Chapter 2: Royce - Marked By Love

He put the SUV in park outside the Town Hall, and he and his passengers disembarked. Nick had been chattering a mile a minute since they’d called Argus. Nick was an alpha, like Royce, but unlike Royce, Nick was nineteen, a cougar shifter, and perpetually talking. Royce was supposed to be training him—that is, when he could get a word in.

Today the young alpha had been prattling about fated mates and the large group of omegas who recently moved into their tiny town.

A single new individual moving in would have been enough to cause a stir, but over a dozen new omegas at once? All the alphas were in a tizzy. Not just the young ones who hadn’t learned restraint yet. Fated mates weren’t guaranteed, but that didn’t mean the older alphas without mates gave up. Well, most of them …

Royce had abandoned dreams of finding anyone a while ago. He figured after everything he’d been through, all the places he’d been, if he hadn’t found his fated mate yet, he wasn’t going to.

Now he just sort of floated. Between towns, between jobs, it didn’t matter much to him. He got up and went to work like he was supposed to. Then immediately went back home by himself. He didn’t see much point in trying to insert himself into other people’s happy and contented lives. He was existing, and that was all he could ask for.

“The pull sounds terrifying,” Nick said. “I heard this one alpha, she stopped sleeping and eating. She’d like, almost black out and then wake up wandering a strange neighborhood with no clue how or why she got there. And then this other one, the omega was on suppressor so he just sat in the parking lot for two weeks unable to make himself leave until the omega came back and he could get a proper whiff of them.

“But the magical bond after the bite mark, now that sounds cool. You’d never have to wonder what they were thinking or feeling, and you’d never have to worry they didn’t like you back. I had this one girlfriend in high school; I could never tell where she was in the relationship. Drove me nuts. But I’d never have to worry about that with my fated mate.”

It was getting more difficult for Royce to listen to the young alpha’s hopes without raining on his parade. Couldn’t he just shut up for one minute?

Behind Royce and Nick, Amelia and Matt held their own conversation.

“Since you can’t rely on scent for betas like you can omegas, you need to hone your physical tracking skills,” Amelia said.

“Because of the lack of musk on betas?” Matt asked.

“Exactly. And because our alpha instincts seek out omegas on impulse, it can be harder to find betas. Some alphas refuse to learn the physical tracking needed for it—don’t be like them.”

“So, is that why you phased and flew overhead? But isn’t it harder to see from so far away?”

“You’d think, but hawks have excellent vision, I can spot a field mouse over a mile away, so a trail of broken branches isn’t hard to find. Think of what your bear is best at and learn to amplify those natural abilities.”

Royce sighed to himself. Why couldn’t his protégé listen the way Amelia’s did?

Then again, Royce wasn’t entirely sure it would make much of a difference if he did. As much as he loved the Rainier Mountains and the little community in Elk Cove, he wasn’t happy here.

Maybe happy wasn’t the right word. He was content but not thriving. He’d been missing something essential, something he couldn’t pinpoint that was just out of his reach.

“Royce,” Amelia called out. “Royce, where are you going?”

He blinked, startled to find himself at the other end of the parking lot walking after a little yellow sedan that had pulled onto the road. That was the car the omega had jumped into. Odd behavior considering all Royce had done was nod at the man; that’s what he got for trying to be ‘friendly.’ Royce should just give up and become a full-blown hermit at this point.

He flared his nostrils, searching but came up empty-handed. Odd. What the hell had he come over here for?

The omega …

He was cute and small like every other omega, but he seemed terrified. Startled almost. Maybe he was simply leery of alphas? A large group of alphas when he was alone, that could be understood.

Royce’s stomach wriggled. He needed to follow the omega.

Wait, no, that didn’t make sense.

He shook his head again, realizing he was still standing in the middle of the road.

“Nothing, let’s go see Argus.” Royce looked over his shoulder as the sedan disappeared down Spruce Street. His legs twitched as his body leaned forward. Royce had the oddest urge to chase the car. He suppressed the illogical inclination and returned to his group.

Going into the modest Town Hall with its stained wood and exposed brick, his nose wrinkled and his stomach clenched. Royce took in a deep breath through the nose.

It was different, there was something in here that wasn’t normal, but he couldn’t place it. None of the other shifters reacted to the odd smell; since Royce was a wolf shifter, he often scented things that were too faint or muddled for the others. Perhaps management simply changed cleaning supply brands and his wolf didn’t like it?

He sniffed again but came up empty-handed. It was probably nothing.

In Argus’s office, Royce and Amelia sat while Nick and Matt stood behind them, respectively. Unbidden, his nostrils flared as he dissected the scents in the air. The odd something was stronger in here. Now Royce could get a better inkling as to what it was. The new scent was making his palms sweat and every inch of him itch from his toenails to his teeth.

Mint.

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Why the hell was mint making him itch?

While he was busy huffing the mint scent and becoming irrationally irritated, Royce missed that Argus had started the conversation and was now trying to get his attention.

“Royce, did you hear me?” Argus said. “I said your team did a good job getting those betas tracked down.”

“What?” Royce tried to blink away the fog that’d settled over his consciousness, but it returned in force with every breath of mint.

“Those betas, they were the last backpackers.” Argus was now looking at him with concern as Amelia enunciated her words slowly.

“I told Lucy your team can resume regular trail maintenance and shelter upkeep,” Argus said. “We don’t have any other backpackers scheduled for the season. Buford has also offered the new trainees to help out at the fire station and—”

“Who was in here?” Royce blurted the words without thinking. He’d interrupted the head alpha of Elk Cove, and his boss’s boss. Why would he do that? Apparently, it didn’t matter because his mouth was going to keep talking regardless of what his brain thought. “Before we arrived, who was in here with you?”

Argus stared at him while Amelia gaped and the trainees muttered. Royce paid them no heed. Why was he doing this? He knew he’d been thinking of leaving Elk Cove for a while now, but that didn’t give him a reason for open hostility toward the head alpha.

Had he suddenly obtained a death wish?

Royce decided to blame it on the mint. It wasn’t a perfume or a cleaning solution; it was obviously a madness spell. Had to be.

“As it so happens,” Argus said, scrutinizing Royce. “The new veterinarian was here. Goes by Doc. He’s just moved to town, and I requested he stop by for introductions.”

“Oh!” Matt exclaimed. “My little brother will be ecstatic. His schnauzer has been sneezing, and he hasn’t shut up about it.”

Royce ignored Matt’s story. Every omega and most of the betas in town had been distraught at the sudden loss of their beloved veterinarian.

“I knew the clinic manager had hired someone, but I didn’t know when they were arriving. The news must have gotten lost in the recent town excitement,” Amelia said. “When does the doctor start work? I’ll have to let Hershal know when I get home.”

“Dr. Abbott starts first thing tomorrow morning,” Argus said. “I reckon he’s getting himself settled at the omega house right now.”

Royce frowned. Was that who he’d seen in the parking lot? Why would the new vet be acting that suspicious?

“The new doctor is an omega?” Nick perked up.

Matt whistled. “We’ve had an influx of those recently, maybe we should get ourselves cleaned up and go see if the house needs any repairs. Sniff around while we’re there.”

Their laughter was cut short by Argus slamming his fist onto the desk.

“You will do no such thing,” he growled. “That omega house exists as a sanctuary, and you will do well to respect that. Otherwise, you can find yourselves somewhere else to live.”

The young alphas mumbled apologies.

“After pulling overtime this last week, your team has today and the next two days off work.” Argus was impatient now. “When you report back to work, you’ll have a list of upkeep duties. Get out of here. And, boys, if I so much as hear rumor of either of you lurking around the omega house, so help me—”

“You won’t!” they said in unison before running from the office.

Royce was glued to his chair. Amelia lingered in the doorway waiting for him. His nostrils flared again.

There was something else there, a second scent beneath the mint. He took a deep huff. No, it wasn’t separate. They were the same, entwining around one another to create something else … but what the hell was it?

He sniffed again. It was muted, but it was there. One more big sniff and—

“Royce,” Argus said. “Are you well?”

He nodded.

“Then get out of my office. And remember, the rules regarding the omega house go for all alphas.”

Royce followed his group to the parking lot. Nick and Matt were already making plans for their time off while Amelia texted rapidly on her cell. She absently addressed them.

“Hershal’s working, so I’m just gonna walk to the bakery.”

“Oh, can we come?” Nick asked.

“I could go for a pastry,” Matt said. “And I’m sure my family would appreciate it if I brought a box home.”

“Sure thing, you two need constant supervision anyway.” Amelia waved them to her side as she ambled down the sidewalk. “See you in a few days, Royce.”

Taking in the clean mountain air, he was acutely aware of the absence of mint. His wolf growled.

“Find him.”