Tristyn’s forehead wrinkled. “We can stay through Tuesday. You won your challenges last night. We have to meet with Galen today when you get cleaned up.”
Maybe the other challengers bowed out.
I tried stretching to relieve the stiffness in my back. “I remember a wolf threatening Breanna and then everything goes black. What happened?”
Tristyn looked startled before tossing a bottle of water in my direction. “You don’t remember what happened with Galen? You submitted to him.”
“I did what?”
Trist settled into the opposing recliner. “On your knees, head back, throat exposed, eyes closed.”
I had never submitted to anyone, even my father. Tristyn knew that.
For a werewolf, submission was a way of life. It was a way to avoid fights and recognize the dominance of another wolf. Wolves submitted to those who were more dominant as a matter of respect. My wolf had never met another wolf dominant enough to require submission.
I vaguely remembered having my hand around a wolf’s neck and the Alpha demanding I not kill. My wolf wanted the blood of the wolf who had threatened Breanna.
“Did Breanna see it?”
Tristyn nodded. “Yep, she went after Galen as soon as you collapsed.”
“Went after him?”
“Shoved him away and told him not to hurt you. Hell, she said she’d kill me if I hurt you.”
“She went after an Alpha werewolf?” Nobody challenged Alphas unless they had a death wish.
“She summoned a ring of fire and backed him off when he was checking on you. I tell you, Luc, you know how to pick ’em. She was ready to take on the whole pack, the Alpha, and me if that’s what it took to protect you. The girl is fearless.”
My head was thumping like a tuba was inside my brain. “I collapsed? How did I get here?”
“I carried you.”
Oh for the love of all that was holy. She was fearless and I couldn’t even stay on my feet. First she found me bleeding beside the road and now she’d watched as I passed out and got carried around by a vampire. Great.
“What happened between you and Galen?” Tristyn asked.
“I have no idea. I don’t remember anything.”
Trist leaned forward. “That means your wolf was in charge, right?”
My wolf must have been totally in charge because everything was black between trying to kill the wolf who’d threatened Breanna and waking up here. It was rare for my wolf to completely take over. I usually had at least a clue what was going on.
“You sure you’ve never met Galen before?” Tristyn asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Why?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, just that you acted different around him.”
“Different?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Luc, but it was like your wolf respected him. I’ve never seen you react to anyone like that.”
Because it was the first time my wolf not only acknowledged an Alpha, but responded to one. Maybe it was because of Breanna, my wolf needing to protect her.
Whatever the reason, I hoped Galen didn’t mention it to my father. We had enough issues without him knowing I’d submitted to another Alpha.
“Galen said we could meet him for breakfast at six if you were up.”
It was a few minutes before six when we arrived at the Alpha’s main house. My gut clenched at the sight of so many werewolves, but they stayed away from us. I kept my head up and beckoned my wolf to be on alert. Normally he was surging, trying to take over anytime I was this close to a pack. Today he felt calm. That made me nervous.
“Good morning, Lucas,” a female werewolf said as she led us to the dining room. “Our Alpha is expecting you.” She looked me up and down and then turned her attention to Tristyn, who, of course, smiled at her.
I slammed on the brakes as we entered the massive dining area. Several dozen werewolves sat around a long table and all looked up when we walked in the room. Tristyn, unaware I had stopped, knocked me unceremoniously into the room. I spun on my heel to leave when Tristyn grabbed my arm.
“What are you doing?” he whispered.
There was no way I could go in there.
Tristyn’s fingers tightened on my arm. “Luc, buddy, come on. You can do this.”
My heart thundered in my throat. My wolf was surging. I clenched my eyes and tried to breathe. No luck.
“Think about Breanna.”
My stomach somersaulted and the room tilted. Black spots danced in the corners.
“Can you see her, Luc? Her hair? Her eyes? The way her skin felt against yours?”
The panic subsided and my breathing slowly returned to normal. My heart remained in overdrive, but my wolf settled. Beads of sweat rolled down my face and neck. I wiped my sleeve along my forehead and nodded.
“I’m okay.”
Tristyn didn’t say a word as he released my arm and squeezed my shoulder. He never did. He knew packs sent me into full-blown panic attacks, the remnants of a childhood I couldn’t seem to shake. I’d tried. God knew I’d tried.
“Lucas, Tristyn, come in,” Galen called from his chair at the far end of the table. “We have plenty. You boys do like pancakes, don’t you?”
My stomach rumbled even though this room was the last place I wanted to be. I opened my mouth to decline when Tristyn pushed past me.
“Breakfast would be nice. Thank you, Alpha McGregor,” my vampire friend answered confidently, looking over his shoulder at me.
There were several single chairs but no chairs side by side. That meant I would have to sit between two pack wolves. My intestines knotted.
Hold it together, Benelli.
“You have to do this for Breanna,” Tristyn whispered.
He was right but that didn’t make this any easier. Only the thought of her would get me through this.
“C’mon, little brother. You can do this.”
We found seats near the middle of the table. When Tristyn covertly gave me the spot between two attractive women I wasn’t interested in the least. However, the women were not as unnerving as the men.
I summoned my wolf and allowed my natural dominance to flow. Forks dropped and the eating stopped. From the end of the table, Galen spoke.
“Nobody here means any threat, Lucas. We’re only eating breakfast.”
I stared at my empty plate. My stomach roared, demanding attention. The woman to my left passed a plate full of pancakes.
“Did you call Breanna?” she asked as I took the plate.
“This morning, before we came over here,” I stuttered. My wolf retreated.
The pretty brunette sighed. “Good. She was not happy to leave you last night, but it was the only way the pack would settle.”
Someone across the table growled. I looked over and found livid blue eyes.
“Aaron,” Galen called. “Why don’t you get Lucas a glass of milk?”
The compulsion of the Alpha swept through the room, touching a nerve inside me and forcing me to look away from Aaron stomping toward the kitchen.
“Alpha McGregor, these pancakes are spectacular,” Tristyn said. “Thank you for having us.”
I continued to stare at my empty plate even under the weight of the Alpha’s gaze. The brunette flipped a stack of pancakes onto my plate.
“Syrup?” she asked.
“Uh, sure.”
She poured the maple syrup over my pancakes. My head spun. It was hard to breathe. All the wolves watched me and heard my galloping heart.
“How was Breanna this morning, Lucas?”
I met Galen’s eyes and quickly looked back at my plate. This was all so new to me, the compulsion was strangling. Galen wasn’t asking me to do anything. Should I eat? What should I be looking at? Why wouldn’t my heart slow down?
“She’s fine,” I mumbled.
“What was that?” Galen asked more loudly than necessary.
Breathe, Benelli.
“She’s fine, Alpha McGregor. We ar
e meeting for lunch.”
“Good,” the Alpha answered around a mouthful of pancakes. “She loves Steak and Bake if you’re looking for somewhere to take her.”
A glass slammed onto the table, the milk spilling onto the tablecloth. Aaron growled. I shoved my chair back, ready to respond.
“Boys, there will be none of that this fine morning,” Galen said from the head of the table. The power and authority resonated in the rich timbre of his voice. My wolf relaxed. I panicked. What the hell was wrong with me?
The meal seemed to drag on forever. I methodically chewed my pancakes and made a conscious effort not to choke. My throat kept closing every time someone passed behind me.
The buzz of conversation was intriguing. What was going on at work, who was dating whom, how the weather would affect activities later tonight, things normal people talked about. They were relaxed, like a real family. The woman beside me, Lydia, tried to carry on a conversation. I wasn’t much for talking. I’d probably say something stupid anyway.
Tristyn was talking to the Alpha like they were old friends. He could talk to anybody. I, however, had the social graces of a grizzly bear. The woman to the left of me casually brushed my arm and I almost jumped out of my chair. She raised her eyebrows like I was a moron. I mouthed an apology and went back to staring at my plate.
The Alpha rose and walked toward me. He paused behind my chair and placed a hand on my shoulder. His power coursed through my veins. My wolf should have responded, but he remained quiet. My heart galloped along, skipping a few beats as the Alpha stood over me.
“Come with me.”
I bit my lip and looked at Tristyn, who was in a laughing conversation with the Alpha’s second-in-command. Even the pack wolves I fought last night were happily chatting away. Everybody loved Tristyn.
Push the chair back. Stand up. Breathe.
The wolves watched as I followed the Alpha into his study. It was an enormous room filled with rows and rows of leather-bound books. It smelled dusty and old, much better than the musk-filled dining room.
“Have a seat, Lucas.” The Alpha motioned toward a heavy leather couch and closed the door. He sat on the edge of his desk. “You fought well last night. Did your father teach you to fight?”
“No, sir,” I answered. The Alpha waited, expecting more of an answer. “Tristyn’s father worked with me for several years.”
“Ah, that explains it. You fight like a vampire. Perhaps you would teach some of my younger wolves? They do not have the strength to fight against the older wolves in true werewolf style.”
I nodded and shrugged. “I’m not much of a teacher.”
Galen eased off the desk and onto the far end of the couch. I was as close to the other end as I could get. “Do you know how to get to Breanna’s house?” he asked.
“She gave me directions this morning.” My mouth was dry and I kept swallowing to keep from choking. My wolf was being calm and I didn’t have a clue why. I usually had to fight for control when another werewolf, particularly a male werewolf, was this close.
“You are welcome to use the guesthouse during your visit here. My wolves will not challenge you again and of course Tristyn is also invited.”
“Thank you, Alpha McGregor.”
The Alpha took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His wolf was restless and my wolf was apparently on hiatus. The silence shredded my nerves.
Galen reached into his pocket and withdrew a business card. “You can call anytime. The number on the back is my personal cell.”
I took his card and tucked it in my shirt pocket. I wanted out of here. Everything was so weird. I didn’t have control and didn’t understand what was happening. The more I fought, the worse it seemed to be.
“Have you spoken with Josef?”
“No, sir, I have not.” That was one conversation I was not looking forward to having.
“Why didn’t you tell him you were coming here, to another pack’s territory?”
I licked my lips, trying to find the right way to tell him my father would have forbidden my visit. Protocol dictated my Alpha request permission for my presence here. Galen McGregor could have, under werewolf law, had me killed the moment I stepped onto his territory.
A knock on the door startled me.
Galen growled before jerking open the door. “Zeke, what is so important you left the pack breakfast?”
This was the wolf who had threatened Breanna. I stood to face him.
“I wanted to speak to the Italian.”
“About what?” Galen asked.
The werewolf lowered his eyes. Galen glanced at me before focusing on the wolf at the door. “Zeke, you weren’t thinking of challenging Lucas again, were you?”
Zeke’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “He got a lucky jump on me, Alpha, and I wanted a chance to fight him fair.”
Galen considered the werewolf’s request for a moment before answering. “Lucas will not be challenged again during his stay. He has earned the right to be in my territory.”
Zeke kept his opinion to himself and sulked away. I was more than willing to fight him.
Galen closed the door. “Tristyn would like to visit with some of the local vampires. I’ll call Simon DuChard and have him come by so you can meet him as well.”
I gave him a weak smile. Why did he think I would want to meet a vampire? Had he heard the rumors, too?
“Major DuChard commands the Recon Unit of Bravo.”
I’d met him in Italy. He was her boss.
“He is Breanna’s commanding officer and thinks of her as a daughter.”
“Oh.” A vampire thinking of a witch as a daughter was as strange as me and Trist being best friends.
Galen extended his hand and I looked at it suspiciously. I never touched male werewolves, but he was the Alpha and my wolf wanted to please him. I wanted his approval.
I forced my hand forward. The Alpha’s power sizzled through me. A strangled cry escaped my lips as I grabbed the couch with my free hand. Whatever he did hurt like hell. It also was soothing, like he was cauterizing a wound. He didn’t let go as I went to my knees. He didn’t let go as I went flat to the floor and was pinned to the wood.
Images of the holding cell in my father’s basement clawed to the surface. I tried to slam the door shut. Stephano’s hand over my mouth, the look on my father’s face as he walked away, crying myself to sleep at night in boarding school.
A hand brushed through my hair. Galen would force my head back and expose my throat as my father had done with so many of his pack wolves. It was a display of total dominance and one my father often practiced with wolves new to his pack. He had tried it once with me when I was sixteen and I had thrown him across the room.
The hand on my head slid down my face along my jaw and grasped my chin. He urged my face up and looked into my eyes. I tried to turn away but he would not allow it. Forceful yet gentle, Galen prevented my escape.
More memories surfaced. Father-son banquets alone, the pillow over my head as Stephano ripped my clothes, the smell of blood on the silver dagger.
I gasped for air as Galen’s hand moved down my throat. My wolf surged and retreated, leaving me completely alone. I fought to stand, to pull away from Galen, but I couldn’t move. He had me and there was nothing I could do.
My heart stuttered as the memories of being pinned to the floor came into the light. The strangled cry of a child begging his father for help escaped my lips. I was ten again. Stephano had snuck into my room. I tried to scream as he covered my mouth. I searched for the pack bond, the one guaranteed way to reach my father. There was nothing. Nobody heard me.
And then it was over. Galen was gone and the door to his study was open. I was flat on the floor, my face wet with tears, my hair drenched with sweat.
I sat in the study, trying to pull myself together. My hands were trembling, my knees knocking, my heart racing. Galen knew. He’d seen it all and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. At least he’d left
without letting me see the look of disgust on his face.
Chapter 17
Breanna
I changed clothes four times and forgot to brush my hair. Dashing around the house like a madwoman with a toothbrush in my mouth, I froze when the doorbell rang. Lucas had called a little while ago and I told him to come on over. His voice sounded strained and I wondered if the wolves had been giving him a hard time. Galen promised they wouldn’t, but something was definitely wrong.
I sprinted to the door and almost yanked it open with a toothbrush still in. Not wanting to keep him waiting, I tossed the toothbrush behind the bookcase. I’d tried to find a dress in my closet, or at least a skirt. Nada. Celeste had made a frantic clothes run with me and helped me pick out a nicely tailored black pantsuit. It made my butt look good and Celeste said it set off my eyes.
With one last deep breath, I reached for the door.
“Hi,” I said as the old oak door swung open.
“Hey, Bre, what’s up?” Aaron asked nonchalantly.
Lucas was supposed to be here at ten hundred and it was presently nine forty-five. Could I kill Aaron and dispose of his body in fifteen minutes?
“Why are you here?”
Aaron strolled past me and sank into my recliner. I closed my gaping mouth before catching any flies. “Aaron Justin Miller, get out of my house this instant.”
Aaron rolled his eyes at my three-naming. I looked around for something to kill him with without damaging my house. The hammer under the kitchen sink was calling my name.
“Get out of my house now.”
He grinned and flipped the footrest out. “Why? Afraid I’ll interrupt something?”
“I’m going to interrupt your breathing pattern if you don’t get your ass out of my house.”
He chuckled, which infuriated me.
“Out!” I grabbed his hair and tried to drag him from the chair. He shook me off and seized my wrist. With one jerk, he pulled me over the back of the chair and into his lap.
“Hi there,” Aaron said suavely, his nose inches from mine. I punched him in the face.
“Ow, damn, Bre. I was only trying to be nice.”
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