Everleigh
Roman had been gone for a week when there was a knock on her apartment door late one night.
Her family would not come this late. They had finally stopped showing up unannounced. They were still showing up in person from time to time, but they often called ahead so at least she had some warning.
She paused in front of the door. It wasn't one of her neighbors. It wasn’t a human. He felt vaguely like Roman.
She tried to place what he was. Then it clicked – her mystery visitor was a wolf shifter from his pack. This was the first one who had ever come to see her. Alarm shot through her body. Had something happened to Roman?
She yanked the door open without even bothering to ask who it was. "Is Roman okay?"
The wolf shifter’s mouth flattened into a thin line. He pressed his lips together until they turned white. "Now that question is a problem."
What the hell was he talking about? "Just tell me. Did something happen?"
"No. Nothing’s happened. Roman is fine." He put his hand on her door frame. "But you shouldn’t care how he is."
"Then why are you here?" She checked her watch again. "It’s midnight."
"I’m aware of the time."
"I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m not interested in listening to your bullshit." She pushed the door closed, but he blocked it with his arm.
Was this one of Roman’s friends? He was awful.
"Excuse you," she said. "I have a loaded gun in my kitchen. And the bullets are pure silver."
He didn’t try to hide his shudder.
"Fine," he said. "I won’t take up much of your time."
"I’m not letting you inside."
"I don’t want to come in. Not if you’re armed. And why do you have silver bullets if you’re dating Roman?"
"Because of assholes like you who show up at my home in the middle of the night. I’m not going to answer any more of your questions."
"Fine. I guess I could have handled this differently."
The nerve of some shifters.
He growled. "You need to stay away from Roman."
The alarm was fading, replaced by fury. "Who exactly are you to tell me what to do?"
"My name is Jacob, although you don't need to repeat that. I am just thinking about what is in Roman’s best interest. He is the Alpha of our pack, and we have an absolute policy about dating outside our own kind."
She rolled her eyes. "Not this bullshit again. Look, you don't have to worry about your precious Alpha. I have no desire to mate with him or anyone of your type."
"Roman is a good shifter. If he falls for you, it will only make his life harder."
"I don't give a shit what makes his life harder." She put her hand on Jacob’s chest. "If you come back to my house, you will be facing the end of a shotgun."
Her heart was pounding. She needed to call someone and talk to them after that bullshit speech from him.
Were all shifters the same? Being around cretins like this Jacob made Everleigh want to leave any type of shifter life completely.
She knew humans weren’t perfect; they had their own little hellscapes they had to deal with. But if Roman couldn't handle himself or his wildcard pack members, then he had no business being Alpha.