by SJ Hayslett
Finally though, Alex did speak, and answered her question. "I had some business of my father's that brought me out here. Per the North American Pack Treaty, I did not need to inform the alpha of my business as I flew and am temporarily residing within the boundaries of a major city." The clause was always something that her father had loathed. The treaty stated that within the scope of businesses that are maintained in the human world, major cities and airports were neutral territory.
"How is your father doing?" Evony asked Alex, but kept her eye on Vanessa. There! With just the mention of her father, Vanessa flinched ever so slightly. It was subtle, but it was there.
"He died yesterday. I'm the Alpha of Grey Sky now." Alex loved to brag and it only boasted his ego that he could finally say that he was an alpha.
"Oh I hadn't heard that your father passed. My condolences," Reed picked up his wine glass and took a pull on the delicious red wine that went with his prime sirloin. Not even caring for the direction of the conversation, well that's a lie. He did care; he just wanted to make sure that Alex knew that he was beneath him. He picked up his knife and fork, and began slicing the meat, juices flowed from the cut, and he forked the first bite into his mouth.
Evony chose to follow his lead for several reasons. Number one being, that he was her mate and alpha, and she took her cues from him. The number two reason and more importantly, she was hungry. And there was nothing ruder than letting a hot meal go cold for no reason at all.
"You know, I don't care if he marked you, we can still be married and when I mark you, it'll erase the blemish of him from your beautiful body." Evony squirmed with disdain as Alex continued to leer at her as if he could see under the table. Reed's growl again, was the only thing that kept Alex in check.
"Seeing as the council already did our bonding ceremony, I don't see how you have a valid claim to Evony. Unless you plan on kidnapping her, but then again there was already an attempt for that." Reed stood up and motioned for the first waitress that he saw. Evony saw the hard swallow that Alex gulped when Reed stood up in front of him. Even she wondered what was about to transpire between the both of them.
"The council couldn't have done that so fast." Alex was still in denial.
"But they did. Apparently, I have Alpha Jermaine Reed for sending them to my new pack," Evony explained, careful not to refer to the man as her father. She wanted no part of him in this life or the afterlife. Not after what she had to endure since leaving Silver Fang. "Since they were already there, and Alpha Reed had declared me as his true mate and Alpha female, they went ahead with the ceremony. Maybe I should send him a bottle of wine as a thank you." Evony smiled at Alex before looking over to Reed.
"Mr. Daniels and his sister are ready to be seated at their table. See to it that they arrive there," Reed told the waiter that arrived at the booth. He nodded to Reed's request, but only Vanessa turned to follow him. Alex however, stayed where he was and smiled at Evony.
"I hope I get a chance to play with you soon." Alex said before sauntering off.
"And I hope you and Alpha Morris come up with another peace treaty. You know since the first one failed." Alex stopped, momentarily thrown off by Evony's words, before continuing to follow the waiter and his sister.
When Reed sat back down next to her, Evony was furious.
"Please tell me that you didn't know that they would be here tonight."
Reed held his hands up in surrender mode. "I knew they were in Boston, yes. But I knew nothing of their plans to be here tonight."
"When did you know they were here?" Evony asked. She wasn't completely pacified yet.
"I didn't find out until just before I started getting ready to meet you tonight. My connection at Logan International was delayed in getting me the flight manifests for the day." Reed said.
"You get flight manifests everyday? How is that possible?" Evony was astonished.
Reed nodded, "I go over them every morning. They're not always updated due to last minute changes and all, but I always know when someone enters my territory. Wolves that have been entered in the database are highlighted, if it's warranted I have someone keeping tabs on them. Depending on their level of value."
Evony gave it some thought and thought back to when she came to Boston. "So you knew I was coming that day." She stated, it wasn't a question.
"Yes."
"And you get these reports everyday?"
"First thing. For every airport, the four commercial flights, and twelve public airports."
"So you knew when the wolves that my father sent touched down, and did nothing about it?" Evony's anger was rising again. He could have prevented so much tragedy had he known and just taken care of it.
"No. I didn't know. Your father was smart. I tracked the survivors of that party to the Monponsett Pond Seaplane Base. It's the one port I don't have anyone monitoring. Something I'm looking to rectify."
"Who do you have working at Logan?"
"I can't tell you. It's confidential."
"Really? You're going to play that with me?"
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, Evony. You're my partner in everything. But this I have to protect you and the pack with. The people I have in these positions at the airports and various other locations pass along sensitive information. If a human was to be caught with the reports that I get, would be labeled a terrorist by Homeland Security." Reed did his best to reassure Evony, and he felt better when he felt her relax in his arms.
Finally, after some thought Evony picked up her fork and knife to finish her meal. Amanda came back to the table once the tension was released from the surprise visit of the Daniels. They passed on dessert when Amanda offered it to them, and she placed the check on the table.
"Would you like me to pay for half?" Evony teased.
"What kind of man takes a woman out on a date and has her pay half? Don't be ridiculous." Reed answered not getting the joke.
"Babe, I was just joking since it was our first date. Not everyone is a gentleman like you."
"Damn straight. Come on, let's go."
"Is it safe, to leave Alex and Vanessa roaming Boston free and wild?" Evony wanted to know has Reed escorted her out. She kept her head facing forward, not wanting to catch Alex's eye.
"Yeah, I have people on it." Reed simply said before handing the valet his ticket. The fall air was a bit chilly, but Evony didn't mind. She was still getting used to the weather differences between Boston and home. Well her old home, she doubted she'd ever see Phoenix or Silver Fang ever again. But with Reed by her side, she was okay with that.
Besides, the short amount of time that she'd been with Blood Moon, they replaced her old pack. She looked to Blood Moon as family and despite her educational ambitions; she couldn't wait until she started her own family in Blood Moon.
Evony waited until Reed was in the driver seat of the car before speaking again. "I know that we weren't supposed to focus on the pack tonight, but I think whoever is working at Logan, and handing you the reports everyday, is in contact with my father." Reed looked confused at Evony as she sat in the passenger seat. "Reed, how didn't you think of it before? How on earth would my father know to come into a seaport and not Logan? Even if he had an idea that you monitored Logan, he could have chosen any other airport, but he chose the one airport that you don't have anybody at? He knew because someone told him."
Reed's forehead furrowed together as he concentrated on the road and Evony's words. How had he never thought to put two and two together? "How do you figure it's the person in Logan that has betrayed me?"
Evony noticed that Reed had avoided giving away the gender of the Logan informant, but she didn't harp on it. "Because the one and only time that whoever they are was late in getting your daily reports for Logan, is the one day that my ex-fiancé decided to come into Boston? Please, coincidences are hardly believable."
It was a lot for the both of them to think upon.
~~~
It had been several days since
they're date and it bothered Evony that Reed still wouldn't confide in her who his contact was. She understood the security precautions that Reed had in place but, as his mate she really expected him to open up to her. Instead, he seemed to withdraw from her.
Often times, after her classes, he could be found in his office. No matter what he was working on, she was always able to momentarily disturb him. However, lately, the door had been completely locked, even trying to get in through the connecting door between their offices was impossible.
Angela tried to comfort her multiple times by saying he hadn't been spending a lot of time in the office. However, that didn't ease Evony's worries.
Reed wouldn't even come to bed with her until long after she fell asleep. No matter how long she tried to stay awake for him, he never appeared. When Evony began setting her alarm early in the morning just to even see him, he started sleeping in the guest room, or not even returning to the pack house at all.
Hurt.
Evony could not be anymore hurt from her mate. She had to continuously remind herself that she'd done nothing wrong. But there was a voice that snuck up behind her wolf that warned her that if she did nothing wrong, he would be next to her.
Evony mentally replayed her date night and couldn't figure out what she did. She thought the only sour note of the night was when Alex showed up at the restaurant. Did he think she ever had feelings for him? Evony didn't think that she had given that impression, and even if she had, it annoyed her to no end that he didn't just talk to her.
It wasn't even as though she had a place to go. Evony gave up her place at the dorm, so her only retreat was to throw herself at her studies. If he wanted to ignore her, fine. Despite that stupid annoying voice, Evony knew it wasn't anything she did but she was petty enough to decide that since he made the decision to stay away, then it was up to him to make the decision to be smart about their relationship and whatever reason was keeping him away from her.
What could be keeping him away?
Evony tried asking Angela and Garrett when she saw them, but they were just as vague. Evony suspected Angela was vague because she genuinely didn't know what was going on or the why. However, she knew that Garrett was vague not because he didn't know anything, but because he knew everything that was going on with Reed. Even Garrett began avoiding her at all costs.
Since it was the weekend again, and wanting to take her mind off of everything going on with Reed, Evony decided it was time to visit the pregnant she wolves at their homes.
The previous night, Evony helped host the party for Arielle. True to the first time that Evony met the precocious girl, she wanted a superhero themed party so that she could dress up as Batman again. Most of the kids loved it, and those that didn't still had a good time. The girls ended up staying over for a sleepover. Arielle was happy that the kids in her class were talking and playing with her, which in turn felt really good for Evony.
Arielle loved being the center of attention, especially since it seemed to garner her friendships that would hopefully last into the classroom.
Now it was time to visit the mothers who were adding to the pack. Evony had wanted to do this duty the previous weekend, but never got around to it since Reed had insisted on the romantic date that turned into a disaster.
Evony made the rounds, and one by one, she checked to make sure that the new mothers had everything they needed. They really appreciated her concern for them and was thrilled that she was taking an interest in caring for them even after the pups were born.
"We haven't had anyone do this for the pack, you know? It's really good that this is your platform." Angela said to Evony as they left the last house.
"I wouldn't say that this is my platform, Ang. This is pure instinct really. It's not like I had a mom or even a step-mom that filled the role of Alpha Female back in Silver Fang. But the way I see it, your mate and mine are both concerned for the warriors and the pack as a whole. But, there's no one that really looks to the women, and children and the elders."
"Well those not fighting know what to do in case anyone attacks."
"Yeah but," Evony halted her walking and looked at Angela. "They have lives and needs, outside of the pack. Reed looks at the pack and can say that he knows of everyone here and can see that everyone is covered. But the needs of one family aren't the same as the needs of one individual and vice versa. He knows of everyone, while I want to know everyone."
The two she-wolves moved together once again back to the pack house and Angela realized that Evony was right. "I get what you're saying. While everyone cares for the whole, you don't want any one individual to get lost. I get that." Angela was glad that Blood Moon's Alpha Female hadn't turned out to be a brat. She saw that Evony's personality wouldn't allow her to be as one even during the trial with the council. But it seemed especially refreshing that her confidence during that moment wasn't an act, but the way she carried herself day to day. Angela truly came to see Evony as someone who she and others could look up to.
Angela wound her arms through Evony's in agreement and walked with her to finish some work in her office.
Chapter 20
By Monday morning, Evony had enough. Before leaving for class, she decided to pack a duffle bag full of clothes, underwear, and her toiletries. Reed had continued to avoid her all throughout the weekend, including blocking her from the mind-link. Just thinking about it, made tears well up in Evony's eyes. Wiping her face, Evony was determined not to cry anymore, and made her way downstairs with her bags.
After packing everything away in the Jeep, she sent a quick text to Angela telling her that she wouldn't be coming home for a while and to email or call her if she needed something. Evony also begged her not to tell anyone that she had temporarily left. Before leaving, Evony ran back into the pack house, and went to her office. She wanted to double check that all locks and alarms were set in her office so that no one, including Reed, could get in. Sure, she could have locked it up and monitored everything remotely from her laptop, but she preferred physically checking everything out.
If she was going to feel isolated from her mate, Evony had convinced herself she might as well let it be on her terms. About thirty minutes after her final class of the day, Evony was checked into the River View Executive Suite in the Royal Sonesta Hotel.
The room was really gorgeous and she wanted nothing more than to take a nap and be numb, or take a shower and wash off her frustrations. However, a twenty-page Ethics report that was due on Thursday was calling her name.
Evony set up her laptop and phone on the desk in the living area of her room and started to work. She was happy that she kept up with her studies even while working on her duties at the pack. And she prayed that even during this time away from the pack, she wouldn't find herself slacking off on either.
Evony was grateful that she had already written half of her paper and thankful that she was an excellent note taker, that she was able to pick up her thoughts right where she left off. She'd only been writing for about thirty minutes when her Mac indicated there was a Skype call coming through from Angela.
"Hey lady, how's it going over there?" Evony asked when she saw the video of her friend coming through.
"It's good. I finished those emails that you wanted me to handle. I CC'd them to you this morning."
"Great thanks," Evony absentmindedly replied. "I have-haven't gone through my emails yet." Evony was somewhat disappointed that Angela hadn't started off with news of Reed; or that Reed hadn't hijacked Angela's Skype account. Hell, considering he hadn't tried to reach out via the mind-link, he probably didn't even realize that she wasn't with the pack. "Does he even know I'm gone?" Evony whispered, afraid to hear Angela's answer.
Angela didn't even need to answer; Evony could see it all over Ang's face. "Will you tell me at least where you are, in case you're needed?" Angela asked.
Clearly I'm not needed if my own mate can't even be bothered to know I'm not there. Evony had wanted to say, but settled for, "
No. I don't want anyone to disrupt me while I'm getting work done. And with midterms coming up, I just want to finish all of this as quick as possible." There was no hiding the disappointment in her voice and by the time she hung up with Angela she wanted to cry again.
It was only six in the evening, and yet she felt so exhausted. Shutting her laptop off and she decided to go over her studies for her Tuesday class in the morning. The tears kept flowing as she stepped into the shower and mourned the fact that her mate, for whatever reason, didn't want anything to do with her.
~~~
"What the hell are you doing?" Angela stormed into the conference room without knocking.
Eight pairs of eyes, not including Garrett's or Reed's turned to stare at her.
"Angela, that isn't how you speak to the Alpha!" This was the first time Garrett had ever admonished Angela, and she couldn't help but wince even though she never took her eyes from Reed's. The eight leaders within the pack had no idea what was going on, and Angela had no desire to rip her alpha a new one in front of them.
"Forgive me Alpha, may we have the room?" Angela's eyes bore into Reed who looked at her lethargically. This was the first good glimpse that even she herself had of Reed since last week, and he looked miserable. 'Serves him right,' she thought.
Finally, seeming to come the realization that whatever Angela had to say, she wanted to do it in private. "You have five minutes," he said to her. "Gentlemen, please help yourselves to refreshments in the kitchen." Reed's jaw tensed at the wrath he could feel radiating from his Beta's mate.
Garrett moved to follow the others out of the room, but one look from Angela had him sitting down in his chair.
"Where is Evony?" Angela ground out through her teeth. She knew she promised that she wouldn't clue Reed in on her whereabouts, though since she didn't even know where Evony was, it wouldn't be that hard.
