My insides were a tangled mess. Resentment. Desire. Need. Anger. Heartache.Hope taking hold.The rain was still falling softly, steadily. A soft rolling thunder began, like the backing track of a building, epic song. An eighties ballad maybe. It still didn’t feel real that Ryder’s encounter in Seattle nearly two years ago was soon to be here, soon to be our mate. I blinked, focusing on the living room with my eyes, but on the world outside with my ears.
Cat was still in the house. She gave me a curious look. I tried to smile to let her know I was fine.
“Be right behind you,” I managed, chest feeling tight, encouraging her to join the other guys.
“Okay, but we’ll wait for you if we find the package.” She padded away from me.
Turning back to view the pool, I watched those ripples in the water again and part of me wished I was lying at the bottom of the pool. Each watery ring grew outward until it hit adjacent rings. The impact caused the circles to change course. To warp. To fade. But soon, fresh droplets started the cycle again. The bird wasn’t singing any longer. I scanned the courtyard until I found two blue jays perched on a limb. Jays mated for life. Another fact I'd only learned watching trivia games. The winged pair was tucked together protectively. The female shook her body gently. The male dipped his head and rubbed it against her chest. Their color reminded me of her eyes.
Quickly, I spun around and began striding after the others.
20
DIXON
1 DAY AGO...
When I openedthe front door and stepped onto the landing, I found a wild game of hide-and-seek happening outside the mansion.
Ryder for some reason thought the package might be on top of our mansion—the dumbass was standing on the slick stair railing, hands gripping the roof’s damp edge. His shoes squeaked slightly as he shifted. He was going to fall and break his damn neck. Mac, arms folded over his chest and eyes narrowed, was standing far enough from the front of the house that he could study the entire length. Catalina was back on her phone, standing a few yards behind Mac. I took the left side of the double, curved staircase to avoid Ryder.
“Where have you guys not checked?” I shouted over to Mac as my boots hit the ground.
“Start on the left,” Mac pointed to the right, “Tray’s thoroughly checking that side. I’m trying to see anything out of place from here”
“And Ryder’s focusing on the roof because...” I let the thought trail off, waiting for him to fill in the blank. The only option in my mind was:he’s fucking stupid.
“Maybe our delivery person was a former quarterback.” Mac sort ofshrugged, expression clearly showing that it wasn’t his idea. “Catalina’s on the phone with the actual delivery company now, not Eros.”
I nodded that I understood and then turned. Oriented this way, Ryder was on the left now. Tray was half-hidden under a bush to the right of the stairs, ass up in the air and sneakers sporting wet leaves on the soles.
“Find anything yet?” I called out to no one in particular as I moved towards the left. Scanning the space, I decided to start at the outer edge of the mansion and work my way in towards the stairs.
“A very pissed off spider and what I think might be dog shit. Making it hard to smell anything.” came Tray’s muffled reply as he shuffled on his knees under the bushes to check another spot.
Ryder shouted something unintelligible, and when I looked over, he was clawing at the roof, feet dangling about a foot off the landing.
“Just let go, dumbass,” I shouted, unable to hide the laughter in my voice.
He did, though it didn’t seem intentional. Ryder landed heavily, knees bending. He’d brought a piece of barrel clay roof tile down with him.
“Shit,” he muttered, dropping the tile in irritation. When it hit the stamped concrete, it snapped in two.
“Guess I’m not the only one breaking the house,” I said loudly, smirking.
“Shut up.” Ryder gave me the middle finger before shaking off the fall and descending the stairs towards Tray. I glanced over my shoulder at Mac and found him talking with Cat who was now off the phone. Neither looked pleased, so it was pretty obvious the shipping company hadn’t been any more help than The Institute.
Methodically, I began checking beneath and behind every manicured shrub. At first, I tried to avoid looking like an idiot the way Tray was—upper body shoved under the shrubbery, butt in the air, and absolute lack of any self-respect on full display. Yet, after a few minutes of bending my giant physique painfully over, I realized our no-shame-in-his-game pack brother had the right idea. I dropped to my knees, frowning as the designer landscaping stone cut into my shins. My senses came to life as I bent even lower and began swiping my arms beneath the bushes. Wetsoil, rotting flower petals, and—Tray was right—dog shit. We’d been talking about installing security cameras. Guess it was time so we could find out what asshole was letting their dog shit in our yard.
I moved slowly, putting every ounce of my energy and hope and focus into finding the package that should exist, should have been delivered, but was nowhere to be found. The rain was picking up, soaking through my shirt and making the world glisten. It also made the ground muddier and everything slippery. My hands quickly stained brown, and dirt collected thickly beneath my nails as I worked to push aside wet branches and peer in shadowy corners. Where the fuck had this delivery dude or gal tossed our fucking package? If I ever got my hands on them, I’d beat them into realizing that if you’re going to half-ass a job, then don’t fucking do it at all.
“This is fucking ridiculous. What kind of goddamn, second-rate delivery service did The Institute use?” I muttered, extracting myself from beneath the bushes and coming to kneel in front of a heavily flowered bottlebrush. A butterfly was stationed, unmoving with wings tightly clamped together on one of the crimson flowers. Enough leaves shielded it above that it was staying dry. The bush’s citrusy scent was imperceptible thanks to the rainfall. Sitting up, the smell of dog shit no longer in my face, I realized that another smell was close enough to touch me.Faint. Pleasant. Jasmine maybe… something woodsy perhaps? Gentle. Scared?
I swiped moisture from my face then lowered my body again and began the search anew.
The closer I crawled towards the front stairs, the sweeter the air around me became. About four feet from the landing’s foundation, the scent intensified. The rain was beating my back heavily now. Thick, large droplets pounding one after another.
Stronger. Closer. Definitely Jasmine. Sandalwood or cedar, I wasn’t sure. This perfume, whatever it was, touched a part of me that had been deteriorating for too long. My Alpha, which had been fighting its baser instincts for months, began to vibrate. My body thrummed with energy as my own chemistry clouded the air, forcefully pushing through the dampness to send tendrils of need towards the mysterious source of theintoxicating aroma. I moved faster, adrenaline spiking. I searched like a madman, desperation flooding every part of me. I was almost to the stair foundation. It had to be here. It smelled like it was a heartbeat away.
