“I—I’ve never experienced anything like that on my end, Jasper,” I said with a shake of my head. A moment later, I realized that my words weren’t completely true. I had known the yearning feeling Jasper described all too well. I’d always chalked it up as my need to be part of a true pack, a need that was never met. It was a low constant ache, like a broken bone that never quite healed. If I was being honest with myself, I hadn’t been feeling that pain since I got off the bus in Grayhaven.
“I set out to find you,” Jasper continued with a furrowed brow. “And so far as I know, Grayhaven just let me leave—simple as that. I remember somehow knowing that the magic would let me out before it did. One minute I was walking the same familiar paths around town, and the next, I came out on a road in Colorado, five miles from Kane’s compound. That’s all I know about leaving Grayhaven.”
Jasper’s words definitely didn’t inspire hope. “How did you get back in?”
He winced. “That’s a long, unpleasant story I’d rather save for a different day. Anyway, your steaks are getting cold.
I took another few bites of the rich meat, staring off at nothing and trying to remember any details about the route my bus took into town but coming up with nothing.
“I’ve upset you?” Jasper asked.
“No.” I set down my fork. “I’m just disappointed. I was hoping you knew how to get out of here.”
“Sorry I don’t know more. Where are you planning on going from here?” he asked. “You can trust me to keep your secrets all the way to the grave if necessary.”
Maybe it was the intense way Jasper was looking at me or that this man seemed to hate Kane even more than I did, but I believed that Jasper was the kind of werewolf that would keep my secrets. And, for some unfathomable reason, I wanted to confide in him. “My only chance is to head up into the Boreal wildlands.”
“To do what?” Jasper asked.
“Disappear. Live off the land. Wolves do it all the time.”
“Yeah, man-eaters, rapists, and wolf killers that have been exiled from their packs.”
I took a steadying breath. “A couple of bad characters have headed that way, yeah, but there are one and a half billion acres of forest. “That’s a lot of wilderness to get lost in. There are towns with almost no contact with the outside world that I can settle in for months or even a couple seasons before eventually moving on.”
It felt strange saying the words aloud for the first time, ever. I hadn’t even written anything alluding to my plan in case it could be discovered. And, fuck. The dream that had always been a bright light in the distance sounded so desperately lonely when spoken.
“All right. That’s your plan.” Jasper’s gaze seared straight through me. “Do you want to hear mine?”
The way that Jasper was looking at me made butterflies take wing in my belly, and I wasn’t at all sure that I should hear his plan. But I nodded. “Sure.”
“I’m going to kill Kane,” Jasper said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.
I coughed, almost choking on the bite of food I was eating. “You’re going to kill the Head Alpha of North America?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Just like that?”
“Yes.”
“And… then you’re going to take over?”
He shook his head slowly as if this should have been obvious. “I’m needed in Grayhaven. Fire season is coming. I couldn’t give a fuck who takes over as head alpha, so long as Kane is dead.”
I groaned and rubbed my hands over my face. “Do you have any idea how many supernaturals have tried to kill Kane? When I said no one had challenged him, I meant legally. I once saw him kill another werewolf alpha in less than a minute. And, those are the supernaturals that get to him. Most don’t even get close.”
“I’ll get to Kane,” Jasper said with complete confidence.
“Uh-huh. How?”
“Because…” Jasper held up a piece of meat in front of my lips, “I’ve been tracking Kane’s movements for years. A friend of mine sends me a letter every time that Kane is on the move, and I have it on their authority that Kane is hunting you personally. I’m going to be there when he finds you. It will be easier if it’s here in Grayhaven with my pack, where we’re familiar with the land and have allies, but if we need to go with you to the Boreal wildlands, then we will.”
“I’m not going to lead you guys to your death. No. I appreciate that you want to help me—”
“This isn’t just about helping you, Teagan. I’ve been preparing to face Kane for decades. He needs to die, and this might be my pack’s only opportunity to kill him.”
I shook my head. “This is… if Kane is setting a trap for me. More than likely, we’ll all fall into it.”
“Then stay here,” Jasper said. “Where we can set a trap for him.”
“I can’t. My money will run out quickly here, and then I’ll be broke and unemployable in this town… I’d be stuck here, trapped and depending entirely on the generosity of others. I need to live in a place where I feel like I could leave without asking anyone’s permission.”
“Grayhaven could be that for you,” Jasper said with his blue eyes fixed on mine. He set his beer on the kitchen island. “Declan was talking out of his ass when he offered you a job, as you know, but I do have a job offer for you.”
I raised my right
