“You’ve got thirty seconds,” Luka says.

  That’s less than they’ve given me all the other times, but I don’t make an argument about it. The running is my favorite part.

  “Close your eyes,” I tell them and they do.

  “Ready...” Jordy begins in a low voice. “Set... Go!”

  I take off, running straight ahead so they won’t know which way I choose to go right from the start. They’ll find me eventually; they always do.

  Once I’ve gotten to ten in my head, running as fast as I can, I veer off to the right and keep going. I pump my legs hard, feeling energized and excited, but knowing by the end of this I’ll be exhausted. At some point, I veer to the left and then back to the right. I want to throw them off with my scent, but also need to be careful I don’t go too far and onto someone else’s property. We have plenty of space out here, but if I go far enough in one direction, I’ll end up somewhere I don’t want to be or belong. Most of the packs around here are cool about it, but some aren’t, so it’s better we stick to our own land and stop any potential issues.

  Once I know the thirty seconds are up, I run for another ten before I slow down and focus on keeping quiet and trying to hide. I don’t want to lead them right to me, and also need to be alert in case I hear anything, but if I find them first, and am able to sneak up on them with a tap on the shoulder, then I win.

  I haven’t done it yet, but it doesn’t matter. As long as they don’t get me, then I don’t technically lose. We usually end up calling it a day once we’re going round and round for a while. Otherwise, I think we’d be out here all day. Truthfully, I’m not sure this is helping me in any way. Not anymore. At first, it was helpful, and a way they found to support me. Now? It’s just a hell of a lot of fun.

  I’m standing behind a tree, running my hands along it to let them know I was here before I plan to sneak off when I hear a twig snap behind me. I freeze, but slowly turn my head and look around, expecting to see one of them—wouldn’t be the first time they snuck up on me so soon. I don’t see anything, but the sound of footsteps is still there. It’s faint, but I definitely hear them. They don’t sound like Jordy’s or Luka’s, but they could be doing that on purpose to throw me off. We haven’t run into anyone else in the pack while doing this, mostly because we’re on the outskirts of our area, but it doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. Everyone in the pack is free to do what they want. There has been an uptick in humans lately, so it could be one of them, but they usually come out here in groups.

  Wanting to get a heads up on Jordy and Luka, I move in the direction of the footsteps on quick but quiet feet, stopping every so often to listen. The sounds of moving feet get louder and louder, and I keep following them, hiding behind trees, and listening as best I can.

  I catch a scent of something I don’t recognize, which is more annoying than anything. The humans who visit the town have been more ballsy with leaving the trails lately and it’s so annoying. They don’t care that they’re trespassing on people’s property or disturbing us. I have no problem telling them to get the hell out either, which is why I keep going. If it is someone being nosy, I’ll tell them to go back to town. If it’s Jordy or Luka, disguising their scent, then I’m going to try my damnedest to finally get a win.

  The more I move, the stronger the scent gets. It’s like some sort of cologne or fancy soap. I roll my eyes. Simpleminded people care about things like that. Sure, I like smelling good too, but I don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to do it. I’m perfectly fine with the fresh lavender that grows around my cabin. This scent though, it’s nothing natural. It’s that fancy stuff that comes in a special bottle that’s made of fairy dust or something equally as stupid.

  The sound of someone talking hits my ears and I slow down, because I definitely don’t recognize the voice. I only heard one set of footsteps, so who are they talking to? Those cell phones the humans all have don’t ever work out here, so it’s not that. Maybe this person is crazy and lost. Maybe they need help...

  Still careful to be quiet, I follow the sound, sticking to the thicker brush and staying behind the trees. I finally get a good idea of where they are, so I duck down into some bushes and find a spot where I can see them. I spot a man, a very large man, standing a few yards ahead, holding his phone out like he’s looking for a signal. I still don’t understand what he’s saying from here and his back is to me so I can’t read his lips. He looks human, but I can’t always tell the difference so far away. I rely more on my smell when it comes to that, and right now, my nose is clogged with some fancy eau de toilet water.

  The man in question starts to turn as he holds his phone up, and only when he turns towards me do I put together that he’s taking a video with narrative because the bright light on the back of his phone is shining—even though it isn’t really needed because there’s a lot of sunlight pouring in through the trees in this area. I watch him for a long moment, unable to make out anything about him because of his position, but when he turns again and lowers the phone, my heart threatens to burst from my chest.

  I slap my hand over my mouth to stop the gasp that wants to escape, and lose my balance, falling back onto my butt. The man looks away from his phone and glances around, not an ounce of fear on his face.

  But he wouldn’t, would he? He knows these woods just as well as I do, even after being gone for so long.

  The ache pulses in my chest at the memory of his rejection. Of the finality in his words that very last time I—we—saw him. My hand instinctively goes to my neck, where his claiming mark can still be seen... but just barely. It’s faded more and more over the years, but I’m not sure it’ll ever go away completely.

  Jordy’s is still bright and pink, on the inside of my thigh, while I’m sure Luka’s looks the same, only it’s on my ass cheek and I can’t see it. They all left their marks in places that are a perfect reflection of their personalities.

  What is Jensen doing here?

  With a huff and a shake of his head, he starts towards the town, and I’m stuck in place, unable to move, unable to think... Hell, I can barely breathe.

  Jensen is back and I want to know why.

  Chapter Ten

  Juniper-Skye

  I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting on the damp ground when I hear my name echoing in the distance. I blink my eyes and everything comes back into focus as if I was completely zoning out. Then I remember where I am and what I was doing—what I’m supposed to be doing. I push myself to stand, wipe off the dirt from my butt, and turn towards Jordy’s voice, feeling like a robot. My head is fuzzy and what I saw still isn’t making much sense. With slow steps and a foggy head, I walk towards Jordy, knowing he’ll find me quickly now that I’m moving and not hiding the sounds I’m making.

  Bears have amazing hearing and their sense of smell is even better. Besides, they’re my mates and entirely in tune to me as I am to them.

  “Juni!” he calls again, but I can’t find it in me to respond. It’s almost like I don’t know what words are. My brain is too wrapped up in what I saw. Why is Jensen here? And what the hell was he doing with his phone? Taking a video of the woods? For what?

  “There you are,” Jordy calls out breathlessly, moving quickly to me. “Juni?” I look up at him, finding his brows furrowed. He leans down, getting eye level, and places his large hands on my shoulders. “What’s wrong? What happened?” he asks. I look into his blue eyes which are full of concern and worry. When I don’t answer, he looks around, like maybe he’s searching for a predator, then back to me. “Juni, what happened?” he repeats, this time more firmly.

  I don’t want to worry him. Jordy tends to be a worrier, always stuck in his head. He’s very protective, and sometimes small things set him off. I force myself to speak, so he doesn’t think the worst.

  “Nothing,” I say, letting out a quick breath, then force a smile up at him. It doesn’t fool him though. He can see right through me, and he’s still looking at me like I may turn to dust. “I’m sorry, I think I ran so fast I tired myself out.”

  “Tired yourself out?” he asks, raising a brow.

  He doesn’t believe me. What kind of lame-ass excuse is that, anyway? I’m way more in shape than that and he knows it, so I shrug. He stares at me for a long moment before standing to his full height and crossing his arms.

  I don’t know why I thought I could lie to him.

  “Okay, I... saw someone and didn’t want you to get upset.”

  “Saw someone?” he questions in that same tone of disbelief. “Who?”

  Maybe a little white lie will work?

  “Another nosy human walking around with their phone, taking pictures and videos and stuff.”

  “Why would that upset me?”

  “I don’t know.” I shrug again, this time letting my shoulders drop more dramatically. “I guess I didn’t mean actually upset... I’m just tired of them coming around here so much. It’s like we don’t have privacy anymore.”

  He lets out a sigh and pulls me in for a hug. “Once we get this alpha stuff sorted, we can handle that. You’ll work with the town to figure things out.”

  “If I keep it.”

  “You’ll win it, Juni.” He pulls back, sliding his hand into mine, and we go in search of Luka. “This pack is yours.”

  “Not if they don’t want me, it won’t be.”

  My father was a well-loved alpha, and just about everyone in the pack respected him and liked living here. I think he’d assumed because of that, they’d all like me too, but we didn’t have much time to talk about it since he died so suddenly... I mean, one day he was fine, and the next he couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t talk, and then he couldn’t wake up...

  It all happened so fast and I still can’t believe it some days, but that’s what happens with the shifter sickness. Fine one day, and the next day just... gone. No one knows how it starts, or where it came from. It only affects shifters, usually those who are older, and it doesn’t seem to be contagious or anything, which makes it even more strange.

  My father was a fighter. He was strong and in great shape. He also wasn’t that old. Only fifty-seven. He should have lived for many more years, and I think I took that for granted. I’d never thought of him not being here. All the little talks of me training for alpha were just that, talks. It wasn’t supposed to be real. Yet, here it is...

  Or maybe I just thought we’d do this together. Like maybe one day he’d just be too old, or not want to do it anymore, and I would take over... with him by my side.

  I can’t help but wonder why I care about this alpha stuff at all. Is this what I really want or is it just something holding my father’s memory to me?

  “Well, with an attitude like that...” I hear the playfulness in Jordy’s voice and it makes me smile, but I still can’t help but be distracted by the thoughts in my head.

  Alpha business. My father. Shifter sickness. Jensen...

  I shake my head and squeeze Jordy’s hand tighter, moving a little closer to him. Before I know it, we’re coming up on Luka who spots us and holds his hands out to his sides, silently asking what the hell is going on.

  “Humans!” Jordy calls out with a shrug. Luka lets his head fall back, and I hear his groan from here. I forgot how much that little lie would annoy him. I was so worried about coming up with something on the spot to tell Jordy that I hadn’t thought of how it would actually anger Luka.

  But I know telling them who was really here would make things worse. They won’t be happy, and I’m torn between telling them at all. We don’t keep secrets. The three of us tell each other everything. Literally everything. It’s a promise we made to one another when Jensen left... and we’ve stayed true to that word ever since. But this is... different, and I don’t know why, exactly, I feel that way over this, and until I figure it out, this is how it’s going to have to be.

  “What the hell did they want this time?” Luka asks as Jordy and I reach him. He moves to my other side and walks with us back home.

  “Maybe those reporters again, trying to get in here to get pictures for their papers. Juni said they had their phone and were making videos.”

  Luka shakes his head, cursing under his breath. “Assholes are probably trying to make money with some kind of stupid documentary. They always do that shit.”

  As we make our way back to the cabin, Luka and Jordy share a conversation over the “human” I saw while a war wages inside my head.

  Keeping this from them is going to make me sick. It already is and it’s been three damn minutes. Now is not the time for a distraction, not with all this alpha stuff going on. It’s been hard enough battling the distraction of my father’s death, I don’t need this added to my plate.

  I’m going to have to tell them. I have to. It’s bad enough Jensen is here, but lying to Jordy and Luka about it is too much. I’m already starting to panic over not telling them, and I have no idea why I thought this was a good idea at all. How am I going to hold this in forever? I can’t. The guilt alone will eat me alive. Not to mention how much it’ll hurt them to find out I lied... especially about Jensen.

  “I lied,” I blurt and come to a stop just as we reach the cabin. Jordy drops my hand and turns around just as Luka does the same. They share a look before bringing their eyes back to me, both with skepticism on their faces as if I could never do such a thing. It’s true though. It’s so unlike me to be untruthful about anything. In fact, I’m the one who’s known for oversharing.

  “About what?” Jordy asks with narrowed eyes.

  “About the human,” I say quickly, shoving my hands into my back pockets and staring at the ground. It’s really damp since we’ve been getting a lot of rain lately. Ozzie-G has been enjoying it—the damp ground, not the rain. He rolls around in it, and I’ve had to bathe him more than once this week.

  “Uh... okay. What exactly did you lie about? You barely said anything at all,” Luka says, closing the distance between us. Jordy leans on the banister by the stairs, staying where he’s at and looking as carefree as ever.

  “He... I, well—”

  “Hey, all!” The three of us bring our attention towards the voice.

  “Hey, Indigo!” Luka calls with a lazy wave, not at all seeming like he cares I’ve just admitted I lied about something. “How’s it going?”

  Indigo makes his way over to us, and I’m not sure if I’m thankful for him interrupting or not. Maybe if he stays long enough, I’ll forget any of this even happened. The whole thing will just leave my brain and never bother me again.

  “Oh, not too bad. Beautiful day, just going for a walk. What’s up with you?” he asks all of us, but his dark eyes settle on me and narrow slightly as if he can sense something is off. He can probably smell the fear and panic on me.

  “She saw another human walking around,” Jordy says.

  “Or something,” Luka adds, looking at me from the corner of his eye. “Not sure yet.” He crosses his arms and I look away. I know he isn’t mad at me or anything, I’m sure he just wants to know what is going on and why I’m being so weird.

  “Or something? You don’t know what you saw, Juniper?” Indigo asks with a chuckle. He’s a cool guy, a little older than us, and super carefree. He has no mates and has considered traveling around to other packs in search of one—or multiple—but has yet to do so. He looks like most of the other shifter men in the group—tall and muscular. His hair is dark and a thick beard on his face.

  “I...” I look between the three of them and my head goes blank.

  “I’m sure it was nothing,” Jordy says, saving me. “Think she’s just tired. Didn’t sleep good last night.”

  “It’s those damn owls. Love ‘em to death. Beautiful creatures, but hell, they need to stop hooting all night,” Indigo adds.

  Jordy huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, maybe we should find some owl shifters to tell them to move on, huh?”

  “Great idea,” Indigo says on a laugh. “Hey, I’ll see y’all later, yeah?”

  “Bonfire tonight!” Jordy calls. I’m so thankful for him being so friendly all the time, or else this would be a lot worse. I’m the one who makes awkward situations more awkward, but somehow, Jordy always knows how to get me out of it.

  Indigo leaves us alone then, and the guys turn towards me completely in sync.

  “You going to tell us what’s going on now? It’s not like you to not be honest, baby,” Luka says in a soothing tone, running his hands down the top of my arms.

  “Or so weird,” Jordy utters, coming down the stairs to stop beside us.

  “Promise you won’t get mad?” I bite on my bottom lip as I glance up at Luka, then dart my eyes to Jordy.

  “We promise,” Jordy says, speaking for both of them. I’m not sure I believe that.

  Standing here, before both of them, I feel small as hell, and maybe a little intimidated, though for no reason other than the height difference and my guilt. They’d never do anything to make me afraid of them, never. They just seem to be looming over me right now, and I know I only did this to myself.

  “And promise you won’t try to go find them?” I ask in a quieter voice, the need to step away from them and run away surging through my veins. My legs are tingling with the need to move.

  Luka narrows his eyes. “Fine.”

  I take a deep breath and swallow, looking back at my feet as I speak.

  “I-it was Jensen.” I’m met with silence, neither of them saying a word, but I feel their eyes on me. I can’t quite tell how they feel though, so I finally risk a glance back in their direction and find them both staring at me, expressionless. “Did you hear me? It was—“

  “Oh, we heard you,” Luka says with a chuckle. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

  “Yeah... There’s no way Jensen would be back here, Juni,” Jordy says, running his hand through his hair and giving me that gorgeous smile of his.

  My mouth drops open as I look from Luka’s bright green eyes to Jordy’s crystal-blue ones.