Page 8 of Betrayed Wolf Mate

Mark snapped his fingers, eyes dawning with recognition. “Right, right,” he said. “Wait…wasn’t that where Stella was from?”

I nodded tightly as my mind began to spin, trying to make sense of everything as my wolf snarled in anger, flexing his claws.

Stella’s pack was being antagonized by a demon. I had never gone up against one before, but I knew Rand had. They were bad news.

So if there was a demon terrorizing Stella’s pack, that meant she was in trouble.

The idea of Stella being in any type of danger made my wolf pace irritably inside me. I’d made the mistake of leaving her there when we were younger, and it was one of my biggest regrets. Now, she was in trouble. If I hadn’t walked away, she would be with me now, and she would be safe.

In a way, if she was in danger, it was my fault.

“Do you know how bad it is?” I asked as I finally mopped up the beer. “The demon, I mean.”

“No, I don’t.” Rand was slouched in the chair nearby. “It’s just a rumor, anyway.”

That wasn’t reassuring to me. Just the thought that Stella might be in trouble was enough to make me want to drop everything and run off to her pack, even if I wasn’t welcome. But was that a good idea? For all I knew, she wouldn’t want anything to do with me. At the same time, I didn’t particularly care; I wanted to make sure she was safe. If she told me to fuck off after I checked on her—which, given what had happened, she absolutely might and would have every right to do so—then at least I would know she was safe.

Over the next couple of hours, while the conversation moved on from the subject of demons and faraway packs, my mind agonized over whether or not I should go. If the rumorswere true, then Stella was in danger. And even if they weren’t true, if I went, I could see her. Maybe I would get the chance to explain myself.

Except, then I remembered what might happen if I did. I’d made a promise. And if I broke it, then she and her family would be the ones who would suffer for it. I didn’t want that to happen.

But if Stella was in trouble, it didn’t matter whether I pissed off someone else or not.Just as I’d made up my mind to go check on her, my thoughts were interrupted by Evelyn hurrying into the room, her long red hair swaying behind her.

“Babe?” Oliver asked, straightening up as his mate rushed in.

Everyone else in the room stiffened in alarm. We could all sense the tension radiating off her. The grim expression on her face alone would have been enough to tell us that something was wrong.

“I was on a hunt and caught an unfamiliar shifter’s scent,” she said, looking around until her eyes found Jameson. “I wasn’t sure if they were friendly or not, so I tracked them. It turned out to be a woman. She looks pretty bad, a bit beat-up and exhausted. She was really skittish, too—she ran when I found her. I thought she might be dangerous, so I chased her. But when I caught up to her, it was obvious she was harmless. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong or why she was on her own in the woods, but I managed to convince her to come here to at least get a warm meal and some rest.”

“She didn’t tell you anything?” Jameson asked.

“Definitely not suspicious at all,” Rand muttered.

“Nothing,” Evelyn confirmed, ignoring Rand. “And I didn’t want to press. But something’s definitely up. I was hoping you could talk to her and get her to open up. I got her some clothes. She’s outside right now.”

Jameson nodded and stood. “I can see her in my office if she’d rather not talk in a room full of shifters.”

She nodded. “I’ll join you, if she doesn’t mind. I think having a woman around would probably help.”

“I was going to suggest that,” Jameson said. “Come on.”

Jameson and Evelyn walked out of the living room, and the rest of us listened to the pair of footsteps going down the hall toward the front door. We heard the door open and Evelyn say, “It’s all right. This is Jameson, our alpha. Come on in.”

“Hey, there,” Jameson said. I could tell he was using his you-don’t-need-to-worry tone. “It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

I caught the faint trace of a familiar scent, one I hadn’t smelled in years. It was sugar and raspberries, evoking memories of summer. My entire body froze, tensing for the briefest of moments before I sprang up.

“What—?” Oliver asked, but I was already gone, heading into the hall so I could see the shifter whose scent that belonged to. Because there was no way it could be her. Not after all this time. It was too much of a coincidence.

But as I ran into the hall and turned toward the door, I realized that my nose hadn’t been lying. My wolf growled, pacing excitedly as I saw that familiar long dark hair, that golden skin and soft face. She was dirty and clearly exhausted, but she was even more beautiful than I remembered.

I said her name before she could answer Jameson.

“Stella.”

Chapter 5 - Stella

“Stella.”

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