Page 14 of Alpha Hunt
Callum examines it, his brows pulling together. They shoot up when he raises it to his nose and sniffs. “You think this might be from one of the Wildview pack?”
“Can’t be certain. But whoever it is, they couldn’t have been there voluntarily.”
“Okay, this is a lot.” Callum rubs his jaw. “I definitely think you’re onto something. I’ll take it up with Jagger as soon as he and Gage get back from patrol. One of their mates might recognize the scent.”
Edirn nods. “I’m happy to go out again as soon as we’ve worked out our next step.”
“For the record,” I finally interject, “I think the next mission needs to be handled by Steel Lakes wolves.”
“Iama Steel Lakes wolf.” Edirn’s eyes are cold when they fix on me.
“In your opinion. Not so much for the rest of us.”
“I think he’s earned his stripes, Stone. Don’t you think it’s time to drop this?” Tarkin steps in. Part of me says he’s right. Another part – a stubbornly resistant part – disagrees. And I wish I could figure out why because even I’m starting to see that the man might actually be an asset. It’s just that something about him sets me off, dammit.
“Yes, drop it, Stone.” Callum is joining in now, which makes me bristle even further.
“Casey, I think it’s time we—” Edirn begins.
“Casey? Who the fuck do you think you are calling me Casey?” I stop him short. “Only my friends call me by my first name. And you arenotmy friend.” I regret the words as soon as they’re out because I sound like a brat, but I refuse to take them back.
“I’m happy to keep it that way,” Edirn responds.
“Oh jeez, here we go again.” Tarkin rolls his eyes.
“Both of you. Enough.” Callum looks from Edirn to me and then back again. Edirn remains impassive.
I open my mouth to retort, but Callum beats me to it. “Save it, Stone,” he says, calm authority in his voice. “You both obviously have some things to work out. Best place for that is in the training arena.”
What the fuck?!
My jaw drops as Edirn nods in agreement, that infuriatingly calm mask settling over his features once more. There’s a slight flicker in his eyes, but I can’t tell if it’s because he thinks this is a good idea or not. I sputter incoherently for a second before managing to find my words.
“You can’t be serious! We’re not a couple of squabbling kids!”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Tarkin mutters under his breath.
I round on him furiously, but Callum intervenes again. “My decision is final. You two need to get whatever this is out of your systems before it becomes a bigger issue. Report to the training ring in half an hour and be ready to work through it.”
He fixes us both with a hard stare, daring either of us to argue further. When neither of us does, he gives a curt nod of approval.
“Good. Get changed, and I’ll see you both shortly.”
As he and Tarkin turn to head inside, I shoot Edirn a venomous glare. He merely arches one stupid, perfect eyebrow at me, utterly unruffled.
That smug son of a—
Growling under my breath, I storm off toward the showers, already planning out a dozen different ways to wipe that insufferable look off his face once we’re in the ring.
This is far from over.
Chapter 6
Edirn
This isn’t quite how I saw this playing out. Not that I had any idea of what was going to go down today. But this… This would never have featured in any of my plans. Casey and I are in the small boxing ring that takes pride of place in the center of the training gym. She’s glaring at me balefully.
“Okay. No wolf powers, no shifting, and you stop at first blood. Am I clear?” Callum stands between us, his eyes resting on Casey for a moment before moving back to me. I nod curtly.