Chapter 2
Josh
I stared at that stepping stone, still unfinished, still wrapped in the plastic in came in how many years ago. I couldn't bring my eyes from it, that stepping block, the last piece, no matter how much they burned and blurred. I couldn't look anywhere else. Not again. I couldn't look at the house looming over me, move in ready, and yet empty for over a year now.
It was supposed to be ready as soon as she graduated. And it was. But I hadn't heard anything from her. Not for five years. At first I thought she was just busy, focusing on her studies, but then doubt began to creep in. Five years with nothing. She had left me. Simple as that. Probably found someone else, someone normal who didn't know everything she had been through, didn't help her through it.
Just the thought made pure anger rise in my chest. She could've rejected me, broken the bond between us. Maybe then I would be free, without this pain, the hope, dangling over me. But either way she was gone. And I couldn't help but feel she wasn't coming back.
In which case this house would always be uninhabited. I couldn't go in without her. I couldn't finish it. I couldn't even put a stepping block in.
I couldn't do anything. Not without her.
"Josh?" I glanced up at my mother's voice, standing as she appeared on the trail. She smiled at me, her eyes soft and sad and her smile trying to be understanding. I frowned at her, at that look that just about everyone gave me these days. Poor Josh, left by his mate, but not rejected. Stuck in never-ending pain. "Honey, your father needs you."
"Why?" Even I could tell a difference in my voice, a certain deadness. And it was true-I didn't care.
"Just come to the house, please," she sighed, beckoning me with her hand. "It's very important."
"It better be," I growled, cringing at the pain that crossed her face, but I couldn't help it. There were a lot of things I couldn't control.
She started back on the trail, pulling her shirt down, clearing her throat.
I knew I was a mess. I knew they pitied me, talked about me when I wasn't there, and tried to comfort me when I was. And I knew they should. What else could they do? I was their Alpha, their son, their brother, their uncle. They cared for me no matter how deep I sunk, no matter how much she didn't.
I knew that, but I couldn't care. I couldn't care about anything.
But as we walked into the house, the air around me felt tense and overwhelmed. The pack crowded in the sitting room, and even the kids were present, sitting on the floor. They all stared at me, even the couples, who, except for Cormac and Dusty, unmarried, live elsewhere.
"What's going on?" I glanced around until I found my father's eyes, his thin lips and drawn eyebrows that made my still heart race-finally, something else to focus on.
"I need your help, son." He said, sighing as he uncrossed his arms. "Levi's caught a strange scent on patrol. Just one-it seems like a rogue."
"Are you sure?" I looked at my brother, the young teenager, almost thirteen, sitting on the ground with Hanna leaning against him. I glanced at Dad again, raising my eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm sure," Levi nearly growled. But he was young, and I couldn't risk letting my hopes up for nothing.
I did begin the process, maybe it just took this long to work-no, it was nearly impossible. I shook my head at the thought, but Levi misinterpreted. "I know what I smelled!" He growled. "I'm not a baby, I'm a part of this pack, too. More than you! What do you know-all you do is pout all day-"
"Either way," Dad cut him off with a snap, but I still scowled at the boy, nearly seeing red. "We need to investigate. You lead your pack, I'll lead mine. Just to see if we find anything."
"When?" I asked, giving him my attention.
Dad gave a small smile. "As soon as you're ready."
I matched it as well as I could. "Wonderful."