Red: Through the Dark Read Online Free

her sadness, her overwhelming sense of not belonging. Worst of all, I realize I probably should have stayed with her and comforted her before I left.
    Unfortunately, as Alpha, I’m not always going to have that luxury. I’m not always going to be able to make sure Red is in a good place before I have to run off and take care of my pack.
    I know she can handle it. She can. Red is the strongest woman I’ve ever met and there’s nothing she can’t take.
    I just hope she knows how deeply I really do care for her. These past two weeks have been difficult, to say the least. We’ve both had a hard time adjusting to our new roles within the pack. Since Red is my mate, the other wolves will turn to her for advice, for help, for running programs and things like that. Since she’s not a wolf, others will despise her and try to ruin our relationship. Sadly, it’s the natural order of things, and right now, I’m really not sure what to do.
    I’ve never been in this place before. I only hope Red and I are able to find some sort of new normal that works for all of us.
    “Alpha,” I feel a rough hand on my shoulder and turn to see Ryder striding alongside me, matching my pace as I head back down the hall to my suite.
    “What is it, beta?” I ask him gruffly.
    “You handled yourself well tonight.”
    “Thanks. Could’ve been better. I’m tired as fuck, though.”
    “Me too. It was a good hunt, though I’m guessing that’s not the only reason you’re tired.” Ryder has always been observant. That’s why he’s my man. I don’t have to fill him in on every detail. He can read between the lines.
    “What happened tonight? Why wouldn’t Jam just wait until tomorrow to start on the meat? And why was Lex so up in arms about it?”
    “That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Ryder says, lowering his voice. He keeps following me. I’m still in my stupid robe walking barefoot on the stone hallway. Some parts of the cave still have dirt floors and some are fashionable enough to have wooden floors, but the hall we’re in is pure rock. I love it.
    It feels like home.
    “What about it?” I ask. We’re almost back to Red, almost back to my girl. I just want to wrap my arms around her and lose myself in her for a little while, but if Ryder thinks something is wrong, I need to hear it first.
    “I know you were gone for awhile and you’ve been busy since you came back,” he starts. He’s referring to the fact that I was essentially banished from The Silent Canines after my cousin was killed. Jeffrey tried to pin her death on me and I was in hiding for a few months, trying to get my head on straight and figure out what to do. Then Red found me.
    Saved me.
    Made me whole again.
    “Yeah? So?”
    “Lex and Jam don’t usually fight, Nash. They’re usually buddies. Something happened tonight, though. I think someone wanted them to fight, wanted to cause dissention.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Someone wants to stir up trouble in the pack, Nash. Someone doesn’t like you being Alpha.”
     
     
    ***
     
     
    By the time I finally return to our suites, I’m exhausted. Worse of all, I can feel Red’s anxiety from the hallway. I stand outside of the door and press my hand to it and just feel.
    Wolves are great with scents. We can smell anything, track anything. We can do whatever we need to when it comes to our noses. One of the reasons hunting in a pack works so great is that as shifters, we essentially smell as one.
    But now I’m smelling my mate, and she’s hurting. Her emotions are loud and clear as I touch the door that separates us.
    I was out dealing with pack business and she was home alone, by herself, wrestling with her heart. Red and I haven’t talked much about her acclimation to the pack, but I’m a man. I’m not blind. I’m not dumb. I know exactly how much trouble the wolves have been giving her and I intend to stop it. It’s just that running a pack, especially when you’re the new guy, takes