Page 25 of Wolf's Chance

Communities.

I couldn’t think of anything worse. I liked it here. Alone. Just me, the quiet, and the open sky.

A black crow settled nearby, squawked at me when I snapped my jaws at it, ruffled its feathers,and then it too, seemed content to settle for the night. So I wasn’t alone. But since the bird really wasn’t going to bother me at all, I lay back down.

Thinking of packs encouraged my mind to wander back to when I was younger. My father was a strong wolf, and my mother was the perfect loving wife. I had been happy. Loved. Our pack was small but content. In my older years, I had seen many packs, ones where stores and businesses were the norm. Where pack paid for goods and services.

Our pack hadn’t been like that. No one had more than the other. Not even the alpha. Everything was shared, everything was equal. There was no “less than” in our pack.

The way it needed to be. The way it should be.

My wolf whined and I pulled the feeling of sadness back into me. Holding onto the past only kept you looking back. The way forward was to face what was in front of you and not look back. The past was the past and needed to stay behind me. No good came of thinking what could have been; we only had what was.

Lifting my head, I watched a shooting star fall across the sky and automatically said a prayer to the Goddess Luna. It was an old tale my mother would tell me when I was a child. A shooting star was the sign from Luna that an alpha had been born.

Having known a few alphas, I could only hope this one was a better one than most. The crow snapped its beak, and I snapped my jaw. I wasn’t fond of crow—I preferred chicken—but I’d snap its neck if it kept annoying me. It hopped up higher on its chosen resting place, and when I saw it wasn’t going to fly away, I returned to watchingthe stars.

In the morning, I woke to a light drizzle of rain. The crow was still sleeping soundly, and I left it undisturbed. A night on the mountain, under the stars, and undisturbed had refreshed me.

Thoughts of Willow still lingered, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to solve the mystery that she presented. I should probably just leave Whispering Pines and leave her behind me. She drew my picture, but it was hardly sinister.

At the moment.

Even in wolf form, the huff of disgruntlement was loud. For now, it was simple sketches of my face, but what if she drewmore? What if it became shifters she drew? I would need to tell the Pack Council.

I hated the Pack Council.

They did nothing when my family was killed.

They did nothing when my home was destroyed.

They did nothing.

No. The only person I could count on to solve the riddle of Willow Harper was me.

Whether I liked it or not.

The half-drunk coffeecup sat forgotten in front of me as I stared out the window of the small café, watching the movement across the street. Behind me, the two young servers whispered, debating whether to approach me again to ask if they could get me anything else. My coffee had gone cold a long time ago.

In the far corner, a new mother’s baby hadn’t stoppedmewling since they came in, and the mother’s sighs of growing despair echoed around the room.

But my focus was on the woman who should have arrived in the store across the street. She was late, and I wasn’t prepared for the feeling of disappointment that hit me. I’d stayed away for a few days after burning her painting, and I expected Willow to be at work today, but it was Lily who was opening the store, while the two regular students hung back uncertainly, and while I couldn’t hear her perfectly, her body language was tellingeveryone nearbyhow unhappy she was with their questions.

As I got ready to leave the café, my attention shifted to the male walking down the sidewalk. Tall, dark-haired, with an imposing frame and stoney face, he was undoubtedly an alpha with something on his mind.

And if I were to take a guess, I’d guess that the somethingwas someone, and that someone…was me.

He pushed the door open, and with barely a glance at the two servers, he headed straight to me. He pulled out the chair opposite me and sat down. His dark gray T-shirt accentuated the power in his arms and chest. Green eyes pierced mine as he leaned back in the chair.

“Alpha,” I greeted.

“Cannon is fine.” He turned his head to the servers. “Two coffees.” I didn’t say I didn’t need another; he wouldn’t care. He was an alpha and alphas got what they wanted. When he turned back to me, his expression hadn’t changed. “Why are you here?”

No build up. No more of an introduction other than his name. Nothing. It wasn’t the alpha way. “Why areyouhere?”

If he was surprised by my tone, he didn’t show it. “I ask the questions.”

“Says who?” The stare-off was broken when the coffees were delivered to the table. I murmured my thanks, while Cannon simply nodded and drank half of his drink in one gulp.

---