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It’s the middle of the night and she’s still dressed for work, with dark circles around her eyes and carrying the weight of exhaustion. Her son was no better, reeking of fear and desperation. And there is her curious daughter and the question of how she got here.
“What’s the address?” I ask Cliff, knowing I can’t let them go without having a place to follow up and ensure they’re okay. Maybe I need to have a chat with her partner or alpha.
Cliff chuffs snidely behind me. “That woman is a Cooper. Don’t imagine Finn would like you sniffing around that trash unless it’s a pre-heat gift.”
Deputy Cliff Daniels is a nepobaby who made his way into the sheriff’s office through his uncle, the Mayor of Knotty Pines. He’s a dick with ass-backward ideas, and a tendency to think every one of his thoughts is worth noting. Working for the Knotty Pines Fire Department means I hear more of the asshole than I like.
My jaw tics as I glare at him, my stomach burning in fury. “Leave that woman alone. You and I both know she doesn’t need you hounding her. And watch your mouth when you’re talking about my mate.”
The burly alpha throws his hands up, his lips curled into a smug grin. “Just saying, a Cooper would be a wild night in bed. Those girls from over in Crawley are born and bred to chase alphas. And desperate beta pussy taking a knot? Gotta be damn near better than an omega.”
As if he would know. His pack is still without their omega mate. The growl rumbling from my displeasure is a low warning, letting him know I’ve had enough of his shit. My hair stands on end, my muscles ready to pounce.
Cliff backs away with a laugh. “I see how it is. Better watch out. That girl is trouble.” He gets into his cruiser and calls from the window, “But since you asked so nicely, she’s over on Willow. My guess? Look for the only POS in the driveway.”
“Asshole.” I bang the cruiser’s top before he creeps away, his laughter in the air.
“Reid?” Finton’s sleepy tenor calls from the front door. He fills the bond with equal parts trepidation and curiosity.
“Coming, babe.” Sighing, I give one last look toward the direction the beta family went, but the streets are quiet and dark.
As I make my way to the porch, I’m haunted by the need to protect her, the urge to go to them pounding in my chest. I haven’t felt my alpha stir like this in a long time. The pull has only awakened once before, going on twenty years now.
Finton and I met the year I turned fifteen, when he moved to Knotty Pines after one of his mothers got a job teaching medicine at the college. First day of sophomore year. Homeroom. Ms. Michael’s class. He was the new kid, fresh from Lux. The leather jacket, high cheekbones, and sea-green eyes had everyone drooling, but it was his city-edginess that made him an instant celebrity. Not that he ever noticed.
The moment I saw him in the back of Ms. Michael’s homeroom, those blond curls spilling out from under a beanie, I knew he was mine. He was drawing in a notebook, completely oblivious, but when I leaned over his desk, he sucked in a breath and caught my scent. He went rigid, then he climbed up from that desk and into my arms, shocking the hell out of me and everyone else with a scorching kiss. We ended up in detention, where we made out in the library while pretending to restack books. Twenty years later, the fact that Finn is mine is still the most solid truth I know.
We’ve tried finding that instant understanding, that sense of belonging, with others. But no one ever got close, and everyone we tried to bring into our orbit felt off.
Academies aren’t made to help bonded pairs find a pack, only packs to find omegas, and no one in town seemed to fit either.
We always talked about wanting a big pack. Finn was made to take care of others. He’s got so much love he’s holding in, ready to give. But so far, that hasn’t been in the cards for us. After we bonded and he graduated from the Omega Academy, we sort of gave up on that dream, focusing instead on our careers.
But the beta, Cammie, and her fierce little pack have reawakened that long-sleeping desire.
Finn throws himself into my arms, hugging my neck. His leather jacket, oak, and mountain air scent dulls some of the raw restlessness in my limbs. “What happened?”
“I think I just met our mate,” I murmur hesitantly. After all this time, could we really be destined to be more than a pair? Are we to have a pack after all?
Finn holds my neck between his hands, his eyes searching mine. “What? Where? With Cliff?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are they?” His eyes water, and his face fills with hope. He darts around me, looking excitedly in every direction as if I’m playing a game of keep away. “Where?”
I shake my head, my throat tight.
“I felt it, can still feel it. But why are you so unsure?” His handsome face falls.
I swallow the lump in my throat, wishing I had more time to figure out what the fuck is going on or how to tell my omega that this won’t be straightforward. “Because I think she already belongs to someone else.”
Finn gasps. “What? But?—”
He’s gone, words left unsaid as he searches the yard, running to the street and looking around frantically. I follow him, my steps subdued. He stares into the empty street, looking forlorn and his heart pulsing a broken beat.
“She was here! But her scent is muted, dulled by others.” Finn takes a deep breath, and his voice is watery again when he speaks. “She’s the tangy raspberry tart? The beta?”
Without speaking, my bond gives me away. Her scent is subtle as a beta’s but still potent to me as her mate. She smells like a summer picnic, feminine and sweet.
