by Sara Summers
“Huh.” I frowned, perplexed. No, that idea had never crossed my mind.
“It would make sense, I mean, the Creator never intended women to be less powerful or valuable than women. If he set you as an Omega despite your plans to change everything for shifters, there must be a reason.” She told me.
“I guess you’re right.” I nodded slowly.
“And you’ll be great it, especially after you get all the women back and everything goes back to normal. We’re lucky to have you.”
“Thanks.” I whispered, still in shock from the revelation she’d given me. Maybe the way I could best change the world was by being an Omega.
We got to talking about a bunch of different things, and the time flew by. Harris didn’t show up until 3 AM, and when he did, he looked terrible.
Chapter 21
“Harris?” Skye jumped to her feet when the front door opened. Harris’s eyes opened wide, and he stopped in the doorway.
“Skye?” he gaped, and then they ran toward each other.
I watched from the couch, smiling at their cuteness. Harris tilted her chin upward and kissed her. It got a little intense, so I looked away to give them some privacy.
“I’m so sorry.” Harris murmured. “I swear, I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
“You already do make me happy.” Sky wiped away her tears. “I’m the one who needs to apologize. I should never have left you. You’re the best man I could’ve ever asked for and I am so lucky to have you.” She hugged him tight, and I saw a tear in the corner of his eyes.
They held hands as they walked the three steps to the couch.
“Thanks, Leah.” He gave me a massive smile. “You’re the greatest.” He said, wrapping his arms around his woman and kissing her on the forehead.
“No problem.” I smiled. When I noticed the purple ring around his eye, I gaped.
“What happened to you?” Skye pulled away, and looked down at her arm that had been leaning against Harris’s.
“Holy heck, Harris! You’re bleeding! She shrieked, picking up his arm. His whole sleeve was soaked, which we hadn’t noticed because his shirt was black.
“It’s just a little cut.” He brushed her worry away.
“Tell me what happened.” Skye commanded.
“Calm down.” He chided. “We’ve been having issues with Forrest, the Rocky Alpha. The guy’s a complete moron. Sent some of his wolves after me and Kyle today, and one of them bit me. It’ll be fine.” He brushed it off.
The blood drained from my face.
“What did you say his name is?”
“Forrest.” Harris gave me a weird look. My fingers tightened around my hot chocolate mug.
“And Ty knows?”
“Yeah, he’s talked to the guy a bunch of times. They hate each other.”
Harris still looked confused, but Skye’s eyes widened.
Everything started falling into place in my mind. The Rockies coming after me just a few weeks after I moved. The way they started kicking everything into gear when Ty came into the picture. Them capturing me without doing anything to me, the reason the Alpha wanted me so bad…
I let out a tiny whimper and closed my eyes tight.
“What can I do?” Skye asked. I shook my head and forced my eyes open.
“Nothing. I have to deal with this.” I stood up and gave them both a forced smile. “Thanks for having me over, and I’m glad I could get you back together. We’ll talk again soon.” I promised, and then ran out the door before either of them could say anything.
I sprinted all the way back to the townhouse, and when I made it inside, Ty was sitting on the couch, watching TV.
“You lied to me.” I shouted, putting my hands on my hips. “You said the Alpha wanted me because of you. He doesn’t care about you! He wants me!” I glared at my mate, though my entire body was shaking. “You promised this didn’t affect me at all, and you lied!”
Ty stood up, his hands raised.
“Okay, give me a chance.” He asked.
“No! You don’t get any more chances!” I shrieked, running up the stairs. He followed behind me, standing in the doorway as I grabbed a grocery bag out of the closet.
“I was trying to protect you.” Ty protested. “I swear, I have it taken care of. If you’ll just—“
“If I’ll just what?” I demanded, whirling around and folding my arms. “Sit here like some cowardly female wolf who doesn’t have any power? Wait for your word? Trust you to get it figured out? I know Forrest, and you don’t. He’s crazy, and he’s not going to give up.
“In a month or two, he’ll be 25, and his chance at finding a mate will be completely gone. If he goes rabid, who do you think he’ll go after?
“Do you know what will happen when that day comes? He’s going to go insane, even more insane than he already is. If I’m here when that happens, I have no chance. I’m getting out of here.” I turned back around, grabbing the necessities and throwing them in grocery bags.
“Just give me one night.” Ty begged. “I’ll convince him that you’re not his mate, okay? Only a few hours. In the morning, I promise it’ll be safe for you.”
“No!” I exclaimed. “I’m not sitting around and hoping you can convince him! If my old Alpha couldn’t force him into leaving me alone, why would you be able to?!”
“Please, Leah.” Ty stepped forward and took my hands in his. “I trusted you on the thing with the females, so please, trust me with this.”
I closed my eyes. He had trusted me, and I was grateful for that. Even though I’d created a mess, he still didn’t doubt me.
While my conscience shrieked for me to abandon ship, my wolf insisted that I hold on. She reminded me that he was our soul mate, and that we should give him one last chance.
“Fine.” I pulled my hands away from his. “You get him out of the state, and I’ll consider trusting you again.”
“I will.” Ty assured me. He left the room, and I collapsed on the bed. At times like those, there was only one thing I could do.
Call Savanna.
“Hey, Sav.” I said weakly. It was 3 AM.
“You’re lucky we’re not in the same country.” She groaned. “It’s barely 6 here.”
“Forrest found me.” I told her.
“Eff.” Savanna moaned. “Get on a plane, I’ll meet you in Cairo in twelve hours.”
“I promised Ty that I’d let him to try to convince Forrest that I’m not his mate, but what chance does he have? The guy is insane.” I shook my head, closing my eyes to hold back tears.
“He doesn’t have a shot.” Savanna scoffed. “The only one who could possibly convince him of that is you.”
“What?” I opened my eyes. A few tears leaked out of their corners, but my attention was focused now.
“Oh, nothing. I was just saying that Ty will only make Forrest want you more. If you talked to him in person, he might realize that you’re not his mate. Don’t worry about it, though; I was just talking. Facing off with Forrest would be stupid.”
“Maybe not.” I sat up, wrinkling my eyebrows. “What if you’re right? He’s almost 25, so he must be able to smell his mate. His craziness for me is getting in the way, but if I could show him that I’m not…” my eyes widened.
“Holy eff, Lee. You’re not putting yourself in Forrest’s hands.” She warned.
“Actually, I think I might.” I told her, pulling my hair over my shoulder. “He could leave me alone for good. I’d never have to worry about him again.” The gears turned in my mind. Yes, it would be a little dangerous, but it was better than sitting around waiting for him to come after me.
“I’m never speaking to you again if you do this.” Savanna threatened.
“Love you too.” I said, my mind focused on the plan it was building. “Gotta go.”
“Stop right now! This is ridiculous, and insane, and—“
I hung up the phone. Savanna would forgive me as soon as I called her back.
&nbs
p; Though I was scared to see Forrest again, I was a lot more scared of running from him for the rest of my life. Running from your mate was bad enough, as Savanna proved, but running from someone who wasn’t your mate? That would be even worse.
I walked down to the kitchen on autopilot, going through the possibilities in every scenario. Of course, there was a chance Forrest could attack me. He could hurt me or force me or threaten to kill me, or all of the above.
Yeah, there was definitely a risk factor.
But as I sat down on a chair in the kitchen, pulling on my shoes, I knew there was no other option. I had to face Forrest, for my sake and for his. He was just looking for his mate, though he was going about it the wrong way. If I could help both of us, even if it was a risk, I had to do it.
So I grabbed the keys to Ty’s car, and let my wolf lead the way. She remembered the scent from the blood trail, and knew exactly where the Rockies Alpha house was.
The wolf part of me wanted to take Forrest out of our picture as much as I did.
Chapter 22
I was only a few minutes away when my phone started going off. Between Ty and Savanna, it didn’t stop vibrating. It was safe to guess that either she had called him, or he and Kyle saw me as we passed each other, or he got home and found me gone.
It didn’t matter to me; I had to get rid of Forrest for good.
Not that I was going to kill him. I don’t think I could kill someone even if I wanted to.
When I parked my car, there were Rockies gathered around the Alpha house.
“Come to play, little Leah?” One of the men from the diner crooned at me.
For some reason, as I climbed out, I didn’t hate him. I didn’t hate any of them. Rather than seeing disturbed, perverted men, I saw their sadness. I saw their grief at losing their mates, and I saw that mocking me was just one of the ways they distracted themselves from it.
Their group parted for me, and I noticed the scars on some of their arms. I saw the bumps and bruises on their necks and faces. I saw the Rockies as the flawed and hurting people they were, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.
When I reached the top step of the porch, leading into the house, one of the men from the diner stopped in front of me. His arms were folded, and he glared down at me.
I gave him a sad smile, and looked pointedly at the fresh cut on his arm.
“I see you, brother.” I said softly. His eyes widened. “And I’m sorry for your pain.” I gently pushed him to the side with my Influence, strolling into the house like I owned it.
“Forrest!” I called out. “I know you’re here, and I want to talk to you.”
I don’t know where my courage came from. While part of me called it adrenaline, another part of me blamed my wolf, who was confident that our plan would be successful.
In my heart, though, I knew both of those assumptions were false. I had courage because of the people I cared about. My friends, the Shifty Chicks. The shifters in my pack, both male and female.
And most recently, the Rockies.
I was able to stand up to Forrest because of all of them, though they didn’t know they were helping me with anything.
I heard footsteps on the stairs, and Forrest came into sight. He looked angry.
“You’re supposed to fall at my feet.” He snarled. “You’re my mate, and I should have power over you.”
“I am not your mate,” I stood my ground, my feet planted firmly on the wood floors underneath me. “And even if I was, you wouldn’t get to control me. I am the only one who decides my fate.” I folded my arms, and he stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
“You have no right to stand against me.” He growled. “You’re a female, you’re nothing without me.”
“You’re wrong.” I told him. “I’m everything because I’m me. I don’t need a man to have value; I am enough just because I’m a person.”
I stepped forward. He didn’t step back, though he seemed to want to.
“You lead by power, by dominance and authority. You don’t understand what a pack really needs, or what a person really needs.” I took another step. “Everyone deserves the chance to be themselves, and you’re tearing people down instead. You can do what you want, but you can’t do that. I won’t let you anymore.” I took a last step forward, stopping so our noses were just an inch or two apart.
“How will you stop me?” he snarled.
“I won’t have to. You’re only doing this because you’re in pain.” I said softly. “Scent me, Forrest.” I told him.
He growled.
“You can’t force me.”
“But you want to, don’t you? Some part of you must be dying to know if I’m really Ty’s. All the arguing and the fighting, the way his cotie looks so similar to mine… Somewhere inside, you’re wondering if I’m your mate after all.”
Forrest growled again.
“Do it. Put your nose to my neck, and you’ll know.” I put it out there, firmly and bluntly and simply. “Scent me and you won’t have to wonder.”
Forrest flinched, then growled again. I hoped he wouldn’t lose control; that would end very unfortunately for my face and the rest of my body.
Rather than losing control, he slowly lowered his nose until it was just about touching my neck. He took a deep breath in, and lingered for what felt like at least ten minutes.
I had to keep my body tense to stop it from quivering. Despite the compassion I felt for him, I was still afraid of Forrest. He was a wildcard.
When he finally pulled his nose from my neck, he looked disturbed. His body was shaking, so I took a few steps back.
“You’re not my mate.” His whole head twitched, and it looked like he hadn’t done it on purpose. “If it’s not you, then…” he picked his head up, his eyes focusing on something to the east. “I have to find her.” He whispered.
I took a few more steps away, which ended up being a good call because he shifted a few seconds later.
He tore out the door in wolf form, shoving his way past his whole pack. My eyes widened when I realized the door had been open the whole time, and the entire Rocky pack had been focused on me.
My eyes quickly found Ty, standing beside the door with his arms folded. Boy, did he look ticked.
I didn’t have time to focus on that, though. There were too many Rockies, and they were all suddenly without an Alpha.
Cautiously, I walked out onto the porch. All of the Rockies stared at me, giving me their whole attention.
I knew I should make some sort of a speech, so I cleared my throat.
“Hey, guys.” I gave them a little wave, and a few of them smiled a little. “Look, I know your pack has been down in the dumps for a while. Switching back and forth between Alphas, right?” I checked.
A bunch of them nodded.
Ty took my hand, which put my speech off for a second, since I thought he was still mad. Though I wasn’t sure I really wanted him to hold my hand after he lied to me for so long, I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to mention that in front of the whole group of Rockies.
So I kept quiet about it, instead focusing on them.
“Our pack hasn’t ever had that problem. It’s currently made up mostly of males, as you may have heard, but I will bring the women back, and if you join the pack, I’ll try to get yours back too.
“I can’t begin to imagine how much you’ve all been hurting. There are so many of you, and it seems that your women just sort of decided they didn’t have to give having a mate a try. I can teach you how to make your woman feel so loved that she won’t want to leave, and I can help you out of your pain.
“If you want to join our pack, all you have to do is say so. Everyone’s welcome, even you, Dean.”
One by one, each of the Rockies dropped down to one knee. They bowed their heads, and as they did so murmured,
“Alpha.”
It felt like a bomb made of dominance blew up out of Ty, as he added each of the Rockies to the pack. They were all kneelin
g, ready to join us, hundreds of single males.
The only man other than Ty who wasn’t kneeling was Dean.
“I won’t bow to you.” Dean snarled, before shifting and taking off into the trees.
The rest of the used-to-be Rockies ignored him, standing up and waiting for our next words.
“No promises that I’ll remember all your names right away…” Ty joked, and a few of them chuckled. “We only have a few open houses on Burgandeau pack land, but I guess now we’ve acquired some more space.” He grinned. “Go ahead and stay here if you want, or you can run to the old Alpha house and we’ll find somewhere for you.
“Leah and I will build a new Alpha house in the middle of all the land, and we’ll see how everything goes from there. Sorry if things are a little all over the place for now, but it’ll get better soon, I hope.” He said.
No one looked upset that we weren’t ready to move into their old Alpha house. In fact, none of them seemed to care at all that the leadership had changed. That seemed weird, but then again, they were probably looking forward to getting their females back.
“So here’s how it’s gonna work with finding your mates.” I announced, and suddenly, I had all of their complete and full attention. “Every night at 6 PM, right outside the Burg’s old Alpha house, there’s a meeting where we talk about how to care for and respect your woman. It sounds cheesy, but you’ll have to attend if you want your mate back.
“You come every time, and when you feel like you’re ready to be a better mate than you were before, come talk to me and I’ll do my best to find her. Everyone understand?” I looked around, and they all nodded.
I just wasn’t used to that. They seemed to be completely okay with the fact that they needed to change their ways if they wanted their women back. I thought males would be standoffish, or at least resist change a little. Instead, they seemed eager to know what they needed to do.
“One last thing, before you’re free to go.” Ty announced.
Take into consideration, it was only 5 AM. Everyone was wide awake, but most of them had work in just a few hours and had given up a solid portion of their night for all the drama that was going down.
