Gunnar’s POV
Finding Anna should have felt like a relief. That was the plan.
Get in, locate her, make sure she was safe, and get her out before anything else went wrong. It was supposed to be simple, sothing I could handle without complications.
But the second I actually found her, sothing felt off.
I didn’t show it. I couldn’t afford to.
She stood a few steps away from when I first saw her, and for a mont I thought maybe because she didn’t recognize , didn’t react the way I expected her to.
"You’re Anna right?," I said, keeping my voice steady because I could already sll that it was her, her scent was different from everyone else.
I’ve been searching for her for hours now and suddenly she’s appeared, it felt odd.
She flinched slightly the mont I called her na.
That alone told enough. Sothing wasn’t right with her.
I stepped closer slowly, watching her carefully, but she took a small step back without thinking, like her body reacted before her mind did.
That made my jaw tighten.
"Don’t worry," I added, my tone lower now. "You’re safe. Riley sent to find you"
She nodded quickly, but It felt forced.
Her hands were shaking slightly at her sides, and her eyes kept moving around like she was expecting sothing to happen at any mont.
I didn’t like that.
"Co," I said, turning slightly toward the exit. "We’re leaving."
She hesitated for half a second before following. That hesitation didn’t sit right with either.
We walked in silence.
I could feel the distance between us without even looking. She stayed a few steps behind at first, then moved to the side, but never too close.
Like she didn’t want to be near .
Or like she was afraid of sothing.
I kept my pace steady, my senses alert as we moved through the path back toward the pack hall. Every instinct in was telling to stay focused, to not let anything slip.
Anna’s eyes kept moving.
I noticed that without trying.
She looked around at everything, taking in details. That made my thoughts start turning.
We reached the entrance of the pack hall, and I stopped just before stepping inside.
I turned to face her fully now. "Why did you co here?" I asked.
My voice was calm, but there was weight behind it.
She froze slightly.
Her lips parted like she wanted to answer, but nothing ca out imdiately.
"I..." she started, then stopped.
Her eyes dropped for a second, then lifted again, but she still didn’t speak.
That made my patience thin.
"You will," I said, my tone sharper now. "Answer ."
She swallowed hard."I didn’t—I an, I had to—"
She couldn’t finish it before sothing cut her off.
The doors behind slamd open so hard the sound echoed through the entire hall.
Every instinct in reacted instantly.
I turned sharply, my body already preparing for whatever just walked in.
And then I saw him.
Emberkin.
My fists clenched imdiately at my sides.
"What the fuck is he doing here..." I muttered under my breath, my jaw locking as anger rose fast and hard in my chest.
Out of everyone.
Out of every possible problem.
It had to be him.
He walked in like he belonged there, his posture relaxed, his pace slow and controlled like he wasn’t stepping into enemy territory. That mask was still on his face, covering most of it, but I didn’t need to see all of it to recognize him.
I would recognize him anywhere.
I always did.
But then my focus shifted.
And everything else dropped for a second.
Because he wasn’t alone.
Riley.
My eyes widened imdiately as I saw her behind him.
"What the hell—" I started, but the words didn’t co out fully.
How is she with him? How did that even happen?
My mind started racing through possibilities, none of them good, none of them making sense.
Riley wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near him.
She wasn’t supposed to be here at all.
And yet—
She was standing right behind him like she had been brought straight into this ss.
My body tensed even more.
I took a step forward without thinking.
Right at that mont, Cane and Caden walked in from the side entrance.
They stopped instantly.
I didn’t need to look at them directly to know their reactions matched mine.
The silence in the room tensed.
Everyone saw it. Everyone felt it.
Cane moved first.
He stepped forward, his voice hitting hard as he spoke her na.
"Riley."
Emberkin kept walking until he reached a certain distance from us.
Then he stopped as a smile pulled at his lips.
The one I wanted to wipe off his face every single ti I saw it.
"Long ti no see, Alphas," he said. His voice was calm.
There was sothing under it that made it clear he was enjoying this.
I felt the anger from my brothers without even looking at them.
"What are you doing here?" Caden demanded, his voice loud and clear, carrying across the hall without hesitation.
Emberkin didn’t respond to that directly.
Instead, his gaze moved slightly, like he was taking in all of us at once, asuring sothing.
Then it shifted back to Riley.
That didn’t sit well with . Not at all.
"What are you doing with her?" Caden added, stepping forward slightly now, his stance already aggressive.
Emberkin let out a low chuckle.
"Her?" he repeated, like the word itself amused him.
I felt my patience snap.
"Yes, her," I said sharply, stepping forward now too. "Answer the damn question."
His attention moved to fully.
And that smile widened just a little.
"You an," he said slowly, "what I’m doing with my mate?"
The words landed heavy. For a second, no one moved. No one spoke.
My mind didn’t process it imdiately.
Mate?
No.
That didn’t make sense.
Cane went still. Caden’s expression changed imdiately.
My gaze snapped to Riley.
She looked tense, her body stiff, her eyes moving between all of us like she didn’t know what was about to happen next.
That only made it worse.
"What did you just say?" I asked, my voice lower now, controlled but carrying a clear warning.
Emberkin didn’t look away.
"I said," he repeated, calm and steady, "she’s mine."
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