Did I care about Anders? No—not yet, anyway. But at least I knew what I was getting with him. With Levi, I would always be secondary, even if he couldn’t see it himself.
Anders acted as though he’d turned over a new leaf. Perhaps he would even treat me with the kindness and respect a mate deserved. It was all I could hope for. Either way, I would be his mate, and he would have to treat me like the only person who was. I wouldn’t have to play second fiddle to a dead woman.
“Whoa there, you two,” a voice called out.
Anders slid to a stop, and I nearly plowed into him. A lanky man stepped out from behind a tree. His red hair was tied in a ponytail beneath his sweat-stained ball cap. He gave us both a simpering grin, but the smile never reached his eyes.
“Who the fuck are you?” Anders growled, having shifted back to his human form.
The man held his hands up and smiled wider. “Just anemissary, shall we say.”
I nearly choked as realization dawned on me. I knew which pack this man was part of.
“The Red Maw pack,” I whispered.
Anders glanced at me. “Thewho?”
The stranger nodded once. “That is the name we go by. Name’s Carlton Briggs, beta of the Red Maw. Just wanted to introduce myself to the alpha of Idlewild.”
“Okay,” Anders said, balling his hands into fists. “You’ve introduced yourself. Now get the fuck out of my territory.”
He took a step toward Briggs, and the redhead stepped back, raising his hands in surrender. “No problem, big dog. I getcha. I’ll see myself out. I guess we won’t be friendly then. Is that what I’m hearing?”
“You heard right,” Anders said. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
Briggs tipped his hat to me, shooting me a surreptitious wink. “I’ll be on my way then.”
“I saidgo,” Anders said, growling low in his throat.
Briggs nodded once more, then shifted into a broad-shouldered red wolf and bounded off into the forest.
“What the fuck was that about?” Anders asked.
“They’re a pack. All men. They’ve been trouble for Lev—uh, for the Hidden Grove village for years.”
Snorting in derision, Anders took my hand. “Not surprising that guy couldn’t keep his place safe. Pathetic. Come on. Let’s get home. I’ll tell my guys about this. Make sure they keep a look out for any of those fuckers if they want to try something.”
“Okay.”
We shifted again. As we ran the last mile, I wondered if we really had anything to worry about. Surely the Red Maw wouldn’t try to invade the territory of a pack or town the size of Idlewild. That would be suicide.
My thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of voices. I couldn’t tell if it was simply my newly acquired shifter senses, or if there really were that many people. Even with the noise of us running, the sound of conversation was overwhelming. I pulled up to stop, and Anders stopped as well, shifting back to his human form. When he turned, there was a big smile on his face.
I shifted back as well—the sensation was still a bit strange—and frowned at him.
“What’s that sound?” I asked.
He pointed in the direction of town. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“What was?” I eyed him warily. Old habits died hard. Did he, perhaps, have some mean-spirited trick waiting for me?
He reached out to me. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
A warm smile spread across his face as his hand extended toward me, but there was a hardness in his eyes as well. A demand for me to take his hand. We had to show unity. I couldn’t hesitate here, not now. Not when this was all I had left.
Even then, knowing what was at stake, I only looked at his hand, debating whether I should believe him. I’d spent over a decade worrying about what joke, slight, or trick Anders would pull. Despite my reservations, I put my hand in his.
We were only a hundred yards from Idlewild. The closer we got, the more voices I could hear.
