Page 71 of Pack Kasen: Part 2

The new prospect is waiting for me near the bunkhouse.

I prowl toward him, subtly sniffing, trying to identify his scent from one of the many I picked up in the city.

Because I told a white lie.

Finan was not the first one to follow Kat to the city after she warned me to stay away.

I was.

I sat in the back row of Gregson College’s football stadium, hoping she wouldn’t smell or see me. I wore black wraparound glasses that concealed my eyes, slouching in my seat while I watched my mate deliver a graduation speech that earned a standing ovation.

I was so fucking proud of her.

But because she hated me—and I didn’t want to ruin one of the best days of her life—I slipped out when the ceremony was over, and I sniffed my way through the campus in search of the shifter.

I didn’t find a trace of him.

And this auburn-haired new prospect doesn’t look suspicious.

He stands taller, brown eyes wary as I approach.

Outside of hunting an out of control feral or fighting in the Wolf King Trials, I stay home in Burning Wood.

I was the youngest Alpha in shifter history, I hunt ferals after one killed my family, and I’m good at fighting. That’s about as much as most know about me.

I’m used to seeing wariness or outright fear in the eyes of the shifters who don’t know me like my pack does. If they saw the way Gregor treated me like a pup and the way I let him get away with it, it would forever dent my reputation.

“Your Alpha did not notify me you were coming.” I glare at him.

An email or a phone call is a courtesy. Dealing with a shifter dumped in my lap is not one of my favorite tasks in the world, mainly because I have to verify who they claim to be and ensure they aren’t looking to leave their last pack because they caused so many problems that they weren’t wanted. The last thing I want is to bring in a troublemaker.

He clears his throat. “Uh. No. I’m from Indiana. I just?—”

I swing around. “Finan. Find out his story. Check it out and?—”

Kat races out of the house to meet us, drawing my attention and causing me to stifle a smile.

“It’s my hunt, Aren,” she yells. “You don’t get to just take over.” Kat skids to a stop, glaring at me.

Our new prospect looks from me to her and seems to be having second thoughts about coming to north Montana.

I know why fate would match us together.

“You love the hunt as much as I do.” I grin at her.

“No, I don’t,” she denies, backing up a step. “So…” Her eyes linger on the man. “Are you from the city?”

He shakes his head. “No. I’m from Indiana.”

“Oh.” She gives him another long look. “Well, nice to meet you.” She turns to leave, then stops, eyeing him again. “Whereexactlyin Indiana?”

I grin at her. “He’s not our prey, Kitty cat. Finan can show the new prospect around and I’ll explain it to you?”

She hesitates. And that’s how I know how badly she wants to know more about the shifter world. Living in the city, she can’t know much.

She has a lot of gaps in her memory and I want to be the one to fill them for her because soon, her dad will return from Nebraska, probably with her entire family, and I’ll be lucky if I have ten minutes alone with her.

They’re her family. Sheshouldspend time with them. But she’s mine too, and I can’t pretend I don’t want all her time to be with me.

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