Free Ashes To Ashes (Wolf Guard Book 2) by Roxanne Lee

the big bad Alpha too."
     
    I rolled my eyes, "yes, you were very helpful distracting him with your throat while I went for the kill. Excellent work, I'm so lucky to have you around."
     
    He grinned, purposefully ignoring my sarcasm. "Right? I had him right where I wanted him."
     
    I huffed and shoved him to the side, knocking him off balance until he struggled to avoid falling. He laughed breathlessly and pumped his fist in a win as he succeeded in avoiding the tumble. I couldn't help but smile back and we ended up walking in contemplative silence for several minutes before he spoke up again.
     
    "How does it feel to have a mate, Sash?"
     
    I grimaced and took a moment to think about his slightly more serious question. I should have known he'd pick up on that right away, impossible to hide your deepest secrets from the one person who knew every little tell you had. How did it feel? It felt like I was about to kill something that would be irreplaceable and change my fate forever, stick two fingers up to the force that would probably destroy me for wasting what she had so generously bestowed. Then again..she had given me a nutter, it's not like she could expect me to be grateful. "Like nothing. I think we have to kill him."
     
    Ty stared at me, "Bit extreme, you can always just say no."
     
    I shook my head, "his smell, It was at Michael and Sarahs - he's the one."
     
    Ty's face quickly fell into the same conflicting mess of swelling anger and churning regret that I knew he could see on mine. "Shit."
     
    I echoed his sentiment. We had both always assumed we'd find our mate at some point and although it wasn't ranked the highest on our scale of things to do, it had been that distant dream of somewhere to belong, to be the most important piece of someone's life. A big fuzzy romanticized view maybe, but something glittering in a life lived colourless.
     
    Ty blew out a heavy breath, "that's a lot of shit to deal with right now and I'm still a little hungover, how about we grab a bottle of anything alcoholic and fix both problems?"
     
    I chuckled at him with lightness I didn’t feel. "Sure, sounds good."
     
    Ty took the bag I carried and added it to the one he had, "seems you've got enough to carry, I'll take your load."
     
    I squinted at him, "that was horrifically sweet."
     
    He grunted and scowled, "shut up." His eyes brightened for a moment, "hey..does this mean we can kill the Irishman too?"
     
    I huffed, "no, Ty. We cannot kill the Irishman."
     
    He looked way too upset about that.
     
     
     
     
    It took around forty minutes to reach the town from the border, we were walking at a steady pace and in no hurry once clear of pack territory. I was fooling myself if I thought it would be easy to lose that Alpha if he followed, my scent was now some bright white trail for him to walk and he seemed rather wonderfully built for stalking prey. I refused to rely on Ty's scent blocking, with my run of piss poor luck it was doubtful to work between mates. Or on creepy Alphas.
     
    The same store we'd bought supplies at on our way to pack land beckoned as we entered the town, the afternoon sun was beginning it's dip on the horizon and a copper sky turned the early shadows glistening grey in creation's resplendent design. I was a little too eager to find a quiet place to sit and drink my problems away, perhaps needing that one night before my wolf would turn melancholic for years to come, sink into a deep blue sea of sorrow for what she'd soon lose before she'd even had a single taste.
     
    It took me some time to feel the eyes on me, more time than I could forgive myself for. Glaringly obvious once I felt them so heavy a gaze and furiously thick an aura. I glanced to my left and came up empty, the liquor bottles in front kept my bodies attention while my eyes flicked from side to side trying to catch a glimpse of the person that watched. That atmosphere ebbed and swayed, peaking the wolf's curiosity and the feeder's