Chapter 3
XANDER
I ate my first burger way too fast, but I was starving. I took my time with the second one, focusing on the taste of the greasy meat patty and the sesame seed bun.
Kyle was still eating his first, more slowly than me given he was also concentrating on driving. His eyebrows were lowered as though he was thinking about something.
“Whatcha worried about?” I asked, before taking a long drink of water to wash away the lettuce stuck in my teeth.
“Nothing. I was actually thinking it was bloody good luck to find that guy.”
Kyle beamed like he was super-proud of himself, and he should have been. The tip about location likely saved us driving aimlessly for several hours.
I shrugged. “Thanks for getting that info out of him. You’re much better with people than I am.”
Kyle had always been the more personable of the two of us. The one everyone liked and went to if they needed something.
His ready grin became wider. “Now we’ve just gotta find Eagle Point.”
A road sign came up, and there it was, printed in black and white, as if the sign had been made just for us.Eagle Point. One hundred miles.
I laughed. “The only question is, should we park somewhere for the night and go in the morning? Or should we head there now?”
I knew what I wanted to do, but I was going to wait and see if my Beta was on the same page as me.
He slid me a sidelong look before refocusing on the road. “I know you well, Xander.” He shook his head. “We go tonight.”
“Yes! No point wasting time, right?”
“We can sneak up on them a lot easier in wolf form,” Kyle added.
I chuckled. “Let’s hope they don’t fire any spells at us. One curse for the pack is enough for me.”
Kyle shrugged. “They could definitely attack us. Maybe a reconnaissance mission is best first.”
“What do you mean?” I grabbed a bottle of Coke out of the bag we’d brought with us, because the water wasn’t cutting it. I needed caffeine and sugar to keep me going at this point. My eyes were starting to get blurry and unfocused after no sleep and driving too long.
“I mean, we park the car and go for a run. Find out where the coven is, check out their security, and assess the best way to access it. Then go back in the morning in human form when it’s light and request a meeting with their head witch—or whatever they call their leader.”
I nodded slowly, mulling over his words. There was some wisdom in what he was saying. We didn’t know anything about witches. Not their customs, nor their hierarchy or social structure. For all we knew, they could have magicked up some sort of protection barrier, and we would run straight past them and into a trap.
“I agree. Let’s do recon, and then camp out tonight.” I hadn’t seen a motel or anything that looked even remotely like civilization since we’d left the gas station.
“Sounds good.”
We drove the rest of the way in silence, my head running through memories.
My parents had been fated mates. My sister and her husband were, also. It was a tradition. It was everything. And there was a fair chance that I’d never get to feel that special... thing they all talked about. The connection. The feeling of completeness.
My sister told me that, for a female wolf, it was a soft feeling, but a strong one. Like gravity, drawing her to the man who would be the other half of her whole. The person who would complete her heart and make her soul content.
My dad said it was different for a male. That when he first laid eyes on Mom at a pack gathering, he’d dropped to his knees before her like a beggar praying at an altar.
I’d laughed when he told me that, so many years ago. Now, I’d give anything to feel what they took for granted. That shot of love, Cupid’s arrow, or whatever you wanted to call it. That moment when you knew that you’d finally found the person you’d been searching for.
I wanted that. More than anything.
I knew Kyle did, too.