Page 3 of Alphas Never Hide

Ipushed all the wayward thoughts from my head and concentrated on the message from theEternalMagic.Damnit.Itlooked likeIwouldn’t be driving out to the hills west of town tonight likeIplanned.Myobnoxious alpha instinct, whichIwishedIcould scrape out of my head, insistedIstick closer to home.

Thiswould be yet another wasted night.

Whycouldn’tIcatch a damn break and finish this whole thing withRobbie?Ohwell.WhattheEternalMagicwanted, theEternalMagicgot.Shewas a whiny, demanding tyrant.

Ilet my partial shift drop.Icast one last look at my truck, before resigning myself to checking the perimeter of the pack lands—notmypack lands, to be clear.Justthepack lands.

Iwould like to pretendIwas obsessing over the whole alpha crap tonight becauseBuddyhad stirred things up at closing time, but the truth was,I’dbeen obsessing about all this for months now.Itwas like a virusIcouldn’t shake or a persistent rash.Unfortunately,DocRobertsdidn’t have a cure for this ailment.

Allright.I’dwasted enough time already.Tonightwas going to be an absolute waste, butIneeded to finish this soIcould get back and get rested for tomorrow night’s hunt.

Istretched until every bone seemed to crack, and every muscle screamed in protest.Ayawn tried to slip free, butIsmothered the damn thing.There’dbe time to sleep later.

Icrossed the back of the lot.Assoon asIwas through the gate, it swung shut and locked automatically.I’dlong ago planted thick, evergreen shrubs back here to protect the area year-round from curious eyes, butIstill sniffed the air to make sure no one was close.

Shiftingand heading out to the perimeter would be a lot easier ifIdeveloped the landI’dpurchased a few years ago on the outskirts of town.I’dbe closer to the woods and further away from mundane neighbors.ButIcouldn’t make myself do it.Instead,Ihad to hide behind an evergreen shrub to shift and hope no do-gooder human shot me asItrotted through town on my way to the woods.Icould imagine how excited they’d be to take out the big, bad wolf like they were in a children’s story.

Honestly, human stories were the bane of supes everywhere.

OnceIconfirmedIwas alone,Ilet my full shift wash over me.Mytransition to my wolf was more sluggish than normal, but it still came faster for me than most shifters.Itwas all part of being thealmostalpha inWillowLake.Usually,Ihated yet another sign of theEternalMagic’sfingers in my life, but right nowIappreciated it.Ineeded every advantage to deal with my brother likeIshould have done all those years ago.

Ishook out my fur and stepped away from the long shadows of the thick shrubs and into the early evening sunlight.Thistime of year, the days were getting steadily shorter, but sunset was still hours away.Havinglonger days, even at this time of year, was one of the perks of living this far north.Iappreciated those extra hours now because by the time solstice came around, it’d be dark damn near all day.That’swhat it always felt like anyway.

NowthatI’dfully shifted, the itch to check the territory was worse.Itdidn’t feel like a threat, but something wasn’t right.Ilifted my face to the sky.Itwould be so damn easy to howl and call the supernaturalWillowLakersto me so we could investigate it together.Instead,Itrotted through the back alleys ofWillowLakealone.Itdidn’t take long to hit the tree line on the outskirts of town.WillowLakewasn’t that big.

Mypaws crunched over dry, brittle plants asIfollowed the familiar route.Mostof the grasses and forbs had burnt up under the heat wave earlier in the summer and had never fully recovered.Now, with fall invading the landscape, there was no hope for soft green growth again until spring.

Inthe few days sinceI’dlast run this path, we’d had a couple of hard frosts, and the change of season had become more pronounced.Iused to wonder what it’d be like further south, where fall lasted longer, and frostsdidn’t come inSeptember.ButI’dcome to appreciate the beauty of this place.Itwas my home.

Thewarmth of the late afternoon heat still hung in the air, but it was fading fast.Thescents of dying plants and rotting leaves had grown stronger over the last few weeks and most of the larch and aspen trees were changing to golden yellow, a stunning contrast to the dark green pine trees.Thosevibrant colors never stayed for long here, not like they did in other parts of the country or further south.Prettysoon a big wind would crash down the mountainside and yank all these pretty yellow leaves off their branches, then in the blink of an eye, snow would be dumping down on us.

Inthe summer whenI’dfirst started hunting forRobbie,Ididn’t think it’d take this long to find him.Now,Iwasn’t sure everything would wrap up before winter came.Igrimaced.Ireally didn’t want to keep doing this through snow and blizzards, too.

Wolfshifters didn’t share all the traits of our animal counterparts, but even our wild animal comrades would agree curling up in front of a heater while listening to the wind howl outside, knowing you were safe and warm under a heap of blankets and all our fur, was pure bliss.WhenIwas a pup, my parents would wake upRobbieand me whenever a blizzard hit.They’dbring us back to their bedroom.Dadwould build a fire in the hearth whileMommade a cozy nest in front of the fireplace from the blankets that smelled like my parents because she’d stripped them from their bed.Wheneverything was ready, we’d all shift and settle in to sleep, withRobbieand me safe and warm curled up between our parents.

Iwasn’t sureI’dfelt that warm in years.

AndIsure as shit wouldn’t be warm this winter ifIhad to keep going out hunting for my asshole brother.IfRobbiehad taken off for the winter,I’dnever know.Icould be out there for months with nothing to show for it.Ididn’t think he would leave, though.Asmuch as he pretended to be better than the rest of us, he was as connected to this land asIwas.Itwas how we were raised, although the lessons had become a warped and twisted mess when they hit his head.

IprayedMomandDadhad never found out what he’d become before they died.

Shit.WhydidIkeep thinking about my parents tonight?Robbie, yeah,Iknew whyIwas thinking abouthim, but the dead should be resting.

Painsqueezed around my heart, andIpushed into it, letting it wash over me.Itreminded meIwas alive.ThatIhad a purpose.OneI’dput off for far too long.

WhenIfinished the perimeter and hadn’t come across anything, theEternalMagicurged me to turn away from town.Iwasn’t done yet, it seemed.Iran another circle along the perimeter, and then another.Eachtime, the circle got wider, andIwas further away from my territory, but my damn alpha instinct kept prodding me on.Thesun had disappeared long ago, slipping away beyond the tips of the mountains in the west.Andnow a starry sky twinkled overhead.

Ifit was closer to the full moon, maybe the moonlight would have shown whatever theEternalMagicwanted me to find.Butwe were on the eve of the new moon and starlight was as good as it got.

WhenIreached the most westerly part of the route for the fourth time,Icouldn’t go any further.Iflopped down with a huff.Mypaws burned and my muscles quivered.Ihad half a mind to curl up and sleep out here for the night.

Whywas theEternalMagicmaking me do this?Wasshe toying with me?Punishingme?

Robbie’sold burnt-out pack lands were further to the west.Ishould have been out there, not here.Ihad absolutely nothing to show for tonight.

Nota single fucking?—

Thescent of blood stirred through the air.Asbattered as my paws were, it wasn’t my blood.Ilifted my nose and inhaled deeply.Theinjured person?Animal?Whateverit was, it was to the west of me.Ithad to be close, given that the wind was pushing most scents away from me.