Theo was by himself repairing a portion of the fence on the perimeter when he got a call from David. He growled to himself and ignored it. His cousin should know he didn't want to talk—not after the way Gia had characterized his time away from the pack.
Gia wasn't exactly wrong, but she wasn't entirely right either. Clearly Dave had been giving her an ear full of what Theo did when he was away, and that was what infuriated him the most.
Why would he tell Gia those things? And why would he exaggerate it like that?
He thought he could trust his cousin to keep at least some information confidential, especially when it concerned how he would be viewed by the pack and by his parents. And he definitely wouldn't have guessed that Dave would exaggerate to make him look even worse like it was… what? A gossip circle of females gathered around the monthly bonfire?
Apparently he didn't know his future Beta as well as he thought he did. Apparently there was no one he could trust with his secrets.
The truth was, this whole thing made Theo feel even more isolated and alone than he already did being the next Alpha. He was expected to be perfect. That image was so important to his parents and to their pack.
Because of events that happened before he was even born, internal pack conflicts were deeply feared. External threats and assaults were one thing. They could prepare for those as long as the pack was strong and united and worked as one. But internal conflicts like those his parents had faced with the previous elders and with his father's first girlfriend were threats that could topple everything—all of the hard work that his parents, the elders, the council, and really everyone in the pack had done could be wiped out internally.
His phone rang again. David. Again. And he ignored it. Again.
Was he being petty? He understood that David and Gia were close. They were twins. Of course they were close. But that shouldn't be an excuse. Gia was not his next Beta. Was Dave going to be like this when he finally found his mate? Was he going to tell her everything too?
The thought of mates made his stomach twist into a tighter knot. He left his female behind in Gray Vale among vampires. He found her, and then he left her. Cora. Her name was Cora. Just her name made him groan. He wanted her so badly.
It was true what everyone said about mates. It was the strongest pull he had ever felt when he sensed her last night, and then he sprinted off into the woods, nearly blind with that one focus—finding her and claiming her. He needed to find her and claim her and bring her home.
It was the hardest thing he had ever done… leaving her behind. He was so close to her—the one whose gravity had pulled him into another dimension entirely. The one who lit him from the inside like the full moon above just by her scent alone. And her voice. Her eyes. Her pale almost luminescent skin. The elegant curve of her neck. Her curves… all of her curves. All of her everything.
He licked his lips now, grimacing at these thoughts and trying to focus on the work he had created for his hands to distract him. He wanted to return for her. But he had to be smart. He had to figure out how he was going to do this. His mate was in Gray Vale!
This could be the greatest challenge his pack faced yet. Their future Luna was in Gray Vale. Gray Effing Vale! Vampires were no joke, and if she was there with them… but that was the thing. He couldn't understand why she would be. She was obviously significant to them for some reason, but why? He heard her beating heart. He scented and sensed and felt and desired her rich, vibrant life. She was no vampire.
It seemed like she could be a captive, and yet it didn't appear that way. She was freely walking around amongst them. She had a home. She wasn't locked in a dungeon.
It was the biggest mystery, and he couldn't even approach her to figure it out. He couldn't reveal his truth about who she was to anyone at all, including her, until he figured it out. Otherwise it would put his whole pack at risk.
He had slipped and told both Gia and David that he found her. He was too stunned to hold it in, but it was a mistake. He would have to make up a story—tell them he was kidding. He would say it was some stupid prank for the full moon to make them search for him all night or something. No one could know until he thought this all through and came up with a plan.
If he told his parents, they could suggest he reject her. They might even make him do it for the sake of the pack. And he couldn't consider that possibility without feeling a deep stabbing pain to his chest like it was going to split him in two.
There was no way he was going to reject her. She was his. He felt a fierce protective instinct for that female even though he didn't even know her. It was all he could do not to rush back to Gray Vale right now and storm into a massive horde of vampires.
But if he didn't reject her… what then? Was the pack going to… abduct her? Fight the vampires? They would never win. It could be the end of the Hallowells.
His phone buzzed with a text from David this time.
"Gia is missing. May have gone to find your mate. Headed that way now."
Theo's heart nearly stopped in his chest. No. No no no no!
"Wait for me!" he texted back and then sprinted back toward the portal that led to Gray Vale, the perimeter fence abandoned.