Understandable, since they were alone on a remote bit of beach, tucked away from any other civilization by a wide swath of trees. Except she was a bear shifter, which made her pretty badass, even in her human form. He suspected it was Peter’s father who had put that fear in the depths of her dark eyes.
“My name is Remy,” he said in greeting, letting his Southern drawl come out in full force so she’d know he wasn’t from around here. “I’m not with his pack.”
There it was, the flicker of relief in her eyes.
“He’s dead,” Remy said shortly.
She shook her head. “Who?”
“Arthur Karhu. He’s dead. Winona Orzo is the pack leader now.”
“Winona…I don’t know that name.”
“She’s younger than your son, maybe five years.”
Her eyes widened. “My son. How do you know?”
“I met him. Both of them. Good people.” Although he’d not had that opinion when he first met Peter, but things changed. “She’ll be good for the pack.”
“My son?” she said again, sounding as if she didn’t quite believe this conversation was happening. If she didn’t know Winona, she’d been ousted from the pack a long-ass time ago. Remy could see where she’d be unsure.
“I think he’d like to see you. He doesn’t blame you for what happened. He knows it was all on Arthur.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “This doesn’t feel like a trap. I mean, it’s been years, decades, since Arthur’s guard dogs have come sniffing around.”
“Not a trap,” Remy assured her, not that his assurances really mattered. She’d need to ultimately make the choice herself. She had no reason whatsoever to trust him.
“Thank you,” she finally said, glancing out over the water again, her eyes now filled with hope.
“Maybe you can help me,” Remy suggested. “I’m looking for a bear shifter pack. All I know about them is that they’re located in northern Minnesota. And the pack leader is an asshole who lets his brother get away with some bad shit.”
Her eyes widened again. “Weirdly, with only that little bit to go on, I think I know who you’re looking for. The pack lives near Island Lake. It’s north of Duluth.”
He’d passed through Duluth, had continued along the shore of Lake Superior instead of heading inland. So close. And yet, if he hadn’t made his way up here, he’d never have met Peter’s mom, possibly set up a reunion that was long overdue.
“They aren’t good people,” Peter’s mom added. “They shouldn’t be running that pack. Or any pack.”
As if he needed the confirmation. Still, it was reassuring to know he wasn’t heading off to kill agoodman.
“Thanks for the warning.”
She nodded.
It was about to get awkward, so Remy lifted his hand in farewell and good luck—to both of them, really.
And then he turned away and headed back toward his old pickup truck.
Time to get a move on with this mission.
And then it would be time to find his mate.
ChapterTwo
With a cardboard cup of steaming, shitty, in-room coffee in one hand, Mallory Arkto used the other hand to rub at her bleary eyes before taking that first highly unsatisfying sip.
She should have gone down to the lobby for a cupful of much higher quality coffee. Except she wasn’t ready to interact with people just yet. Even for a decent tasting caffeinated beverage.
Grimacing, she took another sip and stared out the window overlooking the industrial side of downtown Duluth. She never expected to come back to this part of the world again, and that edgy sensation she’d had pretty much since meeting Remy four years ago was only getting worse.
