Dillon had stopped racing toward Colorado. After speaking with Colin about the recent killings of two of his former pack mates, he’d slowed down to think. His top priority was still Tanya, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that haunted him after hearing about the fate of his old friends.
As Dillon made the last leg of his journey, his anticipation grew. Heading north up the winding mountain road, he looked for familiar landmarks. It had been some years since Dillon had visited the Colorado pack, but he was pretty sure he still knew the way. The sun was beginning to set, casting shimmering hues of orange and pink across the sky. Rolling down the window, he took in a deep breath of crisp mountain air as he drove past towering pine trees lining either side of the highway. The air was thinner than in Texas, and despite the fact that it wasn’t Montana, it felt closer to home than he’d felt in a decade, no matter the life he’d built in Coldspring.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of driving, Dillon spotted the Colorado pack mansion. It was a majestic structure built to look like a giant ski lodge, with tall, pine pillars along the entranceway. A grand stone fountain bearing a pair of howling wolves with jets of water shooting from their open mouths sparkled out front. Dillon could see multiple balconies protruding from the upper levels and windows that glimmered in the fading sunlight.
He pulled his car into one of the many parking spaces on site, and his heart began to race. Though he'd turned it over and over in his mind during the drive, he still didn't know what he was going to say to Tanya. There was nothing he could say to fix what he’d done. He'd broken her trust. He'd given to another what rightfully belonged to her. It didn't matter that he hadn't known Tanya at the time. Wolves were supposed to be patient hunters. And his wolf was. But the man was not. The man was weak. How he wished he would have listened to his wolf and waited. But even as he thought this, images of his life with Lilly flashed in his mind. Before, they would have brought him joy. Now, each one was like a piece of himself being ripped away. There were a few times during the drive that he’d tried to put himself in her shoes, but even the idea of her with another male enraged him and his wolf. What a hypocrite. “And an ass,” his wolf added.
Dillon took a few moments to compose himself before getting out of his truck and walking up to the mansion, head down and shoulders slumped. With heavy feet he trudged up the steps to the entrance. Just as he reached the top step, the massive door to the mansion opened with a loud creak, and two men stepped out. Dillon thought he might've recognized them from previous visits to the pack, but he couldn't be sure.
"A lone wolf on our doorstep?" one asked. "Are you lost?" They both studied him intently.
"Not at all," Dillon replied. His wolf felt uneasy as he attempted to search Tanya out through the bond. He figured once she got home and told her parents about him, her emotions would get the best of her, and he’d be able to sense her. But there was nothing. He’d decided to go with as much truth as he could. But before revealing his hand completely, Dillon wanted to feel out how Tanya’s father would react. His reputation as being an egotistical ass was well known. "My name is Dillon Jacobs, I was hoping to speak with your alpha.”
The second man narrowed his eyes. “If you’re not a lone wolf, and you’ve not indicated an affiliation to a pack, that would make you a rogue.”
Dillon straightened himself up and looked at the second wolf, holding his gaze. It took a few seconds, but the man eventually lowered his eyes. Dillon didn't feel the need to stare down the first wolf. He could tell that one was less dominant than his partner. Seeing his pack mate drop his gaze, the first wolf would understand a challenge was futile. "I am not a rogue, and if I was, I certainly wouldn’t give your alpha the courtesy of knocking on his door. Perhaps I wasn’t clear. I said, ‘not at all’, but I was referring to you asking if I was lost. I didn’t deny being a lone wolf. Lone wolf and rogue wolf are two very different things. I will explain myself to your alpha, not you."
The two males growled but didn’t argue.
“Shall we?" Dillon motioned to the door.
The two guards looked at each other briefly before gesturing for Dillon to follow them inside. They led him down a long ornate hallway lined with framed artwork from generations past.
Dillon's wolf growled within him. "I smell her, but not strongly."
The man's heart raced. He knew what the wolf meant. He expected to smell Tanya's scent the moment they walked into the door. Since the gas station, her scent—like a field of wildflowers just after a thunderstorm—was imprinted on his brain. And both the man and wolf longed to smell it again. Yet he was only detecting traces of her. He couldn’t imagine that she’d have her own home. Not with a mansion this size. And especially not with her father being the alpha and she being unmated.
They passed through several plush sitting rooms before finally entering a grand hall filled with members of their pack. As soon as Dillon walked into the room, all eyes fell upon him, accompanied by low murmurs and hushed whispers. Though they may have been whispering about Dillon's presence, no one approached him or addressed him directly. Dillon quickly scanned the room. Tanya was nowhere to be found.
"Where is she?" Dillon heard the frustration in his wolf's voice. The man felt the same way, but he dared not let it show on his face. At least not until he fully understood the situation into which he was walking.
An older male wolf stepped forward from deep within the crowd. He cleared his throat loudly, and the room went silent. Though Dillon had difficulty placing most of the Colorado pack members, he had no trouble remembering the towering alpha. Jeremiah Ellis was not a man easily forgotten. The alpha had a wide chest and broad, blocky shoulders. Should the United States ever need to go to war and run out of armored vehicles, they'd need only to add tracks to Jeremiah's feet, and he would pass easily as a Sherman tank … and probably do just as much damage. Jeremiah leveled a calculating gaze at Dillon through hazel eyes. His face, bearing a thick nose, broad cheeks, and thin lips, betrayed no emotion.
Dillon made it a point not to lock eyes with the man. He didn't know yet who was more dominant, and it didn't matter. Dillon wasn't here to challenge anyone. He just needed to find his mate as quickly as possible.
He swallowed hard. Dillon wanted to tell Jeremiah the truth, that he was here in search of his mate, Tanya, that he knew she was a member of this pack, and that he needed to know where the hell she was … now. But he knew he couldn't come into another wolf's territory and start making demands, especially not under the conditions in which he and his female parted. Jeremiah would be extremely suspicious that Dillon showed up without Tanya at his side if they were true mates. He had to be careful. His last encounter with Tanya's pack mates hadn't exactly earned him any friends. And he had no idea what Tanya had told her alpha or her other pack mates.
The alpha took a step toward Dillon. Everyone in the room seemed to simultaneously suck in a breath. "Well, who do we have here?” His deep voice rumbled through the space. “You look familiar to me, though I cannot remember your name."
"I'm Dillon Jacobs.” He raised his chin, careful not to meet the alpha’s gaze. “A former member of the Montana pack."
Jeremiah folded his arms in front of his muscular chest. "Former? What made you leave your pack? And why have you chosen my territory to come into unannounced?"
Dillon glanced around. “No disrespect, but I feel this is a conversation I’d like to have in private.” He looked back at Jeremiah, his eyes dropping to the alpha’s chin. “If you’d be so inclined.”
Jeremiah narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be measuring Dillon’s words and perhaps his intentions. Dillon wasn’t lying. This was something he wanted to discuss in private. There would be no scent of deception about him. Finally, the alpha nodded. “Follow me.” He turned and headed in the direction he’d come.
Dillon kept his eyes on Jeremiah’s back as he walked.
At the end of a long hall, Jeremiah opened a door and stepped inside. He didn’t bother to invite Dillon in; he just kept right on moving until he reached his desk. Dillon stepped into the office and shut the door behind him. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts, reminding his wolf that they’d have to tread carefully if they didn’t want Jeremiah to give them the boot, or worse, decide that Dillon was a threat and attempt to kill him. He turned to face the alpha and placed his hands behind his back, his shoulders pulled back. Though Dillon didn’t want to look overly dominant, he didn’t want to appear weak either. He had to walk a fine line.
"Now," Jeremiah rumbled, “you’re a lone wolf.”
“Yes.” It wasn’t a question, but Dillon wanted to make sure it was abundantly clear that he wasn’t a rogue. “I left my pack, but not because I was forced out. I was dealing with some things and needed to be on my own for a while.”
Again, Jeremiah seemed to study him. Dillon refused to squirm under the alpha’s scrutiny. He wasn’t a pup to be intimidated, but he would remain respectful, at least until he had Tanya. Then all bets were off. "Why not go back to the Montana pack? Why come here? If you left on good terms, then they should accept you back and welcome you as a prodigal son.” His tone had a slightly mocking tone to it. As if Dillon would be crawling back to his pack while licking his wounds.
“Pompous ass,” Dillon’s wolf muttered. The man didn’t disagree. "Sometimes the past needs to stay exactly there—in the past." Dillon shrugged. "Returning to Montana doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.”
