Retracing his path, he stopped at the water to clean himself, before returning to find his clothes littered on the ground. “Damn,” he looked around but came up short for his socks, having to pull on his boots without them.
His belly seemed…empty. What the fucking hell?
“Are you all right?”
Shade jerked around, stunned he’d been taken by surprise and finding Ash, his Beta that took care of all things to do with their camp. His blond hair shifting in the wind as his dark green eyes stared at Shade. Ash was a good Beta, no, he was a great Beta with an uncanny ability to read people but Shade didn’t appreciate that particular skill right now as Ash continued to watch him.
“I’m fine,” Shade said smiling. “Just went for a bit of a run, that’s all.”
“Yeah, I saw.”
Shade only now noticed Ash’s shirt unbuttoned, as was his jeans, his boots in his hands. Shit. “What? You tailing your Alpha now? Don’t you have enough to do already?”
Ash didn’t respond immediately, bending down to tug on his boots, although his eyes stayed locked on Shade’s. He fastened his jeans, then as he buttoned up his shirt he raised an eyebrow. “You’re not fine, Shade. I know it, Royce knows it, and very soon the entire Pack will know it. So what are we going to do to help you? And by ‘we’ I mean Royce and me, ‘cause something sure as hell needs to be done. You know I love this Pack, and you, so before you go all Alpha on me, just take a breath and think. We need to find a solution to whatever’s ailing you for the good of the Pack as well as you. It pains me to see you suffering like this. I can feel it, in here.”
Ash’s fist pumped his chest to emphasize his words, Shade’s head rolling back as he sighed. He and his betas had a special bond, more so than the one he held with the rest of the Pack, so he wasn’t surprised that they’d felt some of what he was going through. Hell, that hurt almost as much as the fucking hunger that plagued him.
“Royce mentioned something about you going to check out the discs with our archives on them.” Ash reached over, clasping Shade’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go home, and I’ll go fetch them from Lana and we can start on them together? Royce will be over later, once he’s had some sleep. It was a late night at The Den and he didn’t get in until about an hour ago, but he’ll be by soon as he can. That’s three sets of eyes searching for something that can help.”
Shade gave himself a mental shake, his hand covering Ash’s. “Thanks, I’d appreciate all the help I can get right now.”
“That’s settled then,” Ash replied, his face still looking worried as he stepped away. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
“Hey, Ash.” Shade stopped him. “Can you get someone to restock my kitchen? I kinda emptied it earlier.”
“Everything?” Ash queried, hands in pockets, his body a picture of relaxed and casual, but the inflection in that one word spoke volumes.
“Yeah,” Shade admitted. “Everything, and I need some more of my favorite single malt ordered too.”
Ash barely nodded. “Sure, I’ll get supplies to get right on that for you.”
“Thanks.” Shade turned away to make his way back to his cabin, vowing not to leave again until they had some clue as to what the hell was going on.
Ash was right. It wouldn’t be long until the Pack knew there was something wrong with their Alpha and the moment that happened there’d be trouble. Trouble that Shade didn’t want and that the Pack didn’t need. Not when he’d worked so hard to make it such a success after challenging the previous asshole of an Alpha. One who hadn’t cared about the Pack, only himself, and one that Shade knew he had to take down. The challenge fight had been brutal and bloody but Shade never doubted for a single moment he wouldn’t leave it as the victor. He’d trained with Royce and Ash for months beforehand and knew it was his time to be Alpha.
He’d never looked back and neither had the Pack. Not once he’d put his own people in place, ones who had good heads on their shoulders, and brains in said heads instead of just brawn. Now here he was on the brink of losing what he’d built up all because of some goddamn hunger that had infected him and taken over his sanity. He would not allow that to happen.
His mind clearer than it had been for days, Shade stormed back to his cabin for a quick shower before Ash appeared.
Ash didn’t bother knocking when he returned, opening the door and striding in with a grin. “Hey, I’ve got the discs. Lana says almost everything is on these, only the newer stuff hasn’t been added.”
Shade sat in his favorite leather recliner, feet up, laptop on his knees. “Great. I’ve a feeling that what we’ll need will be buried in the old legends. If it were something newer, then we’d surely have heard of it. No?”
Ash agreed, settling himself on the sofa, placing his own top-of-the-range notebook on his knees before looking through the discs. “Yes, I agree. I’ve not heard of anything like what’s going on with you. Obviously, I’ve not asked anyone, although I think only the older Wolves would be able to help. Other than Lana herself, of course.”
“No!” Shade snapped curtly. “I don’t want anyone else knowing. It’s bad enough you and Royce do.”
“Don’t.” Ash shook his head. “That’s just naïve to think that we
