Striking Distance (Wolves of FMU #2)

Prologue

Slater

I grab my bag from the car and head inside the house.

Unsurprisingly, it’s dark and quiet. My roommates are probably still asleep.

I don’t turn on any lights as I make my way to my room.

I don’t make it all the way to my room before the front door opens behind me.

I don’t have to use my shifter sight to know that it’s Reid; I can smell his scent.

“You just get back from your game?” he asks quietly, so we don’t wake whoever’s currently sleeping.

I nod and watch as he makes his way to the kitchen.

“Congrats on the win,” he calls out quietly.

“Thanks.” I’m ready to head to my room, but he stops me.

“Zane wants us to help move Evie today.”

“When?”

“This morning around nine.”

I take that in. “I’ll be ready.” I’m ready to head to my room, but I can see he’s stressed about something.

His movements are jerky, and his body is tense.

Reid’s usually pretty chill, so I know something’s off.

I drop my bag and head to the kitchen; I need to make a smoothie anyway.

I grab the spinach from the fridge and wash it and tear off the stems before dropping the spinach in the blender.

“Something happen to Riley?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything.

He turns to me, shoulders tense. “What do you mean?”

I face him. “You’re carrying a lot of tension in your body. Something happen to your mate?”

He goes unnaturally still. “You know.” It’s not a question.

I go back to making my smoothie. “Yeah.”

“How?” he asks.

I shrug. “I’m the future enforcer; it’s my job to know.

” I don’t tell him that it’s so painfully obvious every time Riley’s in the same room as him.

I’m pretty sure she has no clue. She’s not eighteen and wouldn’t know yet, like Reid knows.

He would have found out when he turned eighteen that she was his mate.

“Just like I know you patrol her house nearly every night after she goes to bed, and she has no idea.” He glances over his shoulder, and I know what he’s thinking.

“Zane doesn’t know,” I assure him quietly.

Relief fills his face for a moment. “Good.”

“Yeah, because he’ll probably try to kill you,” I mutter under my breath. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Which one?” he asks, not letting me pass when I try to leave the kitchen with my smoothie.

I meet his gaze head-on. “Both of them.” I won’t tell Zane that his baby sister is Reid’s mate, or that Reid guards her house every single night. That’s Reid’s story to tell. He finally lets me pass.

“Thanks.”

“Are Evie and Zane here?” I ask as I walk past him.

“She slept in her dorm room last night.” That answers the whereabouts for both of them.

If Evie slept in her dorm, then Zane would have spent the night circling it, making sure she was safe.

I walk over to where I dropped my bag and pick it up.

“Be ready to leave a little before nine,” Reid says from behind me.

“Yep.” I finally make it to my room and close the door behind me, ready to unwind.

I drop my bag onto my bed and start unpacking.

It doesn’t take me long to finish, and I hang the bag in my closet.

After a long, hot shower, I’m finally ready to climb into bed.

It will take me at least another hour before I can sleep.

I grab my headphones and turn on my music; it's the only way for me to come down after being with people for too long. I love soccer, but I hate the road trips. Being stuck in a bus or on a plane for hours on end with my teammates sucks out parts of my soul. After hours of noise, it’s good to finally find peace.

A glance at my phone shows I only have about two hours to sleep before we meet to leave.

Two hours isn’t a lot, but it will have to be enough. I’ve gone with less.

Somebody hits my door, jerking me awake. “We leave in ten,” Quint calls out and then walks away.

I shake my head and try to wake completely up. I change into an FMU soccer shirt and shorts and my sneakers. I pocket my phone and keys and head out. Quint and Reid are both near the front door. “I’ll drive.” I walk past both of them and open the front door.

“Congrats on the win last night,” Quint says as we make our way to my truck. He climbs into the backseat, and Reid sits in the passenger seat. “Did you get to enjoy Thanksgiving at all?” Quint asks.

“We had turkey sandwiches on Thursday,” I offer.

“Nothing says Thanksgiving like a cold turkey sandwich,” Quint says dryly.

“What’d you do?” I ask.

“Had a normal Thanksgiving at home with all the fixins, and I ate all day.”

“So, a normal day then,” Reid quips.

“Pretty much,” Quint laughs. “Zane went with Evie to meet her family.”

I knew he was going to; I just haven’t heard how it went yet.

Quint offers the information without me even having to ask.

“He loves her mom; he said she’s just like Evie.

And he said her uncle was great too. They got back yesterday afternoon.

” He continues the conversation that neither Reid nor I are commenting on.

“Reid’s officially moved to the room in the basement, so Evie can have his old room.

Then we can all start sleeping at night again, because we won’t have to watch her dorm.

I, for one, am looking forward to that. Oh, and Zane made a few new house rules, now that Evie’s moving in. ”

“What rules?” Reid asks without looking back.

“Eh, stuff like being quiet at night, no roughhousing, and a few other things. There’s one that applies to Slate.” I eye him in the mirror and know I’m not going to like it by the way he’s smiling. “We have to, and I quote here, ‘Be fully dressed at all times’ end quote.”

I scowl. “I’m not wearing a shirt when it’s a hundred degrees out.”

Quint bursts out laughing, and Reid chuckles beside me. “Yeah, we know. You don’t like wearing clothes,” Quint says with a laugh.

“I don’t.” It’s simple enough. In a perfect world, I’d never wear clothes, especially shirts. I’m super picky about the shirts I wear. Most shirts make me itchy and drive me crazy. Quint continues to talk as I pull onto campus and make my way to Evie’s dorm. I park right in front of her dorm.

“Dude, you can’t park here,” Quint says as he climbs out. I ignore him and pocket my keys.

“Does she have a lot of stuff?” Reid asks with a frown.

Quint laughs and shoves a ball cap on his head backwards. “She’s a girl.”

We step into the large lobby and make our way over to the stairs.

I ignore that weird feeling I get in here.

I've only been inside Evie's dorm once or twice, but each time, I’ve gotten a really weird vibe that I can’t figure out.

My senses are on high alert as we head up the stairs.

I take them two at a time, ready to get the stuff and get out of here.

I ignore the whispers of some of the girls and the other bolder girls calling my name.

“Aw, Slate, you’re so famous,” Quint says, dropping an arm around my shoulders which I promptly throw off. He laughs and moves ahead of me.

“You good?” Reid asks, falling into step beside me.

“Yep.” We continue down the hallway without another word.

Quint knocks and opens the door, and we follow him inside.

Instantly, I’m hit with...something; I just don’t know what.

My wolf is restless inside me, and my senses are heightened.

I’m on guard, especially with Zane and Evie in the room.

Evie’s been a target too many times, and it’s not going to happen again.

And Zane’s our next alpha. It falls on me now and always to make sure they both stay safe.

“Okay. What’s ready to go?” Quint asks.

Zane releases Evie, and she turns to us. “Everything. Thanks for your help, Guys. I really appreciate it.” Reid grabs a large box and disappears.

“We’re glad to help, Evie,” Quint answers for all of us as he picks up two boxes. “You’re one of us now.”

Her face softens. “Thanks, Quint.”

“You can pay me in food,” he says with an obnoxious grin.

Zane rolls his eyes. “Get out of here.” With his own box in his arms, he heads towards the door. I bend down and grab a stack of boxes and am standing back up when the door to her bathroom blows open.

“Evie, I’m going to miss you so mu—” The words cut off suddenly.

Her scent slams into me with the force of a freight train, and my wolf reacts violently, nearly forcing a shift.

Mate. The shock of it roars through me, and I feel my body begin to change as I take in the female in front of me.

I’m aware she’s speaking, saying my name even, but I can’t process her words.

Suddenly, she screams and runs from the room.

Without a thought, I throw the boxes I'm holding on the bed and follow her.

A body steps in front of me, blocking me from getting to my mate.

Somebody grabs me by the shoulders, and I throw him off.

“Stand down,” I hear Zane order. I try to move past him, but he shoves me back.

With a growl, I launch myself at him. “Watch out, Evie,” he calls out.

While he’s distracted, I push past him. Zane hooks an arm around my waist, yanking me backwards.

“Don’t make me use an alpha command on you. ” I push forward, ignoring his words.

Mate, my wolf growls again. I move forward, needing to find her, make sure she’s safe. I don’t even know who she is. She could be in danger right now. My wolf surges again, and I push against Zane. Suddenly, I’m knocked to the ground. Zane, Reid, and Quint pin me to the ground.

“Get off me,” I growl in a voice that’s mostly my wolf’s.

“Not until you calm down,” Zane responds.

Evie jumps up, and I jerk my head up, knowing what she’s trying to do. Zane’s telling her to take my mate away. The thought makes me burn with anger, and I project that anger on her. “Evie, don’t you dare take my mate away.”

A knee digs deeper into my back. “You threaten my mate again, and we’re going to have a problem,” Zane says in a voice that’s full of his wolf. I watch Evie open the door to the bathroom, and a fierce growl erupts through me and I try to launch these three idiots off my back.

“It’s okay, Evie. We’ve got him,” Quint calls out.

I throw my elbow back, connecting with his ribs.

As soon as Evie closes the door, I unleash.

I buck and roll, throwing all three of them off me.

I'm on my feet a moment later, running to the door. Zane crashes into me, sending me into the wall with a shudder. I throw him off and grab the bathroom door and throw it open so hard, it nearly falls off its hinges. Her scent is stronger now, and it’s a fight to keep control of my wolf.

I open the door to her room just as the door to the room closes.

I race after them, but somebody tackles me from behind.

“Slate, knock it off,” Zane grunts at me. I roll over and kick him off. I jump to my feet and race to the door, but Reid’s standing in front of it.

“Move,” I order.

He stands his ground. “No.”

I give myself a moment to strategize. All I have to do is get out of this room.

I'm faster than all of them. If I can just get past all three of them, I can go after her. They won’t be able to use their wolf speed because we’re on campus, so it will just come down to regular running.

And I know for a fact I can outrun all three of them.

I just need to get out of this room. “Slate, let’s talk about this,” Zane says from behind me.

I turn around, trying to make it look like I’m not going to run.

I wait for the perfect moment. Zane talks, but I don’t listen.

I get my moment a few minutes later, when Reid moves away from the door.

I’m out the door and running, ignoring Zane’s shout behind me.

I take several stairs at a time and ignore girls screaming as I tear past them.

I follow her scent outside. My mate is out here somewhere, and nobody will keep me from finding her.