Page 25 of Midnight Moon
It was equal parts tense and awkward.
I wanted it to end, but at the same time didn’t.
Asher might be enemy number one, but my traitorous body didn’t acknowledge that. It thrummed with excitement at his nearness.
Inside, I sighed. I needed to have a long talk with myself to cure me of these feelings. They had no place in this competition.
“Are you going to ask me?” Asher shattered the silence.
I pulled my gaze from the tree line. “Ask you what?”
He smirked. “Whatever it is you are thinking about.”
I thought about many things—some that would make me die of embarrassment if I said them out loud.
I decided to start with the most obvious ones. “How did you mask your scent?”
My nostrils picked up the same woodsy aroma I’d noticed at the bar, but now there was also the tell-tale scent of power, wilderness, and dominance. Asher’s shifter scent was strong, and I knew it hadn’t been present at the Iron Horse.
I half-expected Asher to deny it, but he surprised me with a quick answer, “Masking our scent is a skill most of the Wilds Pack can accomplish.”
I’d never heard of such an ability.
Intrigue grew. “How does that work?”
“That is a pack secret,” he replied. “You won’t learn it unless you join our pack.”
And just like that, his words washed away my interest. “I will never join your pack.”
Asher had the good sense not to point out I might not have a choice. “What else do you want to ask?”
I averted my gaze, once again focusing on the tree line. I didn’t want to look at his annoyingly attractive face any longer, but I still wanted answers. “Did you know Stephanie and I were shifters at the bar?”
“Yes.”
I took a breath, bracing myself for the answer to my next question. “And did you knowwhoI was?”
Had Asher and Chase known I was the Summit Pack’s next alpha?
Was our meeting last night by chance, or had it been part of their plan all along?
“I knew you were from the Summit Pack, but I did not know you were Alpha Hemmings’ daughter.”
“When did you find out?”
“Just now, when we interrupted the welcoming ceremony.”
My head whipped back to him. “Bull shit.”
“Believe what you want, but I am telling the truth.”
My eyes narrowed as I contemplated his claim. He sounded sincere, and his demeanor was calm.
I dug for more information. “Earlier, you made a crack about how my pack doesn’t respect me as the next alpha. You obviously looked into me.”
“That was a lucky guess,” Asher admitted. “There’s never been a female alpha. I assumed there would be shifters who resisted the idea.”
Psh.He had no idea.
