Page 20 of The Strongest Wolf

That’s not too bad. “Visitors? We’re pretty far out of town. Maybe they don’t know Wylder is ours.”

“They know.” There’s no doubt in his voice. “They just don’t care.”

“You know this how?”

“I organized a night in town. Drinks. A meal. And you know what happened to our visitors the moment we turned up?”

Why am I starting to get a bad feeling about this?

“They were suddenly nowhere to be found?” I guess.

“Exactly.”

Narrowing my eyes, I focus on a squirrel peering down at me through the leaves of a tree in the distance.Farin the distance. No squirrel would ever want to be close to a wolf, even if he does look like a man. “Maybe you scared them off.”

“Maybe.” Dom agrees verbally, but that isn’t what his tone implies.

“You think they’re trouble.”

He doesn’t respond. That’s never a good sign.

“When were they last seen?” I ask, massaging the back of my neck.

“Three days ago.”

I consider what that could mean. “And you’re sure they haven’t just left?”

“I’m sure.”

If it were anyone else, I’d tell them to double-check. But not Dom. Suddenly, I feel useless. If I were there, I’d drive into town with Dom and make damn sure to wander every corner of the town, so my scent was everywhere. And if the shifters were still there a day later, they’d know staying would be a death sentence.

Do these shifters believe that no alpha has claimed Wylder as his territory?

“They would have picked up my scent in town,” I say, thinking out loud. “It won’t be fresh, but two weeks isn’t old. They know the town is taken.”

“And yet they stay,” Dom responds.

“I’ll start making arrangements.” What I’m going to do about Sierra, I have no fucking clue. Sierra needs me, but it’s looking like trouble might be on the way for my pack.

The squirrel disappears into the tree with a rustle, and I turn around.

At the edge of the clearing in front of the three-story Blackshaw packhouse, I stop. Laughter and the low hum of conversation drift from one corner of the house. The kitchen. Salty bacon and sweet pancakes tease my senses, making my stomach grumble.

When Sierra’s laughter rings out, I start planning how soon I can cut this conversation short so I can join her. Most of the Blackshaw pack have mates, but not all of them. Nathan, Gavin, and Dean aren’t blind to Sierra’s beauty. I’ve seen the admiring glances. And while we sleep in the same cabin, and wear each other's scents, we aren’t mates. Not yet.

“You’re going to organize a hunt,” I murmur, straining to hear her.

Who is she talking to? But most importantly, who is making her laugh like that?

“You know, Galen, I didn’t sign up to be alpha.” Dom’s voice is dry. “That burden rests on your head.Firmlyon your head.”

Frowning at male laughter that sounds like it might be Gavin, who as the third most dominant in the pack my wolf views as more of a threat than the computer-obsessed Dean and the joker Nathan, I take a step onto the clearing. “Are the women still fighting? Because—”

“Not anymore. Not since I told them you’d found a Luna and would be bringing her home soon.”

Halting, I turn my back on the house. “You didwhat?”

While I can understand why Dom would let the pack know I was no longer available, since my lack of a mate was causing fights to break out among the women, this complicates things. A lot.

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