“Max! Long time no see!”

“Hey, Terry. The sign looks great! Thanks for holding down the fort for me until I got back in town.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m so happy you’re back! The pack has been needing your guidance for a long time now!”

Max grimaced. The last thing he’d wanted to do back when he had lived in Stonybrooke was deal with the pack’s demands. He had left them behind long ago, sure he wouldn’t be able to stand the pressure even for another minute. They had thrust him into a position of authority he had never wanted anything to do with. Not only had it put him in grave danger, but he hated hanging around the air-headed shifters that seemed to look to him before they made any move at all. He had little to no respect for a man who couldn’t think for himself, and yet, in the pack he had been presumed leader of, everybody was miserable and lost without someone to look after them.

He didn’t want to be anybody’s father figure. The thought repulsed him and he resented anybody who thought it was his duty to lick the ass of some lost moron who couldn’t make good choices. That type of blind conformity made him furious, though he couldn’t really understand the nuances of it. It may have been because of his own father’s attitude toward failure and pack mentality. Max’s father had objected deeply to the reliance on other shifters; he felt it was every man for himself.

In fact, he had believed that so deeply that he had thought nothing of completely abandoning Max and his family to disappear into the mountains and never look back.

“So, when are you going to stop by the Council? They sure are going to be glad to see you.”

Max sighed. He hadn’t even been in town for twenty minutes yet and already, he was being pushed into seeking out a position of leadership. But he knew the other shifters wouldn’t see it quite the same way as Terry did. Terry was the loyal-to-a-fault type. Max wasn’t so sure how the others would take to him, though, not after he had abandoned them the way he had.

“I’ll go talk to them this afternoon to make sure all my permits are in good standing, but otherwise, I don’t think I will be talking about picking up where I left off with the pack. You know, things are a little complicated right now, with the time I have to put in to running my business. I’m sure you understand.”

“Oh, sure,” Terry said, though he seemed crestfallen.

“You did a great job with the sign,” Max said, clearing his throat. He hated the awkward silence. He knew he was letting Terry down, but there was bound to be some conflict when it came to the role of alpha. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with anything to do with the hierarchy. Not when he had a business to run.

“Thanks, Max. Well, I should probably get going. It’s been good catching up with you.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Max said. “Bye…”

But Terry was already out the door, and Max sighed heavily. It was hard to disappoint him, but things between packs could get messy fast, and the last thing Max or his business needed was a distraction like that.

Max then proceeded to unpack some of the boxes so he could start putting them on the shelves. He hadn’t hired anybody to work with him in the shop. At least not yet. He needed to test the waters first.

Stonybrooke could be a little bit on the judgmental side when it came to new things. They were to be regarded with suspicion and mistrust. That was part of what Max hadn’t been able to stand when they had proclaimed him to be an alpha. Why would he want that position when it meant he would be overloaded with choices and he would always have to make the most predictable one?

He had always wanted to take risks, and now, that’s what he was doing, whether anybody liked it or not.

“Good morning, Max.”

Max froze at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Mrs. Green? What are you doing here?”

Max gaped at the image of Sadie’s mother, who was standing in the doorway, wearing the starchy green dress and staring at him with a disdainful gaze.

“I just came to see that you leave my daughter alone. You put her through enough hell when you are you the first time. I don’t want to find out that you have done the same thing again now that you have another chance to torture her.”

Max’s heart lurched. “I would never do anything to hurt Sadie, and you know it.”

“Actually, I don’t. And neither does she. So just stay away from her. You can imagine my disdain when I saw you were back in town. I guess I had to see for myself and let you know that no matter what you are planning to do here, it is not going to involve my daughter.”

“She doesn’t want anything to do with me anyway. I know better than to try anything like that. You think I enjoy humiliation and rejection or something?”

Max stared hard at the aging woman. She had gotten a full head of gray hair since he had last seen her. It was startling, in a way, and although he was mad, it encouraged him to be a little bit kinder to her than he felt like being.

“I don’t know, nor do I care what you think,” Mrs. Green said, turning her nose up at Max dismissively. “What I do know is that my daughter deserves peace after everything she has gone through, and you are not the one that is going to give it to her. So just stay out of my way. You know I have connections in this place. One false move and I will shut this operation down faster than you can say your own name.”

“You know what? I didn’t even know Sadie was still here. I assumed she would’ve left this stupid place for bigger and better things like I did.”

“Is that so?” Mrs. Green asked, raising a brow at Max. “That’s why she has gotten so many letters from you over the years? Trust me when I say she does not appreciate your effort at communication, and if you see her, you would be wise to let the opportunity for connection go by you. It wouldn’t do either of you any good. Especially not with this vulnerable stage of business happening, right?”

Max stood rigidly, glaring down the old lady, with rage bubbling in his chest. And yet, he had been taught from an early age to respect his elders. As much as it pained him, he didn’t want to do anything he would regret. And so he bit his tongue and simply let her speak until she was satisfied. She finally turned to leave and Max felt himself relax a little bit.

“Take care, Max,” Mrs. Green said, smiling coldly at him.

Max shook his head, sighing to himself as the bell on the door jingled behind her. Every experience he’d had so far had told him what a mistake it was to come back here. And now, he was sure of it. But there was nothing he could do except focus on his business and hope for the best. So that’s what he did for the rest of the afternoon, his thoughts tortured by the memories of his first love.