by Cree Walker
Neither spoke for a moment until Sarah burst into tears and ran up the stairs.
“What was that all about?” I asked faking a shocked expression.
“I’ve ordered them to leave before Brian hits puberty. They can’t stay in this house any longer. It might be different if Brian was my son, but he’s not.”
I considered my options before answering. “How will Brian get his training without being in the pack?”
“I plan on having my own successor; there is no need to keep pretending that Brian will ever be this pack’s future Alpha.” He looked angry but I could tell it was to deflect the fact that he was lying to me.
I held his gaze and gave him a shadow of a smile. “So that’s the story you’re going with then?”
He looked as though he might argue, but decided against it.
“How did Jersey and Donna beat Kyle then?” I asked when he didn’t answer me.
“I didn’t plan on sleeping with Kyle or Sarah; it was assumed that after they beat Sarah, they would be the top ranking females in the house.”
“But you were never truly interested in Jersey either so why is it different for me?”
“You’ve done well; there is no need to pit you against a man to prove my point.”
I felt my face flush with anger and I pinned him in place with a deadly glare. “Really, your point huh, and what point would that be exactly?”
“You don’t think you deserve to be an Alpha. Now that you’ve worked your way to the top you’ve proven it to yourself as well as your pack.”
“To you?” I asked.
“You’ve never had anything to prove to me Sugar.” He turned and started walking towards the door.
“I still haven’t beaten Jersey or Donna. Don’t count your pups before they’re Born.” He paused with my statement but didn’t respond before leaving me alone in the kitchen to think about the turn of events.
I found Sarah packing a bag while she talked with Kyle on a cell phone. She looked up at me while stuffing the duffle to maximum capacity and told her husband she would call him back. “You aren’t going to talk me out of this.”
I slumped down on the bed feeling beaten. “I need you guys. You’re my only friends in this house. You’re my family.”
She paused but only briefly. “It’s fine; there is a pack out west a little ways that’s in need of an Alpha. Brian can train with them until it’s time.”
“It sounds like you’ve really thought this out.” I answered.
She stopped packing and sat down next to me on the bed. “Brian is Jack’s son.”
The air around me went still and my mouth dropped open but no words would come out.
“I’m only telling you this so you’ll realize that Brian will never be satisfied the way Kyle is with his position in the pack. He’s a bred Alpha and keeping him from becoming who he is will kill him. I am a mother looking out for her son.” She didn’t speak for a minute waiting for the questions to start, but I had nothing to ask right then. “Kyle doesn’t know and I’d like to keep it that way. I love Kyle very much and I always have, but I made a mistake with Jack I never should have. I don’t want my son to suffer because of it.”
“Jack didn’t know did he?” I whispered out.
Sarah shook her head. “He assumed but I had already chosen his brother and I always told him Brian was Kyle’s and Jack just assumed he was sterile anyway…” She sighed, “It will be good for us to leave this place.” She started to cry again and I hugged her with tears in my own eyes. I don’t know if I would have been able to hide something like that if I were her. It must have been tearing her apart inside.
“If you need anything: money, whatever just ask; okay?” I held her face up to meet mine.
She laughed and wiped at her tears. “Well the only good thing about living in someone else’s house for as long as Kyle and I have is that there is always a hell of a savings.”
I smiled with her but we couldn’t really feel it. She stood up and looked around the room. “Kyle’s meeting me downstairs and we’re picking up Brian straight from school.” She looked around her and covered her quivering lip. “You can have my stuff and the room; do whatever you want with it.” She slung the duffle strap over her shoulder and held out her hands to me.
I hugged her again with a sinking feeling in my stomach that ached. “Please call me when you all are settled.”
She nodded and forced another smile. “Kyle’s here.”
I listened but didn’t hear anything right away, and then the sound of tires turning in on gravel finally reached my ears. I must have looked confused because she laughed again, meaning it this time. “I can feel him.” She put a hand over her chest and her lip quivered again as she shook her head, almost as if she were trying to convince herself as well, as to whether she and Kyle were truly a mated pair.
I hugged her again and we walked down the stairs together then out to the porch. Kyle got out of his truck looking solemn, but didn’t question his wife as she threw the bag of belongings in and got into her vehicle.
I didn’t get off the porch and Kyle watched me for a full minute before he approached. “Ah little sister, you’ll do great.”
I felt more tears starting but I sniffed and swallowed my pain.
“This is for the best Sugar. You’ve got something important to do here and we can’t be here blocking your path.” It was obvious they had been setting up for this since I was knocked down to Omega.
I knelt down and hugged him tightly. “Take care of them Kyle.”
“Will do,” He backed a step and smiled. “We’ll call you when we’re settled in.”
“I wish I could say goodbye to Brian.”
“It’s probably better if he doesn’t know what’s happening until we cross the state line.” Kyle explained. “He’s going to make a great Alpha one day, but he’s going to be a punk of a teenager ’til then.”
Robert came out onto the porch and did that all knowing head nod thing guys do before shaking hands and saying, “Take care.”
Then they were gone.
There was nothing else for me to do but move into my new room. It didn’t take long getting my belongings but it did take some time to sift through their stuff and discard anything I didn’t need. Things like Kyle’s old clothes and some of Sarah’s clothes that I would never wear. I moved the bed around and got rid of the big armoire and the bedding, placing everything unwanted in the hall with a note attached saying, “Free for the taking.” In a house with this many people I was sure most of the stuff would find instant homes. Robert cleared his throat from the doorway before stepping inside. I continued my task, ignoring him for the most part.
“Sugar, it was the right thing to do.” He said after a long time of watching me.
I pinned him in place with a glare. “No, I just think I underestimated your intelligence and you went behind my back and found another way to force my family out of your house.” I’d obviously had too much time to think and now I was becoming paranoid.
“Whether that is true or not, you’re not an Alpha anymore.” He corrected gently.
“Give me a week.” I put my hand on his solid chest and nudged him out the door before closing it. I took a shaky breath and rubbed my hand down the length of my thigh, trying to ignore the tingle his touch brought with it. It made it almost hard to breathe.
Chapter Twenty-Three
At supper I picked at my food and waited for Donna to pick at my open weakness like a scab. This was worse than leaving Kyle, Sarah and Brian behind; this felt like they had been forced out and abandoned. Donna didn’t say anything aloud but the sarcastic smirk never left her face during the meal.
I noticed Robert picked at his meal as well but he didn’t look in my direction once.
“So what’s happening?” I asked quietly, feeling somewhat badly about my harsh words towards him earlier, but I needed to know if I was fighting tonight, and who.
He sifted through his food bef
ore answering. “Since there has been a change in pack numbers we are going to take a week break.” He sifted some more, “Until then, I think we are going to go on a camping trip into the mountains.”
No one said anything at first and I felt my smile spread. “I think that’s a good idea.” He looked up at me in surprise. That look made me realize how hard I had been on him. How much he really wanted my approval.
“When do we leave?” Someone asked.
He sat back making his chair creak, “Tomorrow morning before dawn. Someone else will be joining us as well.”
I bristled at the thought. “Who?”
He looked at me and just when I decided he wasn’t going to answer he shrugged, “My little cousin.”
***
In describing Robert’s cousin the word little would not have come to mind, maybe the word tank but not little. He was a hulk of a man with dark skin and light brown hair, but he had kind soft eyes. They were a sweet chocolate brown and it made me wonder if he had been his previous pack’s Omega. He was handsome, as were almost all werewolf males, but he didn’t tick my clock in the least. Some of the other girls though, well they were happy to just be getting some male attention, since Gage had removed himself from the game. Though he had been given permission to play with the bitten girls, he wasn’t taking any chances after feeling Elder Coon’s wrath. Gage gave most of the girls a wide berth, me most of all. I hardly ever saw him and hadn’t spoken to him more than to ask for the salt at the table during meals. As much as it irked me to admit it and the fact that I was pretty certain we wanted different things in this, Elder Coon had been right; we risked too much for something so trivial.
I packed a backpack to brimming with the important stuff, like toiletries, and changes of clothes. I didn’t bother with makeup or a pillow, which seemed to be the most important items in most of the other girls’ packs. We were out the door before the sun rose. Most of the girls talked excitedly about the change of pace but some still hadn’t woken up and carried travel mugs filled with strong coffee. I was totally psyched; a week in the woods after the trauma of the last week seemed like just the thing to bring me back to myself, and from the look on Robert’s face it was something he needed too.
The guys all carried the heavy coolers of food and what should have looked awkward seemed almost too easy for them.
The day was going to be a warm one, but not very humid yet. I fell behind until I was mostly alone, though I could still easily hear the chatter of the girls ahead of me. Focusing on the path ahead I breathed in the clean scent of the woods. A bevy of song birds were in performance and chipmunks were sounding the alarm, Jack had called them the tattle tails of the forest.
As soon as thoughts of Jack ensued I pushed them from my mind and took another deep breath of pollen filled air. I could tell which plant every particle came from; it held a signature scent unique to only those plants. It was the most beautiful perfume.
“What are you doing all the way back here?” Robert’s voice invaded my solace.
I glared because he had snuck up on me again; if he continued with this ninja shit, I was going to surgically attach bells to his most private areas.
Instead of looking guilty for scaring me he had this expression of annoyance because I hadn’t answered his question yet.
“I just needed some alone time.”
This to a Born werewolf who had been raised in a pack translated into crazy. They all hated to be alone ever, and most of all when they were hurting inside. “Is everything okay?” He finally asked.
“Do you honestly care either way?”
It was his turn to glare. “Sugar, I don’t understand you… but I’m trying. I am trying so hard it hurts, but you’re pushing so hard you’re making even a civil conversation almost impossible. The only time you’ve been anything but hostile to me is when you need something.”
“Well, you’re the Alpha; don’t I have to go through you anyway?”
“Sugar, God damn it woman, let your guard down for five seconds. I am not the bad guy here.”
I stopped walking, “You scare me.”
His mouth opened but no sound came out.
“You scare me because I don’t know how to read you. You are so strong and smart and stubborn and I’m not sure where I stand with you at any given moment.”
He found his voice. “I don’t mean to scare you.”
“What happens when you decide I’m not what you expected or that I‘m too broken to ever be right again? Will you force me to leave the pack or simply throw me out?”
“Whatever happened with Glen won’t happen with me.” He said without pausing.
I nodded, “What do you know of ghosts, Robert?”
The change of subject left him reeling to catch up. “What?”
“Do you know what will happen to me if I choose a mate?” When he didn’t respond I continued. “Jack will kill me.” My hand went to the medallion around my throat. “He’s been haunting me, and he’s made his point very clear. I am his. I wasn’t supposed to survive our separation; I was supposed to die. He won that Challenge and as far as he’s concerned I belong to him.”
“He can’t hurt you.”
I shook my head and smiled, “He has, and without this little necklace I am unprotected and just like in life, Jack will take what is his.”
Robert’s eyes flashed, “You don’t belong to him. You never did.”
We arrived at the campsite just before supper. It was on the top of a hill called McDaniel’s. It is only a nine hundred and six foot climb, but that climb is nearly vertical the entire way to the top.
Robert looked sick to his stomach after speaking with me, so I gave him plenty of space to think about what I told him. I helped some of the others unpack the tents and get dry wood for the fire, looking his way on occasion to see if his face would read out what he was thinking. I should have known better though; he was a closed book when it came to what he was feeling.
“We’re going for a run as a pack after dark tonight.” Robert announced after a full course dinner of beef stew and buttermilk biscuits.
I was suddenly feeling every bite of that meal sitting heavy in my gut.
He looked at me very pointedly before continuing so I forced a smile. The other girls were thrilled. “We’ll stay to the west side of the mountain.”
I considered this briefly. Did he know I wasn’t able to turn? Is that why he was giving me a go around? If I stayed on the east we could meet up at the lake and nobody would know. I watched him watching me with his all-knowing predatory stare, expecting a response. “Sounds like a plan to me.” I flashed my best smile and handed my dirty paper plate to Britney.
***
Dark fell; I couldn’t ignore the growing anxiety in my stomach. I felt as if I would throw up and have a major heart attack at the same time. From the map I was looking at, we were running to a pond on the far side of the mountain. On the east side – my side, it was quite a bit closer and the terrain was smoother. The pack was going to have to work hard on the uneven granite surface of the western side.
It was a bright night because of the clear sky and white light of a nearly full moon. The temperature had dropped significantly, at least thirty or forty degrees, which was the norm for this time of year in this area and the reason we didn’t have to worry too much about running into campers. I watched my breath fog out in front of me as I waited for the others to prepare. I mimicked a lot of their behaviors since I hadn’t actually ever run with the pack before. I had always been alone or with only one other wolf on my runs… when I could run. The boys changed first, melting into the tree line, not to be mystical, but because they wanted to sneak a peek at the girls undressing before they changed. I waited at the edge of the group until everyone seemed to be preoccupied before slipping onto the eastern trail. I watched from my spot before starting my own run to make sure no one saw me. My hands shook with anticipation as I waited for the girls to trot away slowly onto the western trail.<
br />
I barely let out a sigh when a strong hand came around my waist and another covered my mouth. There was no need to cover my mouth; I don’t scream when I’m surprised. Predators love the sound of screaming.
“Shhhh,” the man breathed in my ear.
I relaxed a little, realizing the scent was Robert’s. He released me and stepped back. “So, it’s true then?”
“What’s true?” I snapped.
“You can’t change?”
He was too smart to hide something like this from for very long, so I just shrugged. “Jack was the only one who could help me change.”
“I’ve never met someone who’s lasted that long without it.”
“Running helps.” I shrugged again.
“Sugar, have you ever considered that maybe Jack’s the one stopping your change now?”
“So you believe me, about the ghost thing?”
“Of course,” He looked confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”
I tried to ignore this before continuing, “I don’t think it’s him. I’ve never been able to change without drugs or Jack. The other males weren’t strong enough.”
Robert closed the distance between us and I backed against a small tree shaking its branches and my heart hammering into double time. “I’m not the other males, and it was up to Jack to teach you. He forced it out of you but didn’t bother teaching you because he was trying to keep you under his thumb.”
I was liking my dead husband less and less.
“D-do you think you c-could show me?” Okay now he was making me so nervous I was shivering and stuttering. Robert smiled and for the first time in what felt like weeks, it was a real smile. My knees nearly gave out.
He reached for my hand and took it gently in his. “I don’t think you trust me yet.”
“W-what m-makes you think-k that?” I shivered out between chattering teeth.
“We don’t shiver in the cold until it’s below zero, for one.”
