In Need of Love

Chapter 2

"Alpha, the annual meeting has been changed to the town of Northern Lock," the Beta of the Graywood pack, Ellis, told his Alpha.

Alpha Graywood growled, dropping the papers he was reading onto his desk.

"Northern Lock?" he repeated with a tight frown that made Ellis uneasy. "The Alphas meeting has always been held here, on my land."

Ellis nodded sympathetically. "Yes, Alpha, but there have been complaints."

Alpha Graywood stood up hastily, his chair dragging against the wood floor with an abrasive sound that made Ellis cringe.

"Quit fucking around, Beta. What complaints?"

"About you and Alpha Rhodes, the tension. They thought it would be better to hold it somewhere more neutral."

At the mention of Alpha Rhodes, Cassian stormed out of his office and down the hall. He barely made it through the front door before he shifted into his fur.

He bolted straight to the trees. The familiarity did nothing to soothe the anger that coursed through his veins as he thought of Alpha Rhodes - Harlan.

They were neighboring packs, just a few rugged miles of neutral land as the only barrier between them. Cassian and Harlan grew up together. They used to be best friends, like brothers, until Harlan shut him out.

Cassian didn't know why things ended the way they did, but even thinking of Alpha Rhodes made his blood boil.

His wolf snarled as a frigid snow began to coat his fur.

Ellis was right. There was tension when Harlan crossed the borders for the stupid meeting, but it was all his fucking fault anyway.

Cassian hated all of it. He wished he had never met Harlan.

---

Cassian made the freezing walk back to his house. He still had so much work to do, but he didn't feel motivated now that the snow had melted from his fur and seeped into his bones.

His house was dark when he reached it. The loneliness soaked in along with the cold, and he gave an inward sigh of relief when he stepped into the warm heat of his home.

He ditched his damp clothes by the front door, making his way upstairs to the shower.

His head was such a muddled mess. Nothing ever seemed to be going right. Everyone steered clear of him and his temper.

Harlan was good at helping keep his anger at bay. Being around him calmed Cassian, and ever since their falling out, he had never been the same.

---

Harlan locked up his office for the day, startling when he turned to find his Beta, Jacob, behind him.

"You're done for today?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah for now. I'm starting that new job today," Harlan said, speaking softly like he was exhausted, and he was. "A little extra money couldn't hurt."

"Harlan, you're running yourself into the ground. This is your second part-time job on top of your Alpha duties."

Harlan shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I will see you later."

Harlan worked nights as a bartender in town, and the mechanic shop next door offered to let him sit at the front desk to take payments and answer the phone.

Simply put, the North Ridge pack was broke. Most families didn't need the pack for any sort of financial support, but it sucked that the option was no longer there. And while Harlan didn't expect his two measly jobs to help, at least he would be able to have some extra cash to pitch in whenever anyone needed it.

Some days he worked nearly eighteen hours, but he had to keep pushing through. It's what his parents and brother would've wanted.

---

Harlan finally got home around three in the morning. He took a shower, and flopped exhaustedly on his bed, but sleep didn't find him.

He placed the pillow over his face with an aggravated huff, before launching it somewhere away from his bed.

He could feel the pressure of tears behind his eyes, and he hated the familiar feeling.

He missed Cassian, but he was so pissed at him for choosing that damn girl over him, when he needed him the most.