by Selena Cross
Chapter Three
Josh slammed open the door to his study and stalked over to his desk, screaming in his head for his butler to come to him. Moments later his butler, Richard, walked in to the room.
“Sir,” he said, and bowed slightly when he came to stand in front of the desk Josh sat at.
“Richard, please send Tricia to retrieve clothes for our guest and give them to her. Also, have her take something to eat to our guest,” Josh said not even looking up from the paperwork on his desk.
Accounting papers piled his desk, he had been pouring through them for days trying to find what was wrong with them. For some reason the Pack was taking in less of an income than they should have been and Josh needed to figure out what was going on before winter hit and the Pack would need the funds to get through the cold season. He still had a few months for that, but he didn’t want to worry about it anymore.
On top of this, he was also going to have to deal with the situation with his mate and Alana. He knew Alana was vindictive, but he didn’t think she would be this bad. The things she had done and said to Sidney were signs of complete insanity. He had to take care of this problem before Alana posed any kind of a threat toward his mate. As well, what Alana had done had made it harder for him to convince Sidney to come to him willingly. He didn’t know how he would rectify the mess Alana had made. He worried that he possibly never could, and the thought terrified and depressed him.
In the midst of his musings, he hardly registered Richard leaving his study. As he continued to look at the mess on his desk and think about the other mess in his head, he decided that action needed to be taken to at least remedy one of them.
'Russell, I require your presence in my study immediately,' he said to his Beta telepathically.
In minutes Russ walked in to the room and stood in front of his desk bowing slightly, “You wished to see me, Alpha.”
Josh leaned his arms against his desk. “Yes, Russ, I need to know where Alana is and I need you to bring her here as soon as possible.”
“Is everything okay, Alpha?”
“Everything is fine at the moment. I just want to talk to Alana about some things that I think she can help me with.” Josh knew Russ thought he was in love with Alana. He didn’t want to let on that Alana was in a great deal of trouble, lest Russ warn her and try to help her hide.
“Yes, Alpha, I will retrieve her quickly.” With that Russ left the room in search of Alana.
Josh would have contacted Alana telepathically, but he had a feeling she would be suspicious of his need to speak to her, after what she had done to Sidney.
Josh leaned back in his seat and closing his eyes, let out a low growl of frustration. Why did everything have to be so difficult? When he had went in to his room earlier to check on Sidney, he had done so with the idea that he would return the same pleasures she had given him. He knew she did it out of duress, but he smelled her arousal while she was doing it. He had felt bad about the way he had just left her kneeling there in the middle of the room and wanted to make it up to her. Besides, he couldn’t get the vanilla fragrance out of his nose and his mouth had been watering with the desire to find out if she tasted as good as she smelled.
Coming into the room he had smelled Alana right off and the look on Sidney’s face when she stopped in the middle of running to the bathroom, had told him that something was wrong. She was so pale and her eyes were wide in terror. As she told him what Alana had said and done, it was all he could do not to throw her off his lap to race after Alana and tear her throat out.
He had already decided what he was going to do with Alana, for threatening and harming his mate as she had, she would be exiled from the Pack, no doubts about it. He would not be lenient on her whatsoever, he figured letting her live would be lenient enough.
A knock interrupted him from his thoughts and he straightened in his chair, “Come in.”
Alana walked in to the room followed by Russ and they both came to bow before his desk.
“You wished to see me, Alpha,” Alana said, she sounded so innocent and submissive, but Josh knew all too well it was all an act.
“Yes, Alana. Please have a seat, both of you. Russ I want you here as a witness and when I am done, my enforcer.” Josh heard Alana’s quick intake of breath as she sat down. He didn’t need to look at her to know that she was very aware of the reason she was there.
Josh steepled his fingers before him and touched his lips in thought for a moment. Then he leaned forward on his desk, “Alana, why were you in my room earlier?”
He saw the smile come over her face. She thought this was just a simple query, no suspicion of her foul play. “I was simply checking on the prisoner for you, Josh. Making sure she wasn’t trying to escape or break anything.”
“Did I ask you to do this?”
“No, but I thought I would help you since I know you have many other important things to do,” she said in her sweetest voice. “I only want to help you and make your life easier.”
“Is that why you threatened her and attacked her?” Josh’s jaw clenched as he spoke.
Alana acted surprised, then appalled, “I did no such thing. It was the other way around. She tried to attack me and told me when she escaped she would go to the local authorities and make sure they burned this place to the ground.”
She sounded convincing to anyone who didn’t know her well enough, but Josh had been witness to some of the things this woman did. If it weren’t for his father being close friends with her parents, he wouldn’t have tolerated some of it as much as he did.
“So let me get this straight. She attacked you and threatened to destroy our people?” he said, hoping he sounded like he might believe her story.
“Yes,” she shook her head. “She said she would personally be there just to watch and make sure they tortured and killed you.”
“So, why didn’t you come and inform me when she threatened to go to the authorities?” Josh asked, knowing she had lied. Otherwise, she would had come to him and told him.
“I was going to, but I realized that she wouldn’t be let go, so I figured it was just a bunch of lies,” she responded.
Josh picked up the pen on his desk and tapped it against his paper, trying to appear deep in thought. “So you didn’t go in to my room and tell her how I would mate you in front of her, and then eat her flesh off her bones while she was still alive to feel it?”
Josh heard Russ this time as he gasped and looked at Alana. At first Alana looked stricken, as if he had figured her out, but as Russ’s eyes met her, she took on the look of innocence and horror.
“That is a horrific lie. I wouldn’t even do that to my worst enemy, let alone a mere human. I can’t believe she said that.” Alana acted affronted.
“Josh,” Russ piped up. “This human bitch is trying to cause a great deal of trouble and I really think you should have let me kill her when we were in the woods.”
Josh growled low in his throat toward Russ. “I decide what actions are to be taken with Sidney, not you. And if I even so much see you look at her with ill intent, I will kill you where you stand.”
Russ sputtered in disbelief at his Alpha’s words, and then jumped up from his seat. Josh followed him up and watched as he grabbed Alana’s arm.
“I can’t believe you would say that to me, after the way I have loyally served you without question.”
“And yet you question me now.”
“Only because I feel that what you are doing is not good for you or the Pack. You don’t know what kind of trouble this human can bring to this Pack. What if someone comes to search for her and finds us?”
“I will deal with it. It is not your concern.”
Russ dropped Alana’s arm and leaned his hands on Josh’s desk, bringing him right into Josh’s face. “Why? Why are you doing this? Before I was your Beta, I was your friend, and I feel I at least deserve an explanation as to why you would endanger your people for some human bitch.”
“You will not call her that anymore, Russ. I will not tolerate it.”
“Then tell me why.”
'She is my true mate,' he spoke to Russ through their telepathic link.
Russ still scowled for a second, before the look of understanding came on his face. For a moment, Josh might have thought Russ accepted his actions now, but that moment was lost when Russ’s scowl turned into a mask of disgust.
“Whoever this woman is to you, I don’t care. It is still no reason to put your Pack’s lives in jeopardy as you are. To think you would believe this woman, whom you do not know, over Alana, who has been in our Pack since we were children, is disgusting. I am disappointed in you,” Russ said as he straightened, stepping away from the desk.
“I really don’t care what you think right now, Russ. It is not your opinion I seek.” Josh straightened as well. “All I want from you is for you to take Alana back to her house, watch her pack her things, then take her to the nearest town and drop her off. She is banished from the Pack and if she ever steps foot on Pack territory again, she will be executed.”
Alana let out an anguished cry and fell to the ground, but Russ caught her before her knees even hit the floor. He picked her up and held her in his arms as he faced Josh. “If she goes I go. Do you really want to banish your Beta from your Pack, and then have to explain it to everyone?”
Josh’s stomach knotted, he should have known Russ would do something like this. He always followed Alana around like a lovesick puppy dog. He never really paid attention to all of the deceitful and cruel things Alana did, and when someone would bring them to his attention, he always denied them. Josh didn’t understand why. Alana wasn’t his true mate. However, the way Russ acted, one would think she was.
Josh would not allow Russ to change his mind. If he did, it would be showing weakness, and with Alana there to witness, he knew she would use that to her advantage. “That is your decision, Russ. If you choose to leave here with her, then you are welcome to do so. I will appoint Alex as my new Beta and if anyone asks, I will inform them that Alana was banished from here and you chose to go with her.”
Russ’s jaw dropped open at Josh’s words, but he didn’t retort. He just walked to the door, with Alana in his arms. As Russ was about to walk out the door Josh added, “If you ever wake up and see Alana for who she really is and wish to come back, know that you are always welcome here.”
For a moment, Russ just stood in the doorway, but then he continued to walk out of the study and out of Josh’s life. Josh plopped down in to his chair and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. What was he going to do now? That didn’t go at all how he had planned.
He didn’t want to lose Russ like that, but he couldn’t have done anything about it. He would not be forced to keep that viper on his land, and Russ had not only questioned his orders, but he had disrespected him and pretty much said that he chose Alana over the safety of his Pack. What else could he do?
Nothing.
Josh closed his eyes and sighed, then sat up straight and called in Richard again. He needed to get everything worked out, he needed to tell Alex he was the new Beta now and have him take some of the other enforcers to Alana’s to make sure she and Russ left with out a fuss. Then he needed to call a meeting and let the Pack know what was going on.
There were so many things he needed to do, when all he really wanted to do was go back up to his room and crawl into bed next to Sidney and never let her go again.
*****
Sidney was still staring at herself in the mirror when she heard someone enter the bedroom. A soft knock on the bathroom door told her someone wished to speak to her, but she wasn’t about to open it. If it was Josh, she didn’t have anything to say to him at the moment, and didn’t want to see him.
“Miss,” a small female voice came through the door. It was too quiet and sweet to be Alana’s, besides, Sidney had that woman’s voice burned in to her brain. “I’ve brought you something to eat and clean clothes.”
Sidney wondered for a minute how long she could wait until the girl left, but her stomach rumbled at the sound of the word ‘food’ and she realized she hadn’t eaten since long before she had been captured. She opened the door a crack and stuck her arm out, “Can you hand me the clothes and let me dress before I come out there?”
The girl on the other side of the door smiled at her. She was such a tiny little thing. She appeared shorter than Sidney and she was no bigger around than possibly one of Sidney’s thighs. She had large blue eyes and long, golden blonde hair. Her wide smile looked genuine and pleasant.
She quickly went to the bed and picked up a bundle of clothes, then handed them to Sidney.
Sidney quickly closed the bathroom door and began to unfold the bundle of clothes. A pair of jeans, surprisingly, in her size, a pair of sweatpants, which she suspected is what she would be wearing right now, and a couple of t-shirts that looked like they may fit a bit snuggly. There were no bras or underwear in the mix. Sidney suspected that was on purpose.
She pulled on the sweatpants and one of the t-shirts, noting the way it outlined her fat rolls and exposed her hard nipples. How could he find anything about her attractive?
She took a deep breath before she opened the door, bracing herself for whoever this little woman could be on the other end.
When she opened the door, the woman sat on the edge of the bed very primly, smiling at her sweetly. She stood and walked toward Sidney, and Sidney almost had the urge to run back in the bathroom and slam the door in the girl’s face. However, she stood her ground and when the woman reached out her hand, she accepted it in hers, to shake.
“Hello, Sidney,” the woman said, with a beaming smile on her face. “I’m Tricia, Richard’s mate, and Josh’s housekeeper.”
“Hi,” Sidney replied, feeling awkward when she let go of Tricia’s hand.
Tricia must have noticed because she turned and gestured toward the tray on the bed. “I brought you some food that Emily made you,” she said. “She didn’t know what you would like, and we didn’t have time to make anything really special. So, she made a quick ham and cheese sandwich, with all the fixings, some apple slices, and sliced carrots. All the vegetables are fresh, from our garden.”
Sidney watched Tricia take the lid off the plate, and stared at the food for a moment. It seemed they had a bit of a health kick going on. Sidney would have been happy to join in since she needed to lose a few pounds. However, right this moment, all she wanted was carbs and junk food, to comfort her into an illusion of security.
She smiled, weakly, at Tricia, and made her way over to sit on the bed, next to the tray. “Thank you for doing this,” she said, trying to sound appreciative of the woman’s thoughtfulness. “It looks really good.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Tricia beamed. “Emily said tonight for dinner, she is going to make you something extra special, and you’ll love it.”
Sidney gave her a strange look. Why were these people being so nice to her? Not even hours before she was being threatened and abused by Alana, and now this Tricia woman was acting as if she wanted to be best friends.
Tricia sat next to her on the bed, watching her pick up a carrot stick and put it in her mouth. She felt so weird having someone watch her eat that she looked at Tricia.
“Is something wrong?” Sidney asked.
“No, not at all,” Tricia replied, and then looked as if she realized she was making Sidney uncomfortable because she blushed. “Forgive me. I don’t mean to get into your personal space and make you feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay,” Sidney responded.
“It’s just that I’ve never met an actual human before,” Tricia stated, and Sidney almost choked on the apple piece she had stuck in her mouth.
Sidney looked at Tricia warily, but only saw open awe and acceptance.
“You are very beautiful for a human,” Tricia went on. “I wish I had curves like yours. Emily is half human, so she is the only one in the Pack who is
built with full curves.”
“Alana is curvy and beautiful,” Sidney replied, and watched Tricia’s face twist in a look of disgust.
“Alana isn’t accepted in our Pack, and never was,” Tricia stated. “Her parents left her here when she was young because they knew then that she was a vicious little snake. No one but Russell likes her, or wants her here.”
Sidney was surprised by this revelation and almost wanted to laugh. “I thought she was to be Josh’s mate,” Sidney responded.
“Ewww, no,” Tricia almost yelled out her reply. “Josh wants nothing to do with that woman. He knows she is no good. He just tolerates her because his father knew her parents before they disappeared and he felt sorry for Alana. If you ask me, Alana killed her parents, and that’s why no one has been able to find them for years.”
Sidney found herself picking up the ham sandwich as she listened to Tricia explain Alana’s history. She bit into it, not really thinking it would be any different from any other ham sandwiches, but she was wrong. As soon as the bread, vegetables, and ham touched her tongue, her taste buds exploded with the delicious taste of the food. She involuntarily closed her eyes and groaned as she ate, not caring that Tricia sat there smiling at her reaction.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” Tricia asked. “We grow all the food on our land, including the animals. So, everything is fresh and free from any preservatives or chemicals.”
Sidney opened her eyes and looked at Tricia’s smug smile. She wanted to giggle at the woman’s excitement over telling Sidney they made everything fresh, but she felt that might be a bit rude, so, she suppressed it.
“It’s delicious,” Sidney stated. “I’ve never tasted anything so good.”
“Just wait until you eat what Emily has planned for you tonight,” Tricia responded. “Nothing is too good for our Alpha’s mate, and Emily plans to spoil you with the best cooking you’ve ever had.”
Sidney did choke a little at what Tricia said about her being their Alpha’s mate.
