Chapter Seventeen

“After we catch this guy, I’m going to take a little break from the pack.”

Drew looked across the cab of the truck to where Callum sat. That morning, they’d received a call about Mitch. Greg had spotted someone matching the stray’s description near a strip mall. Drew had arrived in time to watch the man wander into a clothing store. Clearly, he hadn’t heeded the get-out-of-town threat.

In a dark hoodie pulled up around his face and glasses blocking his eyes, Drew hadn’t been sure at first if it was him, but the scent was undeniable.

In such a populated area, Drew couldn’t do much. They needed to grab him somewhere quiet, preferably closer to the outskirts of town. Near Wildlings would be even better.

Callum had walked over from his apartment and joined Drew in the truck, watching as Mitch disappeared into one store, then the next.

“Am I working you too hard?”

“Always.” The beta laughed. “Nah. I’m going to go find my mate.”

“Really?” Drew said, surprised. Callum had been acting a little strange lately—more reserved.

“Yeah, well, with Mom and Dad back in Florida, and Fredrica going on tour in the spring with Maddox, it just feels like it's time, you know?”

After he’d started trying to woo Fredrica, Maddox had surprised them all with the news that he was a drummer in a relatively popular rock band. It was lucky Fredrica could work remotely, as she’d traveled with him.

“Where will you go?”

“I’m going to head north, across the border. Going to visit my cousin.”

Drew froze. “Why the fuck would you want to do that?”

Callum shrugged, his gaze locked on the door of the most recent shop Mitch had entered.

“To Thatcher’s pack? That’s what you’re telling me? You’re going to Thatcher’s pack?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Callum’s head rolled against the headrest. He didn’t seem thrilled about his decision. “Just a feeling.”

Drew’s stare was hard. “Reconsider.”

Thatcher’s pack was dangerous. Thatcher was a power-hungry alpha who would stop at nothing to keep his firm grip on those beneath him in his pack. Not to mention they had a deadly rivalry with another pack.

“Naw. Been feeling the pull for a while now.” He sighed. “Elliot is pretty far north. I hope I come across her before hitting his pack’s border.”

They could only hope. “You’ve been there before?”

“Nope. Elliot would come here some summers. You remember?”

Drew remembered. Even as a teen, Elliot’s alpha power had been intense. He was a big fucker, and it surprised Drew that Thatcher hadn’t removed Elliot from his pack. “I remember you used to have nightmares about Thatcher when you were little.”

“Yeah, well, I blame my folks for that. They should have known I was listening when they talked about him. The stuff they said was scary.” Callum shifted in his seat. “To a little boy, that is.”

“They think he killed your uncle.” Drew didn’t care if he was blunt. He needed to be sure Callum had thought this through.

“They don’t know for sure.” He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Look, I know, all right? I’ve been trying everything to avoid going, but I can’t anymore. I’m ready to find her, and something tells me that’s the direction I need to go, and it needs to be now.”

Rumors about Thatcher’s pack were troubling. Downright fucked up was more like it. Callum’s uncle, Elliot’s father, had gone missing when they were young. Most believed that a rival pack had attacked and murdered him, along with several other strong alphas within the pack.

Callum’s family thought differently.

Convinced that Thatcher had either killed them himself or ordered the hit, Callum’s parents had tried to get Elliot’s mom to move and join their pack. She’d been torn. She wanted to protect her family, but part of her believed her mate was still alive and would one day return. That belief, mixed with a crippling fear of Thatcher, had kept her rooted in place.

“They still practice the Curusm.”

The outdated mating ritual was barbaric, demoralizing, and abusive.

Again, the beta sighed. “I know. Elliot says it’s modernized. The women who take part are willing volunteers. They have to sign up for it.”

“Promise me that you will not join that event no matter what happens.”

Callum’s stare was angry and harsh. “I argue with Elliot over it every time we talk. It’s barely a step up from rape. I will not participate. I might not even make it as far as that pack.”

“Has Elliot run in the Curusm? Is he mated?” It was an appalling idea.

“No, but this year, he’s overseeing it.”

“People watch it?” Drew said with disgust.

Callum snorted. “No, to regulate it. He makes sure everyone is behaving appropriately. He assures me there’s no rape. He’s there to ensure that it’s safe. But you still won’t see me getting involved in anything to do with that ritual. Look, he’s on the move!” Callum said suddenly, pulling Drew’s attention back to the storefronts.

Head down, Mitch left the last store in the unit and started running.

“Shit. Where’s he going?” Torn between starting the car or following him on foot, Drew grabbed the keys from the ignition, but Callum was already out the door.

Drew wasn’t far behind when Mitch fell on the ice and skidded to a halt. His hood fell back. “Don’t hurt me,” said some blond guy who was definitely not Mitch.

“Who the fuck are you?” Drew demanded.

“Nobody, I swear. This guy stopped me at the bank and paid me a hundred bucks to wear his hoodie and shades.”

“At the bank?” Drew glanced in the bank's direction. He remembered when Mitch had gone into the bank. “That was almost thirty minutes ago.”

“It’s a fucking distraction.” Callum kicked a nearby snowbank, sending powdered snow everywhere.

Drew was already making a call when the imposter got up and ran away. Callum was about to follow but Drew stopped him. “He’s not worth it. He won’t know anything.”

When Alyssa didn’t answer his call, he tried Fredrica. “You’re with Alyssa, right?” He’d asked her and Maddox to stay with Alyssa while they tracked down this lead.

“No, but she’s fine.”

“Why aren’t you with her?” Drew was already striding to the truck.

“Mom forgot her cellphone charger, and I needed to grab it and overnight it to her. The Post Office closes early today. Alyssa’s cool. She can take care of herself. She’s just painting. She’ll be fine.”

“Maddox is still at the house?”

“No, Becky said they thought they’d spotted Mitch on the opposite side of town. He’s chasing down that lead, just in case. Why did something happen?”

“It wasn’t him. It was a decoy. We don’t know where he is.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, shit.” The truck roared to life, and the Bluetooth took over. “So she’s at the house?”

If she stayed inside with the doors locked, she should be safe. Even if he found her scent, he likely wouldn’t be able to get into the house or even realize that’s where she was.

“Um…”

“Where is she?” Callum demanded, picking up on the same worried note in Fredrica’s voice that Drew had.

“She wanted to sketch the pond. Wanted to get the colors right.”

Ending the call, Drew pressed the pedal to the floor. Mitch had tracked her across multiple states. He’d proven he could hunt. And now he had a head start.