Winds of Change

by Kat Keppeler

  There was no answer from Finn. He’d fallen asleep on the ebbs of her rage. Skye growled at him, her tone beyond annoyed, but Finn had succumbed to his good old friend, whiskey. The remaining drive home was mostly silent, the occasional muttering from the drunk and passed out Finn and Skye’s silent seething.

  Names mostly, he mentioned several in his slumber and Drusilla’s was often muttered under his breath. They pulled up the drive and Finn sat straight up as soon as she put it into park.

  “Bennett?” He asked, his swimming gaze focusing on the house where wolves were pouring out of to help Skye. The name was utterly unfamiliar to Skye. Micah and Caleb were the ones to open the door. Both boys wrinkled their noses when they started helping Finn out of the truck.

  “Never thought I’d see you again, Bennett…” Finn mumbled to Micah whom he grabbed for a hug that seemed far more intimate than Finn’s normal casual affections. Micah sighed, hugging the big man back. His relief at Finn’s return was palpable and he didn’t mind a bit of extra hugging after all of the chaos.

  “Jeez, he’s more than three sheets to the wind isn’t he?” Caleb muttered. It took both of the smaller wolves to try and maneuver Finn toward the office. He went limp eventually, passing out again. Micah and Caleb ended up having to carry him the rest of the way but, honestly, that was easier than trying to steer the staggering giant.

  They carried him straight through the office and into his trashed room, stepping over things that he knocked over in his haste and laying him on his bed. Skye trailed behind them, looking more and more angry as Finn became more incoherent. What had happened that caused such an extreme reaction? No one knew for sure what had transpired in the office except Chance and Finn.

  When she was pulling off his shoes and subsequently his leg, Finn sat up in surprise and looked on at Skye.

  “You look just like her…” Finn said before he settled back against the pillows and stared up at the spinning ceiling.

  “Please don’t tell me that I look like your dead wife,” Skye said wearily. She wasn’t able to field the sort of riot of emotions that knowing he’d been drawn to her because of a resemblance to Drusilla would cause. Skye was already wrung out as she bent to finish unstrapping his prosthetic and tuck it in the corner. She rubbed a hand over her face before she stood up to fetch a bucket as well as water and painkillers to set within arms reach.

  “Just get some rest, Finn. We can talk when you’re sober. Promise me that you’re not going to bolt again before we have a chance to discuss this because I’m exhausted and I still have the rest of the pack to go help soothe.”

  “No, you don’t look like Dru.” Said Finn, closing his eyes and draping one arm over his eyes. “You look just like Lara.”

  Drusilla’s second cousin, a name he knew all too well just as he knew Skye’s father, better than he’d ever admitted to while sober. Finn sighed, he already felt the whiskey wanting to come back up just as fiery as it had gone down.

  “Knew it was a bad idea introducing them, how could I judge?” He asked to no one. “Dru was already pregnant with Bennett, but Lara wasn’t more than a girl. Should have told Darby to go fuck himself, shouldn’t have…”

  Finn sighed heavily, a drunk man’s regrets leaving him.

  “Shouldn’t have.” It was all he said, swallowing back a tangy bile and looking positively green.

  “Darby?” Skye frowned, her brows drawing together as Finn rambled, “Bennett.. Wait, I thought Dru was human? Are you saying that you have a child? A son? That’s what you were talking about in the car? And you decide to share this now?!”

  Skye’s voice sharpened, snapping sharply as she quickly realized there was a great deal that Finn hadn’t told her that clearly should have been discussed. She growled, low in her throat as she reached for the bucket and stood up to help him despite the fury beating in her breast.

  “Goddamit, Finn. Goddamn you,” Skye muttered as she helped him up and over the bucket, holding his long hair back, “You are fucking lucky that I love you but we are going to talk about this when you are sober and not puking your guts out.”

  As if on cue the large man wretched his guts up into the bucket, bringing forth a good amount of whiskey while Caleb and Micah looked at each other, wincing at the sounds as well as the harsh words between Skye and her chosen mate. There had never been so much tension in the ranks, not even right after she had rescued them from Halliday’s basement when they were all irrevocably broken. Finn retched for a good long time before he was able to lift his head, his blue eyes meeting Skye’s were full of hidden sorrow.

  “I’m sorry, Skye.” He spoke from the depths of his inebriation. “I love you, please… I’m so sorry…”

  Skye sighed heavily, her nose wrinkled at the smell and sounds. They were all lucky that other than a few things, Skye’s stomach hadn’t been near as touchy as it could have been with a pregnancy. Except for swallowing once and looking a little pale, she was steady as she pushed the bucket away.

  “Go clean that, please,” she told Micah and Caleb, her voice gentle for them and their palpable worry, “He’s going to be fine. I know that Finn’s always strong for the two of you but we all are just, well... mortal. We’ll take care of him and he’ll be back to his normal self soon enough. Go on now.”

  As the boys left, Skye sighed and went to uncap the water for Finn, helping him back to the pillows. She smoothed his dark hair back with tender fingers.

  “I’m mad at you,” Skye told him gently, “And you have some things to explain when you feel better but I know it wasn’t malicious and I know it wasn’t to be cruel. I love you, too. It’s going to be okay.”

  Her fingers were gentle and cool against his brow. “I need to go touch bases with Rory and make sure that Lee’s okay. Chance has gone to Atlanta so it’s just the two of them trying to settle everyone. Do you want me to come back tonight to sit with you after I’ve done that?”

  Finn shook his head, closing his eyes again. “You go on, send the boys back.”

  Because a sober Finn couldn’t face his transgressions right away. She got up, and Finn waited until she was out to get out of bed again and hop gently to the bathroom where he’d spend the rest of his night, his head pressed against the cool porcelain rim.

  Rory paced in Chance’s study, a troubled frown on his handsome features. Lee, too, was frowning, though he was sitting in Chance’s office chair and his expression looking more worried than angry. The moment they could smell her in the house Rory and Lee stood up and came to the door.

  “Did you get him?” Asked Lee meekly before Rory started with the questioning. He smelled the whiskey and the stink of soured stomach.

  “Don’t tell me that little bitch was drunk! Are you alright? The fuck did he have to say for himself?”

  “A lot,” Skye said wearily. She turned into Lee’s arms, pressing her nose against his throat for her own comfort. Skye was shivering as she’d used up a lot of her steady calm to get through with Finn without swearing or crying. She made no move to pull away although Lee caught the almost apologetic posture she had for adding her burdens to his. Skye know that he’d spent a lot of time comforting everyone and while she really should be comforting Lee with their respective positions in the pack, she just didn’t have it in her. It was one of those moments when their mate bond overrode their pack status and she just needed to anchor herself in the face of all of the flying rage and dominance that was surging around their pack.

  “Do you think I can have a shower before we get into the details of it all? What did Chance have to say?” Skye asked from where she was curled in Lee’s arms, her brow against the skin of his throat.

  “A lot. Finn’s sent him on a fool’s fucking errand to Georgia. Into hostile territory. Where is that little fucker, I’m going to-” With Lee wrapped around his mate protectively a shrill growl left him rattling through his chest in a way he’d never used before, certainly not on his own alpha.

  “You’re not going
to do anything, Rory Abbott!” Lee snapped, a scowl on his face. “Whatever has happened, since you don’t feel like sharing, is between Finn and Chance. Whatever it is nearly broke up our whole happy home and you’re not going to go kick a man while he’s down! Now sit down, shut up, or help me get our very exhausted and distressed wife into the bath. Or don’t, but you take yourself somewhere and you don’t add to the stressors that are bad for our babies.”

  Lee was standing tall, his expression pained but clearly assertive. Something he was very rarely.

  “You good? You listening?”

  Rory nodded almost sheepishly.

  “Good.” Lee then carefully walked with Skye away toward the bathroom. Once it was just the two of them in there, he helped her strip and then did so himself. He wasn’t about to let her be alone for one second. They piled in, the water warm against her back, Lee just held her while she needed him.

  “That felt good,” Lee whispered to her as if he was afraid Rory was listening.

  Skye’s chuckle was soft but genuine, as she snuggled into Lee’s chest.

  “It sounded good,” she told Lee in equally soft tones, “But it needed to be said. You were right. I’m barely holding it together and I don’t have it in me to talk Rory down from his rage - which I get. I do. He feels a threat to the pack and our upset and wants to destroy it. That’s how he’s wired. It’s just not always the most immediately helpful response.”

  She shifted a little until she was sitting in Lee’s lap. Thankfully, the soaking tub was big although they rarely used it with how much hot water it took. Both Skye and Lee couldn’t wait for construction to finish. The tub in the new house was even bigger and they would have no shortage of hot water to use. Lee’s hand came down over the slight curve of her belly as she rested her cheek against his shoulder.

  “Finn knew my birth mother,” Skye said very softly, able to let the hurt bleed through into her voice without having Rory’s temper or Finn’s guilt to worry about. “He knew my father more than he let on. He has a son that he never told me about. He’s sorry - I know he’s sorry, but it still hurts, Lee. I don’t hide anything from the four of you. I try so hard to be honest and up front and it’s hard. It’s really hard and I always feel like I’m screwing it up, but I keep trying.”

  Lee reached for a loofah sponge, wetting it and using it to gently scrub over her back while she lay against him.

  “Honey, we all have secrets.” Lee said, sweeping a bit of her wet hair to the side. “We’re all going to have our own ghosts too. Is it fucked up that he hid it from you? Yes, so fucked. But… I don’t know, it seems like Finn wouldn’t hide something unless it was really important and the backlash of a lie outweighed what the truth might cause. How do you know he knew your mother, did he flat out say he did?”

  “Basically,” Skye said, her eyes closing as she leaned into Lee’s gentle ministrations.

  “I don’t know honey. I don’t know.” Lee admitted scrubbing the sponge over her skin again. “Chance… Well I heard some of what they were yelling about. Whatever secrets Finn let loose today have Chance up in arms… Skye he… He was on fire…”

  When she looked up she saw her mate staring ahead with terror on his delicate features. “It was otherworldly. But there were flames! He threw Finn against the wall and I heard him say that Finn had better not tell you… Rory knows something too. He told me to tell Rory that there’s more to what he had thought…”

  Lee sighed, he honestly felt like the two of them were the only ones here who weren’t hiding things. “I’m sorry Skye. I’ll never lie to you.”

  “I know,” Skye said simply. She twined her arms around Lee’s shoulders. He was fit and toned but not the thicker builds of her other three mates. They fit easily together and Skye rested her brow against his, “I know you wouldn’t. I think they’re just all… mired in that dominant male mindset sometimes. I agree, he had some reason that made perfect sense in his head for why not to tell me - they all do - but trying to get them to realize that we’re strongest together is just exhausting.”

  This time, it was Skye who offered comfort, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of Lee’s mouth. “Chance would cut off his right arm before he hurt you. I don’t know what the hell that could be. Heck, I’ve only gotten used to the turning into the wolf part, but whatever’s going on with Chance isn’t anything that he thinks is a danger to us or he’d be the one running off with noble, but stupid, intentions. Is fire-calling a thing that wolves get? Did Finn know what it was, do you think?”

  “He wasn’t afraid of it.” Lee admitted. “He wasn’t surprised by it or at least it didn’t seem that way. And I’ve never seen it. Something is up, Skye, and I feel like we’re stuck in a drain getting pulled inevitably downward.”

  He pulled her closer at the idea. Things really did feel like it was all falling out of his control where everything had been blissfully bright only just hours ago. There was a knock on the door, Rory opened it and peeked his head in.

  Lee looked instantly hostile, tightening his arms around Skye with his newly awakened protective instincts. Even when they’d been attacked by the crazed rogue months ago, Skye hadn’t felt so fragile in his arms. At the moment though, she was exhausted and pregnant and her cheek rested trustingly against his shoulder. Chance had been right, Lee would be whatever Skye needed him to be.

  “Unless you’re coming in here to apologize and actually tell us what the hell is going on with everyone I suggest you find a place and stay in it. Maybe go stay out with Finn since the both of you… No the three of you can’t find the decency to let all of us know exactly what’s happening.” Lee said in a firm, chiding tone. His arms tightened as he pulled their pregnant mate protectively against his chest.

  Rory stared at the both of them.

  “I’m sorry… I really am, so sorry. I know…” Rory started and Lee glared at him. “I know how distressing this is for the both of you but I am going to wait for Chance to get back. Then we can all talk. All four of us.”

  Lee let out a little growl of frustration. “Okay fine, Rory, you can take all the time you want to come clean but until then stay away from both of us!”

  Rory frowned at his mate, looking at Skye for validation. “Is that what you want, Skye?”

  Skye leaned her cheek against Lee’s shoulder and watched Rory from troubled blue eyes.

  “I just don’t want to fight tonight,” Skye said simply as her anger and fear had left her completely wrung out and limp.

  “Finn said that I should send ‘the boys’ to him when I was done. I think… I think Finn knows more about my birth parents than he’s letting on, and he said that he had a son.”

  Her blue eyes searched Rory’s and there was no mistaking the hurt lurking in Skye’s eyes. She’d tried so hard to make it clear that she’d never try to replace Finn’s lost wife. This was a big blow, to say nothing of the fact that Finn had left in the first place.

  “If you can go deal with whatever Finn needs without bloodshed or someone else running off, then you’re welcome to come back to bed afterwards. I trust you, Rory,” Skye said, her expression troubled as this entire thing had really strained her willingness to believe that they’d share when they needed to. “But, we can’t keep on like this. You understand that, don’t you?”

  Rory sighed, looking between both his mates. The frown on his handsome features seemed permanently etched. Whatever Chance had volunteered had left their alpha stressed and unsettled.

  “Sure.” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Sure, I do. But Skye there’s so much more at stake than just feelings. I know, I know you've been looking for your parents a long time. I know you are aching to know the truth about them… But if you had any inkling that the knowledge about your family could lead to the entire destruction of our pack and our babies… Would you still feel the same way?”

  He posed her the question before he as already walking toward the door. “It’s life or death. And Finn? You say th
e word, and he’s gone.”

  He shut the door without another whisper and left his mates alone to their solitude.

  Lee was upset, that wasn’t at all what she’d asked for and so he helped her to finish her bath quietly. Once they were done, Lee helped tuck her into bed in the nude, slipping in with her so they could be skin to skin. The distressed wolves inside could gain comfort in just being near one another. The bedroom door was locked, a clear sign that anyone but the two of them was not welcome for the rest of the night. Skye turned her face into Lee’s chest, her arms tight around him. She was trying so hard to be strong for him, for the pack. Skye didn’t make a sound other than the whisper of her breathing but Lee could feel the moisture trickle down his chest from the tears that she couldn’t keep from shedding.

  “I’m sorry,” Skye said softly, pulling back enough that she could wipe away the moisture. “It’s the hormones.”

  It wasn’t. It was the tension in the pack and the growing concern that it was her fault that it existed at all. Apparently it all revolved around her birth pack and secrets around her parents.

  “I don’t want Finn to go. I just…” Skye hiccuped and gave up, tucking her face against Lee’s chest and just sobbed like her heart was breaking.

  “Let it out. You don’t have to pretend for me, I know you better,” Lee said, his hand against the crown of her skull, He stroked her hair gently, letting her cry and absorbing her pain as best he could. He held her quietly, not commenting on it, until she fell asleep against him some hours later. Only then did Lee even stir. He wrapped himself up in a robe, hers to be specific, and let himself out of the room where Rory was sitting against the wall waiting.

  “Bout time!” Rory said, standing just as Lee physically shoved him with more strength than anyone expected Lee to have.

  “Get out.” Lee said, pointing a finger toward the door. No one was awake, it was just the two of them, but it was clear that Lee was throwing him out. “You get out. I don’t want to see you or Finn or even fucking Chance until the three of you work out your shit. When you can come in here, come clean with what’s really happening, then stay out.”