A giddiness laced with dread filled him.
He'd get her for another day, maybe two, before she could get a flight out. She wouldn't want to overpay for a flight just to get out sooner. She wasn't in danger as long as she stayed in the resort.
Grabbing a coffee and saying his byes to who he was replacing, he settled in for a boring shift.
Security work was always the same.
There are the drunks, the divas, the 'pranksters,' and then just regular people making mistakes. The pranksters were usually just asshole teenagers that were trying to make themselves feel bigger than West Valley let them. Hell, his last Alpha, Alex Wells, the little twenty-four year old, had once been one of those. They'd moved into town when Alex was nineteen and went around with a group of kids trying to spray paint everything.
He'd been almost proud of how far the kid had come by the time it was his turn to be Alpha.
Scared shitless, alone, petrified, but proud to step into his family's shoes.
Most Alpha families raise their children to know how important their role is in the pack. Hell, there's chance Alex wouldn't have ever been an Alpha if it weren't for his parents and siblings vanishing. If one of his older brothers had a kid and Alex had aged out by the time his brother was too old to lead anymore, the line would have gone straight to his brother's children.
That's how it was. That's how it always had been.
An Alpha without any familial line, without any knowing who or what they were, was a rarity he'd never heard of. She really was one of a kind. Carter flipped through the floor's cameras and kept an eye out for anything shady.
As usual: nothing.
He tried to angle one of the swivel cameras to look right at Willow's door, but it wouldn't.
It was strange to think that most of their relationship had unfolded in the resort.
They'd even run into each other there…he stopped his train of thought to laugh a little at the pun. More like, she'd run into him. He couldn't quite imagine why she was dodging and jogging around like that. Smiling to himself, Carter pulled up the camera feed for that Tuesday.
It was two days after Alex had vanished.
The hotel was mostly empty that morning, everyone slowly making their way in, not ready for the meeting. Bored, he fast forwarded to the evening. He spotted Willow immediately, but she looked different on camera. Without anyone looking, while she was just walking by herself, she looked bored out of her mind. Almost annoyed looking, she was walking to one of the bath rooms of the spas, her wet feet leaving marks on the carpet.
He fast forwarded again and was caught off guard as he watched Willow go from walking from the spa straight into a full sprint. She went from calm and bored to energetic and vibrant – everything he knew about her. She seemed to be going in a strange path, and it took him a moment to realize she was walking up the route he took to look through the resort.
They hadn't even met yet.
There she was, though, going through the hotel, almost skipping, while following the same route he took several times each shift to ensure that there was no trouble.
His stomach flipped, and he watched as she full-out ran into him. He wanted to shake past him, tell him everything that would happen within the next half-week. He couldn't imagine his reaction.
Would he change anything?
He wanted to say no, but to be honest, he would have redone so much. He didn't regret having or meeting Willow, but he did regret that it changed his view on what his path in life was. He knew he was supposed to protect the Alpha. He was supposed to ensure that the pack was always taken care of. He was to ensure so much for so many others. This was his job.
Yet she made him want to be selfish.
She made him want to think of himself for once in his life.
He wasn't sure how to tell her this, or even if he should, but he knew that he wanted to. He wanted to tell her about how much she changed him.
He rewound the recording, watching her run through resort, and it struck him that she reminded him of a wolf on the hunt. Like she was looking for something.
Looking for him.
He had to set down his coffee and close out of that recording, not wanting those thoughts to take root. He didn't believe in Fated Mates. He'd humored the thoughts before, it was true. It would be nice if it were that simple, if she were really his Fated Mate and this was all meant to happen, but if that was the case, would there be so much trouble thrown in?
Was there any reason to make it so hard?
Was he making it harder?
He knew how he felt about her.
He loved her.
Loved her.
With that in mind, he was still almost accepting the idea of her leaving without her knowing. What if she felt the same? What if they were actually mated?
He wished for that so hard that his heart ached.
He wanted her to feel the same.
The risk of her not feeling the same, though, was devastating.
He not only risked his position in the pack, he risked even getting to stay as a part of the pack. They'd blame him for her fleeing. They'd say he chased off the rest as well. He'd have to leave the only home he'd ever known and start new no connections, no family, and be expected to live.
It was terrifying.
The camera angled toward her room came up on the feed and then went away again to be replaced by the next in the time loop.
It would be worth the risk, though, wouldn't it?
Not knowing, possibly missing out on his Fated Mate because of cowardice, wasn't that much worse than a life as a drifter? If he never knew how she felt, it would tear him up, and he'd never forgive himself.
He had to get it out there before she bought a plane ticket.
He had to be honest with her.
Carter finished the last of his coffee and tossed the cup in the trash, stretching and checking himself in the reflective glass of the door. He looked fine, the same as always. It felt terrible to think that he'd be telling her while he was on shift, but he needed to get it out.
Taking a deep breath, he headed down to her room.
Each step was heavier than the last, laced with questions of how he'd tell her. What if she was still asleep? Would he wake her to tell her? The options played through his mind like a bad game show, each another $500 answer that was actually a question.
He just wanted to get it off his chest.
Carter stopped outside her door, turned once to consider walking away, and then knocked softly.
“Willow?” he asked after a moment. There was no reply. “Willow?” he asked again, knocking a little harder. Still no movement, no answer. Checking the handle, he realized it was unlocked. He slid it open. He'd only been gone a couple hours.
She was gone.
Chapter 19
The grass was soft under her feet.
Paws, she reminded herself. She didn't have feet in this form, not like the ones she'd had her whole life. She was running through the woods and underbrush, letting loose.
Grasshoppers fluttered away and around her as she disrupted them, her breath heavy from the excitement and the exercise. She'd never been much of an outdoors person, but this was different. Each of her senses were on fire, some senses she hadn't even noticed before were kicked into full overdrive. She was ready, eager, now. It was as if she'd been watching life without ever touching anything, as though she'd been in freefall for so long that touching the ground was novel again.
The wind in her fur, combing through each follicle, felt exhilarating and fresh.
She'd only gone out because she thought she owed it to herself to explore this more. She needed to know if this was a part of herself that she wanted to claim. A part of herself that she felt in tune with.
So far, she had no complaints.
A river was roaring nearby. She could smell it before she heard it, and she rushed off to it, letting herself flop into the raci
ng cold water. It was icy, and she could tell it was just swarming with fish. Automatically and without hesitation, she opened her mouth and immediately snagged one.
She was excited at the skill until she realized she had a live fish in her mouth.
A live, raw fish.
From a river.
In her mouth.
Gagging even in her wolf form, she spat out the fish and rushed to the shore of the river. She collapsed onto the pebble-strewn edges of the river, almost laughing at herself. Her laughs sounded almost like barks in this form, and it made her laugh harder.
Crows or ravens? She could never tell the difference. Seven of one or the other had gathered in the branches above where she lay, watching keenly like they couldn't decide what she was.
Willow laughed, rolling over in her wolf form and letting her human form take over. The change was painful, but she was making herself get used to it. The moment she could stare up at the crows while she was in her human form, they scattered immediately, spooked. She laughed, unsure why they were so surprised if shifters changed all the time out there. She heard a crack of branches, and turned to see a deer scattering away.
Sighing happily, she looked around herself and tried to imagine a life there.
A life of living in a small town, yes, but getting to be wild, getting to let out her wolf-self that she never knew she had. It made the entire town feel different, like it was a forest that featured a town instead of the other way around.
It was the closest yet that she'd been to figuring out who she was and where she came from.
The taste of the river hung in her mouth. She was naked in the middle of the woods, and yet she was happy. If Willow was entirely honest, this was the happiest she'd been in years. Her job brought her nothing that excited her anymore, and she didn't have much of a home life outside of renting a month-to-month condo.
She didn't have many friends. Most of them were just in contact online since she traveled so much. Her parents had retired to a small community in Florida. She didn't have anyone just for her, or any sense of community.
The moment these people – shifters – knew that she was like them, they accepted her.
Without question, with open arms and smiling faces, she was one of them.
Never in her life had she felt so welcomed and included.
Guilt filled her gut, making her more nauseous than the fish had. They'd opened their arms to her, literally, and she was so quick to decide to run.
Changing back into her wolf form, she chased the thoughts out of her mind.
She didn't need to worry herself with their problems, and she knew that. They were strangers, after all. Regardless of how similar to her, how much they'd opened her eyes to a part of her that she hadn't known before, they were strangers.
She needed to depend on herself just as she always had.
Willow raced through the woods again, letting the grass cool her mind,
Her paws pounded away beneath her. Her heartbeat matched the pace. She'd let herself get attached to Carter, let herself begin to enjoy this strange town, let herself believe that the pack wanted her there. She knew it was foolish, Willow knew she needed to leave before they dragged her in for good.
She was realizing she didn't want to leave, and it hurt her.
Finally, she found her clothes and shoved herself into them, thinking about how badly she needed to get back to Carter and figure this out. She tried not to think about how easily she was shifting in and out of wolf form. She was amazed to realize how quickly it had become a norm for her.
“I can't believe this,” she said to herself softly, pulling on her flats before double checking herself. She'd fallen for him. Hungrily, desperately, and she needed to know how he felt. She wanted to know if it was the same, or if she needed to just give up and leave.
She couldn't stay if he didn't feel the same.
Willow started toward the edge of the woods, feeling anxiety prickle at her stomach and mind.
The sound of a car door shutting slid her out of her own concentration.
“What are you doing out in the woods alone?” a friendly voice said. Officer Keech, the one she'd met in the station when she was trying to put in a report, was leaning against his cop car. Willow relaxed, happy to see a familiar face.
“I thought I'd go for a run,” she admitted. “I'm really enjoying running and swimming suddenly,” she said, smiling as she approached him.
“It's a great day for it,” he agreed, looking up at the sky for a moment. “We're a couple hours from the resort. Would you like a ride back?” he asked, patting his car.
Willow looked down the road toward The Grand West.
She'd walked this far so that nobody would find her, no non-shifter would come upon her and realize what was happening. Her muscles ached from use, and she was starving for anything to eat. Suddenly, the fish seemed almost appetizing.
“Yes, please,” she agreed, smiling. The truth of it was that she wasn't looking forward to going back to the hotel and having to have this talk with Carter, but she knew it needed to happen.
Keech opened the back of the car for her and let her in, before closing it behind her.
Being in a cop car was a new experience for her, almost thrilling, and she tried not to embarrass herself by asking for a picture of her back there. It would be a funny thing to send Carter, at least. She bit her tongue, though, and tried to act dignified.
“Are you from the area originally?” she asked, leaning back in her seat.
“Yep, born and raised. Carter and I have been thick as thieves since we were born,” he laughed. “What about you? Where are you from?” he asked, looking back at her in his rear-view mirror.
“Pretty much everywhere. Grew up military,” she admitted.
They passed the resort.
“Oh, I'm actually staying there,” she said, surprised and not wanting to seem ungrateful.
“Not anymore, you're not,” he interjected. His voice had lost its friendly warmth.
Willow's stomach dropped completely.
“Please, just let me go,” she said, trying the door handle. It was pointless, of course, and she wasn't sure what she expected from it.
“Just sit back and enjoy the ride. this will be the last conversation you get to have. Don't waste it,” he said lightly, his voice going back to friendly so fast that it was finally obvious how fake it was.
It was him.
He was kidnapping her?!
The idea filled her with dread, and she tried again to jiggle the door handle.
“Please,” she begged, the images of the Wells family were strong in her mind.
Chapter 20
Looking at that empty room, Carter knew something was wrong.
The kind of dread filled him that only happened when he'd failed his pack. It wasn't just his pack this time, though. It was Willow as well. If anything happened to her, if anyone hurt her…he didn't want to think about it. Carter rushed back up to the security room and ran the tapes of the hotel.
He thought he'd been keeping an eye on her.
He thought he could protect her.
Carter felt like an idiot. If he really loved her, really felt how he thought he did, he should have told her to leave town as quickly as possible. They'd been flirting with disaster, and now it was striking in full force.
The camera pointed toward her room showed nothing in the last two hours. Frustrated that it didn't point directly at her room, he started looking through other recordings.
Most of them were dead, not showing anything besides the staff occasionally walking through, until he switched to a camera inside the elevator.
There she was.
She looked beautiful, thoughtful, as she stepped out of it and into the lobby.
Hope filled him.
She looked like she left willingly. Nobody dragged her out. She looked fine.
So why was his heart still poundi
ng?
Why did he still feel like she was in danger?
She'd left almost two hours ago, soon after he'd left.
She'd been gone this long and he didn't even realize it. The guilt grew stronger and he tried to fight it down.
Willow was an Alpha, others in her bloodline had been vanishing, and yet he let her stay.
He let her chance danger because he was selfish. Because he loved her.
He couldn't lose her again.
Carter ran downstairs and headed to the door.
“Where are you going? Your lunch isn't for another hour,” a voice clipped behind him, annoyed.
Carter didn't have time for this.
If he was right, if his dread meant something terrible had happened, this job didn't matter.
Nothing mattered except Willow.
“I quit,” he said sternly. He looked back and made eye contact with Edwin. This man had been nothing but obnoxious and infuriating. He was glad to be rid of him.
“You need to put in your two weeks' notice,” Edwin said angrily, following him out to the parking lot.
Carter said nothing.
He climbed into his car and sped out of the parking lot, not pausing to get more than a glance at Edwin's shocked face.
He needed to find her.
He wouldn't feel right until he knew she was safe.
Carter wasn't sure where he was rushing of to, but he knew he needed to get to Willow as soon as possible.
Chapter 21
The town was small, but the drive took forever.
Officer Keech didn't take her straight to wherever he was going.
He directed her to lay down in the seat, that if she sat up or made a fuss he'd shoot her and whomever witnessed her fit.
She didn't want that kind of blood on her hands.
“I want to know why,” she said out loud, her nails chasing the lines on the seat beneath her. The backseat smelled like beer, pee, and some kind of cleaning agent that wasn't doing its job right. The nausea struck her again. Was this going to be the last thing she smelled? The last she saw?
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