Chapter Two

Kerry

Kerry slipped into a t-shirt, and zipped up his jeans. His irritation grew with each passing second. If he could punch his wolf without punching himself, he would have done it days ago.

His wolf had begged, howled, and pleaded for Kerry to go check on her. Every. Single. Morning. It'd been like that since they'd made it back from the lycan battle. His wolf would do anything but ask nicely apparently.

"It's five o clock in the morning," he snapped.

Go check on mate, his wolf growled.

All he cared about was getting to Demetria. It was annoying as hell.

Yes, she was beautiful, funny and witty. However, she'd pushed him away. Kerry wasn't one to grovel, but apparently, his wolf didn't care about any of that.

Kerry knew it wasn't a good idea. He needed to forget her, but he also knew it wasn't possible. Not after he'd tasted her, touched her, and been so close to claiming her before she slipped through his fingers.

He'd never be able to shake the smell of her skin.

There was no possible way he could forget his mate now—not after losing his first one.

Go to mate, his wolf demanded again.

Kerry slipped into a pair of tennis shoes by his front door, curling his fingers into fists at his sides. He'd earned his own house being the Beta of the pack, and lucked out with not sleeping in the pack house with the other unmated wolves.

He'd been mated once before, but that life was gone now, and it didn't look like his second chance was going to come through for him. The stubborn witch.

Kerry stopped by the mirror beside his door, and tied his blonde hair into a man bun, scratching at the blanket of hair on his cheeks. He hadn't shaved in days, but he'd found it a waste of time. Every moment his wolf badgered him about getting to her, and even a cup of coffee pissed his wolf off in the morning.

He wanted to hit the ground running.

As if, his responsibilities in the pack didn't exist.

That was one of the reasons he was up with the sun, in an attempt to dodge Alpha Davers and get to Demetria before he was needed for the morning perimeter run. If he didn't check on her, his wolf would refuse to shift, and a Beta needed to shift.

Kerry jogged out of his house, and toward the front lawn. The sun peeked over the distant forest, brushing against Kerry's skin in a warm welcome.

His wolf wanted to shift immediately, but Kerry wanted to wait until he reached outside of their property in case someone else was out running, and decided to run with him.

The trail through the forest was only a mile long, so he took off into a lazy jog when he heard his name. "Kerry."

Alpha Davers. Kerry closed his eyes, but turned to face his alpha. His wolf started to call him every name under the sun.

Alpha Davers stood in the middle of his yard with a furrowed brow, and a curious look. "Where are you going?"

Kerry stopped a few feet from him, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just going for a run—,

He rolled his eyes, the sunlight showed the obvious gray in his hair, and the worn lines on his face. He'd been Alpha for a long time and Kerry knew he was ready for Axel to take over.

Kerry was, too. Axel and Claire would make a great Alpha and Luna. Especially after they took down the lyc an kingdom with such ease. Claire—his mate—was a lycan-werewolf and pretty badass.

"You've been sneaking off every morning. Spill it. What's going on?" he asked.

Apparently, you're not as stealthy as you think you are, his wolf said, irritation laced his voice.

Maybe because I'm getting no sleep, he snapped.

"My wolf is refusing to shift unless I check on Demetria every day."

The sad look on Alpha Davers face put Kerry in a bad mood. Kerry didn't want anyone's pity. He didn't need it. "Don't look at me like that," he said.

Alpha Davers put his palms up in surrender. "I can't say I understand, because I don't, but I get it. If you need to go see her—go do it."

Kerry closed his eyes, not having anyone else to speak to about it, he said, "I don't want to go see her if she doesn't want me there. It's my wolf."

"She's hiding something," he blurted out.

Kerry stalled. It wasn't the first time that crossed his mind. She could never give him a good reason why they couldn't be together. She seemed to enjoy when he'd kissed her that night at her house. Kerry could still remember the taste of wine on her lips.

"You think?"

He nodded, and shifted his weight. "Yeah, I do. Why don't you go see her for your wolf's sake, and then we'll meet at the pack house at nine. It'll give you some time to talk to her if you want."

Kerry wanted more than talking from Demetria. "Thank you."

"Go."

Kerry turned and raced into the woods, shifting when he got the chance, because he was no longer hiding from Alpha Davers. The thirty mile run to her house was refreshing and his wolf made it there in almost half the time because he was anxious.

They stopped on the outskirts of her front yard, close to the tree line, and Kerry shifted, realizing he had no clothes to change into on her property.

When he got to the backdoor, his spine stiffened. Something felt off. He couldn't pinpoint it at first. The backdoor was locked, and when he knocked, no one answered. He walked toward her window and tapped against the glass with no response.

He jogged toward the front porch and picked up a scent of an unfamiliar male. His wolf growled, but Kerry didn't think it was what he thought. There was magic in the air, and it felt heavy.

Like dark magic.

If he knew anything about Demetria, he knew she wasn't into dark magic. The front door was unlocked, and his quick heartbeat fluttered with nerves. Her scent was there, but it was from earlier in the morning.

The other scent wasn't inside the house, which meant whoever came by wasn't invited in, and that meant she didn't want him there. Kerry snagged some clothes from the spare bedroom before walking out of the house. He held them in his mouth as he shifted, and followed the scent out of her driveway to the main road.

His wolf dug his paws into the forest floor, parallel to the highway, as they neared the college. Why was she going to the college this early in the morning? The scent led him to Claire's apartment, but they didn't stop there.

Where is mate, his wolf growled.

Kerry backtracked into the woods, knowing he needed to shift to get on campus when he heard a loud boom. Fear overtook him, and deep down he knew it was Demetria.

He began to run the woods that circled the college, seeing clouds of smoke billowing into the sky from the courtyard.

Mate, his wolf began to whimper.

Kerry felt it, too. Something happened to Demetria. His wolf howled loudly into the air, and Kerry shifted, changing into his clothes and running toward the smoke.

Students stood randomly along the campus, staring at the smoke, while others raced to see what happened. Kerry's heartbeat was in his throat by the time he made it. Axel's scent lingered but Demetria's vanished.

He followed it to the nearest parking lot where Axel helped Claire into his truck.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice sounded miles away.

Axel glanced over his shoulder with a frown, and he knew it wasn't good. Claire wore a scar down her pretty face, and tears built in the corners of her eyes.

"Where is Demetria?"

Claire frowned. "She's gone, Kerry. Some warlock took her."

His wolf tried to surface, and he bent over, palming the hood of Axel's truck to keep himself together. Vibrations formed on his skin, and he fought him off the best he could. "What warlock?' he asked softly.

Claire shrugged. "She owes him a favor."

"What favor?"

Axel shook his head. "Maybe we should get to the pack house first—,"

"What favor!" he shouted, slamming his fists against the hood of Axel's truck.

Claire swallowed. "He's here to collect her soul."

Kerry blinked several times, trying to make sense of what that meant.

He'd come to take Demetria's soul, and he might as well have taken Kerry's soul with him.