Chapter 168
The Cry Lake pack’s territory encompassed a huge swath of northern Wisconsin, northeastern Minnesota, all of Michigan’s upper peninsula, and a bit of the lower peninsula. But most of the pack lived in Wisconsin in the town of Cry Lake–hundreds of acres owned in trust by the pack, abutted by thousands and thousands of acres of national forest. Max was living there, temporarily, while he fostered with the Cry Lake pack. He pulled up to the small cabin he’d been given as a pack guest, killed the engine, and sat in the truck for a few minutes, staring into the wooded surroundings.
His connection to his home pack, the Teekkonlit, was still strong in his mind–a pull that made his wolf antsy and restless. But for the first time in a long time, his wolf was no longer whining to return home. He wanted to go back into the small tourist town he’d just left, back to the little gas station, and stare hopefully at a woman who’d stared back at him like he was a known murderer.
With a sigh, he fished his phone out of his chest pocket and called up Caleb. Caleb Kinoyit was part of the reason Max was out Roaming. After his old friend had matebonded, the weight of Max’s loneliness had started to get a little heavier. Finally, he hadn’t been able to fight it any longer – he’d left the packlands in search of his own mate.
Roaming was an old custom among the wolf kin, with centuries of tradition behind it. Mateless wolves left their home pack, fostering temporarily with other packs in search of a mate. It was how his father had met his mother–though his mother was skinlocked, and not a member of the pack his father had been fostering with. Apparently the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.
“Max,“Caleb greeted him in his typical to–the–point way. “What’s up p>
“How did you know you wanted to matebond Grace?“Max asked, ignoring the pleasantries.
There was a pause. “You met someone? “ Caleb asked.
“I don’t know p>
Caleb accepted that. He was quiet for a moment, considering his words. “Grace…“He sighed, a sound both rueful and loving. “We got off to a bad start. I smelled strigoi on her when I met her in Anchorage and nobody believed me. I was a dick because I didn’t trust her, but p>
“ But what? ”
“ My wolf did. Instantly. Wanted to lick her chin and roll over like a pup p>
“So you should have listened to your wolf p>
“Maybe. But my sister’s wolf loved Nick,“Caleb said, referring to his ex–brother–in–law who’d abandoned his wife and son without a word, and had never looked back.
That very thought made Max’s jaw clench, molars grinding together. For wolf kin, losing a mate was damn near a death sentence. There was no coming back from that loss. Matebonds were forever. Abandoning your mate and your pup? Unthinkable.
“My mom’s wolf trusted my dad, and look how that turned out. And my wolf didn’t see a thing wrong with Brenna until until that all went to shit p>
“So, don’t trust the wolf.“Max sighed.
“I don’t know, “ Caleb admitted. “The wolf wanted Grace in a different way. She felt… important. Not just interesting and new, the way some people were. She was fascinating. My wolf was obsessed. It was driving me crazy.“Another contemplative pause. “Your dad says he knew right away that your mom was the one because of his wolf. And Wade always said the same thing about Dorothy. And I mean, most the mated pairs will tell you their wolf knew. ”
Max was silent, dwelling on that.
“ Who is it? “ Caleb asked. “Maybe Joanne knows them.“Joanne Lance was a Teekkonlit pack member, married to Harry Lance, but she was originally from the Yellowstone pack.
“I’m not in Wyoming anymore,“Max said. “I’m in Wisconsin with the Cry Lake pack. And she’s not wolf kin. She doesn’t know about us. “ But then he remembered the way she’d stared at him as if he were a monster, her fear and her wariness. “ I don’t think she knows about us…“he amended
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Caught Naked By My Alpha Neighbor! Now I’m His–No Escape.
Chapter 168
uncertainly.
“You left the Yellowstone pack pretty fast, “ Caleb observed.
He was right. Max had stayed there for barely more than a week. It was borderline offensive how quickly he’d moved on, but the restlessness that had dogged him since leaving Longtooth had urged him beyond Yellowstone. He wasn’t exactly right at home in Cry Lake, but the restlessness had become directionless here–neither urging him on, nor allowing him a moment of peace.
Until he’d come across her scent, lingering along a deer path. The odds that he would have stumbled across that one little patch of land in the entirety of the Cry Lake pack’s territory were nearly impossible.
And yet, here he was. Talking to his friend about a woman he knew only by scent and by name. Nothing else about her.
“I had to,“Max sighed. “I knew I was in the wrong place. I just… I had to keep moving p>
“You know…“Caleb mused. A faint rasping sounded over the line, and Max could easily picture him scrubbing his hand over his beard. “ Grace was originally going to be flown in by a charter out of Fairbanks. For some reason, I decided to change my flight plan and pick her up myself. No reason for it. Just an impulse p>
“Was that before or after you decided she was a secret strigoi? ”
Caleb made a sound that was half–huff, half–growl, a wolfish noise of exasperation. “Fuck off, I still got her, didn’t I? ”
“Maybe I got you,“Grace’s voice came distantly in the background, mildly affronted.
Caleb chuckled appreciatively. “Got me like a wolf gets a fawn p>
Grace murmured something in reply that Max couldn’t quite make out, though her tone was clearly suggestive.
“Alright, little fawn,“Max said drily. “ I’ll leave you and your she–wolf to it p>
“Hey,“Caleb said, suddenly serious again. “I hope you find what you’re looking for p>
Max did too. “We’ll see p>
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.