by Sara Summers
“Nope, sorry. I’m sticking with him.” I teased, intertwining my fingers with Ty’s. His grin made me smile.
“Dang.” She muttered. “I’m in dire need of a soul swap. Maybe Merla would trade me.” She made a face.
“Good luck with that. The mate horse is one that girl won’t ever ride again.” I smiled wryly, and Savanna nodded grudgingly.
“What am I going to do?” She asked, sighing and closing her eyes.
“You’re gonna run until he catches you, and then we’ll deal with it however we have to.” I told her firmly. “You know I have your back, and now so does Ty.”
“Thanks girl.” Savanna clutched her phone tightly. “At least he doesn’t have my phone number.”
“You know, in his defense, it seems like he’s just trying to keep you safe and win you over slowly. He thinks peonies are important to you.” Ty butted in, and we both glared at him. “What? I’m a guy, I know how we think. He might not think he was being creepy, maybe he was just trying to let you know that he was looking out for you.” He shrugged.
“Stop right there.” Savanna glared at him, and he raised his surrender hand again.
“Okay, okay. Sorry.” He dropped the idea, which was a good decision.
“Does this road take us to the airport?” Savanna checked.
“Pretty close.” Ty nodded. “Unless he’s waiting there, he won’t have a chance at finding you.”
“Good.” Savanna nodded, breathing in and out deeply. “I can survive this.” She was determined.
“Yeah you can. That’s the spirit.” I tried to support her the best I could. “You’re Savanna effing Ebbitt, and if anyone knows how to survive, it’s you.”
“You’re right.” She nodded, steeling herself. “I got away from the mafia, I can do anything.” She decided.
“Wait, you what?” Ty looked at her through the rearview mirror again.
“Don’t worry about it.” I told him, turning back to Savanna. “Where are you heading?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll just board whichever plane leaves the soonest.” She shrugged. “My readers seem to like my blog because of my writing personality, not because of where I travel. Being a shifter in a world where everyone wonders about us probably helps too.” She folded her arms over her stomach.
“Wherever you go, you’ll be fine.” I assured her.
“Yep.” She nodded once. “Always am.”
Ty pulled up to the airport a few minutes later, and I jumped out to give Savanna a hug.
“Be safe.” I warned her. “If you need anything, you know my number.”
“I know.” She hugged me tightly. When she pulled away, I noticed her body quivering. “One day, I’ll get this whole thing figured out and we can live two houses away, alright? You can have a bunch of baby wolfies, and I’ll raise stories like they’re children. Deal?” she checked.
“Deal.” I promised, giving her another hug. “Love you, Sav.”
“Love you too.” She reached up to wipe a tear from her eye. “Eff, I hate traveling.”
“You’ll be fine.” I patted her on the arm.
“Take care of your man. He’s a good one.” She looked up at the sky, wiping away a few more tears.
“I’ll see you soon.” I assured her.
“Yeah.” She nodded, sniffling as she grabbed the handle of her carry-on. “See you soon.”
Ty and I sat in the car and watched her walk away, not leaving until she made it through the doors. A security guy yelled for us to get driving, but we waited.
When Ty finally pulled back onto the highway, he took my hand.
“I am so lost.” He told me. I smiled, forcing back tears.
“I’ll explain it to you one of these days.” I promised, and he drove us back to the townhouse without another question about Savanna.
When we got inside, I broke down into tears. Ty led me to the couch, and I cried against his shoulder. He ran his fingers through my hair, letting me cry my fill.
When the tears finally stopped flowing, I started talking.
“I had a group of friends in high school, the ones I started the YouTube channel with.” I sniffled, and he squeezed me around the waist. “I might have told you this before, but there were ten of us. One of each type of shifter, and a human.
“We all had our own struggles, and in a group so big, there are always some people closer than others. Savanna and I were two of those. She grew up as part of the mafia, and her entire family ran it. They were a mess, and, long story short, she almost died once before taking off on her own.
“She moved in with Marley’s grizzly pack until she almost met her mate. Since then, she’s been running. We always planned on living next door to each other, talking our mates into ditching their packs for it. Panthers are kind of loners anyway, so she figured hers would be up for it.
“All my friends have their own stories, like everyone else in the world. It just sucks to be away from them, because we were all like a weird family before we graduated.” I closed my eyes and held them closed.
“I just wish Sav and I could live close again, you know? We’re all each other has.” I said softly.
“Hey, you have me.” Ty gave me a small smile and pulled me in for a hug that was more like a Leah-smash.
“I know, you’re included in the ‘we’.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Thanks, sexy.” Ty grinned, lowering his mouth to mine for a quick kiss that turned long.
“I’m dying for some ice cream.” I whispered, my forehead resting against his.
“I’ve got other things on my mind.” Ty trailed his hand down my side. “But I guess ice cream will work.” He let me lead him to the kitchen.
What started as a cup of ice cream (all our bowls were in the sink, dirty) turned into a late night of storytelling, sitting on the kitchen table and laughing so hard we almost fell off.
Okay, I almost fell off. Ty caught me though, so it was all good.
When we ran out of stories, we took to the couch to watch a movie. I lasted for all of twenty minutes before falling asleep, and Ty didn’t make it much longer. We drifted off, cuddled together with a blanket only half covering us.
I wouldn’t have asked for the night to go any differently, even if I had the option.
Chapter 18
The next morning, I woke up to delicious smells again.
I couldn’t help it; I smiled. It was a good thing nobody was in our living room, because they would’ve thought I was crazy, sitting on the couch grinning because I smelled bacon.
I floated into the kitchen and Ty grabbed me around the waist, pressing a soft kiss to my mouth. We liked making out, but when morning breath came into play, a little peck was much better.
I sat on the counter next to the stove, my eyes focused on Ty despite the bacon in the pan next to me. He handed me a strip of the glorious meat, smirking when he noticed the way my eyes followed him.
“You should go shirtless more often.” I remarked, and he grinned.
“Thanks, sexy.”
“Anytime.” I nibbled on the bacon. “Mmm. You’re a pro at bacon-buying.” I told him.
“I’ve had lots of experience.”
He dispersed eggs and bacon, giving himself a much larger portion than he gave me, and then he slid up onto the counter with me. We held our plates on our laps, eating with our legs hanging off.
It was awesome.
“So…” Ty scratched his head, taking my empty plate and reaching over me to deposit them in our over-flowing sink. “I have an Alpha meeting today.” He admitted.
“Okay.” I nodded slowly. “I don’t think anyone will try to attack me this time. I should probably get the dishes done anyway.” I forced myself to be cheerful, though the idea of being alone again was a little nerve-wracking.
“No, I actually want you to come with me.” He took my hands in his, and I gave him my attention. “Savanna told me yesterday that the Omega book says packs used to function in p
airs. She told me I was an idiot for not letting you help lead, and she was right. I’m sorry that I haven’t made you my equal to the pack yet, and it’s going to happen today.” He said, completely serious.
“I thought this was just an Alpha meeting? Like, you, Kyle, and… Oh.” I realized my mistake. Dean was gone.
“Exactly. Today we’re choosing a new third, and I’m going to introduce the new way our pack will be run. You’ll have a second and third as well, when the females get back.” He explained.
“Really?” I raised my eyebrows. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” He nodded.
“Alright.” I slowly agreed. “But my first act as Omega is going to be to start lessons about how to treat a female. I’m sure there are still some confused and angry men in the pack.”
“Believe me, there are plenty.” Ty grimaced, rubbing at his chest.
“What? Can you feel them?” I wrinkled my eyebrows. “I’ve been wondering about that, I never really understood it when I learned all about packs.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Somehow, I can feel every one of them, and I can’t explain how or where or why. That’s probably why it doesn’t make sense. I can feel everyone, and none of them are happy. Some of them are angry, some sad, but all of them are confused.” He said.
“Huh. Why can’t I feel any of the females, then?” I wondered.
“I don’t know.” Ty shrugged. “Influence is different than Dominance, so I assume the Omega leads differently than the Alpha. You’ll figure it out eventually.”
“You’re probably right.” I nodded, though I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on to stop me from feeling my pack.
All of the males were gathered when got to the Alpha house. They were waiting in a massive group, and there was a tense silence surrounding all of them.
Me and Ty walked through the crowd, which parted to let us through. When we got to the front, we stepped up on the porch so everyone could see us.
I worried the men’s glares might burn through my clothes, leaving me standing on the porch naked for the whole pack to see. Luckily, none of them seemed to have laser eyes.
“Burgandeau pack,” Ty announced, raising his voice so they could all hear him.
“Don’t be so formal.” I whispered, and Ty seemed surprised by my input.
“Uh, hey guys.” He waved. It was a little awkward, but managed to get a few people surprised enough that they chuckled. “Alright, my woman tells me things will go better if I loosen up, so I’ll do my best.” He said with a small smile.
A few of them stiffened when he referred to me.
“I know this whole situation sucks. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, and I know a lot of you blame Leah for everything that happened.”
The majority of the crowd growled, snarled, and/or nodded.
“But the thing is, no one is to blame but ourselves. She didn’t come up with the plan, our women did. They read books and studied for months to figure out how to get away from us. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel pretty guilty.”
A few of them nodded, though all the nodders seemed reluctant to admit they felt that way.
“Leah has agreed to bring back the women as soon as she feels we have changed enough to treat them right.” He announced, and a gasp/murmur/howl went through the clearing. “So if you want to see your mate, you need to convince Leah that you’ll treat her right. She’ll teach classes and do interviews and things, so you don’t have to figure it out on your own.” He added. “Any questions?”
“What gives her the right to decide if we should have the mates the Creator made ours?” Someone yelled out.
Ty started to say something, but I squeezed his hand.
“I have a lot of friends, and they’re all women.” I said firmly. “I’ve gotten to know girls who have been through things you wouldn’t believe, and all of them, at the hands of males. I myself was almost forced into being with a man who wasn’t my mate, and kicked out by an Alpha who thought females weren’t worth as much as males.
“Even more than all that experience, I care about your females. I want them to be happy, and I want them to feel loved. No one deserves to be alone, and even though they’ve chosen to leave, I guarantee they’ll start feeling lonely sooner rather than later.
“I might not know all of them personally, but I know what every woman deserves, and I won’t tell them it’s safe to come back until I’m sure they’ll get that. Any other questions?” I checked.
“How will you contact them?” someone else called out.
Good question, I thought. I needed to figure something out.
“I don’t want to give away any information that could help anyone find the women, so I’ll keep that to myself.” I lied through my teeth. Everyone seemed to believe me, so that was good.
“When are the classes?” one man checked.
“I’ll email out a schedule from Ty’s email address.” I promised. “Anyone else?”
No one responded, so Ty took over again.
“Now, we have one more thing to discuss: I need a new third.” Ty announced. “You all know how this works.” He held out his hands, and the men started moving around. I had no idea what he was talking about, but everyone else apparently did. They got in groups of five or six shifters, and formed circles with their small groups.
“Alright, go ahead.” Ty instructed.
Two men in each circle reached across, grabbing the other by the hand. They clasped hands and looked each other square in the eye, staring each other down.
Dominance started radiating from the group in front of us immediately.
As soon as one guy came out victorious, he would grab hands with another guy, and then they would stare each other down. The losing guys would watch to make sure it was fair.
When they made it through the circles, they all started going with guys in other circles.
“Why do you do it like that? My old pack would fight for ranking positions.” I whispered to Ty. He shrugged.
“It’s silly to let people die for the sake of figuring out who has the most dominance. This way, it doesn’t matter how much anyone has but the top guys. No one knows who’s the weakest in the pack, so everyone is more equal. It’s the best way we’ve figured out.” He explained.
“Huh.” I nodded. He had a point, and I had to agree that their method was a lot less offensive than my last pack’s had been. I’d always hated watching pack members fight each other.
A few minutes later, the last two guys linked hands and started their stare-down. They looked at each other, and dominance flew around like crazy. I felt a little whiplashed by the time one of them stepped away, admitting defeat.
The man who came forward was none other than the young guy who had kidnapped me with Dean, the other half of the cute couple that wasn’t so cute when I found out the girl was faking it all along.
I held back a gasp, but Ty squeezed my hand to reassure me.
The guy walked up to join me and Ty on the porch, and Ty nodded to him as he took his place on Ty’s left.
“Everyone, please accept Harris as the pack’s new third. He will challenge Kyle at a later time to decide if they should swap positions.” Ty announced.
The males all howled, Ty and Harris howling with them. I was too busy looking around to see where Kyle was to join in.
“Please check your inboxes in the next few hours for information on the classes we talked about. Go ahead and disperse.” He said, and they all cleared out.
“Welcome to team Alpha.” Ty grinned at Harris, taking his hand and slapping him on the shoulder. “We’re changing things up, so you’d better get on board quick.” Ty added.
He seemed to be joking, but I saw right through it, and I think Harris did too. Ty was dead serious. The pack was changing, and if Harris wasn’t on board, he would be kicked out of team Alpha before he could blink.
“Will Skye be part of the Omega leadership when she comes back?”
Harris checked.
“Ask your Omega.” Ty shrugged, and they both looked at me.
“Oh.” I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that Ty was going to be working closely with the guy who helped Dean give me over to the Rockies. “I’m really not sure how it’s all going to work out, but I’ll let ya know when I decide.” I forced a smile.
“Alright, I was just wondering.” Harris nodded. “Hey, by the way…” he awkwardly folded his arms. “I’m sorry for what I did.” He apologized.
I raised my eyebrows.
“That was incredibly cruel and disrespectful, and I should’ve expressed my feelings a lot differently. I wish I could go back and change it, but all I can do is ask your forgiveness.” He stared at me, waiting for an answer.
“Yeah, of course I’ll forgive you.” I nodded.
“Thank you.” He gave me a small, sad smile. “I’ll be at every class, I promise. I want to understand what I did wrong.” He said, before turning and walking away.
“What just happened?” I asked Ty, who shrugged.
“He joined the Rockies, realized it wouldn’t get Skye back to him, and came back here. Honestly, I’m surprised she left. Harris treated her like a princess.”
“Huh.” I frowned. “Maybe she didn’t want to be a princess.” I figured.
“Maybe.” Ty shrugged. “But I swear, not every male in the pack was bad to their women. We could all be better, but most people were trying their best to be a good mate.” He said.
“Huh.” I repeated. “Wait, where’s Kyle?” I asked.
“He’s been meeting with the Rocky Alpha.” Ty wouldn’t meet my eyes. “We’re still trying to get everything worked out between the packs, and I needed to be here.”
“Why is the Alpha so set on getting me?” I asked. “He was willing to risk some sort of pack war over it. What’s going on?”
I saw the uneasiness in Ty’s eyes, and I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me.
“I promise you don’t need to worry about it.” He said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “We have a male-training schedule to make, and we’d better get on it. Tomorrow most of them have work, so we need to have the first class tonight.” He started pulling me back toward our townhouse.
