Her words mirror the conversation that Sofie and Lindsey had the night before. Lindsey had promised to put her faith in Sofie who she said was the key to the pack’s survival. Sofie had told her to be ready for whatever came next, she just wasn’t sure exactly what that was going to be.
“Doc? You hear what I said?” Lola looks at her with a curious expression on her face.
Sofie brings herself back to the present. “I’m not a medical doctor, I’m a scientist, as the interesting scar you’re going to be left with on your shoulder will attest to.”
Lola gives her a sidelong look, making it clear that she knows Sofie’s mind was elsewhere and not on the botched stitching job she’d done on her shoulder. But she’s smart enough to keep her mouth shut. She lets Sofie clean the wound and re-dress it, only grumbling a little when she tells her to rest.
“You want it really badly, don’t you? To be turned?” Lola’s voice is almost wondrous as she asks the questions, already seeing the answer written across Sofie’s face.
“More than anything.” Sofie doesn’t bother to hide the longing in her voice. “Well, almost anything,” she smiles slyly at Lola, thoughts of Ashton flooding into her head.
“Well, you only have one person to convince.” Lola shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“Gus. He would rather bite off his own arm then do something that a) I want and b) that Ashton doesn’t. Besides, I don’t have the luxury of having time on our side.” The words are out of Sofie’s mouth before she has a chance to edit them. She had no plans to make her intentions known to the pack, at least not until she had passed the point of no return.
“You got that right, sister.” Lola nods sagely, assuming that Sofie is referring to the inevitability of Luke taking further action against them, rather than suspecting Sofie has any plans of her own up her sleeve. “Any clue what Ash has got up his sleeve?”
“I wish I knew, Lo. I wish I knew.” Sofie’s voice is wistful as she throws her new friend a brave smile on her way out of the door. “Guess we’ll find out at the meeting.”
But as she closes the door softly behind her she wishes that she didn’t feel like the events of the day before had pulled her further away from Ashton precisely at the moment when they were finally getting closer. They’d told each other how they felt, in unequivocal terms and yet here they were. Ashton had closed himself off, dealing with this shit-show on his own, without her, as if he didn’t need her. She shakes the thought off as she gets ready for the meeting.
The only trace of Ash in the house is the sheen of steam coating the bathroom mirror. She swipes at it, showing just enough of her reflection to see her dark almond-shaped eyes. She confirms that she looks like she got about an hour’s worth of sleep and is carrying more worries than she knows what to do with and then she gets on with her day.
CHAPTER THREE
Standing in the clearing at the front of Ashton’s house, looking around at the faces of the assembled pack, Sofie sees that a lack of sleep isn’t unique to her. One sweep of the men and woman standing around her leaves little doubt that she’s not the only one that’s close to running on empty.
“Hey,” Lindsey nudges her in the ribs as she takes up her place next to Sofie, with Hector on her other side.
“Hey,” Sofie keeps her gaze levelled at Ashton who’s standing at the head of the semi-circle they’ve formed around him. It’s as if he exercises a gravitational pull on all the pack members. They look up to him and can’t help but look to him for answers. “How was the mood in the barn?” She keeps her voice low, not wanting the entire pack to hear her question.
About as cheery as you’d expect. Lindsey’s voice sounds in Sofie’s mind, clear as a bell. She wonders if she’ll ever get used to this method of communication. Perhaps once day, she thinks to herself, when she is like them, when she is Lycan.
“They look scared.” Sofie’s voice is barely a murmur in her throat. The weres stand strong around her, their muscles tense, primed for action, but their expressions are in stark contrast. They’re afraid. Their world has been turned upside down only a matter of hours ago. They’re scrambling to figure out what it means for them that the world knows their secret. From the tension buzzing in the air around the pack it seems like they’re not expecting anything good to come out of it.
Sofie’s eyes are drawn back to Ashton, watching as he takes a deep breath, drawing himself up to his full height and projecting an air of confidence. He looks every inch the Pack Master, but Sofie knows that he can feel the weight of being an Alpha crash down on him.
Let me help you, she channels the thought towards him. Let me share the burden with you. Either Ashton doesn’t hear her or he doesn’t want to know. His expression is impenetrable; it’s like looking at a brick wall.
“A lot has happened in the last day and I know you’re trying to process what it all means.” Ashton’s voice is strong and full of conviction. “One of our pack was hurt, close to being killed by the hunters out at the Shale quarry, under the orders of the miserable excuse for a human, Luke Calambor. He is the reason that we have been exposed, the reason that our secret, which has been ours and our ancestors for hundreds of years is out in the world.” The hate in Ashton’s voice for Luke is palpable. He takes a breath to get himself under control.
“And now, not content with the damage he’s already done, he’s trying to turn the world against us. He’s trying to paint us as animals, savages, convincing people that we’re a threat to them and the media is lapping it up. They don’t care about getting to the truth; all they care about is what gets them the highest ratings. But I need you to forget about all of that right now.” The heads of the weres whip up at Ashton’s words. They look between them, making sure they’ve heard him right. Even Gus, standing on Ashton’s right, asserting his position as second in command, seems surprised, but he remains silent, deferring to his Pack Master.
The murmurs between the weres start off as a rumble of annoyance, building to outright anger. Ashton looks over them, levelling them with a stare that silences the entire crowd.
“The worst thing that we could do is to prove them all right. If we come out, teeth bared, ready for a fight then we tell them that we’re exactly what they think, that we’re savages, that we’re dangerous. We need to keep our heads, to keep calm and to do what’s best for the pack in the long term, not just what feels good right now.” Sofie sees the whites of Ashton’s knuckles go white as he struggles to say words that she knows are making him sick. He is a fighter, courageous and unafraid. But now he was being forced to be a strategist, to look ten steps ahead and to put his own feelings on the back burner, yet again.
“Fuck that, man! They hurt Lola, we need to end them, now!” Rudy, one of the younger weres, pipes up, vibrating with anger. Sofie wonders if he’s going to manage to keep the wolf inside of him under control with his temper running so high.
Lindsey is clearly thinking the same thing and without thinking twice she crosses the circle to stand in front of him. For a petite woman, she commands attention. “You don’t speak that way to the Pack Master.” She stares at him, a grim intensity in her gaze. “The next time you do, you’ll have me to deal with, understood?” Her words are threatening and Rudy clearly knows that she has the muscle to back it up.
He ducks his head, avoiding her gaze, training his eyes on the ground, a typical canine submissive gesture. “Understood.” The word comes out forced, but Lindsey nods, satisfied, returning to Sofie’s side.
“That was pretty badass,” Sofie leans in to whisper in Lindsey’s ear.
“And this surprises you, why?” Lindsey raises an eyebrow sassily.
Ashton carries on talking as if there hadn’t been an interruption, as if the outburst doesn’t even warrant his attention. In reality he was probably too close to agreeing with Rudy for comfort, but he knows that he doesn’t have the luxury of petty revenge, not when he’s responsible for the lives of all these people.
“We need to k
now what’s going on outside. Things look bad on the news, but I’d rather get my own information. Once we know what the situation is in Beaumont we can decide on the next steps we need to take, what we’re going to do and if and when we’re going to leave.” The last phrase brings the volume of the assembled crowd back up again.
“Leave? This is our home!”
“Where are we supposed to go?”
“We’re just running away?”
“No way! I’m not going anywhere!”
Ashton waits until the noise dies down. It’s clear that nothing that has happened has been unexpected. He knows his pack better than anyone. But, all the same, Sofie has to resist the urge to run to him when she sees the pain in his eyes. She knows what he’s thinking, about the over-developed sense of responsibility that makes him such a good leader and also makes him care too much. At times it’s as if she can feel his thoughts as easily as she can her own. In his mind, not only has he lost their ancestral home in the canyon, but also it was on his watch that the secret of the Lycans had been uncovered. Under his guard everything was now forfeit, including their lives.
“We wouldn’t be running away. We’re making plans to do the smart thing. I have no intention of getting any of the pack hurt or, worse, killed over land. Yes, this has been our home for a long time. But this land is just earth and grass, we don’t need it. All we need is the pack. All we need is each other.” Ashton looks at each individual, pushing through the meaning of his words. Some of the weres nod in agreement; others look away, avoiding his gaze, as if they’re ashamed of what he’s saying.
“What about the sacred stones?” Lola’s question is quiet and lacks any accusation. It’s logistical, not emotional. They all know how important the stones are to the pack, they’re part of its life-blood, part of its being.
Ashton nods, it’s clear that he has envisaged this question. “If we leave, and it’s still an ‘if,’ nothing has been decided yet. If we leave, we take as many as we can with us and bury the rest. Perhaps when things have calmed down a little we can come back.” He clears his throat to get the sense of longing out of his voice. It’s obvious, to Sofie at least, that the idea of coming back to the canyon once they leave is more a pipe dream to Ashton than a real possibility. He knows that once they leave, Shale will take over all the land that they can, drilling for oil in every possible location. If they leave then they lose everything, there’s no two ways about it.
But his comforting words have the desired effect on the pack. The majority nod in agreement, getting that faraway look in their eyes that show they’re already thinking about that far off time when they’ll be able to come home again. Sofie’s heart very nearly breaks for them. She had never had a home that she felt that strongly about. A home was just a house or an apartment to her. She couldn’t imagine what the Lycans must be feeling at the idea of having to leave the only real home they’ve ever known.
“Now, if there are no more questions. We need some volunteers to go and take a look around Beaumont, get the lay of the land after the events of yesterday to figure out how much time we have before the shit really hits the fan for us.” Ashton surveys the men and women around him.
“I’ll go.” Sofie has taken a step forward before she’s even realized it.
Ashton levels an unimpressed look at her. “Not you.” He dismisses her with his gaze.
“Why the hell not?” Her tone is frustrated. She knows that you’re supposed to speak to the Pack Master with a certain level of respect but right now she couldn’t care less. She’s tired of being sidelined.
Ashton steps towards her slowly, menacingly, clearly angry at her outburst. “Because you’re recognizable. Your face is all over the news. It would only take a few seconds for someone to realize who you are and that would be the end of our reconnaissance and potentially the end of you.” Sofie stands her ground, although his expression makes her want to turn tail and run. “Understood?”
Sofie nods quickly, taking a step back, bringing her in line with the others. Lindsey puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sofie knows that what Ashton is saying makes perfect sense, but she just wishes he would let her help, somehow, anyhow.
“I’ll go.” Rudy’s voice pierces through Sofie’s frustration like a pin through a balloon.
“Can you keep it together?” Ashton doesn’t bother to frame the question in subtlety.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill anyone.” Rudy smiles showing rows of white teeth. It didn’t seem to Sofie that werewolves were big on subtlety.
“Good. Rudy hasn’t been identified and his family don’t live in Beaumont so there won’t be anyone to point a finger at him.” Ashton nods in satisfaction.
“He’ll need someone to watch his back.” An older Hispanic looking woman, Teresa steps up and slaps Rudy on the back so hard he almost falls down.
“Good. You get in and get out, no hanging around or picking fights. Under no circumstances are you to change and make sure you’re back well before sundown, I don’t want the half moon making you two any crazier than you already are.” He throws them both that smile of his which makes Sofie weak at the knees. “At the first sign of trouble you get the hell out of there, do you understand me?” His voice brooks no opposition.
“Yes Pack Master.” They respond in unison, heads down showing respect for their alpha. As the weres disperse from the meeting, Sofie avoids all eye contact with Ashton, not quite ready yet to forgive him for calling her out and making her look like an idiot in front of the entire pack.
“Sofe,” Lindsey’s voice is a warning in her ear, “why do you look like you’re about to do something that isn’t going to make Ashton very happy?”
Sofie flashes a grin at her friend, but it holds no mirth. “There’s more than one way to get information on what’s going on in the great big world outside.” She ignores the consternation on Lindsey’s face and hustles into the house, putting the SIM card that she’d removed the night before back into her cell. She sits on the bed, making sure that she’s prepared for what she’s about to hear and then she dials the number of one of only two people outside the clearing that she feels she can trust.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I wasn’t sure when I was going to hear from you again, boss!” Finn’s voice is lazy, like he’s just woken up.
“How lucky can you get, right?” Sofie lapses easily into their accustomed banter. Finn was the little brother she’d never had and he was the only one that she knew she could contact without risking discovery. Finn had cloaked his cell so Shale wouldn’t be able to listen in on the conversation or track the call. Sometimes having a computer genius as a best friend was worth more than just the odd free upgrade.
“So how are you doing?” Finn gets straight to the point, never one for small talk. He covers the concern in his voice with a cough and Sofie smiles into the receiver.
“Well, I can honestly say that I’ve been better, Finnbarr.” Sofie heaves a sigh, not even knowing where to start. So she goes from the beginning, which is usually the best place to start. She tells Finn about fixing up Lola’s shoulder, how she was afraid that she was going to die under her care. She tells him about her freaky dream of Luke shooting her and the weight of the pack that Ashton is carrying around with him. She starts to tell him about her request to be turned, but that seems like a conversation for another time, preferably over a few glasses of wine, once this was all behind them. Who knows how long that would be?
“So, what is Ashton hoping to figure out from the little mission he’s sent those guys out on? The only thing they’re going to find is a bunch of extremists and a whole lot of graffiti. This place has turned into Beirut overnight.” Finn’s defeated tone makes Sofie shiver.
“Is it really that bad out there? It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet since the news broke!” Sofie rubs her temple, aware of the dull ache in her head that has become an accustomed part of her day. She swallows done a couple of aspirin and waits for them to take the edge off.
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“It’s worse.” Finn’s perception of events is stark.
“What’s Luke’s angle? Apart from being the darling of every news network from here to Timbuktu!” The taste of Luke’s name in her mouth makes her want to wash it out with soap. The very thought of him and what he’s doing to Ashton, to the pack, to her, to Darwin is enough to make her sick.
“Well, if there’s one thing you can’t accuse him of, it’s being camera-shy!” Finn laughs without humour, his opinion on his boss is about as high as Sofie’s.
“So what’s his end game? What’s he trying to pull?” Sofie knows her ex boss well enough to be under no illusion that he has a long-term plan. Luke plays to win, he doesn’t believe in anything else and he has the advantage of endless resources at his disposal. He was someone that you didn’t want to come up against, but it was a little late for that now.
“He’s preaching about getting rid of the ‘Lycan abomination’, for good. From what I can see, his number one priority right now is getting as many people on his side as he can. And, unfortunately, he’s doing a pretty stand-up job of it.” Finn sighs and Sofie can imagine him taking off his glasses, rubbing a hand over his face and replacing them again. “People are scared. They’ve just seen proof that something they never thought existed is out there running around. Luke is using that fear to his advantage. It’s textbook psychology, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work.”
“He was always good at that, using fear to get what he wants.” Sofie remembers Luke cornering her in his limo, threatening her, blackmailing her, throwing a spotlight onto her fears. “Any good news for me, Finn? I could really do with some.” She looks out of the window, watching as various members of the pack take turns to split wood with an axe. The weather is warm, balmy even, there’s no need for a fire, but that’s not why they’re so focused on their labour. It’s a way of using their bodies, using the energy and anger and fear that’s filling them up. It’s something to focus on outside of the fact that their world will never be the same again.
Torrent (Alpha Love - a Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance Book 4) Page 2
