“Sorry,” he replied, his mouth watering at the smell of Fara’s cooking. However, his stomach was too caught up in knots of nervous tension; he doubted he could eat a thing. Still, it was tempting, and he took his place at the table, watching Fara ladle stew onto his plate.
“You look sick,” Sol said, glancing up at him, while simultaneously spooning food into his mouth. “Did you eat something bad?”
“No, Sol, nothing like that.” Riley picked his fork up and began to eat, hoping the food would make him feel more like his usual self.
“How did your run go?” Fara asked, her eyes narrowing. Riley felt as if they were piercing his soul, weeding out what they wanted to know, until she sat up, looking satisfied with herself. “You met her, then.”
“Met who?” Sol asked. Riley simply ate another forkful of food. There was no need to deny it, although he did feel kind of foolish that his mate had run off from him.
“I met my mate.” Riley looked at Sol and then back to Fara. “Happy now?”
Fara’s face creased as she smiled. “If you’re happy. Which, looking at you, I’m not so sure is the case.”
He looked down at his food, and then back to meet Fara’s inquiring gaze. “She ran off.”
“Did she? Well, I guess she doesn’t know a good man when she sees one?” Fara’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Maybe she’s like you,” Riley countered.
“Like me in what way?” She sounded offended. Fara had never found her mate, instead living alone on her family’s farm.
“You know, would rather shoot a raider then have him in her … life.” He was reminding Fara of the shot she had taken at Cole.
Fara laughed. “You mean in her bed. Riley, any woman would have to be insane not to want you in their bed. If I was twenty years younger…” Fara cut short her sentence, and said, “But it still wouldn’t make you my mate. That is something special. And you’re sure you felt it? I mean really sure, you didn’t just feel the urge to take her to bed? A young virile man like you must miss that.”
“Oh no, it was much, much more than that. I would have married her on the spot if I could have conjured a priest out of thin air. And I have never considered myself the marrying kind.”
“If fate can pull you together once, I’m sure it will again.” Fara gave Sol another plateful of food. “I sometimes think it was fate that brought you three boys to my doorstep. I know we never got off on the right foot, but I sure as hell am glad you stole from me, just so you had to come back and make amends. I never had children of my own, but if I did … well, let’s just say I think your mom would be proud of the way you all turned out.”
“That’s a beautiful thing to say, Fara.” Riley saw her eyes misting up, and for the first time realised how much Fara loved them. It might not be a mother’s love, but it was unconditional just the same. “And you know we feel the same way.”
“Even if I did shoot Cole.”
Riley laughed. “Even if you did shoot Cole.” He put his hand in his pocket and placed the bear tooth down on the table. “She dropped this. At least I’m pretty sure she dropped it.”
Fara recognised it instantly. “Well, I'll be damned. First thing in the morning, you go down and speak to Kira. She might be able to tell you where you can find that mate of yours.”
“So you know who it belongs to?”
“I know who it used to belong to. But that’s a long time ago; I think it’s better if you speak to Kira.”
And that was as much as he could get out of Fara. After they’d eaten, he and Sol made their way home, although Sol wanted to stay with the puppies. Riley could see a time real soon when Sol would be living with Fara permanently. It seemed that Sol had found a surrogate mother, and couldn’t be happier.
Chapter Four - Natalie
After a couple of miles Natalie had to stop and pull over, her hands trembling too much to risk driving on busy roads. Opening the window, she let the cool air in, waiting to see if there was any sense that he had followed her. There was none.
Disappointment clouded her thoughts.
Ridiculous. She didn’t want this, she reminded herself. Years ago, she had cut all ties with Wolf Valley. There was no going back. Her wolf knew the score; they kept away from trouble, only allowing themselves brief excursions into the mountains. Although they might have to stop completely now she knew he was out there.
Involuntarily, her hand went to close around her pendant. It was gone. Switching on the interior light, she rummaged around, seeing if she had dropped it in the car. No. That meant she had dropped it on the mountain. She closed her eyes, feeling a sense failure once again.
The talisman had been in her family for generations, looked after and treasured by all who wore it. Not only had she ended the line of alphas, now she had lost their most prized possession too. Their symbol of power.
What power? It was dead, gone. It had blown away like her father’s ashes on the breeze the day she scattered them on the mountain overlooking Wolf Valley. She did not possess the power, the authority, to be the next alpha. The line was broken and she didn’t even know if her children would rekindle it. That was the true reason she had left, to avoid the hope she saw in the people of Wolf Valley every time they looked at her. It was an expectation she could not live up to.
There was no blood heir, no alpha. It was that simple.
Switching the light off, she pulled back on to the road and drove home. In her life, she had experienced some low points, but nothing to compare with this. Rudderless on the sea, a sea that took her here and there with a will of its own. No, she was mixing the sea up with fate. One of the beliefs her father had taught her was that you couldn’t escape your fate.
Until now Natalie had never considered herself having a fate worth avoiding; she was like a damp match, unable to spark and glow. A damp, dark disappointment. That was her fear. She would outrun her mate so that she didn’t have to live with seeing the same disappointment in his eyes that she saw in the mirror every morning. For the first time she saw how self-centred and self-absorbed she had become. This was not just about her any longer.
“No. It’s about self-preservation,” she told herself firmly. “He wouldn’t want me.” But she knew he had no choice, just as she had no choice.
Oh yes, I do. Natalie drew on her inner strength, pulling on the mantle of a woman in control, and made herself drive home, away from the mountain, away from her mate.
Slowly, the streetlights appeared, lighting her way, guiding her back to the life she had carefully created. This was where she belonged, this was where she lived and worked, and she must not let the promise of a different life pull her back into a world of chaos that had nearly destroyed her.
On losing her father, she had slowly slipped into a depressed state. At first so subtle, she hadn’t noticed, and then it began to weigh heavier on her, until it sucked the breath from her body. Wolf Valley looked to her for guidance, but she had been too young, not old enough or responsible enough to carry other people. If she had been the alpha, had that power, she would have been strong enough. Without it, she was just a useless child.
Looking back, she knew she had been a coward. But the blame was not all hers; no, it should have been different. With the alpha having no male heir, the power should have passed to the pack’s beta. However, he had been exiled for reasons a young Natalie couldn’t understand. Until now.
Tonight she had understood how the beta had betrayed his mate and the whole of Wolf Valley by taking another woman to his bed when he already had a mate and a young family at foot. Because tonight she understood how terrible it would be for her mate to be with another woman when he was hers. Natalie was struck by the realisation that if she didn’t claim her mate, then she would die an old maid, because there was no one else for her. No one else for him.
Tough. She didn’t want anything to do with that life, she reminded herself again. It was too late, and the people of Wolf Valley would never forgive her. All she could do was
run, hide her wolf, and try to forget what she was, or what she should have been.
Turning the radio on, she tried to fix her head in the mundane world around her. There were no shifters here, no alphas. Everything was normal; to the people who lived in her apartment block, there was no such thing as shifters. That was what she reminded herself when she parked her car and got out.
Breathing in the cool air, she took in the smell of the fast food joints, the sound of the couple arguing on the corner—no fated mates here, men and women met, hooked up for a while, and then parted. Why couldn’t she do that? Why did she have to have a mate at all? But she did have one, and right now he was probably feeling just as bad as she was.
Clutching her hand to her chest, she wondered how she was ever going to live like this. The knowledge that he was so close was overwhelming; a part of her had been ripped out and now belonged to the man she had met tonight. The thought that he was suffering like this made it ten times worse.
Trembling hands took her key from her pocket, and she only just got the door open before the first sob erupted within her. This wasn’t right, it would never be right. Slowly, the realisation dawned on her that her choice had been taken away. Fate had decided who her man was, and fate had placed him in her path. Natalie had then decided to shun fate and run. But fate was a force out of her control. It now drove a sharp stake into her heart, twisting it sharply, making sure she would never be free of it.
But she was strong, and she would live her life on her own terms.
Gritting her teeth, she went to the kitchen, put the kettle on, and made some tea. Back to the living room, she turned on the TV. She would block out the call of her mate by watching some show, or a movie. However, when she tried to settle down, her mind kept replaying the scene where he had stood before her, all that love, hope, and expectation in his eyes.
Her wolf whined, projecting his image into her head. Tall, broad, strong. Everything her wolf wanted, everything she wanted.
Switching the TV off, she decided to go to bed. Tomorrow she would get up early and go to work, pouring all her energy into her job at the bakery. She would get herself through this.
Cleaning her teeth, she avoided the haunted look of the woman in the mirror. Keeping her head down, she concentrated on the water going round and around in the sink before it disappeared down the plughole. That was what she wanted, her fate to be washed away, to fade away to nothing and leave her free.
Shaking her head at the unfairness of it all, she went into her bedroom and pulled the drapes to. Something caught her eye. Or someone.
Down there on the street a man stood, staring at her window. Her heart faltered: he had found her. Somehow, her mate had followed her back here. He had run after her and now he would move in to claim her.
The rapid beating of her heart made her feel faint. What should she do? Go down and confront him? Tell him to get lost; she didn’t want him. But she did. Or wait for him to break in?
Standing perfectly still, her eyes fixed on his, she waited for the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end, for them to signal to her, that her mate was close. Nothing.
Instead, the eyes that stared up at hers were cold, with a hint of menace, and when he turned away from her and laughed, a feeling of dread crept up her back. That wasn’t her mate.
“Stop being stupid, Nat,” she told herself, “You are seeing things now. Go to bed and forget all about it.”
That didn’t happen. Her mate haunted her dreams. Her wolf ran over the dew-slickened grass, the full moon shining down on her. There in the distance, watching her was the big wolf she had met today, his dark brown coat thick and luxuriant, begging to be stroked. He came closer. She tried to tell her wolf to run, but she wouldn’t, the pull of their mate was too strong, his big amber eyes mesmerising. Her wolf whined and whimpered, rolling over on her back, submitting to the wolf.
He touched her, his nose sniffing her fur, sending a static shock across her body, and in an instant, she changed. In her human form, she lay before her wolf, her mate. The male wolf took a step back, and then the air shimmered, electricity arcing through the air. In place of the wolf stood a man, but he was blurred; she couldn’t see his face, but she wanted him all the same.
He reached out to her, but when he touched her, she woke.
“Damn it.” Her alarm was loud in her ears, and she fumbled to switch it off, wanting to lie down and recapture her dream, but it had gone and she had to get up for work. If she was late, then the bakery would have no cakes or bread and she would be out of a job.
The sun hadn’t yet risen. She dressed quickly by the light of her lamp. All the time, the feeling of unease that had accompanied her when she looked out the window the night before remained. When she threw open the drapes, she half expected the strange man to be there, staring at her window, but the street was empty.
It didn’t stop her heart beating hard, with an undercurrent of fear, as she walked to work. Her wolf stayed close, ready to spring forth and protect them. Natalie soothed her. If she changed, it would give them away, and she still clung to the hope she would be able to forget what happened yesterday and carry on with her life here.
But her wolf didn’t agree. As it lay whimpering in the corner of her mind, she knew it was going to be a long day. A thumping pulse in her temple told her she was about to get a headache, but this was one day and she would survive it.
Chapter Five - Riley
“Come on, Sol, I want to go into town.” Riley was up and dressed, breakfast was made, and now he needed his brother to get a move on so he could go and question Kira.
“I want to go and see the puppies,” Sol answered petulantly, sitting down and digging in to his cereal.
“We can go after we’ve been to town. I need to speak to Kira and then go to the hardware store. Maybe you can even visit the pet store and see if there are some puppy treats. If not, then we could get a treat for the puppies’ mom. How about that?”
“Yello would like that.” Sol looked happier and ate faster.
“That the mom’s name? Yello?”
“Uh-huh. Fara called her that because she always has to yell for her to come back.”
Riley laughed. “What you going to call your pup?” Riley asked, feeling in such a good mood even the thought of Sol having a puppy running around the house didn’t seem so bad.
“Not sure. Bacon, maybe cookie.”
“Two of your favourite things. I like it.” Riley hummed to himself as he washed up the breakfast dishes; he mentally made a list of the things they did need in town. The trip wasn’t all about his mate.
Who was he kidding? It was all about his mate. Everything else was inconsequential now. His sole goal was to find out who she was and persuade her to be his. Hell, she already was his. He just had to convince her to let him into her life. And her bed. Most definitely her bed.
“Ready,” Sol said, returning to the kitchen, washed and dressed.
“You look good.”
Sol smiled happily. “Fara told me I have to look after myself first, if I’m going to be responsible for a puppy.”
“Did she? Sensible lady. You have to prove to her you are going to take good care of that pup, or she might chase after you. I’m sure the old woman has a wolf lurking under her skin.”
“A big black wolf. She told me. She said that she would run with me one day if her old hip didn’t play her up so much.”
“She likes you, Sol.”
“I like her. She lets me feed the animals.”
“Then let’s go into town, get what we need, and then you can go and help her some more. I am going to start painting her house today.” Unless he got a lead on his mate’s whereabouts, in which case he would be too busy and the painting would have to wait...
“Great,” Sol said and was out of the door and into the truck before Riley even asked him to. This was getting easier and easier. Before Fara, it would have taken several attempts to get Sol to be compliant enough for
them to go anywhere without a danger of him running off. Riley had found it easier than he thought to look after his brother alone.
Which was a good job; Cole and Kira had been working some long, hard hours to get things straight in Wolf Valley. And Kira was busy making Hugo’s house into a den for the baby that was on the way.
His family were doing all right. That was what he was thinking as he drove into Wolf Valley, seeing the buildings on the outskirts, some still shut up, others having a new coat of paint and new windows. The town was starting to come together; word had gotten around that the law was back to being on the side of the victim, not the perpetrator. All they needed was a new alpha.
And Riley knew just the man for the job.
No. That wasn’t the only reason he wanted to find his mate. Although he couldn’t deny he would like having some authority in town, instead of being seen as the black wolf of the family. Since Cole became Kira’s mate, and deputy, it seemed the rest of Wolf Valley was too quick to jump to conclusions and think that it was Riley who had been the mastermind behind the raids, and had somehow dragged an unwitting Cole into them.
In short, Cole was the darling of Wolf Valley, and Riley couldn’t help feeling jealous.
“Well, look at you, all smart in your uniform,” Riley teased Cole as he walked in to the sheriff’s office. “You have a collar and leash back there too?”
“Morning to you too, Riley. Sol, how are you doing?” Cole smiled and went to hug his younger brother.
“Can I try your hat on, Cole?” Sol asked.
“Sure. Here.” He put his hat on Sol’s head and then said to him, “You’d better let Riley have a turn later. You know he wants one of his own. Just too proud to admit it.”
“I am not in the business of law enforcement, not unless it’s as the new alpha.”
“Well, for that you need your mate,” Cole said, and then added, “Even then, it’s not a forgone conclusion it’s going to be you.”
“Who else is it going to be? I am the last Merric child not to have a mate. Of course it will be me.”
Awakening the Alpha Page 2
