Chapter 8

ANNA

Zach kept his word, and two days later, Anna found herself sitting in the back of an SUV.

They were bumping along a gravel road surrounded by trees as they traveled away from the ranges.

Piper sat on the other side of the back seat, eyes cast down on a cell phone that her fingers were tapping at.

Anna had only met the other two people in the car when she had arrived at the garage to leave.

The driver had been introduced as Steph, one of Zach’s lieutenants. She was petite with blonde hair in a pixie cut and warm blue eyes.

Anna had a hard time believing that she was a fierce soldier, a lieutenant at that.

Steph had enthusiastically shaken Anna’s hand when she arrived at the car, exclaiming, “Finally, we get to meet! I’ve heard a bit about you!”

Anna had looked between Piper and Steph in confusion. “I hope it’s not anything bad,” she replied with a wan smile.

“Oh no, nothing like that.” Steph grinned mischievously. “I’ve just heard enough to know that you’re going to fit right in here.”

The lieutenant had walked away to store her bag in the trunk of the car without saying anything else.

The other pack member in the car was Daniel, a soldier in the same squad as Piper.

He seemed quite solemn, having responded to everyone’s greetings with a grunt before sliding his tall frame into the passenger seat and shutting the door firmly.

His pitch-black hair flicked down low on his forehead, almost covering his brown eyes.

Anna was beginning to understand that most male wolf shifters preferred their hair long on their human forms. She wondered if it made them feel closer to their animal counterparts.

Just then, the car hit a deep pothole and jerked Anna out of her thoughts. Steph threw an apology over her shoulder as she eased off the accelerator.

Anna stared in fascination at the world speeding by outside the window.

They had been driving for around forty minutes, and Anna could see that the trees were finally starting to thin.

Anna had had no idea that the Silver River land was so extensive.

When she had arrived, her mind had been in too much turmoil to truly pay attention to her surroundings.

The car slowed right down and made a sharp turn, and suddenly, they were on a smooth, paved road.

Anna leaned to the side, looking through the windshield.

She couldn’t see the buildings yet but knew the city would soon come into view.

Anna had never thought she would return, especially this soon after leaving.

Doubts kept creeping into her mind as did disbelief that her new pack was as great as it seemed or even that this was all real.

Anna snorted, sitting back in her seat. With her luck, she was probably actually in a coma and had dreamed all this up.

“So, Anna,” Piper spoke up, and Anna turned to look at her new friend, glad for the distraction. “What’s on the shopping list?”

“Well, I need a settee or something, an end table or maybe a dining table… It would also be nice to get a radio or a TV.”

Anna imagined her quarters, wondering how she could make it her home.

“A new quilt for the bed and maybe one of those fake plants for color. I don’t have a lot of money, though, so I have to decide what to get today and what should wait.”

“You don’t have to wait,” Steph announced from the front of the car, having eavesdropped on the conversation. “Zach gave me his personal credit card to give to you with instructions that I wasn’t to accept a refusal.”

The glance she threw at Anna in the rearview mirror was impish, as if she was very much enjoying being the messenger.

“I couldn’t p-possibly…,” Anna stammered out, ignoring the sly grin that Piper was now giving toward her.

“C’mon, Anna, it would be rude to reject such a generous offer. You can always pay it back if you feel like you have to.”

Piper’s voice was persuasive, but Anna still felt uncertain, somehow already knowing that the alpha would never accept a cent from her.

When Anna didn’t respond, Piper continued talking.

“You need to make your quarters feel like a proper home because that’s what it is now. Zach is just being a good alpha, and I bet it would make him feel bad if you didn’t take him up on the offer.”

Anna chewed on her bottom lip, her gaze darting between the two determined women.

Daniel was silent, his head never turning from the road in front of him.

“Will he let me pay it back, Steph?”

“Oh, absolutely,” she chirped before muttering quietly, “maybe not in monetary form, though.”

As Piper started to giggle at that, Anna decided she didn’t feel brave enough just then to ask what Steph meant. Instead, Anna fell quiet as she thought about Zach and what his offer meant.

Her mind was a whirlwind, wondering whether he was just being an alpha or whether it meant something else.

She smiled, however, when she realized that thoughts of Zach had completely removed any thoughts about Gray Wing and returning to the city where she had grown up.

***

After entering the city limits, it didn’t take long for Steph to navigate the streets to reach the large building that Silver River owned.

As they stopped to turn to the underground parking lot, Anna stared up…and up and up. The building must have had at least fifteen floors.

Piper had explained that the bottom half housed the offices that Silver River used for business, while the rest of the building had residential suites for the pack members.

Anna wasn’t able to check out the building because as soon as the car was parked, Piper dragged her out of it and onto the street.

Her voice was filled with enthusiasm as she yelled goodbye to Steph and Daniel.

Steph waved back, amused, while Daniel just turned and strode toward the elevator doors.

Piper continued to tug Anna down the street until Anna finally planted her heels down and attempted to tug her arm out of Piper’s grip.

“Hey, crazy lady!” Anna said loudly, her face flushing when people around them stopped and stared. She tried again, a little more quietly.

“Piper! You’re going to rip my arm out of the socket. What’s the hurry?”

“Oh, sorry…” Piper attempted to look meek and apologetic, but the mischievous glint in her eye gave her away.

“I just ~love~ shopping. And we don’t have a lot of time before we have to head back, so hurry up!”

They finally reached a large shopping center that was located around three blocks away from the pack’s building.

Anna was amazed as they walked through the automatic front doors, her senses overwhelmed by the bright lights, the noise of all the shoppers, and the smells drifting from the food court.

She may have lived in this city her entire life, but she had never even known that this place existed, having never been allowed to venture far from her home.

She could see the display window of a store on her left filled with bedroom furniture, and farther down to the right was a store that had signs everywhere advertising whiteware and appliances.

Piper, however, made a beeline for the escalators that were situated in the middle of the center. “Come on, there’s a technology store this way. I think getting a TV is the most important thing on your list,” she told Anna over her shoulder.

Anna followed the woman reluctantly, feeling uneasy at the idea of buying something that she didn’t truly ~need~ with the alpha’s money.

Piper refused to take no for an answer, continually reminding Anna that it would be ungracious to refuse the generous offer.

Before Anna realized it, several hours had passed, and the two women had done several rounds of the shopping center.

They had spent more money than Anna had ever seen in her entire life.

All of their purchases had been sent straight from the store to the pack’s building, where delivery back to the den would be organized.

Piper was now trying to drag Anna toward the clothing section…or more specifically, the lingerie section.

Apparently, Piper had a certain someone back at the den that she wanted to try and, um, entice with some new purchases, but Anna was feeling exhausted.

She pleaded a headache, and after Piper had disappeared into the clothing racks, Anna turned and headed for the front doors.

There was a park bench just outside the entrance, and Anna collapsed onto it gratefully, leaning back and sighing.

She didn’t miss the city. In fact, it felt downright strange to be back there, even though it had been her home for her entire life.

Being there was bringing a lot of emotions back that Anna didn’t really want to face, especially now that she was fully aware of the damage that Gray Wing had done to her.

A soft breeze pushed Anna’s hair into her face, making her whole body stiffen. She lifted her head, looking around anxiously.

Her eyes roved over the faces of the people walking past her, but none were familiar… But that scent had been too strong and familiar.

Anna looked back at the entrance of the shopping center, hoping to see Piper emerging.

Anna considered making a dash for the door to get inside before being seen, but just as the thought crossed her mind, a voice spoke, sending chills down her spine.

“Hello. Fancy seeing you here.”

***

PIPER

Piper swung her shopping bags against her leg, satisfied with her latest purchase.

She hoped it would bring an end to the dance that she and Daniel had been doing around each other for the past month.

Piper knew that he liked her, so she couldn’t understand why he was fighting it so much.

He wasn’t her mate, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy each other’s company, right?

Piper sighed softly to herself. She had almost given up hope of ever finding her mate, and it was affecting her self-confidence.

Every time Daniel pushed her away, the doubts would creep in and make her wonder.

Daniel was fighting his attraction toward her, and no one else was lining up to keep her company, so maybe her own mate wouldn’t want her either.

Piper frowned, forcing the melancholy thoughts out of her head. She exited the shopping center, plastering a smile on her face as she looked around for Anna.

There was no sign of her, but Piper could still smell her scent… She walked toward the bench where the scent was the strongest.

She paused, looking around as if Anna would just pop up and yell, “Boo!”

Piper inhaled deeply, realizing that another scent was mingling with Anna’s, that of another wolf shifter.

It wasn’t anyone Piper knew, and she quickly made the connection that Anna would never willingly leave with another shifter, especially in this city.

She’d also never leave without telling anyone, especially knowing that Piper was in the center.

Piper spun in a full circle, her eyes desperately searching for a glimpse of Anna, but there was nothing.

She froze, her breath coming out in hard gasps as she tried to calm herself down.

Piper took a deep breath, focusing her mind as she sent out a mind-link to Steph.

~“It’s Piper.”~ She tried to keep her voice calm, but even in the mind-link, she was sure her tone was coming across as shrill. ~“Anna is missing.”~

~“What the hell do you mean, missing?”~ The reply was instantaneous, and there was no sign of the bubbly Steph she had seen in the car earlier.

Piper was speaking to an experienced soldier now.

She quickly relayed the little information she had as she headed back into the shopping center to see if Anna had also headed back inside.

~“Stay where you are,”~ Steph commanded. ~“I’ll be there shortly with a search team. I’ll contact Zach.”~

There was a moment of silence before Steph’s voice came again, comfortingly this time. ~“Don’t worry, Piper. We’ll get her back.”~