Pureblood (Pureblood series)

by Ellysia Fields

  “I’m afraid I can’t, not yet. I have orders to speak with Beatrice first and foremost, even before you about this matter. But I will tell you that as soon as I am done with your Alpha I will seek you out as this pertains to us all,” he said in a very serious tone. His words scared Elizabeth a little.

  “I understand, brother. I’ll be out on patrol in the northern edge of the territory until dawn, feel free to join me once your business is finished.” With a nod and one final hug between the two men, the visiting trio went to report to Beatrice.

  “What do you think that’s about, Nick?” Elizabeth found herself asking.

  “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s not good. Camila, make sure she gets back safely, I’ll go out now so that maybe I can get back by the time his task is done,” he said and, after seeing Camila’s answering nod, shifted into his wolf form right there and took off into the night. Elizabeth watched his pure white form vanish into the trees, feeling that pull in the back of her mind, begging her to chase after him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sleep came hard to Elizabeth that night. She worried for Nick out there on patrol. Worried for whatever this newcomer had come to tell Beatrice. Worried about what her future held if she decided to continue with this “mate” thing. All her worries and all her troubles bogged down her tired mind for much too long before exhaustion finally claimed her.

  All too quickly, she woke up, clinging to the pillow from Nick’s den for dear life. Beads of sweat clung to her forehead. Snippets of the dream that had been plaguing her since she fled the pack-den flooded her waking mind. She hadn’t had the chance to look up Fenrir, and nothing new had been learned from the dream, just the name. She promised herself she’d look it up on her computer after her morning kitchen duties. She got ready for her day with a quick shower, taking care of her other basic needs and getting dressed in record time. She didn’t want to forget or get too distracted by her worries today and focus on her goal of finding out more about Fenrir.

  Just as she was getting ready to leave for the lower levels, there was a knock on her door. With a smile and a sniff, she knew who it was. She opened the door and looked up into Nick’s eyes. He was standing tall, as usual, in jeans and a simple tee shirt with a pawprint on it. His casual clothing and relaxed demeanor calmed her jitters still lingering from the nightmares. He breathed deeply as she opened the door, clearly about to say something at least semi flirty before his azure eyes trained on hers carefully.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. He could smell she was upset, but not what had upset her. Her hair was pulled back into its normal ponytail, but still dripped a bit and smelled of her shampoo.

  “It’s nothing to worry about, just a bad dream. It’s alright, I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about me,” she replied casually as she moved around him, shutting the door as she passed. She wasn’t as nervous about bumping him as she had been a few days ago, the touches both thrilled her and caused her cheeks to warm. His eyes never left her as he watched her movements carefully. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t in any danger before he left her. He followed her down the stairs towards the kitchen, making sure she would get there safely.

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind hanging around with you for a while if it will make you feel better,” he offered around a yawn.

  “You’re exhausted, go take a nap and I’ll see you later.” They stood there together, just outside the dining hall. He was reluctant to move, he wanted to be there in case she needed him, but he also didn’t want to cling to her and make her more upset. “Go on! I’m fine, nothing's gonna jump out at me while I’m doing dishes. Go!” She put a little force into her words, and she was sure he felt it.

  He smiled kindly at her, nodding as he said, “Alright. You know where I am if you need me. See you later.” She smiled at his back as he walked back towards the upper levels. She sighed at her over protective not-quite mate and, shaking her head, walked into the dining hall for morning duties.

  The amount of dishes the chefs gave her was massive compared to the last few days. They must be getting a bit more fancy with the visiting Brady members, or maybe they were requesting certain dishes. Either way, she still hated doing dishes, and still cleaned them all as quickly as possible. At some point, she realized someone else had joined her at the sinks behind her. She looked back to see Jeremiah doing dishes too. She didn't remember him being there the past few days, so he must have just gotten punished to kitchen duty too. She narrowed her eyes back at him as she rinsed the platter she had just cleaned.

  “So, what’d you do to get sent here?”

  “Oh, the usual. Not knowing when enough was enough. I’m usually sent here a couple times a month, but I have been on my best behavior lately. So with the visiting Purebloods, I thought to myself ‘I bet they’d love a little Beatrice pack welcome party in their dens!’ I even got some of the females to dance for them. Colin and his wolves weren't pleased, and neither was Beatrice. So, I ended up here.” He shrugged as if this outcome was expected. Elizabeth found herself laughing at his antics, wondering whatever came over him.

  “So, how long?” she asked once she gained control of herself again.

  “Not so bad this time, only a week. What are you in for and for how long?” Jeremiah glanced back at her as she took a moment to really look at him. His status as an omega in the pack had caused her to brush off his appearance, so looking at his light brown hair and baby blue eyes made her realize that he would be a heartthrob if he ever chose to be an idol. His lean yet well-built frame wouldn’t hurt either. He had an inherent kindness to him that she appreciated, and she seemed to be the only one. Realizing she was staring at him and not working, she swung her head quickly around, hearing his snicker at her back. “Were you just checking me out, Miss Elizabeth?”

  “No, I wasn’t! I just realized that I hadn’t gotten a good look at you before. You kinda make yourself seen but not seen if that makes sense,” she didn't make sense to herself, much less to him, she was sure.

  “I do understand that, actually. That’s the fault of being an Omega. We’re meant to do our job, calming the pack, and be brushed aside once everything works out. I’m okay with my lot in life, it doesn’t bother me. Makes it a tad hard to find a mate though, when no one takes you seriously.” His self-deprecation made her pity the young man. He was very nice, kind, and attractive, something many human women would love to have in a man.

  “I know someone who would love to meet you, but I doubt you’d be able to approach her while being in this pack. She could use a nice guy like you,” she smiled, thinking of Ginger. Her last boyfriend was a total user and she needed to leave him and never look back.

  “Well, if I ever get parole, maybe you can tell me where to look her up!” His grin was sly, as if he would find a way out even if he had to sneak out. “But trying to push me off on someone else won’t make me forget about my question. What did you do to get sent here of all places?”

  “Oh, well… I snuck out.” she stated.

  “Did you? That sounds like a much more interesting story than my misadventures in partying. Do share and keep in all the details!” He waggled his eyebrows at her, causing Elizabeth to laugh so hard she nearly dropped the plate she was cleaning.

  “Well, I snuck past the guards and went home. Once I got there, everything smelled of human and my old life and I discovered I couldn’t handle it like I thought I could. So, I started to leave, make my way back to the pack and...I got lost. I ended up way past the territory borders and… Well, you heard about those Ferals Nick dragged back when I returned?” He nodded. “Well, they were about to attack me, when he came and saved me. I owe him a lot, more than I ever thought I did.” Her eyes got dreamy as she finished, because she didn’t realize how true it was until the words were out.

  “Sounds like you had quite the adventure then! Guess that treat I gave you helped, eh?” There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he spoke.

  “Yes, thank you. Wh
ere did you get them from?” She was suddenly very curious about that. She’d never heard anything in her tutoring about herbs in cookies that would make someone practically undetectable.

  “Secret. So, when you were found out and drug back, did you tell anyone how you got out?” His voice had gotten suddenly serious, it was startling at first. He’d never shown this side to her before, it surprised her.

  “N-no, I didn’t,” she assured him. His smile became easy again. She did too as he tried to lighten the mood with a little nervous laugh.

  “Sorry, didn't mean to freak you out. Just don’t want everyone knowing about that, y’know? If word got out, who knows how many people would want a little midnight run without being seen. You understand, right?” She felt a little off about his reasoning, but let it slide. It was easier that way.

  “Yep, I do,” she smiled at him again before returning to the dishes. The pair working together finished quickly as she listened to other’s practical jokes he’d played on other pack members. She couldn’t believe some of the things he’d gotten away with as they were leaving the kitchen a couple of hours later. “You really changed Beatrice’s shampoo?! How on earth did you manage to do that?”

  “I tricked the Beta carrying her bags and switched them out. Best shampoo I ever used, I’ll tell you that.” They were both laughing as they opened the wide door of the dining hall. Camila was waiting for her, her big smile falling off her face when she saw Jeremiah.

  “What’s he doing here?” She glared at him, grabbing her friends hand to pull her away from him.

  “He got punished to kitchen duty with me for about a week, we were just talking about some of his pranks he played.” She didn’t like that her friend treated him this way, but she was the new girl here so she didn’t exactly fight it either.

  “Now now, Mila dear, I am not trying to do anything bad to our newest Turned girl. Just trying to do my job as Omega! Keep everyone relaxed and happy, right?” He shrugged his shoulders at the two women, as if to say he couldn’t help it.

  “Well, you can keep everyone relaxed and happy without including me or Liza, got it?” she said as she began to drag her friend away towards the ground floor.

  “Mila, wait! Hey, what’s going on? Camila!” She finally pulled her friend to a stop in the stairway. “What’s going on, did he pull something on you? Why do you hate him so much?” It was very unusual to see her usually perky friend acting so hostile to someone.

  “Yes, he did. It was mean, and harsh, and wrong, and I don’t want to talk about it!” Camila crossed her arms in front of her and turned away. Elizabeth stepped into her friend’s line of sight again and hugged the shorter girl.

  “Hey, it’s alright. I’m sorry for whatever he did to you, but that is in the past and aren’t you always telling me to leave my past, in my past and look forward? You know my past very well after I told you everything, but I’m here taking your advice and moving forward. Can’t you do the same?” Camila hated having her own “words of wisdom” used against her, so it made sense that the smaller girl would glare daggers at her friend. With a sigh of defeat, Camila nodded her head. The pair hugged, both feeling better as they prepared for their next bit of Netflix binging.

  A few hours later, Nick joined them in her den. He didn't even try to figure out where they were in the series they were watching, he was just glad to be spending time with Elizabeth. Once it was time for Elizabeth to go to her second shift in the kitchen, she went to get ready while Camila and Nick talked quietly enough that she couldn’t overhear. Elizabeth instantly got annoyed, and she wasn’t completely sure why. They were friends, he could talk to whomever he wanted, but the sternness that came over his features and his affirmative nod made her more upset. Camila gave her friend a hug goodbye and left her and Nick in the hallway outside the den door. Elizabeth stalked down towards the stairs, causing Nick into a light jog to catch up.

  “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you in that much of a hurry to do dishes?” He joked until he saw the sadness on her face, making him instantly alert.

  “I don’t know why, but seeing you and Camila so close, whispering made me really… angry!” she blurted, cheeks red and hot. He casually draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling to a stop in a half hug.

  “It’s alright, it’s fine. It’s just your emotions playing with you,” he said as he leaned down to meet her eye level. “You’re the only wolf for me, no one else can ever compare. You don’t need to get so jealous of such a little thing.” He smiled kindly at her, his arm around her shoulder was warm on her bare skin, causing her face to heat up even more.

  “Y-you know I don’t like it when you talk like that! It’s too early for that kind of talk!” She looked away in an effort to stop her heart from fluttering around.

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I just don’t want you getting jealous of our friend. She wasn’t hitting on me or anything, we don’t have that kind of relationship. She was just telling me that Jeremiah has been sent to kitchen duty with you,” he clarified.

  Latching onto the new topic, she said “yeah, seems he pulled some trick on Colin and his guards. Beatrice didn’t like it, so he got punished.” Anything to change the topic of the “m-word” was worth discussing.

  “While I can’t say I like it, for the same reason you didn’t like Camila talking to me, there isn’t much I can do about it. If the Alpha punished him, the most I can do is ask him to be placed somewhere else.” He tapped his finger on his chin, while his other arm still draped over her shoulder. She escaped his warmth and walked a little ahead of him.

  “He’s not bothering me. I don’t really understand why she dislikes him so much. Aside from that first meeting, he’s never been anything but kind to me.” She was puzzled as to why her friend acted this way.

  “I don’t really get it either. He’s never really pulled any tricks on her that I know of, but she's always distrusted him. But her intuition is rarely wrong, so just be careful of him, okay?”

  “Now who’s acting jealous?” Elizabeth looked up at Nick, arching an eyebrow at him.

  “I’ll admit, every day that we aren’t official I feel a little uneasy. It’s you who has a hard time admitting to it, my dear.” He placed a hand over his heart at his admission, then extended that same hand to her as he finished his statement, causing her to turn away again. They were just outside the dining hall now, and she ducked inside quickly to avoid him seeing the reaction his words caused in her. When she stepped inside, the entire pack was already seated early, preparing for dinner. Nick walked up beside her, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “see you later, Liza.”

  Cheeks hot, she turned quickly away and stalked along the rows of tables back toward the kitchen. He loved teasing her, and she was too ashamed to admit it aloud, but she kind of liked the flirting too. Before she went into the back, Camila caught her hand and began dragging her friend back towards the section they sat in. “Mila,” she started, “what are you doing? I have to get to work.”

  “Not today, Beatrice told me to find you. All pack members are to be present for this dinner. Alpha has an announcement!” She was excited, clearly feeling better than she was earlier. Elizabeth liked her friend like this, always happy and smiling. She hoped she’d get over whatever upset her about Jeremiah soon, it hurt her to see the tension between them. She didn’t get the chance to think anymore as Beatrice strolled up to her table, Colin having joined Nick and walking beside her with the Brady guards and Beatrice’s other Beta’s trailing behind. Whispers quietly spread through the room.

  All conversation ceased as the Purebloods stood together at the front of the room. All eyes turned toward the Alpha as she cleared her throat and began to speak.

  “I would like to take a moment to welcome Lord Colin Brady, dear cousin to our Land Alpha, Byron Brady. He brings us news of the other packs located within Lord Byron’s protection and has promised to aid us in locating our missing Beta, Candice. He brings reports of other missing wolves from acro
ss the country, so we must be on high alert at all times. My Beta’s and I will do our utmost to protect you from these rogue Ferals! Now, Goddess bless you all and enjoy your meal.” Quiet whispers and discussions floated around the room, but Beatrice's words only made Elizabeth more concerned, then she saw the Bradys approach.

  “More missing wolves than just Candice? I wonder how many are missing, it’s kinda scary,” Camila whispered beside her as food was brought to them.

  “Don’t worry, Beatrice will keep us safe, so will Nick and the Betas. Plus, you have me!” She smiled widely at her friend, praying she looked more confident than she felt.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The days of her punishment wore on as, twice a day, she was to report to the kitchen to wash dishes. When she wasn’t washing dishes, she spent the rest of her waking time with Nick, Colin and Camila. She got to see just why Colin and Nick were so close, as Colin explained it on his third day visiting. She had gone to train after her morning shift in the kitchen and Colin was there as well. Upon seeing her, he waved her over. With a smile, she took the weights next to him.