For some reason, he didn’t think anything was going to be like it had been before.
He hated when his wolf got into his head. Its instincts were far more tuned in to everything around him than his human half most days.
When they got to Hunter’s place, Liam couldn’t hold back a smile as Hazel ran to them, her wide eyes so like her mother’s. She was a tiny ball of Becca with the brown hair of her father. And because the dominant genes in her DNA were all wolf, that was what she shifted into.
There were no hybrids in their world, unlike what some of the books might say in popular fiction—not that the humans knew about the supernatural. The genes that were in greater abundance were the ones that won the war regarding which paranormal creature a child of two different species would be. And unless they lived in backwoods places like the hell realm, the child’s home accepted them, no matter what they turned into.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, each of the realms enjoyed their own form of peace, mating with one another so frequently that, eventually, the paranormal strains within each child were diluted enough that they created a new type of being: humans.
Once, humans knew about their paranormal forbearers and had learned to live alongside them. Eventually, however, humans forgot about the magics and bonds that surrounded them, and the paranormals were forced to remain a secret.
In the past few years, some humans had found out about paranormals. The protection of the hundreds of realms in existence required that they keep their lives shrouded in secrecy.
Hazel, Hunter and Becca’s little girl, however, didn’t have to worry about the struggles of the realms right then. All she needed to do was grow up into the dominant and hilarious wolf she was turning out to be.
Liam reached down to pick her up, but Alec moved in front of him instead, intercepting the little bundle of joy. Alec didn’t normally smile or laugh like he was doing just then. Hazel, like her mother, seemed to be good at pulling any wolf out of their shell.
As soon as Liam straightened, he cursed, his body aching. That was why Alec had cut him off. Having the little bundle of strength slamming into him would have hurt like hell. For a moment, he’d forgotten how much pain he was in after the fight. It was one of the reasons they’d been summoned to the Alpha’s house to begin with.
Alec held Hazel in his strong arms, not bothering to look behind him.
Hazel, on the other hand, waved. “Hi, Uncle Liam!” She grinned at him, and he fell in love again. Hunter was seriously going to have a ball of trouble on his hands once she was old enough to find a mate. Liam was kind of looking forward to that, even if he would probably end up being one of her overprotective uncles.
“Hi, Hazel darling,” he said with a small smile. “I missed your face.”
She had a crush on him he knew, though she called herself Alec’s best friend. From the day she’d been born, she’d inserted herself into their lives, and he’d been content with it. Hunter and Becca had made a perfect kid, and he was damn jealous.
She blew him a raspberry. “I missed yours more.” She kissed Alec’s cheek. “Uncle Alec is still my favorite because you forgot Mom’s birthday.”
Liam held back a wince as Alec let out a rough chuckle. He wasn’t going to live that down anytime soon. As soon as he thought that, Becca walked out of the front door, her large belly appearing a little sooner than the rest of her. Hunter growled low and cupped his mate’s face before kissing her hard. He kept one hand on her belly and their unborn child, leaving Liam with a sense of longing.
If he was able to mate with the one wolf he wanted to, he’d never see his mate pregnant. Though, honestly, he’d be happy with that. He and Alec could adopt, and they’d raise their children alongside Hunter and Becca’s.
Only Alec refused to mate with him, and Liam wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready to give himself to someone else like that.
There were reasons things were the way they were, even if they ended up hating each other in the end.
When Hunter pulled away, Becca frowned at Liam. “What have you done to yourself now?” she asked, her hands on her hips.
Hunter let out a growl, but Alec answered. “He got into another unsanctioned fight and let that weasel Michael get in a few good shots. Meaning, Liam’s bleeding, and he’s still not the Beta.”
Liam growled low and deadly. “Alec.”
“Not now,” Becca said sternly. She might not be a wolf, but her powers as a healer and leprechaun and the Alpha’s mate with magic of her own was immense. He wasn’t about to mess with her. “Fawkes and Leslie are out back with the twins, Hazel. Why don’t you go play with Lavender and Raven and let me heal your uncle Liam? They’re in wolf form if you want to change and play as a pup.”
Hazel wiggled down from Alec’s arms and ran past her parents, stripping off her clothes as she went. Becca rolled her eyes at her daughter’s antics and smiled. He wasn’t surprised that Fawkes and Leslie were at the Alpha’s home. The demon, Fawkes, had lived with Hunter when he’d first left the hell realm. The two of them had a history, and when the demon mated Leslie, they’d helped watch Hazel, preparing for their own future children.
Thankfully, with a trick of fate, the twins had turned wolf and not demon. Though Leslie was a submissive wolf, and Fawkes was a very dominant demon, the kids had ended up shifters and not demons. Liam was grateful for that, considering the sacrifice demons had to make at a certain point during their lives.
Becca cleared her throat, and Liam shook his head, aware that he’d been letting his thoughts wander rather than dealing with what he needed to.
“Get inside and take off your shirt,” Becca said.
Liam opened his mouth to say something, and she cut him off.
“And don’t make a joke,” she snapped. “I’m pissed off at you, and I’ll use my magic to kick your ass if you don’t sit down and shut up.” With that, she stormed back into the house, and Liam followed her, aware that Hunter’s gaze rested on him.
Alec glared as well, and Liam had a feeling this talk might kill him.
Slowly.
Once he was in the living room and seated, Becca used her powers to heal him. It wasn’t perfect, and it hurt like hell. His shoulder stopped aching, and his mouth quit bleeding. Normally, Hunter would have let him lick his wounds and deal with it. However, the Alpha apparently had a plan for him.
“What is it?” Liam asked, gritting his teeth as Becca finished up. “You wanted me healthy for a reason.”
Hunter snorted. “If you would stop getting yourself hurt, it would make things easier. Or maybe if one of you would step up and actually help me lead this Pack, I wouldn’t have to pull rank right now.”
Liam straightened his shoulders. “Excuse me?”
Hunter flipped him off, and Becca shook her head at the three of them. “You’re not excused. I need a Beta and a Tracker in this Pack. We haven’t had a Tracker in over a decade, and it’s past time. We’re long-lived, I get that, and sometimes, Packs go for a century or more before positions are filled. But I’m tired of this. My mate is about to give birth again, and I don’t want my children unprotected. I could choose who I want and have that choice made in a ceremonial fight. We know this. And yet, the two people I know can stand by my side won’t.”
Alec glared, and Liam had the grace to feel ashamed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help…it was that he wasn’t ready…wasn’t sure what he wanted.
“I don’t know what is going on between the two of you. Whatever it is, it’s affecting the Pack,” Hunter growled.
“Hunter,” Becca admonished softly.
Liam and Alec were silent. Of course, they were silent. God forbid they actually speak to one another about the tension that had been riding them and undermining their friendship for years.
“It’s none of your business.”
Alec’s low growl surprised Liam, and he turned to his friend at his words. He hadn’t expected Alec to say anything, and yet…
An
d yet Liam had known walking into the house that things were about to change.
“I need a Beta and a Tracker,” Hunter repeated. “If I don’t choose soon, I’ll have to let the sanctioned fights begin, and we’ll end up with others at my side. Where will our Pack be then, guys?” He ran a hand over his face, his body weary. “I’m tired. I lived through hell. Literally. And yet you guys are sending me to the brink of hell again.”
Hunter met Alec’s gaze, then Liam’s.
“I know it’s technically none of my business as Alpha what goes on between you. However, you’re also my best friends, and if you can’t figure out how to deal with the…tension…then I don’t know what happens next.” Hunter paused. “And because I’m not only your friend, I’m also Alpha, I need to protect the Pack as well as both of you. So, I’m sending the two of you away on a mission.”
Liam stood quickly. “What the hell?”
Becca gave him a sad look before putting her hand on her mate’s knee. “Let him finish, Liam. Please.”
He didn’t sit. However, he did keep his mouth shut. His wolf pushed at him, needing to fight something because it couldn’t do anything else.
“There’s a rogue wolf in the human realm, and it killed a person.”
Liam blinked. His wolf clawed at him, wanting to protect, to search. “What?”
“You heard me,” Hunter snapped. “We aren’t the only Pack on the outskirts of the human realm. We are the closest, though. And while lone wolves are out there, they’re rare. No wolf is allowed to go rogue and kill humans. That’s our number one law.”
“What do you need us to do?” Alec asked. His best friend stood so he was shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Liam did his best not to shiver at the slight contact.
“Find the rogue,” Hunter ordered. “Take care of it if you have to. Bring him back here if it’s an option. Take care of it.” He paused. “And figure out how to work side by side like you used to do, or things will have to change when you get back. I don’t want to lose either of you. If whatever is going on between you makes it so neither of you can be my Beta or Tracker, then maybe we need another answer.”
Liam’s heart kicked at the thought of not being in his Pack…of not being with Alec even as Packmates.
“We’ll find your rogue,” Liam said after a moment. “We won’t let you down.”
Hunter met his gaze. “Good. Because you’re both my right hands, and I can’t imagine running this Pack without you.”
Liam nodded, aware that Alec wasn’t looking at him. However, he could sense his best friend at his side. Quiet. Unyielding. Like always.
No matter what happened on this hunt, he knew that when they came back, he and Alec would have to find a way to work together.
Apart.
Or as mates.
Either way, their time of cautious tension was over.
Finally.
Chapter 2
Alec rubbed at his jaw and contemplated growing a long beard and becoming a nomad. He’d add flannel and eventually end up in a cabin in the middle of nowhere where he wouldn’t have to talk to another soul. Wouldn’t have to see or think of the man that haunted him.
Maybe if he did that, the relentless ache in his bones would ease. Of course, knowing him, he’d just find something else to screw up along the way and end up searching for an ever-elusive peace that would never come.
His wolf nudged at him, and he sighed. He couldn’t stand in his house any longer, staring at his duffle bag and not following his Alpha’s orders. Hunter had told him that he needed to work with Liam to find this rogue, and that’s precisely what Alec would do.
That didn’t mean he had to like it.
Of course, he hadn’t liked much of anything in far too long. The moment his wolf had done the unthinkable and told him that his best friend could be something more, he’d known things would never be the same.
He didn’t deserve a mate, that was something he’d known since before Liam had come back into his life. He’d done things—taken lives and drew the blood of those he’d never thought he’d be forced to shed. Liam deserved someone with cleaner hands and a lighter soul. Things had been better when they were friends versus whatever they were now. He couldn’t call them real friends, not anymore. They didn’t talk about the important things, and they spent more time in tense silence than working towards a future that could help their Pack.
It wasn’t lost on him that they were hurting those they were closest to because they couldn’t let go of their pasts. He wasn’t sure what held Liam back, but he knew it had to be something important to take down such a dominant man. If Hunter couldn’t choose a Tracker and a Beta soon, if he couldn’t rely on his friends, things would get worse before they got better.
How could he tell Hunter that he wasn’t meant to be Beta? Wasn’t meant to be trusted as Tracker?
Maybe it would have been better if he’d done what the others in his family had and turned lone wolf. It was a difficult and solitary existence. If he had, though, perhaps he wouldn’t have harmed his Pack.
Or maybe I can actually forgive myself and learn to be the man Hunter expects of me.
He let out a disgusted sigh and finished stuffing his clothes into his duffle bag. Maybe Hunter was right. Perhaps he needed time away from the den to get his head on straight. It wasn’t fair to anyone if he kept going along as he was.
Only he wasn’t sure the time away would help, especially since he wouldn’t be alone.
He’d be with Liam.
The one man who confused him even more than he confused himself.
Pounding at the door pulled Alec out of his thoughts. The knock hadn’t been necessary. He scented the man’s approach. His wolf always knew when Liam was around, and that’s what killed him every hellish time.
He grabbed his bag and centered himself for what would most likely be a grueling couple of weeks. Sadly, the fact that he was about to track a rogue wolf who had already spilled blood was only part of it. With a sigh, he made his way to the front door, opening it while keeping a neutral expression on his face.
There had been a time when Liam would have walked into Alec’s home without bothering to knock. That had been before their Pack had almost destroyed itself, though. Before Alec’s world had shattered, and he’d turned from Liam. Before Liam had drifted away as well, not saying a damn thing. Too many months and years where they hadn’t spoken to one another about the important things and had done their best not to touch each other, as if too scared to do anything about what was left unsaid.
Liam stood on Alec’s porch, his hands fisted at his sides, though he held his duffle in one. “We didn’t decide what car we’re taking.”
Alec shrugged, though there was nothing casual about it. “You’re here, so we might as well take mine.”
“Good.” The other man bit out the word, and Alec knew this trip was going to torture him every freaking moment.
As Liam stomped off without saying anything more, Alec finally let out the sigh he’d been holding and followed him, closing the door behind him. He hoped Hunter knew what the hell he was doing with this. Because if his Alpha didn’t, this trip might end up with two dead wolves and no Beta or Tracker for the Pack.
Alec gripped the steering wheel as soon as he sat in his seat, then let out a curse. Liam was as stiff as a board, his jaw set, and his wolf right at the surface.
“Why did you even bother getting into the passenger seat if you’re going to sit and growl like that?” he snapped. His wolf was on edge, and he barely kept his claws from sliding out of his fingertips and slashing the steering wheel.
Liam didn’t bother looking at him, and Alec wasn’t sure the other man could. He did not like giving up control. Ever. “It’s your car.”
“Then you should have driven over to pick me up for fuck’s sake.”
“I was being considerate.” Each word was bit out, and Alec had to move his hands from the steering wheel, or he’d break it in half.
“J
ust fucking drive. Because God forbid you don’t.”
“I’ll be fine,” Liam growled.
“No, you’ll just piss me off and backseat drive.”
“It’s not backseat driving if I’m in the passenger seat.”
Alec let out a loud growl this time and threw himself out of the car. He stomped to the other side and almost ripped the fucking door off. Liam opened it instead. “I’m not going to be able to drive and deal with tracking the fucking rogue if you’re going to be growly, moody, and bitchy from the passenger seat. Just drive, and let’s get this trip over with.”
Liam slid out of the car. Since he was doing his best not to meet Alec’s eyes, he must not have noticed how close Alec was to the vehicle. The other man crushed against Alec’s body, and they both froze.
That was when Liam met his gaze.
The raw hunger there almost brought Alec to his knees.
And even worse, he knew the same hunger was likely in his own.
Without a word, the two moved out of each other’s way, their bodies tight as bows, each shaking with tension.
Hunter had been right, after all. If they didn’t get this worked out, one of them would have to leave. There was no way Alec could be anything good for his Pack if he had to be near Liam and not be near him.
Silently, they got into their seats, and Liam started the car, making his way out of the den and the wards that protected them from any too-curious humans. While most of the realms within the worlds were connected by portals and other various magical means, wolves were slightly different. They were one of the only species that lived within the human realm, albeit secretly under ward protection. They weren’t separated into their own realm through portals like the angels or demons or even the lion shifters.
Dante’s Circle Reborn: A Dante’s Circle Collection Page 2
