Samantha lightly brushed her fingers down Kedar’s arm, sensing that he was tense. She almost expected him to object to going along with the pack, but he said nothing. The rest of the pack was silent as well and Colin breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then on to our next order of business. In light of the situation with Melody our younger pack members will no longer be permitted on patrols until further notice. Charlotte, will you have Zachary investigate the attack, alright?” She nodded, “I’d also like you to explain to the pack how you allowed Melody to be attacked and why you were nowhere to be found for hours afterwards.”
Charlotte was quiet. She looked around the room her eyes finally falling on Samantha. They made eye contact. Charlotte looked away first, turning her eyes back to Colin. She stuttered, “I… I left…” A low murmur of disapproval went around the room. Charlotte continued, “I told her that I didn’t feel well and went to lay down in Runt’s room, as both guest bedrooms were occupied by Madam Pandev and Katarina. Once I knew that she wasn’t going to check on me I snuck out the window.”
“You did what?” Samantha bellowed, stepping forward, “You lied to her and then you left her?” Kedar grabbed her wrist, holding her back.
“Knock it off…” He mumbled.
She ripped her arm away from him and stepped closer to Charlotte, pushing passed a couple of pack members, “You do realize that this is your fault, right? My aunt could die because of your carelessness!” She went to step over to Charlotte, her fists clenched. Kedar wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up. He dragged her out of the room before she had the chance to make more of a scene. He held her tightly so she couldn’t break free and charge back into the room.
“What the fuck is your problem?” He snapped, putting her down and grabbing hold of her shoulders.
“You heard her! She left my aunt alone! She is the reason that Melody is in the hospital!” Samantha yelled, pulling away from him.
“You don’t know that, Samantha.”
“If she was there it would have been one more person to help Aunt Mel fight off the vampires. Don’t pull that shit with me, Kit. She abandoned her post and my aunt could die because of it.” She pushed him away from her then turned around. She covered her face to hide the tears that began to well up in her eyes.
Kedar grabbed her by the shoulders, rougher than the first time. He used one of his hands to grab her hands and pull them away from her face. He held her chin, a little too tight, making her look at him, “Stop it. Charlotte is not the enemy. She’s a pack member. I understand that she made a mistake, but Colin will handle it. Melody getting hurt is not directly Charlotte’s fault directly. Shut up and let Colin do his job.”
Samantha stared up at Kedar, tears rolling down her cheeks silently.
He sighed loudly and wrapped his arms around her. He understood how scared she felt, he couldn’t be mad at her. He kissed her head gently, “She’ll be okay, Sam…” He said softly. He rested his chin on her head.
“I don’t want you to go…” Samantha whispered, leaning her head against Kedar’s chest.
Kedar tensed, “I don’t want to either, but it’s my duty to. Besides, I need to protect what’s mine.”
Samantha was quiet. She wasn’t sure if she was part of what Kedar considered ‘his’. Honestly, she was afraid to ask. She knew he had only told Roberto that he was her boyfriend to upset her, not knowing she had broken things off with Riley. It made her doubt if he wanted to be with her like that. For the moment, however, she was fine with the current dynamics of their relationship. She took a deep breath and Kedar stepped away from her. He wiped the budding tears from her eyes and smiled softly.
“Let’s go back into the meeting…” He said before pressing his lips to hers gently.
She kissed him back just as gently. Yeah. She was fine with things the way they were.
Once Kedar pulled away from the kiss he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and turned towards the sitting. Riley stood there in the doorway. There was a mix of hurt, confusion and anger on his face. The hurt quickly disappeared and he glowered at Samantha and Kedar. He turned and stormed away.
Samantha followed him with her eyes, frowning. Her heart sank when she heard him slam his bedroom door and very clearly punch something. Samantha assumed it was a wall. She half turned towards the stairs, and Kedar dropped his arm back to his side. She looked up at him, furrowing her eyebrows.
“You can follow him…” Kedar mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Samantha glanced back over her shoulder, but shook her head, “No… I’m not going to follow him… Not anymore.” She responded as she linked her arm with Kedar’s. They walked back into the sitting room and took their previous spots in the back.
“Is your little episode over?” Colin asked.
Samantha nodded slowly, “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” She replied.
“Very good. Charlotte, you may continue.” Colin ordered and turned back to Charlotte.
“I… I just thought that since I ‘went to bed’ that Melody would have had Katarina accompany her to the meeting point…” Charlotte continued. She stared down at her hands, clearly humiliated.
“Did I not make myself clear, little miss, that I am pregnant? Why would Melody take her pregnant sister out at night when there are vampires lurking about?”
“Let Charlotte speak!” Colin snapped, “I won’t tolerate another outburst during this meeting. The next one of you to speak out of turn will be thrown out, do you all understand?” Nobody dared to speak, “Charlotte, why did you leave?” Colin continued.
Charlotte took a deep breath, “Zach had come to see me before I went to Melody’s house; he had wanted to spend time with me… I told him that I couldn’t see him, and he begged me to see him later and I finally agreed. But he never showed. He told me that he couldn’t get away from the brood mistress when I heard from him next.”
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to Colin. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. He didn’t know how he wanted to punish Charlotte for her disobedience. He took a deep breath.
“Charlotte, you understand that your insubordination is not something that I can take lightly, correct? Your willingness and ability to follow orders and put the needs of the pack above your own personal desires is incredibly important, especially since you are the beta-in-training. Unfortunately I have no other choice but to strip you of your rank and title temporarily. Until further notice you are no longer the pack Delta and have been instead demoted to scout.”
“Colin!” Devin protested, jumping to his daughter’s defense “She’s a child, you can’t punish her for making a mistake!”
“Leave, Devin. I made myself clear when I warned the pack about speaking out of turn.” Colin ordered calmly.
“You can’t just strip my daughter of her rank! You have nobody else to fill in as beta-in-training!” He continued to shout.
Colin’s look was so sharp it could wound someone, “There are thirty-six members in this pack. All of whom are more fit to be the beta-in-training than Charlotte is right now. If your daughter can prove she has the capability of being loyal to her pack before you step down from your position of beta we won’t have to find another delta. Now, I believe I already told you to leave.” Both Devin and Chantal left the room in anger.
Colin rubbed the back of his neck again and turned back to Charlotte, “As I was saying. I will also be petitioning Malcolm to have you removed from the hunt list. I feel as though you would compromise the well-being of the hunt, being that you are romantically involved with one of the brood members. Do you understand?” Charlotte just nodded, not looking up to meet Colin’s gaze. Her shoulder’s shook and Samantha was sure that she was crying, “Good, now get out of my sight. This meeting is adjourned.”
Charlotte pushed through the group to the door, hanging her head. The rest of the pack began to file out after her, murmuring amongst themselves. Before Samantha and Kedar could duck
out, however, Colin stopped them.
“May I speak with you in my office, young one?” He asked in a tight voice. Samantha knew that although he had worded it as a question that it was an order.
“I’ll wait in the truck,” Kedar said, letting go of Samantha’s hand. She hadn’t realized their fingers had been intertwined for the remainder of the meeting. She nodded and followed Colin into his office.
He motioned to the chair that faced his desk, “Sit.”
She obeyed quietly.
Colin sat across from her and folded his hands on his desk. “First of all, I have given you the next five weeks off of work so that you can be available should Melody’s condition change. Second, while she is incapacitated Katarina is your care taker. She has brought it to my attention that you’ve been less than respectful. You must treat her with respect, she is your elder and your family.”
Samantha frowned, “I’m sorry, sir, we just don’t see eye to eye, necessarily. But thank you for the time off. Is that all?” She went to get up out of the chair slowly.
“No. Stay seated. It has also been brought to my attention that you and Riley have run into some problems. Now, normally I wouldn’t interfere in my children’s love lives, but he asked me to have a word with you about it. Personally, I think the only reason anything has changed between you is because you’ve been hanging around another man, more than you should be no doubt. You and Riley were a lovely couple and would have made an excellent alpha pair. I think that it would be best that once the brood has been taken care of that you stop seeing Kit.”
Samantha raised her eyebrows and leaned forward in her seat, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, young one. Once this ordeal is over with you’re no longer permitted to see him.” Colin repeated.
“No,” Samantha protested softly at first.
“No? I don’t think you understand, Samantha. That’s an order.”
“Absolutely not!” Samantha snapped with tenacity, “It is my choice who I see and it’s my decision what kind of relationship I have with Riley, and whether or not we even have one at all. You have no say what I do with my personal life. And you most certainly can’t tell me I have to be with your son because it’s convenient for you. I will be with whoever I chose because what makes me happy is what matters, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about anyone else has to say about it.”
“You’re forbidden to see Kedar. That’s a direct order.” Colin stood and slammed his fists on the desk.
“Whoops. I forgot to care.” Samantha stood as well and stormed from the room. She walked to the front door briskly, unexpectedly meeting a small group of pack members outside on the porch. Maia approached her.
“What’s the matter?” Maia asked in a soft tone.
“Colin is being an overly controlling dick.” Samantha muttered. She had been unaware that her emotions were written over her face. She sighed.
“How so?” Maia pried.
“It doesn’t really matter and I honestly would rather not talk about it…” She went around the group and walked straight to Kedar’s truck. She climbed into the passenger seat and covered her face with her hands.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kedar’s voice was soft and he lightly placed his hand on her shoulder.
Samantha lowered her hands and looked at him, “Colin was trying to forbid me from seeing you.”
“Trying?” Kedar raised an eyebrow as he shifted his car into drive.
“Yeah, I told him no. That I would chose who I saw.”
Kedar smiled softly, “Good… Because I’d be very upset it I couldn’t see you anymore. He kissed her before pulling away.
***
The day the hunting group was supposed to leave practically snuck up on everyone. Samantha and Kedar stayed in that morning, enjoying each other’s silent company. Samantha worried that Kedar would be hurt, or that he may not come back, and Kedar feared that Samantha would stop caring for him in his absence.
Eventually, they dragged themselves out of bed and Samantha drove Kedar to the McLaughlin’s house. They sat in the car for a long time. Samantha held onto his hand tight, not saying a word. He squeezed her hand gently.
“I’ll be alright,” Kedar whispered. He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it gently.
“I know…” Samantha whispered in response.
“You can keep staying at my house, if you’d like. There’s a fake rock with a spare key by the door, the combination is my birthday. And check on the store every once in a while, just to make sure that it hasn’t been broken into or anything.”
Samantha nodded slowly, “Of course I can do that.”
Kedar reached out and brushed her hair out of her face, leaning forward. “Don’t miss me too much.” He kissed her forehead.
“I’ll try not to…” With that, Kedar got out of the car and walked away.
CHAPTER 22
In the absence of the hunting trip, Kyle and Maia filled the missing pack member roles, becoming more like pack members rather than refugee strays. They did as much as they could when Bridgette asked them, as she was reigning alpha until Colin returned. Mostly they helped with patrols and watching the pups of the pack when necessary.
Samantha spent her days waiting for Melody to wake up from her coma, whether it was at Olivia’s house, at the hospital or at Kedar’s too-big-to-be-empty home. Many days Maia, Alex or Olivia sat with her, providing her with some type of solace. Charlotte didn’t dare visit Samantha or Melody, knowing that Samantha was still cross with her. Time dragged on, and still Melody had yet to wake.
The day before the hunting group returned, Samantha was particularly down. She still worried that Kedar wouldn’t return home, that the hunt would have been fruitless, and that Melody was never going to wake up. She was only seventeen and had already experienced so much loss in her life, she wasn’t sure if she could handle anymore. She spent the day staring through the window on Melody’s door, watching her. She ate lunch by herself and when she went back up to the ICU she was so emotionally drained that she collapsed into the chair right outside of Melody’s room. She curled up in a ball, closed her eyes and stayed like that for a long time. She opened her eyes when she heard someone sit beside her and she looked up. It was Maia.
“Hi…” Maia’s voice was soft, as though she didn’t want to break the delicate silence that Samantha had been basking in.
“Hey, what’s up?” Samantha asked as she sat up right, her voice equally as soft.
Maia shook her head, “What’s up with you? How are you doing?”
Samantha was quiet for a moment, “I’ve been better. I’ve spent all day waiting for her to wake up…”
Maia nodded, “I’m sure she will soon.” She reassured. Samantha didn’t say anything in response. Finally, Maia spoke again. “How long ago did you lose your mom?” Her voice was almost inaudible and it trembled as she spoke.
“Almost ten years ago… I was eight…” Samantha responded warily. She turned to Maia, “Why?”
“Does it get easier? You know, not having a mom…”
Samantha was quiet. She turned away from Maia. She had almost forgotten that Maia’s mother had been killed by the vampires that she was so vigorously hunting, “It doesn’t get easier, you just learn to deal with it better. Time goes on, it tears at your memory and helps you find closure. It isn’t easy though, it never will be. But I deal with it. You will too.” She sighed.
“I don’t want to forget them…” Maia’s voice trembled more, as though she was about to cry.
“Them?” Samantha turned to her, she had assumed that only Maia’s mother had been killed, she and Kyle never mentioned anyone else.
“My mother and my sister, Lara. She was only twelve, the age of Malcolm’s little girl.” She wiped tears from her eyes.
Samantha leaned forward and put her hand on Maia’s, “Do you want to talk about it? After my parents died talking about it helped me a lot.”
“The vampire’s ambushed during a
pack meeting. There must have been a mole in the pack, or information was leaking somehow. I don’t know. All I know is our alpha, Dominic, instructed Kyle and I to get the children out to safety. But Lara wanted to help our mom. She ran towards my mother to save her from a vampire. I tried to stop her, but she struggled out of my grasp, so I went to go after her. Kyle grabbed my arm and pulled me back behind the couch before I could. He said mom could fight the vampire off, that someone else would help them. But nobody did. I watched as the vampire killed both my mom and Lara, and I couldn’t do anything about it.” Maia held her head in her hands and she began to cry hard.
Samantha didn’t know what to do. She gently placed her hand on Maia’s back, patting gently. She got the feeling that Maia hadn’t talked about her sister since she died. Maia held herself as sobs racked her body, gasping for breath in between her ragged weeping. She cried for quite a few minutes, but she was able to compose herself after a while. She sat back up and wiped her eyes.
“Kyle was a coward…” She whispered, resentment seeping into her once soft voice, “I never even got to hold my baby sister one last time. I swore to her as Kyle and I fled that I would never let Anastasia kill another child… I just really hope I can do that.”
“I’m sure that you’ll be able to…” Samantha patted Maia’s hair, still unsure of how to comfort her.
“But what if I can’t?”
“Trust me, you will. We’re going to get the bitch who killed your mom and sister and she’ll never hurt another child again. I swear.” Samantha smiled warmly at Maia, who managed to smile back at her even through her tears.
Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) Page 19
