Page 7 of Alpha Hunt

“There’ll always be a girl.” He’s nodding. “Always a girl child.” He seems happy with the idea. “And she’ll be beautiful. Just like her mother.”

“God, you guys never stop, do you?” I roll my eyes.

“Nope.” He’s unrepentant. “Never. And I like it that way.”

“This love bullshit makes people lose their minds.” I rub my forehead in exasperation.

“Not lose our minds, Stone. Find our hearts. You’ll learn about it too, someday.”

“Bite your tongue!” I shake my head vigorously. “No way I’m going to join the ranks of you saps. I have too much self-respect.”

“That’s what you say now.” He chuckles, undeterred. “But one day, you’ll feel a spark. And then it’ll catch like tinder. And before you know it, it’ll spread through you like a raging fever.”

“Oh geez, Law, you make it sound like a disease. You’re lovesick, that’s what.”

“Best kind of sickness to have.” He sits back in his chair again, looking self-satisfied. “There’s no feeling in the world like finding your mate. The minute you see them, something clicks in your brain. They’ll walk into your space one day, and boom, you won’t be able to ignore them. Your thoughts will be consumed by them.”

I have to admit, I like seeing him this happy. But for me? No way. “Well, I’ll give it a hard pass if it’s all the same to you. We need at least one functional brain on the team.” I smile to soften the blow, a little surprised at this turn of events. I came here to discuss that impossible man, and here I am, learning that my best friend is about to be a dad. It’s freaky.

I’m still pissed about Edirn, though.

“Suit yourself.” He still looks smug. “But mark my words, Stone, there’ll come a time when the bug bites. And when it does, I’m willing to bet you fall harder than any one of us.”

“Whatever,” I mutter. He’s wrong. So maybe I’m feeling a little left out with everyone pairing up and having babies around me. It’s only natural to feel that way. Wolves are genetically encoded to want to see their bloodline being passed along. If I’m feeling a tiny twinge of envy, it’s just my DNA firing up.

I’ll get over it. And when I do, I can get back to focusing on the important things in life. Like keeping my pack safe.

I don’t need a mate for that. I don’t need a mate for fucking anything.

Chapter 4

Edirn

I’m in dangerous territory. And not just because we’re walking on a path leading to a human motorway. The eyes on my back are making the skin between my shoulder blades prickle.

Tread carefully, Alpen.

The female behind me is holding it together…but just barely. One wrong move from me is going to cause an explosion.

I pause mid-stride, raising a hand to slow the others. “It ends here,” I tell them, turning. Casey is first in my line of sight, dressed in faded jeans and a snug white t-shirt that’s tucked into her waistband. There’s a lemon-yellow sweater draped over her shoulders, the sleeves knotted over her chest; she’d almost look preppy if it wasn’t for the steely glint in her eye. We’re all dressed casually for a human encounter. But on her, casual human clothing never looked so damned good. She stops and puts her hands on her hips. I fix my eyes above her chin because the posture has thrust her breasts out.

“You’re saying you didn’t bother going further than this?” She looks up and down the motorway, then turns her attention back to me.

“There was no point.” I jerk my head eastward down the road. A signpost shows that there’s a town called Sweetwaters five miles away. “They went that way, but where that might have taken them is anyone’s guess. There are several towns and cities in that direction. Visiting them all would have been foolish if I’d gone in alone.”

She doesn’t respond to that. Just makes a hmphing sound before kicking the toe of a blue sneaker in the dirt. It puffs up dust.

“So what’s next, oh, wise one? You got any plans?” She’s testing me.

“We go that way.” I nod eastward again. “Stop at each town along the way and see what we pick up.” I have no doubt I’ll catch wind of them. They’ll have left something of themselves on the air. A trace that I’ll be able to latch onto. But going sniffing around strange human settlements without backup would not be a good idea.

“All of us?” She looks around at the others. Barrett and Tarkin have stepped up behind us. Tall, built, dangerous-looking, even in our casual garb, together, we make a formidable sight.

“We split up. Go in teams. See what comes up and stay in contact to keep each other in the loop.”

The others nod in agreement.

“Seems…sketchy to me.” She folds her arms over her chest, and again, I’m forced to keep my eyes up.