Chapter 2
TWO
RUNE
The overlook on Pine Ridge Road had become Rune’s sanctuary—the one hour each day where the weight of leadership couldn’t find him.
His black patrol cruiser sat parked beneath the sprawling branches of an ancient oak, its engine ticking as it cooled in the late afternoon mountain air.
Through the windshield, the forest stretched endlessly below, a sea of green that had remained unchanged since his childhood.
Rune unwrapped his turkey sandwich with methodical precision, the same routine he’d followed for years.
Control in all things, even lunch. The patrol reports lay spread across his passenger seat—minor infractions, noise complaints, and a few boundary disputes between the pack territories.
Nothing that required his immediate attention.
His steel-gray eyes drifted to the photograph clipped to his sun visor.
His mother’s face smiled back at him, frozen in time at thirty-seven, her dark hair catching sunlight in their old backyard.
Twenty years. Two decades since that phone call had shattered his world and forged him into the man he’d become.
Today marks twenty years.
The sandwich turned bitter in his mouth as memories surfaced unbidden.
Eighteen years old and barely two years into his role as Alpha, still learning to balance the crushing responsibility of leading a pack while navigating his final year of high school.
His uncle Marcus had been there that terrible day, solid and unwavering as Rune fell apart.
Forrest too, already his Beta despite being the same age, had anchored him when grief threatened to drown him completely.
She should have lived to see grandchildren.
The thought struck him with familiar pain.
At thirty-eight, he felt the pack’s expectations like a physical weight.
They needed continuity, needed to see their Alpha settled with a mate and producing the next generation.
But every time someone brought up the subject—usually the pack elders with their not-so-subtle hints—his chest tightened with the same fear that had gripped him that day twenty years ago.
Love makes you vulnerable.
His mother’s death hadn’t been his fault—he’d been at school when the rogue wolf attacked near the town’s edge—but guilt didn’t care about logic. If he’d been there...
“Enough.” The word cut through the silence of his cruiser, sharp and final.
Rune had channeled that guilt into purpose, joining the sheriff’s department as a deputy.
Three years of proving himself to humans and shifters alike before taking over as sheriff when old Sheriff McKenzie retired.
The badge gave him legal authority to match his pack leadership, creating a unified front that had kept Blackpine stable for seventeen years.
Discipline. Caution. Control.
These had become his armor against a world that could steal everything in a heartbeat. He observed, assessed, protected—but never let anyone close enough to matter. Not romantically, anyway. The pack was different; they were his responsibility, not his weakness.
He raised the sandwich for another bite when movement caught his peripheral vision. A blue sedan rounded the curve ahead, its engine note too urgent for the winding mountain road. Not reckless, but definitely over the speed limit.
Forty-five in a thirty-five zone.
Professional instinct kicked in immediately. Rune set his sandwich aside and reached for the radio.
“Dispatch, this is Sheriff Hale. Traffic stop on Pine Ridge, mile marker seven.”
“Copy, Sheriff. Need backup?”
“Negative. Routine stop.”
He flipped on his emergency lights, the red and blue strobes painting the forest in alternating colors as he went to pursue the vehicle.
Within a minute, he caught up to the unfamiliar sedan.
The sedan’s brake lights flared as it pulled over, gravel crunching under tires as it came to a stop on the narrow shoulder.
Rune stopped behind the vehicle and stepped out of his cruiser with the measured confidence of twenty years in law enforcement.
His boots hit the asphalt with authority, his six-foot-three frame cutting an imposing silhouette against the darkening sky.
The utility belt around his waist held the familiar weight of his service weapon, radio, and handcuffs—tools of order in a chaotic world.
But as he approached the sedan, something shifted inside his chest.
What the hell?
His heartbeat quickened without warning, a sudden acceleration that had nothing to do with adrenaline or professional alertness.
His wolf stirred—not with aggression or territorial instinct, but with something else entirely.
Something that made his skin flush with heat and his senses sharpen to painful clarity.
The scent hit him first. Even through the closed windows of the sedan, he caught it—something floral and warm, with an underlying sweetness that made his mouth water. His wolf pushed against his consciousness, demanding action.
What is happening?
Rune forced his breathing to remain steady as he covered the remaining distance to the driver’s side window. His reflection stared back from the tinted glass—black hair slightly too long despite his best efforts, and steel-gray eyes that revealed nothing of the chaos suddenly raging inside him.
Control. Always control.
But his wolf had other ideas, pacing restlessly beneath his skin as if scenting something it had been waiting for.
The electric hum of the window motor cut through the mountain silence as the tinted glass descended, revealing the woman inside. Rune’s breath caught in his throat.
She was stunning—not in the polished, artificial way of magazine covers, but with a natural beauty that stole his breath.
Her dark brown hair tumbled in loose waves around her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled with intelligence and wariness as they met his.
Then her full lips curved in a smile that managed to be both apologetic and slightly defiant.
My God.
The floral scent that had teased him from a distance now enveloped him completely—jasmine and vanilla with something uniquely her underneath. His wolf prowled restlessly beneath his skin, every instinct screaming at him to lean closer, to breathe her in, to claim what was clearly—
What the hell is wrong with me?
“License and registration, please.” The words came out rougher than intended, his professional mask slipping for just a moment.
She held out both documents without hesitation, her fingers steady despite the slight flush creeping up her neck. “I didn’t realize I was speeding. I’m sorry, Officer—“ Her eyes flicked to his badge. “Sheriff Hale.”
The sound of his name on her lips sent heat racing through him. Rune forced himself to focus on the license in his hand.
Electra Calloway. Hartford, Connecticut.
“Electra Calloway.” He tested her name, savoring the syllables. “You’re not from around here.”
“No, I’m actually heading to my new cabin up the road. Just moving in today.”
So that’s who bought the old Henderson place.
Rune had noticed the moving trucks yesterday, furniture and boxes being carried into the cabin that had sat empty for three years. He’d meant to check on the new owner once they arrived.
“The reason I stopped you is that you were doing forty-five in a thirty-five zone.” He kept his voice level and professional, even as his wolf paced impatiently. “These mountain roads can be dangerous, especially for someone unfamiliar with—“
“Sheriff Hale.”
The voice from the passenger seat made him freeze. He’d been so focused on Electra that he’d barely registered the other occupant, but now he leaned down to get a better look and felt his unease deepen.
Gerri Wilder sat in the passenger seat like a queen holding court. Her bright blue eyes twinkled with something that looked suspiciously like amusement, and her smile held secrets that made Rune’s instincts flare.
Of all the people...
He’d heard about Gerri Wilder in shifter circles—whispered stories about her uncanny ability to bring fated mates together, her mysterious Paranormal Dating Agency, and her unsettling knack for showing up exactly where she was needed.
Seeing her here, now, with Electra, made every alarm bell in his head start ringing.
“Ms. Wilder.” He straightened, his shoulders squaring automatically. “I wasn’t expecting to see you in Blackpine.”
“Oh, you know how it is.” She waved a manicured hand airily. “I’m just helping dear Electra get settled into her new home. Making sure she finds everything she needs here.”
The way she emphasized ‘everything’ made Rune’s jaw clench. His wolf was practically vibrating now.
“I see.” He turned his attention back to Electra, who was watching their exchange with curious eyes. “Well, Ms. Calloway, I’m going to let you off with a warning this time. But please watch your speed—these roads can be treacherous, especially as the sun sets.”
Don’t let her leave. Not yet.
The thought came from somewhere deeper than logic, a primal demand that made his next words tumble out.
“Actually, given the hour and your unfamiliarity with the area, I’d be happy to escort you to your cabin. Make sure you arrive safely.”
Electra’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “That’s very kind of you, Sheriff, but I’m sure we can manage—“
“Oh, what a wonderful idea!” Gerri clapped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with delight. “How thoughtful of you, Sheriff. We’d be delighted to accept your escort.”
The older woman’s obvious pleasure at this development only increased Rune’s suspicion, but he found himself nodding anyway. “Follow me, then. The cabin’s about three miles up the mountain.”