Return of the Alpha by Natalie Shaw Read Free Book Online

they'd waited until they had numbers on their side, we'd have been no match for them.
    Still in wolf form, Craven only just managed to squeeze down the narrow staircase. Once outside, we set off towards Semron. We'd just have to hope we didn't run into the reinforcements.
     
    *********
     
    “Have you done?” Craven asked.
    “I'm sorry,” I only just managed to say through tears of laughter. “If Zema could see you now, I'm not sure he'd consider you alpha material.”
    Craven tried to pull down the tee-shirt which was several sizes too small. It was stretched so taut that the seams threatened to burst open at any moment. We'd stolen clothes from washing lines in a small village we'd passed through, just before we crossed the border. I'd had no problem finding clothes to fit me, but Craven hadn't been so fortunate.
    “Pink is definitely your colour,” I said, and then collapsed into laughter again.
    “Remind me why I spent forty years searching for you.”
    “I'm sorry.” I gave him a peck on the cheek. “I especially like this little guy.” I poked the cartoon squirrel on the pink t-shirt which Craven was sporting.
    “You'll pay for this.”
    “Oooh. Are you going to punish me?” I smiled. “Is that a promise?”
    “You're impossible.” Craven turned to look out over the valley. “Does this look familiar?”
    We were on a hillside looking down over Semron territory.
    “I don't see anything I remember, but—.” I took a deep breath. “I do have a sense of something—something familiar.”
    “I suppose we should start over there.” He pointed to the city in the near distance.
    “I want to go alone,” I said.
    “That's not happening. It would be suicide.”
    “Not necessarily. If I'm right about Marlow then I must have lived in this territory for some time. If that's the case, no one will attack me.”
    “That's a big if .”
    “I'm sure—”
    “Based on what? A dream? That's not being sure. That's being stupid.”
    “Okay. How about a compromise?”
    “Not if it involves you going in there alone.”
    “Hear me out.”
    Craven scowled, but nodded for me to continue.
    “Let me take the lead. You can follow a few hundred metres behind—out of sight. As soon as I encounter the local shifters, we'll know if my theory is correct or not. If I'm wrong, and I was never a member of this pack, they'll let me know.”
    “By tearing your throat out? Good plan.”
    “If there's any sign of aggression, I'll turn-tail and make my way back to you. If they follow, we'll stand and fight.”
    “I still don't like it.”
    “Do you have a better plan? The only way I'm going to find Marlow is by asking questions. If I'm right, and I belonged to this pack, then I'll be able to do that. But not if you're with me.”
    “The more I hear, the less I like it.”
    “If things do go according to plan, I'll be perfectly safe by myself. You can come back here, and I'll return as soon as I've tracked down Marlow.”
    Craven sighed. He might not have liked the plan, but he knew it made sense. “We'll take that road.” He pointed. “But if the shit hits the fan, we try to make it back to the border. We only stand and fight if there's no other choice. Agreed?”
    “Agreed.”
     
    The road led to a quiet suburb—the city centre was still at least two miles away. The streets were relatively quiet, and no one seemed to pay me any mind. If I was wrong about having been a member of the Semron pack, I needed to know while we were still close enough to the border to make our escape. If things went wrong when we were in the city centre, our chances would be much worse. There was a coffee shop on the opposite side of the road. Several shifters—in human form—were sitting at the tables outside. It was now or never.
    I glanced behind me. I couldn't see Craven, but I sensed he was close by.  As I approached the coffee shop, two of the shifters looked up. My heart was pounding so hard I felt sure they would hear it. At