Leif grinned at the growing pile in Alec’s arms and snagged an empty cart left in an aisle, then directed Alec to dump all his items so he’d have his hands free.
His mate was a speed shopper.
“Are you gonna try anything on besides the boots?” Leif asked, amused, as he followed his mate with the cart—he never tried anything on, either. He kept an eye on the people around them also shopping or walking by, but no one matched the scent of the person he thought might be bothering Alec.
“Nope,” Alec said with a grin. “It’ll all fit. I’ve shopped these brands before.”
Leif pushed the cart close to Alec as he debated over a blue shirt or a green one. “What had you worried earlier?”
Alec was briefly startled before blinking it away and smiling in amusement, tossing both shirts into the cart. “You noticed, huh?”
“I did, little greenbough,” Leif confirmed. “What was it?”
“I thought someone was watching me,” Alec shared. “I didn’t get a look at them, they ducked out of sight too fast.”
“Where?” Leif asked.
“The kids section across from electronics.”
It was the next section over from their current location, and was where he had noted the sour scent. “Let’s walk by there, see if the scent matches the one I picked up nearby.”
“They’re probably long gone though,” Alec said, but he followed Leif as he pushed the cart in the direction of the spot the watcher had been.
“Their scent won’t be,” Leif promised his mate, who nodded in dawning understanding.
“Werewolves have better noses,” Alec said with a wide grin, a bit of a feral edge to it. He didn’t have fangs like Leif, but his smile was sharp and predatory. His mate had a dangerous edge to him that Leif liked. “I can’t define the scents in here, it’s so overwhelming between the food department and the number of people.”
“Show me where exactly?”
Alec pointed to the end of the nearby row of clothing, and Leif went up and down the aisle, scenting. It matched the scent he’d noticed earlier.
“Got ‘em,” Leif said, returning to his mate, eyeing their surroundings, but whoever it was had left already, theirscent trailing toward the front of the store and presumably the exit. “I’ll know the scent if we cross it again.”
“It might have been a creepy person ogling me,” Alec said, but he sounded as if he doubted it. Leif agreed—too soon for coincidences.
“It’s a small world,” Leif said. “Anything else you want?”
“Toiletries, then we can get out of here,” Alec declared.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Alec
The quiet domesticityof shopping with his mate was comforting and left a warm sensation in his chest, and he made sure to push it along the nascent mate bond to Leif as the feeling grew the longer they were out. Leif not dismissing his concerns about being watched helped cement the certainty that Leif was the wolf for him. Leif cared and wanted him safe. Just days after meeting, Leif was already growing more solicitous and caring; Alec ate it up.
There were no more incidents as they finished getting everything Alec needed and left the store, heading for the truck. He had several bags in the cart, and while it wasn’t a crazy amount, it was more than would fit in a backpack on the way up the mountain.
“How are we getting this up the mountain?” Alec asked. “I feel bad treating you like a pack animal.”
“I’ve got a large sled I can pull for heavier gear or appliances, but also some rucksacks I can secure to a harness.Depends on how much it all weighs. We can get groceries in Gelridge Hollow, and that’ll determine which I use.”
“Good to know,” Alec helped Leif load up the bags in the extended cabin of the truck. He took a thorough glance around the parking lot, but didn’t recognize anyone, nor any vehicles. Not that the vehicles were a sure bet—he’d been locked up inside most of the last several weeks. He knew faces better.
He paused, seeing a police cruiser parked several spots away, but there was no one in the vehicle, and the way it was parked made it hard to see what town it belonged to. It could be the cruiser from Hemlock, but he didn’t notice they were being followed at any point, so he doubted it was the same cruiser.
“Recognize anyone?” Leif asked casually, loading the last bag and shutting the door. Alec took the cart, shaking his head.
“No,” Alec replied. “There’s a police cruiser parked a few spaces away, but I can’t tell if it’s the cops from Hemlock or not.”
