Aiden's POV
"Alina." I barked her name, my knuckles rapping against the wood for the third time. The muffled shuffling from inside set my teeth on edge—she was in there, so why was the lock still turned?
News of the rogue raid had hit the pack house an hour ago. They'd hit the sector where she kept that pathetic little job of hers. Inside my chest, my wolf paced a frantic, jagged circle, his claws scraping the underside of my ribs until I tasted copper.
Mate. Our mate. She's close.
"Shut up," I growled under my breath. My jaw ached from the tension. I was engaged to Emily; the wedding was a fixed point. The sooner the beast understood that, the better.
The door finally creaked open. Alina stood there, her lips pulling into a faint, awkward line that didn't reach her eyes.
"Aiden? I didn't expect you... did you come for a pie?" She hovered in the threshold, her body angled to block the view of the room.
"Is someone in there?" I leaned in, my scent-tracking flaring.
