The Alpha’s Fated Choice (Alpha's Fated Encounter Trilogy #1)

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I give her another strange look before walking away, but not before hearing her mutter under her breath, “I’m surrounded by idiots. Flaming buffoons.”

My fingers graze the side of my neck, and I wonder if she was hoping that Alex had given me the mating mark. That’s the only thing she could be looking for on my neck.

I really don’t understand this woman.

As I change from my street clothes into my uniform, I wonder why Alex contacted Elsa when he figured out I’d been slipped the aphrodisiac. Do they know each other? And does Elsa know who Alex really is?

I can’t imagine that to be the case. If Elsa knew about Alex’s identity, she would have informed the pack security. I close the locker with my belongings inside, wondering if I’m overthinking things.

Perhaps Elsa simply wanted me to be with Alex so I could get away from Noah. She’ll be happy to know that I have no intentions of continuing anything with the Alpha Successor. I’m sick of the idea of love. It’s nothing but disappointment and regret.

I’m about to stand up from the bench when the door opens and Eve walks inside.

“Hi, Eve,” I greet her.

“Hey, Sophia.” She gives me a shy smile. “Are you feeling better? Elsa told me you’ve been a little under the weather lately.”

“Much better.” Suddenly, I recall that I thought I caught a glimpse of her in the woods when I was with Noah. Watching her put away her things, I ask, “Were you near the beach this morning?”

I see her stiffen, but when she turns around to look at me, she’s smiling. “I had breakfast at Ruder’s Sub Shop. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” I walk toward the door. As my hand grasps the knob, I pose another question, in a light-hearted tone this time. “Eve, have you ever taken part in any of the pack runs?”

“Not yet,” she replies hesitantly. “I’m not very social, you know. That’s why I moved to this town. And you know how aggressive pack runs can get.”

“Right,” I reply slowly. “Okay, well, see you out there.”

After closing the door behind me, I lean against it for a moment, thinking.

Eve was lying. She was definitely in the woods this morning. And the sandwich shop she just mentioned has been closed for two weeks.

The fact that she lied about her whereabouts makes me suspicious.

It’s also odd that Eve has not taken part in any pack runs. While it is true that they tend to get a little aggressive, pack members who don’t enjoy that can be guarded by one or two members of the pack security team. The only reason I can imagine that Eve has not taken part in them is so that nobody can see the color of her wolf.

I know I’m kind of reaching, but from the moment she arrived in this town a couple of months ago, Eve has not tried to make any friends or socialize. That’s odd for our kind. Although, Elsa did tell me about Eve’s abusive boyfriend and asked me to make sure that everybody gave her space.

But that is all the background of hers that I know. I don’t know where she’s from or what she does in her spare time. It’s odd because when you live in a town this small, everybody knows what everybody else is up to, especially among the shifters. It’s different for me because my little side gig happens late at night and I wear a disguise.

Aside from Eve’s job here, I don’t think she’s working anywhere else. As far as I know, she’s not taking any classes at the community college, and she’s not enrolled in any of the skill shops in town. In fact, I’ve never seen her outside of the bar. It bothers me. If she is the Silver Wolf and she’s trying to hide her identity, this is how she would do it: by not getting involved with anybody.

The bar is full by one in the morning. Since it’s Halloween night, a lot of younger people are hanging out. The servers are busy, running back and forth, delivering orders, and trying not to stir up any tempers. While we do have the occasional human visitor in the Dancing Bear, it’s mostly wolf shifters—and when drunk, wolf shifters become a rowdy bunch. My feet are aching by the time I’m relieved of my shift. I hand over the remaining orders to the other bartender and decide to grab a bite to eat from the kitchen before heading back to the library.

Coincidentally enough, Eve is also taking a break at that time, and I see her head into the alley. My plan is to go strike up a conversation with her, but when I near the door, I hear her voice. She’s speaking to somebody.

“I’ve been very careful. Nobody knows…Yes, yes. I understand. But as long as I keep a low profile, nobody’s going to figure anything out, are they?”

There’s a long pause, and I hold my breath, eavesdropping on her phone call.

She sounds a little angry but mostly upset. “What do you want me to do? I’m doing the best I can! Do you think I would stay here if my identity has been revealed?…They won’t let us be…I understand…Yes, I’ll be more careful.”

She must have ended the call because she makes a disgruntled sound, and then I hear something smash against the wall. My body jerks, instinct telling me to go check on her, but I stop myself.

Hearing her footsteps, I hide around the corner and wait for her to leave. She walks past me, her normally sweet expression distorted in rage. She doesn’t notice me hiding in the shadows. As soon as she’s gone, I make my way into the alley.

At first, I see nothing out of the ordinary, but then my eyes catch something lying beside the wall. On closer inspection, I see the broken pieces of a cell phone. A small, black phone, similar to the one I saw stashed in Rita’s bedside drawer. I pick up the pieces and put them in my pocket.

Eve smashed this phone against the wall in a fit of anger. I’ve never seen her as anything other than meek; it turns out that she has quite a temper. But why does she have the same phone as Rita?


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