I wasn't surprised to find Arlo curled up on my couch when I woke up. The omega had a habit of showing up at strange times. He was wrapped up in a fluffy, white blanket while he watched some show.

"What time did you get here?" I asked him.

Arlo shrugged. "Originally around eight, but you were still sleeping so I left and came back about twenty minutes ago."

I checked the digital clock that sat on the dresser beside the couch and frowned. It was now twelve-thirty. Normally, I would have been up and moving by now.

"You could have woke me up," I said as I took a seat beside him.

"You looked comfortable. I didn't want to disturb you," he admitted. "Not to mention you can sometimes have an attitude when you wake up and since you're already mad with me, I didn't want to risk it."

I turned to him, but Arlo didn't meet my gaze. He was fiddling with the blanket so I sighed and shook my head. "I'm not mad at you, Arlo."

I wasn't mad. Annoyed? Yes, but not mad.

"You were before," he replied quietly.

"I wasn't mad at you per se. I was mad at..." My words trailed off, but we both knew what I was going to say. Arlo opened his mouth, but I held a hand up. "Stop it. I don't want to start this argument right now."

He frowned, but I didn't let it get to me. Arlo knew how I felt about Cronan; to be more specific, he knew how I felt about their relationship. It wasn't my place to judge, but it was hard not to whenever I saw the two of them together. The issue wasn't so much that they were together, it was mainly because I knew that it'd only end in pain.

Arlo cared about Cronan and I knew the blue-eyed man cared about him too, but it was different. When Arlo fell for someone, he fell hard and I knew that when it came to Cronan, he was already in too deep. They didn't share a mate bond, but he was determined to prove to not only me, but everyone else as well that the two of them could make it work.

The issue though was where Arlo saw the potential for a relationship, Cronan saw a fling. I knew he cared about Arlo, I did, but it was a different type of love and I knew that Arlo wasn't ready to hear or accept that. My problem with Cronan wasn't because of who he was. Cronan was aggressive, rash, and lacked a filter on top of many other qualities; however, my only concern was that Arlo would get hurt in the end and there was nothing I could do but watch.

"I like him, Reuben," he told me and I just nodded.

The two of us fell into silence as we watched the TV. However, I was sure that neither of us was really focused on it. Eventually, I got up and went back to the room to get my phone. I wasn't surprised to see messages from my parents and brothers.

To say my family was against my leaving the pack was an understatement. When I told them the news, Kai and Easton did everything they could to convince me that I was making a mistake. Tyson became overly paranoid and would call me every night for the first month just to make sure I was safe. Jensen and Callan, however, were different. Though they didn't agree with my decision, they did respect it and didn't try to stop me from leaving. Mom and Dad saw it as a good opportunity for me to explore, but they only came around after they realized that there was nothing they could do or say that'd make me want to stay.

My family didn't know about Eli and when I first moved here, I was determined to keep it that way. In a house that highly valued mates, if they found out that I rejected mine then they'd never let me hear the end of it.

I took the time to respond to some of my messages and let my brothers know that I was still alive and thriving. Once I finished, I started to get up and head toward the kitchen, but the knock on the door made me pause. I headed toward it and pulled it open. I was expecting to see Cronan or Callie, but what I got instead was the sight of Eli's face.

Everything around me seemed to freeze. Beside him was Cronan and Callie. I could see her mouth moving, but the words didn't register. Without thinking, I slammed the door in their faces, causing Arlo to jump.

"What are you doing?" Arlo asked me as he sat up.

"What is he doing here?" I hissed out.

"Cronan?"

"No, Eli!"

Arlo frowned, his eyes moving toward the door. "They're here to talk about the wolf in the woods. Did you not read your texts?"

"You did not tell me that," I accused and he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did."

I snatched up the phone and clicked on our messages and sure enough, he had. I didn't think to check it a second ago since he was already here and if it was important then he would've told me. At least, that's what I thought.

Arlo reopened the door and the three of them filed into the room. I could feel Eli's eyes on me and I hesitantly glanced in his direction. I wasn't sure what his expression was. Shock, maybe? Or possibly betrayal? Sadness? In any case, it wasn't anything good.

Everyone took a seat on the couch and Arlo turned off the TV. Callie began to speak l, but my eyes remained focused on Eli. He wasn't meeting my gaze, but I was sure he felt it.

Arlo nudged my shoulder and shot me a look that basically asked, "Are you okay?"

I didn't know how to answer it though. My mind was all over the place.

"So you're here to help with the wolf, right?" Arlo asked Eli. "That's it?"

Eli nodded. "Yes, like Callie said, my job is to make sure the wolf is safe. I can't leave until I know that it is."

"Leave?" I muttered, mostly to myself, but Eli heard it and nodded.

"Once I know the wolf is safe, I'll return to my pack," he said and his eyes met mine.

I didn't respond. An unknown feeling consumed me.

"So what do you know about the wolf?" Cronan asked Eli, his tone full of suspicion. His blue eyes flashed between the two of us, but he said nothing.

"Not much," Eli admitted. "I know that the wolf's clearly young; likely a new shifter. They've been on their own for a while to be in such poor condition. Judging by the way it knows the area, I'm assuming it's been in the area for some time before we found it."

Eli continued to talk and it was strange. I was used to seeing the playful side of him, not the serious, working side.

"The wolf's running from something," Cronan said abruptly.

"Running?" Arlo frowned.

Cronan nodded. "He's only been here for a few weeks and he looks like shit. Then there's the skittish behavior, fear of other wolves, inability to hunt—he's running from something or someone."

"You got all that from a few short encounters?" Eli asked him curiously.

Cronan nodded and the two briefly held eye contact before returning to talk. We spent the next hour and a half comparing information and coming up with a plan. Eli told us of his late-night visits to try and gain the wolf's trust. He was going to continue doing so, but we were also going to try and keep an eye out for the wolf during the day. If Cronan was right and the wolf was running from someone or something then that was all the more reason why we needed to work quickly.

Once we were finished, Callie decided to head out. Eli started to follow suit and left my apartment, but before he could get too far, I followed him out.

"Eli," I called out to him and he stopped walking.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was upset. His posture was a dead giveaway and, when he turned around, his expression was the nail in the coffin.

"If it's all the same to you, I really don't want to do this today," Eli mumbled, not quite meeting my eyes.

I sighed. "Eli..."

"I'm just confused, Reuben. I know what our arrangement is, I do, but I don't understand. One minute you tell me that we aren't meant to be mates, then we're eating and I start to think that maybe you're coming around, but then that's all thrown out the window. You're still so...guarded. I don't expect you to just tell me your whole life story after one lunch, but I need to know what's going on in your head. Are you still against our bond?"

I stared at him with wide eyes. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I watched Eli's expression drop and he sighed before turning back around.

"Bye, Reuben."

I watched as he left and let out a sigh. This was part of why I left in the first place. I turned back around to head back into my apartment but stopped when I realized who was standing there. Blue eyes stared at me with an unreadable expression. No words were exchanged, but none were needed. I already felt like shit.