So, what, he was just going to sit in the Reserve forever? Because he was not going back to Rogue to destroy Helena's life.
That's when he smelled it.
At first the breeze had just the hint of an earthy scent that didn't belong. Like a pine tree, but one that wasn't from around here, or a bug not native to New York. Underneath that dissonant smell was much more than simply flora or fauna out of place. There was something cold about it, like ice or permafrost.
There was also the unmistakable scent of a wolf shifter male. A lone wolf.
Aleksei's own wolf chastised him for being such a nincompoop. He wasn't just pouting, the beast had known something was wrong, the over-thinking, morose, broody human part of him had been too distracted to notice.
Nose to the ground, head back in the game, Aleksei searched for the source of the mysterious lone wolf's scent. It wasn't very strong, so it couldn’t have been through this part of the Reserve recently.
Why had it been here at all? Was this a one-blood come to sow discontent in the heart of Tzar Nikolaus Troika's reign? It could be a scout, not a lone wolf at all, sent to reconnoiter and find the Troikas’ weaknesses. That couldn't happen, wouldn't happen, if Aleksei had anything to say about it.
Except he was one of the Troikas’ weaknesses.
The weakest link in the pack's chain. He wasn't even a Troika Enforcer anymore. The enforcer team probably already knew about this threat and his report wouldn't be help or harm. He couldn't take that chance. Regardless if this was a lone wolf or someone allied with the pain in the ass one-bloods, it was a threat.
A threat that could harm his mate.
His wolf was ready to revolt and never let him shift back into human form if he didn't take immediate action to protect his mate. On this one thing the wolf would always win. No matter how much of a shit Aleksei felt like, he would do whatever he could to protect Helena.
Even if he couldn't protect her from himself.
Aleksei followed the scent of the lone wolf on a convoluted path through the Reserve. Either this wolf was drunk, or he had no idea where he was going. He'd been up and down and round and round, but he wasn't going anywhere in particular.
The only place the scent became stronger to indicate that the lone wolf had spent more time there was in the sacred clearing where the Troika pack had their mating rituals. Still there was no sign of this stranger other than the tell-tale way he'd scouted every inch of the Reserve. It was as if he'd circled the area multiple times to learn every tree, rock, and hiding spot.
If he was still in these woods, Aleksei would sniff him out and bring him to Max. Unless of course he put up a fight. Then Aleksei would be more than happy to take the frustrations of the day out on him.
The trail picked up again near the little path that humans used to hike through the woods. It led from one populated part of town to another. This lone wolf was headed right for the old town district. Aleksei picked up his pace and pounded the dirt until he hit the edge of the parking lot.
The lone wolf hadn't stopped there. Any human up late at night might have seen him and made a lot of trouble for the Troikas. Sure, there were some humans who knew about the supernatural now, but only those who were mated to one. Even his ex was now mated and happy.
Max, Kosta, and Niko had started a revolution allowing wolf shifters to find their true mates, one that the Troika pack had happily embraced. But it didn't mean shifters could just wander around town in their beast form. The humans weren't quite ready yet to make friends with fairy tales.
If Max found out, he was going to eat this interloper’s face off. If Niko found out, the wolf would wish he'd never been born. Aleksei would like to be the one who brought this dumbass to justice.
He checked carefully to make sure no humans were about, because he wasn't going to shift into human form to keep following the trail. He couldn’t. He'd left his clothes back at his cabin. He hadn't expected to go on a wild goose chase, or rather wild wolf chase.
As soon as he was sure he wouldn't