“But I’m a Turned, I can’t be a Pureblood too, right? Isn’t that the exact opposite of a Pureblood?” She couldn’t believe it, she was human before being bitten. Her parents were human, and their parents before them. How did she have werewolf blood in her veins when she was born human?
“I don’t know, but don’t you wanna find out?” Ariel’s eyes really did glow with excitement, all tiredness gone from her expression. Now she had a mission and she would not stop seeking the truth until it was out in the open. Seeing the look in Ariel’s eyes, she realized that she really did want to find out about Fenrir. That’s what this was all about right? Even her wolf seemed to agree, almost saying “that’s why I kept sending you those dreams, dummy.”
“Yes, I do but if records have been cleared then where am I gonna start looking?” She pointed out the obvious to herself and Ariel, but Nick and Allen were still left in the dark.
“Byron, he has more resources than we do. Maybe we can figure something out from there.”
“Wait, we?”
“Yeah! I’m coming with you. I can read all the ancient languages the old ones used, all Lorekeepers are trained in them. You’ll need me, plus this is gonna make for an awesome story and who are we if not keepers of the lore or our past? Brother, start packing, we leave when the Alphas decide!” Ariel stood suddenly, wobbled a bit before walking towards the doors leading to the hall and towards the rest of the Packden.
“O-of course, sister. I assume you will explain the vision to me while we pack?” Allen could only call after his sister, walking quickly to catch up to her.
“Um, are you going to fill me in? What is that symbol?” Nick questioned as he pointed to the paper in his mate’s hand.
“I think what Ariel was trying to say was that I am related to one of the First werewolves, a Fourth that was wiped from history,” she said carefully, watching Nick’s reaction. He helped her to stand, walking with her out of the ritual room, taking a few deep breaths himself before he spoke again.
“Okay, and Ariel wants us to just pick up and leave? The whole pack?” Nick spoke in such a way that he thought the idea was ludicrous.
“No, not the whole pack. I’d be okay with just us. You can’t tell me this is what you pictured for us Nick, having a pack we stole from another Pureblood?”
“I stole nothing from Beatrice, I took it to save you,” Nick took a deep breath, pausing as he thought out the next words carefully, “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I told you before, I never thought I’d ever be an Alpha to a pack, but with your kidnapping and her not willing to help… I did what I had to.” She felt a twinge of happiness and guilt, but she heard the resignation of his voice and knew that he wasn’t telling the entire story.
“I know, and I’m grateful, but I don’t feel right taking what has been hers for so many years,” she whispered, but Nick heard her.
“You’re right… as usual. It doesn’t feel right keeping it now that all is said and done. But maybe we can make it out there on our own.” Nick smiled down at his mate, a few strands of his unnaturally white hair falling over his face, making her giggle. She was about to respond, when another voice spoke up nearby.
“Liza, where have you been?” The strawberry blonde woman, who less than a month ago was human, stalked up to her. “Are you done abandoning me now so I can borrow a few moments of your time, ‘Alpha’?”
“Ginger, oh no, I’m so sorry I forgot about you.” At Ginger’s surprise, Elizabeth corrected, “I mean not forgot about you, forgot you are newly Turned status. I’m so sorry I’ve been ignoring you. That was never my intention, let me bring you up to my den and we’ll talk,” as she finished speaking, she looked up to Nick.
He nodded. “I’ll arrange everything tonight. You take care of your Turned’s needs, Alpha.” Elizabeth’s eyes were begging not to be left alone with an angry, newly Turned werewolf, but he just snickered and kept walking. Promising to get back at him later that night, she returned her attention to Ginger.
“Come on, we’ll talk in my den, okay?” She put her hand around her friend, leading her back towards the living areas of the Alphas and Betas.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ginger was upset, and Elizabeth saw that. Her friend had turned her into a supernatural being, she had lost over a week of her life and the day she woke up from her comatose state said friend was kidnapped. Needless to say, she felt more than lost with the whole “being a werewolf” thing. So Elizabeth walked with her up toward her Alpha den, doing anything she could to calm her neglected friend down again.
“I was so worried and scared for you, and Nick wouldn’t let me go help you! He said I’d slow them down and get in the way, but you know I’m a fast learner. I mean I picked up using that weird register really fast after they replaced the old one, not to mention cleaning those stupid frozen yogurt dispensers. Those things are death traps to my nails!” Ginger was exaggerating as usual, but not about being a fast learner. She did pick up on things rather quickly, but learning to become a werewolf was not quite the same as learning to work a cash register.
“I am so sorry you felt left out, but I would have agreed with Nick, you simply weren’t ready.” She pulled her friend to a stop at the landing to the Alpha and Beta dens, just a level above the pack’s den section. She hugged her friend tightly, urging with all the power she held as an Alpha, she barely knew how to control, to calm her friend. At hearing Ginger’s sigh, Elizabeth released the other woman with a smile. “There, feel a little better?”
“Yeah, how did you do that?” Ginger cocked her head to the side in a very dog-like way.
“Well, I know you like hugs and wolves do like contact just like humans, so I thought it would help. Now, I hope we can put that behind us so I can help you understand your wolf and the changes in your body.” She felt suddenly uncomfortable, talking to her friend about “changes in her body.”
“That’s the weird thing, I haven’t had any of the signs Camila said I should have. Are you sure I’m a were-werewolf?” Ginger swallowed nervously. Elizabeth could smell the change in her friend's body chemistry, the distinctive shift in someone’s scent that marked them as one of her own.
“Well, you smell like a werewolf, so-”
“Ew, you smelled me?” Ginger crossed her arms over her chest as if Elizabeth had just asked her to strip down in the middle of the hallway.
“Well,” she said as she moved to the den to open the door and allow her friend in. “You see, we have heightened senses. Hearing, smelling, seeing, even touch and taste are stronger. Our appetites are bigger too, to compensate for our being able to shift into wolves. You should also feel a presence, like a little voice people say they hear and interpret as their conscious. But this is your wolf, she will be there for you when you need her, always,” she added wistfully, echoing the very words her wolf had told her after she woke up from a week in the medical ward.
“I have a few of those things. Like I feel like I could see from here to the ocean if I was up high enough, or hear people whispering twenty feet away if I focus. But the wolf thing, there is nothing. No presence, no protective attitude just, nothing. Do you think I’m broken because you only scratched me a little bit?” Ginger’s expression was somber, almost like she wanted to be special but was worried she was special in a different way.
“I’m sure you’re fine, it’s still really new so maybe your wolf is just taking a bit longer to take root. Have you tried to shift?”
“Yeah, I have but nothing happens. There is nothing to grab onto.”
“Hmm, maybe we just need to find another Turned to help you, or tutoring will help you find your inner wolf. Mine was always there, strong and sure.” Elizabeth looked up suddenly, a thought occurring to her. “Maybe she’s just submissive!”
“What?” Confusion was painted on her face as if done with a calligraphy brush.
“A submissive inner wolf. Nick managed to get the pack and become Alpha because, at the time, he was more dominant
than the former Alpha and she was unable to challenge him. If your wolf is naturally submissive, then it would make sense you weren’t able to reach her. Besides, I’ve already found your personality to be pretty...unrelenting so it makes sense,” she gave a nervous laugh at her friend’s glare. Ginger seemed ready to add something to that when there was a howl echoing through the halls. Elizabeth knew this howl, she had heard the sound before and moved quickly to the door.
Ginger’s attitude changed from indigent to concerned as she stood and moved to the door her friend had flung open. “What’s going on?”
“There’s trouble, stay here. I’ll be back soon.” With Camila at her side, Elizabeth moved to a little used section of the upper level Nick had shown her after they had moved into the Alpha den. There was a set of stairs, hidden from the lower level but open to those above, that she used to quickly get close to the entrance. When she approached, the howling got louder as she was getting closer, she also heard something else. Footsteps behind her. “Ginger, I said to stay back.”
“I don’t care, I’m not being left out again!” Ginger sounded childish, but Elizabeth couldn’t stop her. She was too focused on getting to the problem. Once reaching the landing, Elizabeth with Camila at her side, emerged just near the entrance in time to see Nick rushing there as well.
“Elizabeth, I see you brought the Beta and your Turned with you. How thoughtful,” he teased as Elizabeth turned around to see Ginger a little behind her and Camila.
With a sigh, she said, “I told her to stay behind, but she didn’t listen.”
“That is because you phrased it as a request. You have to order her and she won’t be able to resist.”
“I wouldn't feel right after all I put her through,” she admitted.
“I know, dear. That’s part of why I love you. Now, shall we go see what all the noise is about?” At her nod, he took her hand and together they walked towards the entrance, trailed by their Betas and Ginger farther behind.
Once the scent reached her, she felt her limbs grow cold and the hand in hers heat up. They both knew that scent, it was unmistakable. She knew it because it belonged to the wolf who had taken her from the cage she was thrown in and strapped down to a chair for hours of torture. Nick knew it because it was the last obstacle in his way to saving his mate that horrible day.
“Don’t worry, he won’t lay a hand on you ever again,” Nick assured her. She just nodded as they topped the short rise leading out of the den and into the cooling evening air. Jake stood there, both guards now at the man’s sides holding him in place as the Alphas approached. “What are you doing here?” Nick snarled, baring his teeth. Camila and Darren were at their leader’s side, snarling like wild animals.
“I came because I have nowhere else to go. I saw you fight, Nicholas. I saw your strength even during your captivity, Elizabeth. I wish to aid you in whatever way I can, to make up for all your pack has endured.” Jake stood, surrounded by angry wolves on all sides. It was brave of him to come to the ones who had so sorely defeated them. Brave and stupid. He was asking for a death sentence, and Nick said as much when he spoke next.
“Why should I not just kill you and be done with your existence? You kidnapped my mate, allowed her torture, and watched as your brethren were mutated beyond recognition. What makes you think I would ever allow you into this pack?” Snarls from all the wolves gathered danced on the breeze that blew through the palm trees around the entrance, making it seem like the very night was angry at Jake.
“I, Jacob Shepard, give you my word on my very life that I will never do such heinous acts again. I respect you too much, Alphas. Plus, if you take me into your pack I will tell you all I know about the plans of Jeremiah and his Master. I know the recipes of the potions that he gave to the Berserkers and himself. I know of other groups of Ferals that I could-”
“Enough. How do I know I can trust you?” Nick had calmed a bit, Elizabeth felt it in his body temperature. He was listening to what Jake had to say, and despite her own feelings towards this man, she was too. If he could do all he said he could, then maybe he was an asset that they couldn’t deny.
“I come to you with nothing but information, information that I am willing to give whether you spare my life or not. What Jeremiah was doing was horrible, I don’t condone it but I had little choice but to follow. I was exiled from my pack for something I did not do, and he took me in when no one else would. I respect your honor, Alpha Nicholas, and I trust you can understand where I come from in this respect?”
Nick stiffened a bit, the words hitting nerves still raw and Elizabeth wondered if the stuff Jeremiah had said her mate had done in the past were real. About him doing things in London that had changed him. After a deep breath, Nick looked to one of the guards next to Jake.
“William, you know this wolf. Do you believe what he says?”
William had been one of the Ferals that, upon seeing Nick, had fallen to his knees and obeyed the order given to aide the rescue party. That act instantly made him, and those with him, part of the pack. Nick had set him on guard duty, to prove his loyalty and dedication to his newly acquired pack. If William failed even once to alert of danger, he would be thrown out, so this question forced him to skate on thin ice.
“Yes, Alpha Nicholas, I do. Jake joined before I was added to the group and Jeremiah made him his right hand wolf after seeing him follow orders as directed. He helped me adjust after becoming lost myself. He is strong and dependable, seeing him here begging for aid means much to his current state.”
Elizabeth could see Nick weighing his options carefully, almost as if she could look inside his head. She had been told by him what went down outside the room where she was sliced up by Jeremiah, but she knew what had happened to Jake after Nick encountered him in the stairway. He didn’t stick around to be questioned, but ran instead with the others, fighting his way into the woods. Nick had been impressed by the strength he had shown, and would have considered this more easily had he surrendered at first. But now it was anyone's guess after it had been a few days since then. Nick snorted, drawing her back to the matter at hand.
“William, take him to the hold. I will send Darren shortly to question him and see if his information is valid. Jacob, you are hereby under our protection until such time that I deem you are either safe enough to join the pack or a danger to this pack and will be thrown out. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Alpha,” was all Jake said, hanging his head. William urged him forward with a little shove and they walked down into the Packden. The gathered wolves dispersed quickly, Camila hanging back with Ginger at her side.
“So, who was that guy? Was he the one who put our Liza in a cage and delivered her to that jerk Jeremiah?!” Ginger whispered. Elizabeth nodded, and Ginger paled. “You’re seriously letting him stay here?”
“He could have information about who is after my mate so yes, he will stay here under my protection for evaluation. I trust Darren will treat him properly down in the hold,” he spoke with controlled anger. Elizabeth knew he respected the strength of that wolf, but his easily flipping personality was questionable at best.
“If he survives what Darren will put him through, I think he deserves to join,” Camila said, swallowing loudly.
“I agree. I told you about his strength that night, but I also smelled his uncertainty. He didn’t want to be doing what he was doing, but he felt like he didn’t have a choice,” he explained quietly for those close enough to hear. “We’ll see what happens, though I did not make any promises to him about joining, I will take it into consideration. Now, I believe it is nearly dinner and you are all attending right?”
Sounds of agreement bounced between the gathered females, causing all three to laugh. Nick smiled and kissed his mate’s forehead, enjoying the excuse to hold her closer as they made their way to the stairs leading toward the dining hall.
Alphas in the lead with their Betas following, all gathered quieted as eyes turned toward the front of the r
oom. Elizabeth scanned the room, trying to find the former Alpha among the rest of the single females. She found her and, once her eyes met that of Beatrice, the woman looked away. She was disgraced by having her pack taken from her by Nick, and she was barely functioning as a member of the pack anymore. She still managed her CEO duties of her clothing line, but being a normal member of the pack now, one of many, affected her more than she let on. But Elizabeth could see it, she knew it well, and wished she could help but Beatrice had been avoiding her.
After the food had been eaten and the pack was content, Nick looked to Elizabeth. “Do you wish to stand with me as Alpha of this pack?”
“Yes, Nick. Let’s do this together. I’ve got to learn someday, right?” He nodded at her in agreement and together they stood, facing their friends and packmates.
“Friends, thank you all for joining us here this evening. This last week has been somewhat… chaotic, to say the least.” Nick surveyed the crowd before him, panning his face so that every eye was on him. “Many things have happened, many things we shall not forget. I want you all to know that no matter the circumstances, that you have my deepest gratitude.”
Pureblood (Pureblood series) Page 31
