August’s head had been on a straight and narrow path to nowhere good since he bumped into Allegra the day before. He had never been the type to wallow in his sorrow, but more than once he had considered stopping by the liquor store and calling Farren over for a pity party. Not that she would know what exactly he pitied himself over. He knew she wouldn’t understand if he told her it was simply over “some girl”; he could only imagine what her reaction would be if he told her that it was over Venus in particular. So when he got the call saying that there was a new wolf in town that was looking for him, he was happy for the distraction that it offered. The name Evans meant little to him, at least not as much as it would have meant to his father. He was no more than four when the family had been expelled from the pack. When he took on the position as Alpha, his father told him many stories to help prepare him for the responsibilities that would come with the status. It was likely that he knew what had happened, but without the names to connect the past and the present together, August was at a loss for why this wolf would want to speak to him.
Had it been a meeting with someone he was familiar with, he would have been more than happy to meet them back at his cabin on the family’s property. As it was, he was already a little uneasy that this person had met his sister first. At least Julian had been there. He trusted no one else with his family above the Beta.
“Hey Eliza,” he smiled as he cut off the girl before she had the chance to greet him. He didn’t stop to chat as he normally did before he made his way toward the scent of the unfamiliar wolf, the only one present in the building. Her disheartened face perked up when he offered a wink as he passed by; one day he would have to stop casually flirting and getting her hopes up, but that would not be today.
August pulled out the chair sitting opposite Sam. Instead of taking a seat first, he extended his hand in greeting. “Sam Evans?” The words were posed as a question, though there was no mistaking who he was. “I’m August, but I’m guessing you know that already.” Once the greeting was out of the way, he finally sat down. He kept his stance open, but his eyes were trained on Sam, watching him carefully. “So what brings you to Scarlet Oak?” He could have easily been more intimidating and asked him the direct question that was on his mind, but so far there was nothing about Sam that screamed ‘threat’.