Chapter Two
Aspentrailedthroughtheaisles at the grocery store, stuck in a weird headspace. He had honestly had a fantastic night with Lysander. For some reason, he felt off about the situation. Lysander had said and done all the right things. Aspen couldn’t wait to see him again. But there was something gnawing at his gut, and he already knew it was Leif. Leif existed somewhere in the world. Aspen would move on if it killed him. It was just… Leif existed somewhere out there in the world. He hated the way this love twisted him and destroyed him. He would not waste his life on the past. Aspen would have a new pack. He could start over and not choose Leif. Aspen had to move on. If not, loving Leif might really kill him.
That thought solidified his decision to never look back. His nose hit the air. Tears blurred his vision. He immediately turned toward the meat selection nearby. Aspen would not acknowledge Leif’s presence in the store. The scent got stronger. Fuck! He thought Leif had decided to leave this town, so Aspenthought he would be safe to stay. If Leif was here and they constantly crossed paths, Aspen needed to grow a backbone. The scent got stronger.
Aspen’s stomach muscles tightened. He fought to keep his eyes open when he wanted to cut off every other sense so he could savor the smell of Leif.
“Hey.”
The softly spoken greeting weakened Aspen’s knees. There was no stopping his head from turning. As always, the first sight of Leif’s light blue eyes seared into his soul. Fuck. The love just never stopped, and it was genuinely pulling him toward the grave.
Aspen swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Hey. I thought you'd left town.”
Leif rubbed the back of his neck and shifted from foot to foot. “Yeah. It turns out I’m not as capable of walking away from everything as I thought. Audor is here.”
Aspen nodded. He should have known Leif wouldn’t truly abandon his best friend. At his core, Leif was a soldier—loyal ‘til the end. Aspen took a deep breath. “If I had known you planned to come back, I wouldn’t have settled here. I know you don’t want me around.” Aspen averted his eyes at the last second. He couldn’t watch Leif’s growing disappointment in having to cross paths with Aspen.
“You’re good. They have a unique pack here. Very accepting. You can have the support system you’ve always wanted. It’s cruel to expect such a cuddly bear to miss his chance at having an actual family.”
He couldn’t breathe. Aspen had to get out of here.
“Hey. It’s Aspen, right?”
Aspen turned toward the chipper female voice. A tiny, brown-haired woman waited for his attention.
“That’s me.”
Her smile brightened. The unique light of an animal flashed in her eyes. He smelled wolf.
She held out her hand. “I’m Vixen. Waylon sent me your way.”
Aspen shook her hand while acutely aware of Leif’s presence.
Vixen focused on Leif for half a second. “Hey, Leif.”
“Hi.”
Leif didn’t sound annoyed. He didn’t sound any certain way at all. Aspen was an inner wreck trying to figure out why Leif was still standing there.
Vixen’s gaze locked on him again. “Waylon said you were a handyman back in Montana.”
Aspen nodded, hoping he didn’t look as nervous as he felt. Not only was Aspen pretty shy, Leif had shifted closer to him.
Vixen kept talking, seemingly oblivious to his inner struggle. “My fridge bit the dust. I have a newborn at home and a desperate need to keep things from spoiling. The wol—” Vixen caught herself. “The guy who usually does that sort of thing for us is slammed with work. Everyone’s heat and air units are failing like crazy because of the unusually hot weather. He can’t help me until next week. My husband owns a landscaping business. He’d be more than happy to—”
“I’ll fix it,” Aspen said, cutting her off. “Just let me know the address and I’ll head that way as soon as I finish here.” She had a newborn, and that was rare for Weres. For some odd reason, Wulfe seemed to have a higher birth survival rate than anywhere he had seen before.
It’s Frost. He’s the reason so many Weres are moving here. His success rate in keeping various species and their offspring alive through childbirth is abnormally high.
Aspen tried to ignore the words Leif forced into his head. As a druid, Leif could do that, and the memories of Leif in his head were choking him.
Vixen wore a huge grin. “Seriously? That’s so amazing. I can’t thank you enough.”
“That’s what we do. Help each other.” He didn’t want to use the word “pack” in a store where any human could overhear.
She happy-clapped while bouncing on her toes before settling down again. “I’m the coral-colored house on Oak Street. You can’t miss it.”
The first kernel of hope grew inside Aspen. If Vixen was any indication, it seemed like the town might really accept him into their pack. Pack life was a lot like skill-sharing communities. Everyone pitched in to help one another, and the pack thrived.
