Page 57 of Awakened
“What do you want?”
He chuckled and then sighed. “Hello to you too, Les.”
I didn’t say anything—I just waited for him to continue. I wasn’t the one who called.
After half a minute of silence, he must have realized I wasn’t going to lead the conversation. “Okay, I guess I will get to why I called.”
“That would be best,” I said, trying to keep the curiosity out of my voice.
“It’s Seth. I’m worried. He’s checking in with Grandma Rose less and less. We don’t even know where he is.”
At the mention of Seth, I immediately perked up.
“And how can I help with that, Aiden? He isn’t exactly talking to me.”
“I know, but we need to bring him back. It isn’t safe for himto be wandering around alone right now. With the wedding coming up, the neighboring packs are getting restless. They’re afraid of having so many strange wolves in the area in an unofficial capacity. The Blue Moon Pack isn’t exactly popular right now, so I don’t want him out there on his own.”
“Again, I say, what am I supposed to do?”
“Come on, Les, you’re the best tracker I know. You and Brandon can find anyone.” He cleared his throat. “You’re also one of his best friends. If anyone can talk him into coming back, it’s you. All I’m asking is that if Seth isn’t back in the next month or so, you guys go find him.”
I blew out a heavy breath. At the time, I couldn’t imagine the manhunt being a reality. Or that I would get dragged into mending their friendship.
Wow. Was I wrong as fuck.
“If it gets to that point, sure, whatever. Look, I gotta go. I have an eel avocado roll begging to be eaten. Later.”
Just thinking about raw fish in my hungover haze had me dry heaving.
I really need a glass of water.
TWELVE
The drive to Kirksville was long and boring. This particular trip had the added discomfort of wearing “nice” clothes. I would typically rock pajamas on a long drive, or if I’m feeling especially fancy, a pair of sweats, but I didn’t know if I would have time to change before the pack lunch. Of course, I packed a change of clothes for after. I wasn’t about to ride all the way to Topeka in a fitted dress. My hair was styled, and my eyes were sporting nearly perfect winged liner. I felt like I was armed and ready for battle, something I desperately needed.
It had been a year since I tucked tail and left town, and just thinking about being in the same room as Whitney and Aiden made it hard to swallow. As much as I didn’t begrudge them their bond, I didn’t need to have my nose rubbed in it.
Despite being anxious, I was prepared to walk into Alpha Williams’ house with my head held high and a big fucking smile on my face. That’s what an Amazon Beta would do.
Pulling up to the old yellow farmhouse, I found a spot amongst the rows and rows of cars. Brand wasn’t kidding when he said it was a pack lunch—everyone was there. My stomach couldn’t decide whether it wanted to eat food or itself. After a few deep breaths, I stepped out of the car and made my way upto the front door. The voices inside died down after I knocked, and heavy footsteps sounded before the door swung open. A massive set of arms grabbed me and yanked me through the doorway.
Laughing, I choked out, “Put me down, Brand. I can’t breathe.”
“Oh shit, sorry, Les.”
Brandon set me down, and I smoothed the front of my dress. Leaning in to kiss me on the cheek, he whispered, “Thanks for coming. It means a lot.”
I nodded, and he led me toward the backyard. The house hadn’t changed a bit, and I spotted a few pictures of me still hanging on the wall in the hallway. It was all so surreal. I kept all my photos of Aiden in a box under my bed, but here I was, smiling out from the frames, surrounded by my former life.
Brandon noticed where I was staring and shouted, “They have the picnic tables all set up. You’ll be sitting next to Grandma Rose.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I could handle this if Grandma Rose was with me. Despite being a bit of an oddball, she had the uncanny ability to make me feel at ease.
Stepping out onto the deck, all eyes were on me, and I hated every second of it.
Alpha Williams greeted me with a huge smile, pulled me into a hug, and said, “Welcome home, Celeste.”
This man had grown to begrudgingly love me. I wondered if he felt any guilt for how many years he put me through the wringer. He put off handing Aiden the alpha title. He kept sending him out to find his mate, even though we were together. Our engagement wasn’t celebrated by the pack, but you better believe Aiden and Whitney’s was.
