Page 12 of Red Hood, Bad Wolf

It fit the theory perfectly. Almost too perfectly, a voice that sounded like Rowan whispered in his mind. Through their strengthening bond, he sensed her working her own investigation back at the pack house. Her frustration. Her determination. Her longing that echoed his own.

Focus. He was Alpha first. This mate bond was a distraction that needed to be settled soon. But these murders needed his full attention right now. No matter how much his wolf howled at the separation, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

"Signal's weak out here," Serenity noted, checking her phone. "If River Valley's watching, we'd never know until—"

A howl split the air. Not pack, not friendly. Serenity shifted instantly, fur rippling over skin as she charged toward the sound. Alder followed, power surging as he took wolf form.

They found two younger enforcers cornered by three River Valley wolves. The fight was brief but vicious. When it ended, the rival wolves fled, leaving behind torn scraps of clothing whose colors and fabric did match the fragments found near the cave.

"They're getting bolder," Serenity growled, shifting back. "First the markers, now this. The murders must be—"

"Maybe." But the scent was different. These scraps smelled like foreign wolves. The scraps they found just smelled...evil.

His phone chimed, but there wasn’t a message. Damned signal.

Then something pinged inside him.

Rowan?

Problem at pack house. Come quickly.

Urgency flooded through him.

He shifted back into his wolf form and ran back to his pack house.

He heard the argument before he reached the great room. James's voice rang out, accusatory: "—consorting with our natural enemies. The Red Hoods exist to kill us.”

"Rowan's different. She's his mate,” Erica said.

"She's a were-hunter and isn’t fit to be the Alpha’s mate.”

Alder burst in to find the pack divided literally and figuratively—James and the traditionalists on one side, the younger wolves on the other. Rowan stood in the middle, power crackling around her as she maintained a barrier between the factions.

Her magic sang to his wolf even as his heart swelled with pride. She wasn't fighting. She was protecting both sides from doing something they'd regret.

Shifting back into human form, he ordered, "Enough!" His Alpha power rolled through the room. The wolves subsided, though tension still crackled.

"Perhaps everyone needs tea," Mae suggested from her chair, appearing concerned. "Such hot heads, just like that business with River Valley twenty years ago. Remember how that ended, James?"

James paled slightly. "That was different, Mae. You know it was."

"Was it?" She smiled benignly. "The young forget so much. But some of us remember the old ways. When pack was everything."

Something in her tone made the hair on Alder's neck rise, but before he could examine why, Rowan swayed slightly. The barrier spell dropped as exhaustion caught up with her.

He caught her elbow, uncaring of their audience. The mate bond flared between them, and suddenly he couldn't remember why they were fighting this connection.

"My office," he growled. "Now."

The door had barely closed behind them when he pulled her close, burying his face in her hair. Her magic reached for him as his power wrapped around her, the bond singing with completion.

"This is insane," she murmured against his chest. "We barely know each other."

"My wolf knows you." He drew back enough to meet her eyes. "My power knows you. And I'm tired of fighting it."

"The pack—"

"Will adjust." His hands framed her face. "I choose you, Rowan. Whatever comes next, I choose you."

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