Chapter 18
I swiped a hand over my beard several times, trying with every ounce of control I had in me not to blow up on an Elder.
Alaric’s eyes turned into a cold, challenging stare.
I said nothing, despite the desire to explode. Right now, I didn’t need the heat. I had enough on my plate.
“Do we understand each other, Harkin?” Alaric had the nerve to raise a hand between us, one that would’ve slapped me across the face as a pup.
Grinding my canines into my molars, I lifted my chin.
“With all due respect, Elder, y’all need to put more trust in me.
I’m the lead alpha of these packs for a reason.
” As I stepped closer, I poked a finger at my chest. “I’m the most powerful and the only one with the alternative ability to save our hides if shit truly happened in the Falls.
” Towering over him, I lowered my face so our noses were a breath apart.
“I’ll ensure no one is harmed. I’ll handle it.
You have my word. Now do we understand each other?
” My alpha voice, unique in its properties, cut through the air, surprising even the Elder.
“Yes, alright. Fine, Harkin.” Alaric waved me off and stepped from my porch. “But this is on you.”
“Always is,” I mused, tipping an imaginary hat at him as he turned to walk away.
My victorious grin faded, my nose lifting to the air. Aurora’s scent had faded considerably. It was almost as if—I bolted into my loft. She wasn’t in the living room.
“Shit,” I mumbled, rushing down to the cellar, my heels thumping on the wooden stairs.
Empty.
“Aurora,” I shouted, perking my ears, waiting for her to answer me.
Nothing.
My hackles rose, claws sliding from my fingertips. I stormed back up the stairs, taking two at a time. My loft was one huge open space. There weren’t many places she could be. She wasn’t here. I could hardly scent her any longer.
My nose led me to the couch, covered in the overwhelming scent of her arousal from hours earlier.
I moved next to the several droplets of blood that had fallen from her chin when I fed her the rabbit, her odor fainter now.
It still hung lightly in the air, leading toward the window, the scent stronger on the pane where her hand had been.
“Waffles,” I called out.
No panting. No claws scratching against the floor.
She left.
Another trace of her scent took me to the kitchen counter. She’d written something on the back of a receipt.
Kins,
I’m safe. I will be back. Promise. Need to clear my head.
-Rory
With the receipt crumpled in my grasp, my fist shook. This hadn’t made a lick of sense.
“Why would she leave?” I roared, prowling toward the door. Stomping onto the porch with my claws curled at my sides, I shouted, “Kaida!”
She appeared in an instant, her shoulders drawn back. “Alpha?”
“Where did she go?” I asked, my tone clipped, feral, and impatient.
Kaida’s small lilac eyes grew enormous. “She’s not here?” The color drained from her face.
“No. She is not.” My chest heaved, more fur growing down my arms and up my neck.
Kaida shook her head, her nose and ears perking to the surrounding woods. “Why would she leave?”
“I have no idea,” I growled, my canines enlarging.
“Right. Sorry, Alpha, I—” Kaida spun circles, appearing disoriented. “She must’ve crawled through a damn window. I didn’t see her. I didn’t hear her. How could I have missed that?”
None of the pack had genuine experience with vampires. In all honesty, neither did I.
“She’s fast. Very fast.” The fur grew thicker around my face, my vision taking on a glowing quartz.
Kaida slid back. “Alpha? Harkin, are you about to—” She snatched her phone from her jacket pocket and shoved it to her ear. “Phel, I need you at Harkin’s place.”
Resisting it proved futile, but I still attempted every damn time. It wasn’t like shifting into a wolf. A wolf was seamless, effortless, and simple. My bones shifted, spine elongating, making me even taller than I already was. My jaw elongated, morphing with my nose into a muzzle.
“Fuck. Shit. Phel, I need you here now.” Kaida yelled into the phone, taking several more steps away from me.
It was Kaida’s first time seeing me in this form. I couldn’t blame her for being frightened of it. This form was otherworldly, monstrous. My fury, influenced by the alpha bind, made this form unpredictable now. Especially because I hadn’t a clue of Aurora’s whereabouts.
Right as Phelan’s tan and white wolf appeared from the forest shadows, shifting into his human form, my transformation finished with a long, bushy dark grey tail.
I stood on two legs, my chest pumping, saliva gathering in my jowls.
The night vision in this form kicked in, bathing the surroundings in shades of yellow sulphur.
My breaths were deep, gritty, and a growl escaped with each one.
I didn’t direct my rage toward my pack members.
I refrained from snapping at them or sneering, but controlling my rage wasn’t easy.
“Where is she?” I roared, my voice deeper than normal, more monstrous.
Though these moments were rare, I stood in my unique werewolf form, the alpha bind consuming me while I couldn’t find the person I was sworn to protect.