He’d go so far as to admit he was losing it. Well, to himself he would. He would never concede that to anyone else. Not even to his best friend. One who just would not shut the hell up.
“Kade! What is going on? I’ve never seen you act like such a bawbag, and don’t go all Alpha on me, ‘cause that’s exactly what you’re acting like.”
“Will you just shut up so I can think?” Kade snarled viciously, Dara backing up as Lennox stood his ground, watching Kade’s every move.
Kade pawed at the ground, tension rolling through him, almost turning him feral with the strain of keeping a hold on himself. His beast wasn’t making it easy. All it wanted to do was go hunting but . . . wait . . . its focus was no longer on the deer but it didn’t seem to know what it was it wanted to go looking for.
“Great.” Kade forced his Wolf to concede control, transforming quickly to pace around naked. Running his hands through his hair, sighing, looking up to the sky for some damn divine intervention. Anything to help him understand what was happening to him.
He had worked hard to hold the Pack together after losing his parents, and he’d be damned if he would let it all fall apart. No way in hell was he going to lose everything now.
He jerked around, scowling as a hand landed on his shoulder. Lennox in human form, his knowing eyes staring hard. “Alpha, I’m sorry for upsetting you but we really need to talk.”
“Aye.” Kade glared back, raising an eyebrow. “Bawbag?”
Lennox squirmed then shrugged. “Let’s be honest, that’s a fair assessment of you these past few days.”
His friend’s cheeky smirk broke some of the tension that was thick in the air. Kade contained a grin, looking around for his third Beta, Dara. He was still in his Wolf form and eyeing them cautiously. The more serious of the two, he knew Dara would be struggling with his behavior, and Lennox’s approach. Kade gave him a brief nod before focusing on Lennox again.
“So let’s talk.”
His Beta blew out a puff of air, lifting his arms to the side then dropping them. “Shit, okay, but you have to promise not to lose the heid.”
Kade speared Lennox with a cold stare. “I never lose the heid. In fact, if anyone around here is prone to that, I think everyone would agree that’s you. You’re always giving it laldy about something or other.”
“Will ye just haud yer wheesht long enough for me to say this?” Lennox’s hands landed on his hips, and maybe if he were clothed he’d look more menacing. However, standing bollocks naked the effect just wasn’t the same.
Kade inclined his head. “Get on with it.”
“Okay, now this is the part when you just shut yer geggy.”
“I’ll keep quiet, but if you don’t get on with it I’m going home. It’s too damn cold to be standing around here like this.”
Kade glanced at Dara, who’d obviously thought being wrapped up in his nice Wolf fur was preferable to being human, naked, and cold. Good choice.
Lennox stepped away, pacing back and forth before he stopped and throwing his arms up into the air dramatically. “All right, I’ll just say it like it is. All three of us, Betas that is, know you’ve been sneaking out of camp and hunting. Jeez, the last two nights you were gone until dawn. But, the thing is, Fraser, he, well, he . . .”
Kade couldn’t stand the stuttering any longer and he was certain he’d never seen his friend ever at a loss for words before. “Spit it out, Len.”
“He knows what’s wrong with you and you’re not gonnae like it.”
“Just what in blue blazes do you mean by that? What’s Fraser been saying?” Kade fumed, knowing the older man had a hand in these two following him.
Although he respected the Wolf’s wisdom and knowledge, that auld yin simply couldn’t keep his nose out of other folks’ business. Sometimes, he was nothing more than a blethering skite that set Kade’s teeth grinding.
“He knows what’s wrong, so keep yer heid, okay?” Lennox shook his head. “Damn, Kade, just let me finish.”
Kade scowled but kept hold of his tongue as Lennox carried on. “Now, this is the part you’ve not to go daft at. All right?”
“If you don’t get on with it, I’m leaving you here to freeze your balls off.”
“Fraser spoke of old legends, well, it’s not that old because he remembers it happened to several Alphas in the past so . . .”
Kade couldn’t stop the snarl that erupted as he glared at his Beta. “Will ye just get on with it?”
“Aye, right, sorry,” Lennox said quickly, running a hand through his bushy red hair, his face paler than usual, making his beard appear even more crimson.
“Just tell me what the auld yin said.”
“This thing that’s going on with you, there’s a reason for the abnormal Hunger . . .”
Kade interrupted. “Did you just say that with a capital H?”
“Aye, I did and that’s because it’s known to the elders and it’s a, well, a condition that strikes when . . .”
Lennox paused, looking around at Dara as if for moral support. “Thanks, pal.”
Dara merely lifted his head, turning away, giving a clear message: Lennox was on his own.
Striding over, Kade poked Lennox in the chest. “Tell me what the hell is wrong with me.”
He watched as Lennox inhaled, his words rushing out of him so fast Kade had to focus carefully to understand.
“The Hunger means your mate is near and you have to go find her. It also indicates that she may, or may not, be in some kind of trouble. There, I’ve said it, so just accept it and go find her.”
Reeling back, Kade almost lost his footing, his eyes wide and shocked as Lennox stared at him. His Wolf howled
