The Wolves and the Vipers

Chapter 37 - In Plain Sight

I didn't think Jaden recognised me at first, and I didn't blame him. I didn't have a very memorable face. It was only when he took a whiff of my scent that he started to frown at me.

"Emma?" he asked. "It is Emma, right? Kara's friend?"

I gave him a little nod. With Ashley on one side of me and Zoe on the other, I didn't have any reason to be nervous of him. But it was hard to shake off the memories of the first time that I'd met him, when I'd been a woman alone in the woods, and his men had all swarmed around me. It could have turned out very differently.

Jaden was staring. "What are you doing here?"

"Emma's my mate," Jace said. "What are you doing here? That's a better question, I should think."

Jaden blinked at me a few times. He looked around himself carefully, as if there might be Riverside men hiding behind the magnolia trees. And then he grimaced. "Let's go inside. We can talk in there."

The inside of the lodge was as pretty as the outside. It was the living room we used, and it had a collection of squashy sofas and a proper hardwood floor. Jace sent Zoe to watch the front door and Ashley to watch the back, so it was just the three of us. Me, Jace, and the man who I supposed was my brother-in-law.

When Jaden sat down, he did it slowly. The tension hadn't left his body, even now we were inside and hidden from view.

"I had to move," he began. "I didn't have a choice. The rogues figured out where I've been hiding, so I was looking for a new place to camp. Only trouble is, I came within a few miles of Riverside."

"Yes, and they caught your scent," Jace told him. "If they find it here too, I'll have hell to pay."

"No, I caught a scent," he said miserably. "My mate — she's on their territory."

Oh. That was ... not what I'd been expecting to hear.

"I got closer than I should have, trying to confirm it," he continued. "It was all I could do to walk away. And my wolf hasn't given me a second of peace since."

Jace actually put his head in his hands. "You're sure? That it wasn't a mistake? She could be on my territory, especially if there was a strong wind..."

Jaden gave him a tiny nod. "I'm sure. The closer I got to New Dawn, the fainter it got."

Well, this was a mess. Whoever she was, she wouldn't have any favourable feelings about Jaden. Everyone in Riverside would know what he had done. Even if they did meet, what were the chances she would want to abandon her pack for a life on the run?

"I don't see how that could possibly end well," Jace said. I shared that sentiment. "You'd do better to forget about her."

I nudged his arm as subtly as I could. 'Forget about her?' That was not helpful advice. I knew his mate had rejected him, but for most of us, the pull of a soulmate was all-consuming.

"I was thinking I could trespass and find her," Jaden said. "Rogues can do it — so how hard can it possibly be? I'd have to disguise my scent, obviously."

Hopeless. He was hopeless. He was an Alpha's son like Jace, but unlike Jace, his wolf was stronger than he was. He was going to give into his instincts, and apparently, he was going to do that in the stupidest way possible.

Jace was similarly despairing. He shook his head slowly and hesitantly. "Jaden, that's ... suicide."

He wasn't deterred by that. In fact, he leant forwards in his seat with a self-satisfied smile. "Well, it would help if Darren was distracted. If you were attacking his pack, all the fighters would be in one place, and I could—"