Chapter 111: Chapter 111

~Stupid birds~.

Maya kept her eyes shut, her face buried in the mattress, as she groped for her pillow, blindly hurling it at the window. ~They had no regard for her sleep~. She groaned, rolling over in the bed.

As she turned, she expected to see Julian in his cot—but it was vacant. ~Damn it. Fucking hell.~ How had she missed him getting up and leaving? It was as if her senses were numbed when it came to him. Her wolf didn’t perceive him as a threat and wouldn’t alert her.

~Not very fucking helpful~.

Hopefully, he hadn’t gotten himself into trouble. She wasn’t in the mood to endure one of Alex’s ~lectures~. It made her feel like a child.

She pulled down her t-shirt, covering her midriff before stepping out of the room. ~The door was already ajar~. Not a good sign. He hadn’t even attempted to conceal his departure.

She peeked into the hallway, hoping to spot him, but she didn’t. ~Strange~. No one would let him wander. Someone—probably Alex—would intercept him. Something wasn’t adding up.

“Julian?” she called out.

“Maya?”

That was ~not~ him.

Olivia emerged from the nursery, eyebrows raised. “You okay?”

“Um, yeah. Have you seen Julian?”

“He left with Alex.”

"He did what?"

“He left with Alex,” she repeated.

~Well~. That didn’t sound promising. “And you know this because he’s taken him out back to… execute him?” She asked, trying to sound light-hearted, but there was a hint of sincerity in her voice.

~Especially considering the whole alpha situation~.

Olivia’s eyes bulged and she shook her head vehemently. “Wh-what? No!” she almost yelled. ~Olivia. Still unable to detect sarcasm. ~“No, he told me they had something to inspect… and to pass the message along…”

“So I wouldn’t chase after them?”

She grinned. “Something like that.”

“You know what? That’s fine with me,” Maya retorted, throwing her hands up. “I get a break from babysitting.”

“Is that why you were looking for him?”

“I didn’t want Alex to scold me for ~losing~ him.”

“So you weren’t concerned about him?”

Maya pointed a finger at her. "Hold on, missy. I don't think you're in any position to be doing whatever it is you're trying to do."

“It was just a question,” Olivia said, a twinkle in her eyes.

“Sure, a question.”

“So ~maybe~ you’d be a little upset if something happened to him. Satisfied?”

“Overjoyed.”

“You know,” she started, clicking her tongue. “I preferred you when you were whiny.”

"No, you didn't."

“You’re right, you were annoying.”

“~Thanks~.”

Maya gave a nonchalant shrug. “You’re the one who brought it up.” She shrugged again. “Now we can only hope these two don’t end up killing each other.”

“Alex mentioned it to me. Do you think Julian is an Alpha?”

“I can’t say for sure, but—it feels like he might be.”

“And how is that going to play out?”

“What do you mean?”

“Two Alphas?”

Maya blinked slowly, her lips slightly parting. ~She didn’t have an answer~. “It… won’t.”

Olivia jerked her head back, her hand instinctively reaching for the base of her neck. “What do you mean by that?”

~Perfect~. Alex hadn’t bothered to explain that part to her. Instead, he left this uncomfortable conversation for Maya to handle. "Liv… If… if my mate isn't some insane psychopath that needs to be put down… we'll have to… leave."

Her mouth dropped open, her hand quickly covering it. “Leave the pack?”

~Oh great~. She was about to get all emotional. “Liv, that’s just how it is. Look at you—you left your old life.” She tilted her head to the side. “You had a lot of…crazy shit happening, but even if you hadn’t been stalked and manipulated by a lunatic… you couldn’t have stayed in your little human world.

“But—couldn’t…”

“No, two Alphas it... doesn’t work. Father and son, maybe. Sometimes it doesn’t… or it’ll work for a while. But two strangers—adults? They’ll end up tearing each other apart.”

“So that’s it? You’re just going to leave?”

She didn’t want to have this conversation. Not yet, not now. Everything was still up in the air, nothing was certain. Maya had always known this might be a possibility. She cared about the pack and everyone in it, but she knew better than to get too attached.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. ~If~ we come to it.” One look at Olivia told her she was on the verge of breaking down. “Come on. Your kid’s asleep, mine is with Alex… how about we take a break and stop worrying about this shit?”

“O-okay.”

Maya forced a smile onto her face, throwing an arm around Olivia and leading her away. Leaving meant stepping into the unknown. She had no idea what kind of life awaited her out there, or what would happen if Julian regained his memories.

Best not to dwell on it.

Future Maya could handle it.

***

“Is this all my fault?”

“You were with Maya. She would’ve noticed if you’d gone off on a killing spree.”

“There are other ways to be guilty.”

He had been filled with doubt when he woke up. He didn’t know who he was, what he was capable of. Maybe none of this seemed possible to him ~now~, but if he had… memories… recollections of events that could have changed him…

~Maybe~.

Then they found this place. It brought him some peace. It suggested that maybe he wasn’t capable of such atrocities. Then it hit him: not having committed the murders didn’t mean he was innocent.

“We’re far from it, but we’re closer to the packhouse than where you found me, right?”

Alex nodded.

“What if this one… is about me? Finding me? Punishing me? I don’t fucking know,” he said, laughing nervously. He ran his fingers through his hair, wiping sweat off his forehead. “What if I’m leading them straight to your pack?”

“I’ve thought about it.”

That seemed fair. It probably explained some of his hostility towards him. Alex felt like Julian was putting his pack at risk. There was probably no way to know until it was too late… for either of them.

“Yeah? And what conclusion did you come to?”

“Did Maya tell you my theory?”

“No.”

“She doesn’t agree with it.” He tilted his head back, looking up at the sky. “A hunter. I think it might be a hunter.”

~A hunter~. That didn’t sound familiar. Then again, most things didn’t. Did it surprise him? Was he indifferent? ~He didn’t know~. “What does that mean? Is that a common occurrence?”

He gave a dismissive shake of his head. “It hasn’t occurred in ages. Perhaps even longer.”

“Then why suspect a hunter? It doesn’t seem to make sense.”

“You’re right,” he conceded. “When I was a kid, I heard a story. I can’t confirm its truth. They spoke of a hunter, far from here.”

“I can’t recall a damn thing. So, I’m not the best person to advise you on whether it’s worth investigating.”

“Why did you want to return here, then?”

He offered a nonchalant shrug. “I felt like I overlooked something.”

Caught between worrying for Maya’s safety and being distracted by her presence, he sensed something familiar. But he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He thought returning might help—it didn’t.

“Something you noticed?”

He shook his head again. “No, it wasn’t something I saw.”

~Then what was it~?

Julian dropped to his knees, bringing his face close to the earth. ~Could it be a smell~? He crawled on the ground, his nose barely leaving the grass. The smell of blood was evident but—~there was something else~.

It was mingled with the air, but it was out of place.

He couldn’t distinguish it from the other smells. He couldn’t put it into words. If it was a specific smell, he could name it. Mint, lemon… anything. But it wasn’t like that. He just ~knew~ this smell—it was familiar.

But Julian couldn’t explain why.

“Can you smell that?”

Alex expanded his chest, inhaling deeply, his nostrils widening. “What am I supposed to be smelling? A human? A wolf?”

~Damn it~. “I don’t ~know~,” he retorted. ~It was there. Right there~.

~“~Then how the hell do you expect me to know?”

“Isn’t this your territory? Shouldn’t you recognize the smells?”

Alex’s expression hardened as he took a step closer. “This isn’t my territory. Maybe ~you~ should know, maybe it was yours.”

“Mine?”

Alex laughed. “So Maya didn’t mention that, huh?”

“Mention what?”

“She believes you’re an Alpha.”

~An Alpha~.

That would explain why Alex’s protective behavior towards Maya irritated him so much. It wasn’t just because of their ~mate~ status.

~It was because he should be the one looking after her. Guiding her~.

Alpha.

Did it resonate with him?

“So, I lived here?”

“Possibly. How the hell would I know?”

“Wouldn’t you have seen me?”

“The territories are far enough apart that they don’t overlap. Maybe it was a neutral area. I don’t know all the wolves here. As long as no one messes with what’s mine, I don’t care. You don’t seem like you’d pose much of a threat.”

He was deliberately provoking him, trying to goad him. Why? If he struck first, then he could explain ~why~ he fought back. He could justify it if Maya questioned him. Smart strategy, but he wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“You don’t intimidate me. What does that say about you?”

“That you still need some healing. Otherwise, you’d be more cautious.”

~Cautious~. Right.

Because being cautious was ~probably~ how he ended up half-buried and nearly dead, wasn’t it?

Alex’s nostrils flared, anger flashing in his blue eyes. ~He wasn’t accustomed to being challenged~. He was likely weighing his options, deciding what was ~the best~ course of action.

Julian braced himself, half-expecting Alex to pounce. His breathing became shallow, his body rigid as he shifted one leg back, leaning on it.

“Why don’t you do something useful for once and track the scent?”

That was all? No reaction? Just calmness? He noticed the rapid pulse in his neck, the clenching of his jaw as his hands balled into fists. Alex wanted to throw a punch and start a fight.

“If I do, are you going to follow me like a lost puppy?”

Julian could see Alex’s eyes narrowing, a clear sign that he was hitting a nerve. He knew he needed to rein in his temper. After all, he was under Alex’s authority. He had to play by his rules because Maya did—and he couldn’t abandon her.

His inner wolf wouldn’t allow it.

“If anyone’s the lost puppy here, it’s you.”

A growl echoed in the room, but it wasn’t from Alex. It was coming from deep within Julian.

~Ease up.~

His inner wolf was pulling him back. His physical form was weak, his mind was fractured: he might not stand a chance in a fight. But that rational thought did little to quell the surge of his blood, the pounding of his heart, or the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

~A good fight~.

It would rejuvenate him.

Was it the scent, teasing his inner fury, or—was it Alex’s mere presence that was fueling his bloodlust?

But if he antagonized Alex, Maya could be the one to suffer.

~Damn it~.

He wasn’t her mate. Yet their destinies were entwined. Every decision he wanted to make, her name echoed in his mind. If she was harmed, he would feel the pain. He couldn’t exclude her from his thoughts.

His mind was a blank canvas—a page waiting to be written on. The only constant he had was ~her~. She made sense to him. She soothed him, she entertained him…

She was his…

“Follow my lead, ~pup~.”

Julian heard Alex’s growl of protest, but it only served to fill him with a sense of triumph. He’d toe the line as much as he could without overstepping it.

That should be enough to pacify the beast within him.

~For now~.

Once he could claim what was rightfully his, he’d give Alex a piece of his mind.