by Sara Summers
I tried calling Holly ten or eleven times between those days, but she didn’t pick up.
“Who are you calling?” Skye asked from the couch.
“Holly. She’s driving me crazy.” I complained. “She’s holding my females captive and ignoring my phone calls.”
“Oh, well let’s go get them back.” Skye stood up.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
“I’m—well okay, I’m not fine. I don’t know that I’ll ever be fine again. But if I can go out and do something meaningful, I’ll feel a heck of a lot better than I do right now. I need to do something good, to make a difference.” She urged.
I wanted to argue, to tell her to rest and relax. But if I had been in her shoes, I definitely wouldn’t have been sitting down and relaxing. I would’ve been working like mad to do exactly what she wanted to do.
Make a difference.
“Alright. We have to pass it by Ty first. If I take off without telling him, he’ll freak out.”
“Okay. Call him.” Skye sat back down, but she didn’t play the TV show she had been watching. She watched me, waiting for the OK.
“Hey, sexy. What’s up?” Ty said. I hoped he didn’t always answer the phone like that, but thought I’d better keep it to myself so I didn’t make Skye miss Harris even more than she already did.
“So, Skye has a plan.” I began.
“Why do I have the feeling I should be groaning right now?”
“Well, you might not like it.” I smiled wryly. “We’re going to go get our females back.” I told him.
“As in, you want to leave me?”
“Just for a few hours. We’ll get them all to come back with us, and then we can get things figured out from there. I need you to find somewhere to put any females who still aren’t ready to go back to their mates.” I instructed.
“I don’t know about this…”
“We need to do it.” I said bluntly. “We’ll be back in a few hours, or maybe a day, max. Don’t worry about it, it’s gonna go fine.” I assured him.
“Alright.” Ty agreed. “Be safe, okay? Love you.”
“Love you too.” I said, hanging up the phone.
“Are we all good?” Skye checked.
“Yep.” I nodded, and she pulled her shirt over her head.
“Let’s go. My wolf is dying to run.” She grinned at me over her shoulder, and a minute later, we were sprinting through the forest in wolf form.
We ran for a while; wolves don’t keep time like humans do, so I’m not sure how long it was in human time. Wolf-Skye stopped in front of a little cabin, looking around.
“They were here.” She told me in my mind. “I don’t know where they went, but they were here before.” Had she been in human form, she would’ve been frowning.
“They must’ve gone because they knew you could find them.” I told her.
“Maybe to Holly’s pack?” Skye suggested.
I nodded my wolf-head.
“Her dad might have taken them.” My wolf agreed. “We will get them back.” She decided, then lifted our head and howled.
Skye howled with us, and together, we ran back to our pack land to tell Ty what we’d learned. After that, we had a whole bunch of females to find.
We were sure that we would get them back, whether they wanted to come or not. The males deserved another chance and I would make sure they got it.
Chapter 26
“What are we supposed to do?” I leaned my head back so it hit the wall. Me, Ty, Kyle, and Skye were sitting at the kitchen table in the townhouse. Since neither me nor Ty had a third at the moment, we made up the pack’s entire leadership.
We had been talking for over an hour about things we needed to fix in the pack, and Skye had an entire page full of notes.
Suffice it to say, we had a lot to work on.
First, however, we had to find the females that I had stupidly helped run away.
“Is there any way for you to just give them back to Ty, so he can find them? He could find any pack member.” Kyle pointed out.
Me and Skye both shook our heads.
“They considered that. Holly looked into it, and you can only take pack members if they are there to give you permission.”
“She’s another factor.” Ty pointed out. “Dean died, so she’s free to join any pack. She’s probably part of her dad’s pack, wherever that is.”
“Is there some sort of Alpha phone number list anywhere? If we could get Holly’s dad’s number, we could maybe get the police to track a call to see where he is.” Skye suggested.
“No way. That’s an invasion of privacy, and cops usually stay out of shifter business anyway.” I frowned. “There has to be something…”
“Hey.” Kyle’s eyes lit up. “Do you think Dean’s phone is still in his house? It wasn’t on his body, remember?”
“No, but we already had some people check through the house. It wasn’t there.”
“He was with the Rockies for a little while before he went crazy, though, wasn’t he?” Skye pointed out. I was surprised she said anything about Dean, and I was even more surprised that she did it without crying.
“Yeah. It could be there.” Ty agreed. “Let me check…” he pulled out his phone and tapped a few buttons. A few seconds later, his focus was back on the group. “If it is there, how will we get her dad to tell us where his pack is?”
“One of us can pretend to be a reporter.” I suggested. “We’ll tell him we’re doing an article about Alphas, and we want his input because we heard he was one of the best.”
“That might work.” Ty nodded. His phone vibrated, and we all looked at him. “They found it. Someone will be over with it in a few minutes.” He said.
We talked about a few other things until a wolf showed up with the phone. I took it from his mouth, though it was a little slobbery, and thanked him.
The wolf left as I dried off the phone with my shirt.
“Skye, do you want to do the honors?” I offered her the phone.
“No, I’m not that great at lying.” She shook her head.
“Can I do it?” Kyle asked.
“Sure.” I slid the phone across the table to him, and he pulled up the contacts list. After dialing the number into his own phone, Kyle put it on speaker. We listened to the phone ring for a few seconds.
“Hello?” a man with a deep voice answered.
“Hi, is this the Alpha of… well, I can’t remember your pack name.”
“Depends on who wants to know.” The man said gruffly.
“I’m a reporter with the Daily Tribune, stationed in New York. I know I’m not close to you, but we’re doing an article on Alphas. A girl who used to be in your pack recommended I interview you. Is there any chance I would be able to come visit your pack to talk you and a few others about everything related to you being Alpha?” he asked.
“Uhh…”
“Dad, who is it?” a woman called out. We only heard her voice faintly, but she’d said she didn’t have any sisters. That meant it had to be Holly.
“Someone from the newspaper. They want to come here for an interview.”
Obviously they didn’t care about being polite, since the conversation was going on in the middle of the phone call.
“Tell them you’re busy for a few months.” Holly said.
“That’s a lie.” Her dad protested.
“Then meet them somewhere else; don’t bring them here.” Holly scoffed.
“They want to interview a few of us.” Her dad told her.
“Geez, just give me the phone.” She muttered. There was a noise, and the next thing we knew, Holly said, “What newspaper did you say you were from?” She asked politely.
“The Daily Tribune, in New York.” Kyle tried to make his voice sound a little higher than usual. I bit back a smile.
“Why do you want to interview this Alpha in particular?”
“Like I said earlier, Miss, I work with a girl who used to be part
of the pack before she met her mate. Your pack came highly recommended.”
“What’s her name?”
Kyle grimaced.
“Sally.” He guessed, but tried to do it confidently.
“Dad, did you lose a female named Sally?” Holly called out.
“I don’t keep track of my females.” Her dad yelled back. Holly sighed.
“What does she look like?”
“Brown hair, brown eyes. Plain but pretty.” Kyle tried to keep the scam going.
“Hmm. Well, you’d better be telling the truth. You can come do the interview.” She decided. “Wait, hold on. I’d better write down your number.”
Kyle recited his phone number. She got quiet, and my eyes widened.
“The area code.” I whispered. “She’ll know it’s not from New York.”
“Wait a second, who is this?” She demanded. “How did you get this number?”
Ty grabbed the phone.
“Your mate is dead, Holly, and he killed Skye’s mate because of what you’ve done. Give me my females back or I swear you’ll regret it.” He threatened.
“I’m not part of your pack anymore, you can’t threaten me.” Holly snarled.
“I can.” I took the phone from Ty. “You tricked me into letting you go, and all you’ve done is caused pain. Every male here is doing his best to deserve his mate, and all you’re doing is sitting in some house like the coward you are. No matter where you take them, I’ll find my females, and when I do, you’ll pay.” I hung up the phone, and everyone stared at me.
“That was kind of sexy.” Ty gave me a slow smile.
“I’d agree, if she wasn’t your mate.” Kyle muttered, and Ty slugged him on the arm.
“How are we gonna find them?” Skye asked, and we all looked at her. There were tears pooling in her eyes, but she held herself together.
“In theory, Leah should be able to find them without a problem, since they’re hers.” Ty said. “But as far as I know, no Omega has been able to do it for a hundred years or so.”
“You mean since they let go of their Influence.” I pointed out.
“Right.” Skye nodded. “The Omega used to be able to do just as much leader-wise as the Alpha does.”
“What do I have to do?” I checked. I’d do anything to find everyone, at that point.
“I’d guess, the same thing I do every day.” Ty shrugged. “Let your wolf take the reins. She wants to find her females a lot more than you do, and she’s the only one who can.”
“Alright.” I agreed. “Will you guys come with me?” I looked around the table, and everyone nodded.
“We’ve got a bunch of women to save.” Skye gave me a brave smile. “Of course we’ll all be there.”
We walked out to the forest together, ready to save our ladies from Holly.
Chapter 27
My wolf was thrilled to lead the way. I reminded her that we were supposed to find our women, and she eagerly took us to them.
The four of us ran for four hours before we reached the pack, and when we got there, Skye and I were the only ones who shifted. That had been planned; Ty and Kyle would protect us.
We pulled on the clothes we’d carried in our mouths, before walking through the pack land. Everyone stared at us. Between the dominance radiating off of Ty and Kyle and the Influence coming from me, we pretty much demanded their attention.
I saw a few women I kind of recognized, and Skye gave a few of them small smiles and waved as we passed.
By the time we stood in front of their pack’s massive Alpha house, we had gathered a fairly large crowd behind us, at least forty or fifty people, most of which were women I recognized.
Holly came out of the Alpha house carrying one of her twin babies. Her dad was next to her, carrying the other.
“You’re not welcome here.” Holly told me firmly. “We left your pack for a reason.” She said.
“No, actually all of the women you left with are still in my pack. You left Ty, but you didn’t leave me.”
“Well we intended to, so get of here.” Holly scowled at me.
“You’re not in my pack, and you have no right to tell me what to do.” I told her.
“This is my land.” Her dad spoke up. He didn’t seem like he was mad, he just wanted to support his daughter. “I have a right to order you to leave.” He reminded us.
“I promise to get out of here as soon as I have my females with me.” I turned to look at the crowd that had gathered. It was over three hundred women strong, along with a bunch of kids and a handful or two of males. All of my women were there, I could feel it.
“Take it away?” I gave Skye a small smile. She nodded.
“Hey, everyone.” She waved at the group, and a few of them smiled. She knew them a lot better than I did. “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through so much, but if it helps, your mates have been suffering too.” She gave them a sad smile.
“Leah has been teaching them classes every day, telling them how to treat women. She and Ty have changed the pack around completely, and though it’s still a work in progress, everything is different.
“I’ve talked to a bunch of the guys, and everyone who I’ve seen regrets the way they treated you. They want a chance to do better. I even went and found Matthew, Charlotte.” She focused in on one woman’s face. “Everyone knows the way he used to mistreat you, but he’s different now. He wants to be better, for you.” She urged.
A few of the women started crying.
“The men see what they did wrong, and though they’re still learning how you deserve to be treated, they want to try now. They’re not perfect, and they’ll never be perfect, but they’re trying to be the best they can be for you, and that’s what should matter.” She reached up to wipe a tear off from under her eyes.
“Don’t listen to her, ladies. She wants you to be mistreated again. She doesn’t want you to have what she has, she—“
“Stop.” I commanded Holly, smashing into her with a wave of Influence. She took a step back.
“We made a mistake, believing everything Holly told us. Yes, Dean was horrible, but not everyone is like him. Because Holly left, Dean went rabid, as most of us knew he was getting close to be anyway. He went crazy, and for some reason, he went after me and Harris.” She took a deep breath, tears flowing once again.
“It’s okay.” I put an arm around her shoulders. “You don’t have to keep going.”
“Dean killed Harris, and it’s my fault. If I hadn’t left, if I had stayed and fought or done something… If I had been brave, he would be here still, and I wouldn’t be alone. So please, be brave.” She put her hand to her mouth and stepped back a little.
“I know most of you have suffered because of the way your mates treated you, but I swear, it will never be like that again. Males and females are now equal in our pack, and if you ever suffer at the hands of your mate, there will be a safe place for you to stay until he turns himself around.” I addressed the females in my pack first.
“I won’t order you to come back, but your life will be much better and much happier in our pack, even if you never choose to live with your mate again.
“Our pack also merged with what used to be the Rockies pack, and their Alpha is gone. Me and Ty lead the pack, which is now known as the Harris pack. So, all of you out there who I’ve never met before, you should know that your mates miss you. They’ve come to me, many of them with tears in their eyes, begging me to help them get a second chance.
“They love you and they miss you, and they’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy. I just hope that all of you who come back will do the same thing to those men, because I know them, and they deserve to be happy.” I smiled sadly, putting my arms around Skye.
“We’ve already had one mated couple separated. Please, come back with me so that the same thing doesn’t happen to you. Your men need you, and though you might not want to admit it, you need them. Please, give them a second chance.”
“No one’s
going to listen to you.” Holly exclaimed, handing her dad the baby she had been holding and walking out between me and the group. “I’m the one who rescued them, not you.” She glared at me.
“What did you do to help them?” I folded my arms and stepped forward to stand up against her. “You forced them to live in tents in the cold, bathing in rivers and streams that were half frozen,” I ticked the methods of mistreatment off on my fingers. “You lied to me to get me to do what you wanted,
“You convinced them that their mates didn’t want them or love them, even if they acted like they did, you sat in a warm house with a shower and a bed while they slept on the snow and dirt. Even the pregnant women had to sleep outside because you wouldn’t.”
I lifted my chin. She was taller than me, but I had one heck of a lot of Influence. She didn’t care about anyone, while I cared about everyone.
“You treated the women you called your friends as servants. How, exactly, did you help them?”
“I got them away from abusive mates!” Holly sputtered. “I taught them what it means to be a female, to stand alone and stay strong even when you’re forced to be alone. We’re worthless with our mates, but on our own, we are strong.” She put her arms on her hips.
“Who told you that?” I wrinkled my nose.
“My mate!” She shrieked, and my face softened.
“Well he was wrong.” I shrugged. “I’m sorry that Dean mistreated you, but most men aren’t like that. We just misunderstand them, because we assume they think and act the way we do.”
“You’re lying.” Holly spun around to face the group, desperate for someone to agree with her. “She’s lying! Our men make us weak!”
“No they don’t.” Skye stepped up next to me, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “Our men make us strong. When we leave the people we love, we lose Influence. And our Influence is what makes us equal, right Holly? You told me that a million times. You said we needed to be alone to have Influence, but look at Leah. She’s the least alone female I’ve ever met!
“She and Ty love each other, despite all the things they disagree about. She loves all of the men in the pack, and they love her because she’s helping them figure out what they’ve always wanted to understand: Us. Our men are trying to do what they can for us, so they at least deserve another chance. Holly’s lied to us for months, but Leah’s only ever cared about us.
