Chapter 1
Chapter One
ROWAN
“Agh!”
Stumbling back, Rowan raised his arms, instinctively trying to make his small stature look bigger and scarier. Of course, the effect was ruined when he tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and fell on his butt right into the mound of snow left from when the walkway was shoveled earlier.
Usually, he was a big fan of snow. Red pandas adored the cold, after all, and he had a lot of amazing memories of playing in shifted form with his whole family back in Maine.
But in that moment, he couldn’t say he enjoyed the feeling of icy coldness seeping into the seat of his pants as he stared, bewildered and a little terrified, at the dead deer hanging on some sort of stand just outside his apartment door.
That had definitely not been there when he’d left for work earlier.
Carefully, he pushed to his feet, making a face as he wiped uselessly at his wet jeans. He checked the apartments on either side of his, then at the second-floor landing, but didn’t see any other… carcasses. Had someone left it by mistake?
Or was it supposed to be some sort of warning?
He shuddered and delicately stepped around the large buck, fumbling his keys before he could get his door unlocked and dash inside.
He flipped the deadbolt behind him and leaned against the door, his heart racing like it used to when he and his sisters play-fought too long and got scolded by their parents.
He wasn’t sure what to do.
It was late, past ten, so he didn’t feel comfortable calling building maintenance, and there would be no one in the apartment complex’s office.
But leaving it hanging there all night felt like a bad idea.
What if it attracted some sort of predator?
There were wolves in Michigan, weren’t there?
The real kind, that is, not the kind he was used to that could turn back into a human and understood you when you talked to them.
Oh goddess…
Chewing on his lip, he peeked out his window and eyed the deer once more. It was impressively large, he had to admit. He’d never hunted before, but he’d known people growing up who did, and he could recognize that the rack on the buck was enormous. Why would someone leave it for him?
Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He was sure no one would answer this late at night, but it definitely seemed like the kind of thing that should be reported to someone higher up in the pack.
Especially since he was so new, having only moved to the area about a month ago. Literally everyone was higher up in the pack hierarchy than him. He was so not equipped to handle whatever was happening.
What if the poor creature out there was the calling card of a local serial killer?
The pack leaders would want to know!
Although… maybe this was some sort of weird welcome-to-the-pack gift? But why leave it when he was gone? And so many weeks after he moved?
His finger hesitated for just a second before he dialed one of the numbers he’d been given when he’d been accepted into the Kincaid Pack. He’d been told it was for “general inquiries or feedback” and then been given a whole list of other people to contact if he had a specific need or complaint.
He’d even been given numbers to people with titles like Enforcer, and down at the very bottom had been the number and email address to Alpha Kincaid’s personal assistant.
Alpha Kincaid’s!
He’d gotten lightheaded just looking at it.
The pack he’d grown up in had consisted of just his parents, siblings, and some extended family. His Aunt Marjorie was technically the pack alpha, but they hadn’t ever addressed her like that.
But moving to Meyerville had been a sort of culture shock. The pack was huge, with hundreds of members and dozens of betas and Enforcers to help Alpha Kincaid manage everything. There was no way Rowan would ever bother the man’s personal assistant. He was too important, and Rowan was just… Rowan.
As his phone rang in his ear, he flicked on a few lights and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, mentally preparing his voicemail so he didn’t sound too panicked or too blasé.
He was sure the line was only manned during business hours.
Plus, with the Winter Solstice celebration tomorrow evening, all the important people in the pack were probably incredibly busy.
He just hoped someone called back first thing in the morning and not in a few days.
“Hi there, this is Ethan. What can I help you with this evening?”
Rowan choked on his drink of water, sputtering and then coughing a few times.
“Whoa. You okay?”
“Yes,” he croaked out, then cleared his throat and set the bottle on the counter, giving it the evil eye. “Sorry, uh, I wasn’t expecting someone to actually answer.”
“You must be new.” The guy—Ethan—chuckled. “Sorry for startling you. This line is always monitored by one of the betas at the manor. I’m surprised you weren’t told that during your orientation.”
Rowan racked his brain but honestly couldn’t remember what exactly he’d been told. He’d been given a lot of information and packets full of even more details, especially regarding pack laws and monthly runs. “I probably was and forgot.”
Ethan hummed understandingly. “We throw a lot at you, so that’s completely understandable. What’s your name?”
“Rowan Havis.”
“Hi, Rowan. Was there a question you had or some issue you’d like addressed?”
“Oh, right.” Rowan shook his head and glanced at his front door, picturing the animal on the other side. “I wasn’t sure who to contact, but… there’s a dead deer outside my door.”
There was only the softest hum of static for a long moment, and then Ethan said, “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?”
“Someone, uh, left a dead deer hanging outside my door. A buck. I didn’t know if it was maybe a gift for joining the pack or… a threat?” He said the last part as a question, his stomach knotting.
“Like an actual white-tailed deer?”
“Yes,” Rowan said, trying not to get annoyed. How hard was that to understand?
“I’m not… You know, we don’t have a protocol for this.”
“I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse,” Rowan muttered, shivering. His soaked pants were really starting to give him a chill. He should have changed before he called.
“I’m going to put you on hold for a minute, okay?”
“Um, okay.”
Soft music began to play, and he decided he couldn’t wait to get out of his wet clothes.
He hurried into his bedroom and put the call on speaker, keeping one ear on it while he quickly stripped and tugged on sweatpants and an old T-shirt.
He was just zipping up his fleece sweatshirt when the music cut off.
He dove for the phone as a deep voice with a light Southern drawl said, “This is Gabriel Morde, Rowan. What’s your address?”
THEO
Theo rubbed his cold face, a headache beginning to set in behind his temples.
His gift was still hanging there. Why hadn’t his sweet red panda accepted it?
He’d stayed in the woods about twenty yards back from the building where Rowan lived for three hours before Rowan had gotten home, his anticipation at how his gift would be received dulling when the tiny shifter startled backward and fell into the snow.
It had taken every ounce of self-control he had not to sprint forward and help him up.
But once he was back on his feet, Rowan had just… left it.
Maybe the buck was too large for Rowan to move on his own?
He’d wanted to give his future mate the biggest, most impressive kill he could find, but it was thoughtless of him not to consider Rowan’s small stature.
But now, he wasn’t sure what to do. Rowan had slipped inside his apartment half an hour ago and hadn’t come back out. Should he go and knock on the door? Offer to handle processing the deer and bring him back the best cuts?
Or… was Rowan rejecting his gift?
Frustrated, he pulled out his phone and called the only person he could think of in that moment.
His fingers trailed over the bumpy skin on his face as he listened to the phone ring, his gut swirling with nausea.
Wooing Rowan while staying out of sight was supposed to help Theo win him over before his mate saw him for the first time.
“Jesus, Theo, it’s almost midnight,” Dean grumbled at him. In a softer voice, he said, “It’s okay. Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”
“I didn’t realize how late it was,” Theo said as an apology. “Do you remember how you told me to just talk to Rowan?”
“The red panda you’ve been stalking?”
Dean was one to talk. Theo had heard all about how his friend had followed his mate from the coffee shop where he worked to his car most days to make sure he was safe, all while being unable to get his act together enough to ask the younger man on a date.
They’d eventually connected on a dating app of some sort and had been happily mated ever since.
But still… kettle, pot.
“The red panda I’m interested in, yes.”
“I do remember saying that. Do you remember what you said?”
Sighing, Theo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Something along the lines of—”
“Grand gestures mean more. I’ll woo him the old-fashioned way,” Dean said, deadpan.
He was pretty sure that wasn’t exactly what he’d said, but that didn’t matter. “Well, I fucked up.”
“Welcome to the club. What’d you do?”
“I left him a gift outside his door, and he… didn’t take it.”
There was a pause, and then Dean made a low, rumbling noise. “What kind of gift, Theo?”
“One to prove my worth as a mate.”
“Goddess, you left him a dead rabbit or something, didn’t you? Shifters don’t really do that anymore. I told you that.”
“It wasn’t a rabbit,” he muttered, a little offended his friend thought he’d leave something so minuscule as his mating gift.
“But it was something dead.”
It wasn’t a question, but Theo sighed and answered anyway. “Yes. A buck.”
“A… buck.” Dean muttered something under his breath that Theo’s human ears couldn’t catch. “What did you expect him to do with that?”
“Growing up, they taught us—”