Page 2 of Autumn After

My parents, once Alex informed them where I was headed, would no doubt call and berate me about taking unnecessary risks.

But if I didn’t take risks now, then when? I couldn’t play it safe my whole life! There was adventure out there, and I knew it.

The festival felt right. I could feel it in my bones, I belonged there. Even if I had to fight tooth and nail and oil leaks to get there, I would make my mark.

Only, I was a quarter mile down a road that looked like it wasn’t well-traveled when Lavender decided she was done, cutting out right there in the middle of the street. No hiccups or weird movements. Nope. She just up and died.

Sweat beaded on my brow. I gripped the steering wheel and kept my foot on the gas, as if I could will her back to life.

Trees lined the road, all golden and red with their fall leaves. The wind blew the fallen ones across the road like a fiery orange tornado of color.

It could be worse. It could’ve been my brakes, and I could’ve ended up in a ditch without a view of the fall colors. At least that was what I kept telling myself as the fear of what Lavender shitting the bed would mean as far as my future in this career. But I refused to focus on that. What I needed now was a tow, one that would take me all the way to the Bite and Roll Festival, and I wasn’t sure how to get it, my phone showing no bars.

I’d make it there, no matter what. I just needed… something. I rolled my shoulders back. This was a minor inconvenience on my road to success. It was not the end.

Much like the night I discovered that a family of mice had made a home in Lavendar’s cabin air filter after chewing through five different hoses and wires to get there, this was just a minor setback. I’d fixed that problem—after safely relocating the mice momma and her four babies—and I’d fix this problem too.

I’d figure it out. I refused to miss this festival. My career depended on it.

Chapter 2

Cedric

I love my family. I do. I love spending time with them. I love going places with them. I love how they gave me my space when I needed it. They were the perfect family for me. Any wolf my age would be lucky to have the accepting parents and grandparents that I had. Except lately, being around them was getting kind of weird—and not because of anything they did, but because of my wolf.

He was feeling antsy.

Fine, antsy was an understatement. He growled within me with a ferocity that rivaled a cornered raccoon. Feral was the word that more accurately described his state. I wasn’t sure what to do about it, even if I did have a pretty good guess as to why

My beast was keenly aware of everyone around us getting mated, and he longed for that too.

It started after attending myyoungerbrother’s mating ceremony at the full moon celebration in July. He—an alpha like me—stood next to the Alpha of our pack and accepted an omega we’d known our whole lives as his life mate. And he was happy. So gloriously happy. I was happy for him! My wolf on the other hand… was jealous.

It wasn’t like I didn’t also want a mate. Of course, I wanted to settle down, find a nice omega, grow a family, live happily ever after. Heck, I could even be convinced to get a white picket fence. But that wasn’t in the cards for me, which was something my parents didn’t understand.

They saw that more than once, one of the pack members approached me about potentially mating—almost as if it was a business transaction. In their mind I was just being picky, and at my age I couldn’t afford to do that. And maybe I wasn’t a pup anymore, but that didn’t change things. I didn’t want my mating to be a business transaction. I wanted it to be a love match. One arranged by fate, not by paperwork.

My parents were right, I was getting older. And yes, waiting for a love match might not work out for me, but I also saw the downfall of more than one alpha who got mated, not by fate butby personal selection, only to have one or the other find their true mate years in. What a mess that was, with the only ending including a boatload of heartache.

The person who finds their true mate felt horrible for leaving their mate, and the person who’s left—while they understand in their head what happened—in their heart, it hurts. And then, if there are children, that was a whole other thing. No, thank you. I was going to take a hard pass on that one.

So it was best to wait. Even if waiting meant being alone.

Sadly, my father didn’t agree, and instead of just telling me about it, he waited until we were out hunting to shift and tell me to shift too.

“We need to talk, Son,” he said. “When an alpha becomes a certain age...”

Dear Goddess, I already knew what he was going to say before he did. But I tried not to be rude.

“I know, Dad.”

“Listen, your wolf...he is on edge. We can feel it. Everyone can feel it. I know your younger brother taking a mate before you was unorthodox, but he couldn’t wait forever for you to make a move on an eligible omega.”

That caught my attention because I thought it was only me who was feeling my wolf’s unease. Was it projecting out? Wasthat why my brother had missed the last few family dinners? I assumed he and his mate had holed up in their new home, but perhaps I had inadvertently pushed him away. Maybe I was looking at all this wrong.

“Okay, I’ll work on that.” Meditation was an option. Perhaps a yoga session or two.

I could also talk to my brother.

---