Page 65 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
Despite my eagerness to dispense a well-deserved ass-kicking, even my eyesight could not locate the mewling pitiful excuse for a human. Nor did I see his car parked anywhere on the street or in any driveways.
But I was still being watched. The tingle in the back of my neck was slowly becoming the prick of icy nails digging deeper. Turning back round, I focused my gaze on the woods beyond the houses on Sylvie’s side of the street.
Inhaling deeply through my nose, I sifted through all the aromas for anything that stood out while also ignoring the echoes of lavender and cinnamon that were all I could smell. Sylvie wasn’t easily forgotten.
The wind, however, was blowing across the street and into the forest. Whatever was in there, it was downwind and in the cover of pitch darkness. No way could I see it from here. I would have to go looking.
Throwing up my best shrug, I kept on walking, hoping whoever was watching would think I’d decided Sylvie wasn’t coming and had given up waiting. Then I headed down the street to where I’d parked my truck out of easy sight of Sylvie’s grandmother’s house. Just me, leaving town. That was all I was doing.
Three houses down, the building itself blocking me from view, I darted up the lawn and to the side of the house, taking shelter in the inky blackness created by a large woodpile, the logs stacked four deep and six feet high. There, in the darkness andhidden from everyone, I shifted, keeping my wolf crouched low on all fours to reduce any chances of being spotted.
I didn’t want to waste even that much time, but our secret had to be protected, no matter who was in the forest watching. Even if it was another one of the Chained’s shadow creatures.
Fangs pushing out from between my lips in preparation, I stepped from the shelter of the woodpile and headed toward the forest. The distance between the older houses meant I could move mostly in the dark. Just as thankful with the older homes was the lack of fences on most of them.
I had gotten halfway to the cover of the trees when the wind shifted and came around. The stiff breeze rustled the leaves and flung new scents my direction. I tested the air and received a surprise.
There was wolf on the wind this night.
Padding forward slowly, I avoided the spill of yellowed light coming from the rear of the house, the old bulb faded and dirt covered, reducing its range.
Why would a wolf be out here, I wondered while scanning the forest once more. The wolf was in there somewhere. I could smell them.
Staying out in the open for long wasn’t an option. Despite the large gaps between houses, a wolf as big as me would be spotted easily by anyone looking outside if they faced the right direction. Staying low, I darted across the open space and into the forest itself, the trees swallowing me up and hiding me from sight.
Now I was the one on the hunt.
The scent of wolf was stronger in the breeze now. Fresher. It wasn’t wild. The watcher was a dire wolf. Someone from my pack? A rival pack? One of the Lost? It was impossible to be sure just yet.
I bared my teeth wickedly, crouching low. There was one thing Ididknow. None of the above options should be anywhere in the vicinity, nor should they be watching me.
That thought merged with an earlier worry. What if they weren’t there for me? What if they were watching Sylvie?
The edges of my vision turned a dark ochre, tinted by the rage boiling inside me. I was the pack alpha. No one was to be giving orders like this, not withoutmyauthority. The elders might fear what Sylvie and her bloodline were capable of, but they couldn’t act without my approval.
Threat to the pack or not, if any of them tried to move against Sylvie without my saying it was okay, there would be hell to pay. And I would be the one collecting that debt. I was the alpha. I give the orders. Not the elders. Not Noel.Me.
A gust of wind brought fresh spoor to my nose, enough that I could identify the watcher better. Dire wolf. One of my pack. And a flavor I recognized. Baring my teeth in a silent growl, I hunted.
Slipping through the forest, I was as silent as the night. Not a leaf out of place, nor a twig broken. I was a shadow flowing from one place to the next, stalking the watcher and turning them from predator to prey in the blink of an eye.
The other wolf had no more than a split second to realize the tables had been turned before I was on them. The night was split with snarls and growls from deep in the chest. Claws dug at hide, but we weren’t battling to the death, only for superiority.
It wasn’t even close. In under ten seconds, I had the other wolf’s neck between my jaws, pinning it to the ground with vicious force. Still the other shifter struggled, unwilling to give up until I bit down harder, earning a soft whimper and relaxation of muscles as the watcher displayed submission.
I dropped the midnight-black-furred wolf to the ground with casual disdain, watching as they got to their feet and walked in a slow arc to put some distance between us.
What the fuck are you doing here, Cassius?I snarled, the growls and yips like a second tongue to me.
Cassius Horner was well-known to me. One of those who dissented against my leadership, he was Noel’s biggest supporter to replace me as alpha. Him being here was no coincidence.
The other wolf lifted its black snout into the air, sniffing at the scents before leveling a pair of yellow eyes with vertical pupils at me.
I’d ask you the same thing, but you’re the only one without an answer, it seems.
His message was perfectly clear. He knew I had been with Sylvie. He was saying the scent of her was all over me. It was also a subtle threat. He knew where I’d been, what I was doing, and he would tell others.
Remember who you’re talking to, I snarled at him, my teeth fully bared and promising violence. I wasn’t about to let some upstart pup talk to his alpha that way.
