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

I’m about to follow the scent where it’s strongest when I realize something. That scent…it’s familiar. It’s very familiar.

My blood grows cold. There’s no way.

My head whips around as I search the terrain. I have to confirm this. It can’t be.

It can’t be!

There is a chilly wind blowing, and I feel a shiver crawling up my spine. Where is he?

I follow the scent of blood but come to a halt as something else strikes me. If he is an Alpha, he must be quite cunning. There is one way to conceal the scent of blood. If he washes the wound and covers it with leaves, the scent might fade away. Of course, that only works if he lets the wound coagulate. That means he’ll have to be patient and hide somewhere.

Alphas have faster healing than other shifters, though. He should have healed by now unless he’s using his blood to send the pack security team in the wrong direction so that he can escape.

Now that my suspicions about the identity of the black wolf have been raised, I’m more desperate to find him. I have to confirm it.

I don’t know how grievous his injury is, but the scent of blood is thick in the air, and I can only assume the worst. If it’s a terrible wound, it might not heal very fast.

I keep searching, jumping from tree to tree, landing quietly on my feet at each branch, careful not to make a sound. I see no sign of the black wolf.

Where did he go?

I can sense the growing impatience of the pack security team.

Finally, I reach the point where I have to stop. I’m too physically tired now. I don’t know where he is, but I can only pray to the Goddess that he is unharmed. I’m about to head home when I hear Noah’s voice. He has shifted back into his human form and is on the phone with someone.

“No sign of him. He must’ve figured out the location.”

He pauses for a minute, and I watch him through the thick foliage, holding my breath.

“We’ll have to move fast. If my father decides to come down here, this is not going to end well. Are you keeping an eye on her?”

Her?

I get the faintest suspicion that he’s talking to Orlando.

I frown. Did Noah tell his assistant to make sure I went straight home? Did he ask Orlando to watch me? I want to ask him what he’s up to, but revealing myself will get me in a bunch of trouble. And the Noah I’m looking at right now makes me nervous. He’s harsh and cold. Suddenly, I recall Elsa’s words about Noah being dangerous. I understand that he’s looking for an enemy wolf, so he probably has to behave this way, but it makes me feel unsettled.

Shaking the feeling off, I begin to head home, relieved they didn’t find the black wolf. I’ll come back tomorrow and see if I can track him down.

The smart choice would be to leave this entire matter alone, but I can’t help but remember how gentle the black wolf was with me when I was going through my breakdown. He didn’t have to do any of the things he did, and his presence really soothed me. He brought me back from the edge I had been teetering on.

Don’t let it be the same person.

But deep in my gut, I just know. I know who the wolf is. The blood can’t lie.

He should leave. Noah and his people are going to be more vigilant now. Whatever his purpose was in coming here, it’s not worth his life.

I keep moving toward my apartment, but as I reach the edge of the forest, I see a figure staggering on the ground. He’s a few feet in front of the tree I’m currently in, clutching trunks for support as he walks, his gait uneven.

My heart is in my throat.

There’s no doubt in my mind. The man below me is the black wolf.

I look over my shoulder and confirm nobody’s coming this way. Jumping to the ground, I run toward him. He doesn’t even sense me coming his way because when I touch his shoulder, he flinches. I spin him around, ready to say something, but I freeze upon seeing his face.

It’s Alex.

I already knew. How could I not?