your subordinate." Eli had been increasingly vocal about me treating him more like an omega, but I found the whole hierarchy thing antiquated. Well, at least in my human form.

I clapped him on the shoulder and opened the oven to pull out the foil-lined cookie sheet. "Fuck, I love bacon."

I grabbed a plate already on the counter and took half of the bacon, which got me a sigh of frustration from Eli because I was supposed to take most of it.

"Sure, just ignore what I said. As usual." He scooped the corn tortilla and egg goodness onto my plate.

He made himself a plate and sat down across from me at the kitchen table that overlooked the backyard. The sun was just starting to rise, and I had a busy day ahead of me.

I ate most of my food before sharing my big news with him. "I'm going back to Arbor Falls in a bit. I have an interview," I said, just as Eli took a bite of food.

He coughed as he swallowed. "What?"

"I put your numbers down for all the references and left a copy of the resume I submitted so you know who you are for each of the calls." I took a sip of my coffee as he continued to cough. "You all right?"

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