Read Online Wolf Next Door by Heather Long - Free Book Online

his lack of shoes and shirt. His bruises ached and the swelling around his eye continued to sting. If he shifted again, he could alleviate the discomfort, but the physical issues couldn’t compare to the wound in his heart.
    Had he driven his mate away? Left her with no choice but to leave him? How was that even possible?
    A crunch of leaves alerted him to a new arrival. They’d stayed downwind or he would have scented the approach. Glancing to the side, he sighed. Mason Clayborne stepped out of the brush. The Alpha of Willow Bend was only a couple of years his senior, but the power he wore brushed every wolf it touched. Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and hiking boots, he looked as at home in the woods as Tyler felt. Nothing about Mason was distant—Toman ruled over them, Mason ruled alongside them.
    Without a word, Mason joined him on the log and gazed out over the lake. The water lapped at the shore, and the sun continued its descent. Mason’s arrival let Tyler’s wolf settle. It wasn’t all that long ago that he and Linc had been at odds with Mason.
    As Alpha, he had the right to demand total obedience. He’d wanted answers to the question of what happened the night A.J. was arrested. Linc and Tyler had refused. Resisting the urge to give him the information he’d desired had been tough and, though seriously irritated with them, Mason hadn’t punished them for the small rebellion. Much.
    What he had done, however, was act on the information and sent his father-in-law Ryan, the pack lawyer, to secure A.J.’s release. Tyler owed the man his loyalty for that, if for no other reason.
    “She told you why she left Sutter Butte.” It wasn’t a question and Tyler didn’t have to ask who he’d meant.
    “Yeah,” he rolled his head from side to side, vertebrae cracking with tension. “Did you know before you let her come home?”
    Most Alphas wouldn’t appreciate being questioned. Mason only shrugged. “Cassius was pretty candid about what happened from his perspective. To her credit, Claire told me first.”
    Somehow, the knowledge comforted him, and his wolf’s agitation decreased further. “She killed a packmate.” Whatever else had been done, Claire killed another wolf and had been expelled from her pack for the charge. What did that mean for her future in Willow Bend?
    “Yes, she did.” Mason leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “She did so in a full blood challenge. She didn’t murder the man, Tyler. She fought him, and she won.”
    The revelation spiked his heart rate. Fought. She fought him. Blood matches weren’t unheard of, though they were usually reserved for Alpha challenges. Most Alphas didn’t want their wolves battling for supremacy. Bad blood could lead to vendettas; vendettas destroyed packs. She’d said she’d killed Justin, but she hadn’t been explicit in her details.
    His wolf could give a fuck about details. If it had been a blood match, she could have died.
    “Easy.” Mason gripped his shoulder and steadied him. Violence lashed throughout Tyler. He should’ve been the one who killed Justin. He should have done it before he could have lured her from the pack. What if she had died? His mate would have been… “Easy.” Mason repeated the word and Ty bowed his head.
    Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to control the emotions swamping him. His wolf’s clarity focused on their Alpha. Mason wanted him to calm, so he calmed. He’d sworn obedience to the man, and his wolf agreed he was a good choice.
    “What do you know about Sutter Butte?” Gone was the power from his voice, leaving only Mason to ask the question.
    “It’s a pack in Arizona.” Beyond that, he hadn’t paid much attention. Hadn’t wanted to. The pack stole his Claire.
    “Yes, they are. They live by some of our older laws. They also don’t live in one concentrated area, but are more spread out. Cassius Braun has been Alpha there for twenty years or thereabouts.”
    Older laws? He gave Mason a