A black wolf strode out from the tree line and paused when it saw Jason. Jason let out a relieved sigh before relaxing and laying back down. It was only Tanner, Jason’s alpha.
Jason covered his snout with his paws. Strange that his wolf hadn’t recognized his own alpha’s scent, doubly so because there arguably wasn’t a wolf he was more familiar with. They’d known each other since birth.
The mental and physical exhaustion from the last week was catching up to him.
Tanner’s massive wolf trotted over to Jason, looking particularly wild and dirty this morning. Reason number 142 that Addie wouldn’t want to be with me, right there. Nice girls like Addie would never believe that the giant wolf in front of him was the same guy that played the guitar at Harvey’s. She’d think he was a monster, and rightfully so. Wolf shifters lived in the shadows, keeping their wolves secret from the world. Humans would freak out if the existence of wolf shifters ever became public knowledge.
But if Addie really got to know him before learning about his wolf, would she still think him a monster?
Tanner stopped and sniffed at Jason’s face in friendly greeting. Jason snapped an irritated warning before getting up to find a new spot a few feet away. He really wasn’t in the mood for socializing this morning.
Tanner let out a soft whine at the rejection but didn’t press. Still, he didn’t leave, but instead moved to sit down.
Jason guiltily huffed out another breath as he watched Tanner pace three circles before settling down. He had probably come looking for Jason out of concern. Jason hadn’t spoken more than a handful of words to the rest of the pack in days and they’d surely noticed his absence at night by now.
They sat in silence together for a few minutes, watching and listening to the forest slowly come alive as the sun rose higher in the sky. When the sun rose above the tree line, Jason stood up, lazily stretched his hind legs, then strode off in the direction Tanner came from. He didn’t look back but he could hear Tanner padding along close behind.
Jason hunched into himself just before they reached the gravel road. Bones cracked, skin tore. In agony, Jason clutched the grass like it was the only thing keeping him grounded. Like always, there was so much pain. So much burning and ripping. The feeling of being torn apart and put back together.
And then it was over, and he was human again. Jason stood up on shaky legs and cracked his neck. The whole process took twenty seconds, tops, but it was always awful.
Tanner shifted back with a pained grunt, then walked toward the rusty pickup truck parked on the other side of the dirt road. He grabbed a spare pair of jeans from the back seat and threw them at Jason’s head. “Don’t want your bare ass on my fancy leather seats.” He said gruffly.
Jason cracked a smile despite his foul mood. Tanner’s truck was ancient and no one in their right mind would call his seats fancy.
He yanked the jeans up and climbed in the passenger seat as Tanner cranked the engine and drove them toward home.
Tanner had been on the quiet side ever since they were pups, and Jason was grateful for that, especially on days like today. He could cast worried glances all he wanted, but Jason wasn’t going to talk about Addie voluntarily, and he was banking on Tanner not bring it up.
Tanner cleared his throat. Well fuck. Maybe Tanner was feeling social today.
“I thought you were working today.” Jason said before Tanner could open his mouth.
The whole pack cut lumber for a living. It was dangerous work and if neither him nor Tanner were up there on the job site, he wondered who was in charge. None of the other pack members would want to step up and lead.
Tanner shrugged. “I decided to find you instead. Wanted to talk about some things,” he said, voice scratchy from disuse.
Jason scowled, anticipating where the conversation was heading. Tanner paused, as if collecting his thoughts. “There are rumors of other wolf shifters hanging around town.”
With that, Jason sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Truly?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow. That wasn’t what he was expecting at all.
Tanner nodded but didn’t immediately say anything else. That was how Tanner was, though. Socializing didn’t come easy for him, and silence didn’t always mean he didn’t have something to say. Sometimes it just meant that he hadn’t processed all his thoughts yet.
Tanner didn’t speak much, but when he did, you knew it was something important.
“I thought I smelled signs of another wolf while I was up in the clearing.”
Tanner grunted, but seemed unsurprised. “Not a good sign if they’re hanging near our territory. Our scents are all over these mountains, so they have to know we’re here.”
He didn’t finish his thought, but Jason knew what he was thinking. This other wolf shifter pack could become a problem. Wolf shifters are territorial, more so than other shifters. If this other pack was trying to encroach on their territory, then they must not have a territory of their own. And packs without territory will fight for it until they find some.
“Do you know anything else about the pack?”
Tanner inhaled sharply and shook his head. “Just that it’s a small pack. Three or four shifters maybe. They lost their territory a couple months ago and have been unsettled since.”
Jason recalled hearing about a shifter war up in the Adirondacks a few moons ago. The Madfang Pack offered to absorb a smaller pack, but when the smaller pack refused, the Madfangs attacked and stole the territory, anyway. Supposedly there weren’t any survivors, but now Jason wondered if the new rogue shifters in town were somehow involved.
“Have you said anything to the others?”
“No, just you.”
So Tanner had confided in him only. As alpha, Tanner had probably been worried about the other pack ever since he first found out about them.
Because Tanner was so quiet and withdrawn, Jason sometimes wondered how Tanner didn’t crumble under the pressure of being alpha. They’d always been each other’s sounding boards, but still, Tanner didn’t seem to realize that it wasn’t a weakness to lean on other shoulders.
Tanner turned down the dirt road leading to their cabins. A Camp Greystone sign, a remnant from a half-century ago when the cabins used to be part of a small summer camp, hung from a wooden post. The No Trespassing sign beneath it was just a formality, really. No one ever came this far up into the mountains unless they were lost. It was only the Greystone pack up here. No humans allowed.
“You’re distracted.” Tanner said as he cut the engine. Jason growled, his mood instantly souring again. He had thought he was in the clear. The conversation they just hadn’t changed the fact that he wasn’t in the mood to get all mushy with his woman problems.
“Nah, I’m good. Just thinking about the other wolf pack,” Jason answered, too quickly. Tanner would know he was lying, but he didn’t really care.
“What’s so special about her?”
Jason scowled, because as well as he knew Tanner, he sometimes forgot Tanner knew him just as well. Tanner could tell that Addie was affecting him differently.
But also, what kind of question was that? In Jason’s eyes, Addie was the most interesting woman in the world. If he had a dream girl, it was her. Soft yet strong, sweet and smart, friendly and beautiful. Her laugh was like medicine for his soul, and he hadn’t even realized his soul was missing something until he met her.
She was perfect in every way, except for the fact that they would never work. They could never be together. She could never know his secret, and there’s no way he could hide it from her forever.
Frustration washed over him. Why had his wolf chosen a human for a mate? Now he was destined to be miserable and alone forever. She probably didn’t even feel a bond with him yet. It didn’t work that way for humans, right?
Addie, being a human, would eventually move on. But he’d never move on from her.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. And that wasn’t a question.”
Jason felt
the alpha’s order in his bones. He couldn’t resist even if he tried. The air grew thick, making it hard to breathe or move. He growled as he tilted his head, exposing his neck subconsciously.
Tanner was a good alpha. But dammit if it didn’t piss Jason off when he used his alpha juju to make him follow an order. “I’m thinking about her.” He said through gritted teeth.
“It’s been almost a week. You’ve never gotten stuck on a human woman before. What’s going on?” Tanner pressed, but the weight of Tanner’s command lifted and Jason could breathe easy again.
“She’s not just another woman. She’s different.”
“What does that mean?”
Jason shrugged as they climbed out of the truck.
Tanner was a man of few words, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew where this was going. With eyes wide and mouth wide open, he stared at Jason, searching his face for more information.
“I don’t know what to do. I can’t get her out my head. I can’t sleep. My wolf is restless. I’m going crazy and I don’t know what to do.”
Tanner leaned back against the truck and ran his hands through his hair, but he didn’t say anything.
“I know, I know. It’ll never happen.” Jason growled out.
“No, man, I just... didn’t know you liked her that much.”
The rest of his pack pulled up in an old Ford F150. Classic rock radio was blaring through the speakers at a god-awful volume. Jason didn’t know why, because they were all shouting at each other over the music, struggling to be heard.
Zane and Rowan appeared to be arguing about something, and Luke was sitting in the bed of the truck but leaning into the cabin through the back window.
They could be a rowdy bunch, but they were good people. Addie had seemed to like the idea of his pack. That was a good sign, right?
Jason quickly dismissed that thought. It wasn’t good to be hopeful about the situation. The sooner he accepted that nothing was going to happen between him and Addie, the better. He had more important things than love and mating to worry about.
Like the threat of war with another pack.
Tanner watched the pack’s argument slowly devolve from shouting to wrestling. He shook his head, then turned to Jason. “Maybe you should go talk to her about it.”
Jason motioned to the truck, where the three men were now placing bets on who could fit the most marshmallows in their mouth. Was that what their heated argument had been about? It wouldn’t be surprising. “Those idiots would eat a human woman alive.”
He had meant it as a joke, but then he wondered if it wasn’t that far from the truth. He let out a low growl thinking about it. His wolf was in protective overdrive ever since he met Addie.
“She’d be fine. Claire does okay.” Tanner offered.
“Claire is a wolf shifter.”
Tanner shrugged.
“And that’s assuming she wouldn’t run in the other direction when she learns that her date is a wolf shifter. Her kind doesn’t know about us monsters.”
“If she really likes you, then she won’t care.”
Jason scowled. “You know it isn’t possible. It’s against pack law. No human mates allowed.”
Without pause, Tanner said what Jason was afraid he would. “You know how to fix that.”
Jason snapped his head to his alpha and snarled. Today wasn’t the day to dig up that mess. The night Tanner rose to alpha, Jason told him he would never challenge him for his position. And he had meant it. But for some reason, Tanner continued to bring it up.
Rowan pulled Luke out of Zane’s headlock, and when Luke was free, he locked eyes with Jason. With a huge smile, he shouted over to Tanner, “Did you talk to him? Is he back to normal now?”
Jason shook his head and walked past the trio in the direction of his cabin. “Want to join our marshmallow eating contest?” Luke asked as Jason passed.
That was Luke. Big, dumb, happy, innocent Luke. Like a goofy golden retriever, it was hard to stay mad at him, but damn, he couldn’t read a room to save his life.
Jason unlocked his front door and slammed it shut behind him before Luke could follow him in. “I guess that’s a no.” he heard Luke’s muffled voice on the other side of the door.
It was pitch black in his cabin due to the blackout curtains, despite the sun now being high in the sky. He didn’t bother to turn any lights on as he headed straight to the bedroom. His wolf sight would adjust.
There was a knot in his stomach as he sat down on the edge of the bed and, for the millionth time this week, looked through the text messages Addie had sent him. He reread the last one she’d sent two days ago before she’d given up on him.
Sorry for bombarding you with texts. I won’t bother you anymore. Have a nice life.
She was mad and he couldn’t blame her. He fell back on his bed and looked up, watching the ceiling fan run and listening to the sound of his pack mates talking outside.
She hadn’t been bombarding him with texts, of course. He may not have responded, but he had cherished every text she sent. He was practically glued to his phone all week, waiting for his phone to vibrate, signaling he had a new text. Every text he got from her he read over and over, imagining her voice and her laugh and her smile, all while agonizingly debating on if he should answer.
She had to have feelings for him even if she was still hung up on her ex. He sighed. He shouldn’t have suggested that they could be friends, especially after the night they had at Harvey’s. She’d been treated like shit by her douchebag ex, and now he was doing the same. Todd had told her she was unworthy of his love, and now here Jason was, ignoring her like he thought the same.
She had no idea how he really felt.
It pained his wolf more than anything when he thought that she may be hurting because of him. He had to be strong and keep his distance, for both of their sakes. But how could live with this feeling in his chest? It felt like a part of him was missing, and it only got worse day after day. It was almost unbearable. Wolf shifters weren’t built to be apart from their mates.
Tanner was right. He should talk to her. But what could he even say? He could try to be just friends, but deep down, he knew he’d be terrible at that. He wanted her as his mate.
He’d only scare her off if he tried getting closer.
He closed his eyes, listening to the rhythmic noise of the ceiling fan and wishing he could finally get some rest.
He wondered what she was doing right then. Wished she was beside him. Maybe then he could sleep.
And when he opened his eyes a few hours later, he knew what he needed to do.
Chapter 4
The sausage fell into the frying pan with a plop. Addie fought back a gag. There were so many restaurants back in Brooklyn that she’d never needed to learn to cook. But this summer she was dedicating herself to trying new things. She had found a recipe for biscuits and sausage gravy and she was determined to give it her best shot this morning.
Learning how to cook was just another one of the ways she was “adventuring” while trying to find herself again after Todd.
And now, after Jason.
Heat filled her face as she thought of his stupid face. His stupid, handsome face.
He’d been the one to suggest they stay friends, but then he’d gone and completely ignored her text messages over the last week. At first she thought maybe something bad had happened. What if he was hurt? What if he was sick? But the stupid man had his read receipts on, so she knew he saw her messages.
He was ignoring her. After the great night they’d had. After she had been vulnerable and told him about Todd. Where he made her feel normal again after so many months of feeling awful. After he’d kissed her.
Yeah, she’d told him she wasn’t ready for a relationship yet, but he had seemed like he understood. And like he wanted to hang out with, regardless. Apparently he had changed his mind.
Her face burned with shame. She felt like a chump. Maybe she had gotten so caught up in his charm and good
looks that she completely misread the signals he was giving off that night. She had thought they had chemistry. Was she imagining all that?
Honestly, she didn’t know what to think. So, the last time she messaged Jason she decided that the solution to this mess was simple. She just wasn’t going to think about him anymore. Her focus for the summer was now on herself, her self-improvement, and her happiness.
But for some reason Jason was proving to be a tough guy to forget.
Addie was startled out of her thoughts by the blaring sound of the smoke detector. She looked down at the frying pan. The sausage was burning.
She ripped the pan off the burner and ran to open some windows. The small cabin was completely filled with smoke, so she decided to open the front door too.
And there stood Jason, arm outstretched like he was about to knock, holding a bouquet in the other hand.
“What are you doing here?” She huffed when she caught her breath.
His smile faded as he sniffed the air. “Is something burning?”
“Not anymore.” She said, using a kitchen towel to fan some smoke out. “What are you doing here?” she repeated with annoyance through the screen door.
He held up the flowers and grinned. “I wanted to apologize. And invite you on an adventure.”
She crossed her arms. There was no way in hell she was inviting him in, flowers and cute smile or not.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, apologize, huh? And for what exactly?” she said, injecting as much sarcasm as she could muster into the question.
His face fell. “I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls and texts. It was wrong of me to leave you hanging like that. I got scared after that night at Harvey’s.” His voice broke a little, but he continued. “I’ve never felt such a strong connection with someone before. I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore, but I wanted to try to make it right.”
Her face softened. Wow, the man sure could do apologies. He hadn’t even hesitated, and he seemed sincere.
Still, she wasn’t completely convinced. She shifted her weight to her other foot and looked down at the floor. “You brushed me off, even after I told you about Todd. Even after you said we could be friends.” She said, and though she tried to sound strong, she couldn’t hide the little crack in her voice.
Greystone Alpha Page 3