Tristan
That had been Violet, his mate. There was just no other explanation.
But why was she lying to him? Did she want to be away from him that badly?
After she walked away, he went back and tried to complete all of his work tasks, but his head wasn’t in the game. He even asked one of his brothers to finish up for him, something he normally wouldn't do.
Daniel nodded. "Sure. Do whatever you need to do, I'll handle this. I'll get the paperwork done.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Daniel grabbed his shoulder. “What's got you so jittery, man? I've never seen you like this after a fire."
That was true. Tristan had a reputation for being calm under pressure. They usually came to him when things were at their worst and let him deal with any humans who might be hysterical when reacting to a crisis.
"I'm fine."
“You're not fine." Daniel grabbed his hand. "Look at your hands. They’re shaking. I know you're not scared, but you're freaking out over something. What is it? I can help."
"I don't think you can. No one can help me.” Tristan sighed. “I don't have time to tell you right now. I’ve got to look for someone."
“Is this about your mate, the one that ran away?"
Shit. How had Daniel known that?
It was true that everyone knew the story. There had been no way to avoid it.
When he'd gotten back from Nova Scotia without Violet and had no idea where she was, he had been depressed. But his sadness had come out in anger. He had ripped a small tree apart with his bare hands.
Daniel had caught him doing it and gone to get Jameson and Roman. They all did their best to draw him out of his funk. When that did not work, they each took a turn traveling with him, looking for Violet, until finally he had to admit that she did not want to be found. She had his phone number, she had his email, she had a plane ticket voucher that he was not going to cancel.
She also knew where his pack was. If she wanted to find him, she could. He had to face the fact that she did not want to find him. It was an excruciating moment of realization. Something he'd already known in the back of his mind but had not been prepared for.
She did not want to be with him.
His mate did not love him or even like him.
That's when he had started trying to distract himself from the agony of losing his mate to her own disinterest.
Once he got into smoke jumping, Daniel had joined him. The two of them made a great team. Tristan knew that Daniel had joined him so that he could keep an eye on Tristan, who they were all worried about. But then Daniel, who had been smoke jumping out of a sense of duty, friendship, and brotherhood, came to really love the field as well.
“Tristan,” Daniel said again. “Tell me what’s going on.”
"I saw her. She was here. She was right here. In this house." He pointed at the burned-out building.
“Oh my God. Is she okay?"
"Yes. I got her out. She was trying to rescue the owners. I put her outside, and she seemed fine, a little shaken up. I said, ‘please stay here, I have to finish my work.’ But, of course, she didn't stay. She pretended like she didn't know me. She pretended she didn't know who I was. She knew I could tell, but she still lied. Why would she do that?"
"Look, man, I'm not sure if you need to go look for her alone. Let me talk to the boss and I'll come with you."
"No, I'm really fine. I promise. I'm not going to do anything crazy like kidnap her. I know I can't force her to stay with me, even if I find her. I just want to know why she left all those years ago.”
Daniel looked at him with sympathy. It bordered on pity. Tristan knew exactly what Daniel was thinking — she’d left before, so why wouldn't she do it again?
It was a good question to ask, and it was one that Tristan couldn’t answer.
This time Tristan was going to find her. Maybe chasing her wasn't right, but he couldn't stop thinking about her, and it wasn't safe for him to do his job until he figured this out. She was here, working in Alaska. She had been living in that boarding house.