Blood Legacy (Wolf Moon Academy Book 2)

by Jen L. Grey

  "What can someone like you do?" He chuckled like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Tell the heir on me? He won't believe you."

  "Why is that?" I needed to understand how all these jackasses really thought.

  "I'm a strong alpha male. Everyone weak gets intimidated by me." He waved his other hand in the air. "It was just a misguided, weak wolf's misunderstanding of the entire situation."

  Wow, and I thought it wouldn't get uglier. "I'm not leaving Liam if that's what you're getting at. And if you feel brave enough to try to do something to me, bring it on." I yanked my arm away from his grasp and allowed my wolf to bleed through. "We're done here."

  His eyes widened at what they found, but I turned on my heel and headed back to the table. I needed to tell Liam as soon as we were done here what had gone down.

  The rest of the dinner passed in a blur, and I still couldn't get over Mr. Grover's nerve as we walked into our hotel room in the Baccarat Hotel. My mouth dropped open at the white modern feel of the room that had to cost a small fortune. The sheets and couch were solid white and there was a small, straight-line coffee table in the center. Our bags had already been delivered and were sitting next to the table.

  "Do you think we should have stayed with the others? It probably would've been less expensive." The other three heirs got a suite that they were sharing. Liam had demanded that we have our own room.

  "Hell, no." His jaw clenched as he glared at the door. "I don't trust that psychopath."

  "I take it you mean Simon." That was a dead-on analysis.

  "He's always been the crazier one out of the four of us, but it didn't hit until now how out of his mind he truly is." Liam pulled me into his arms. "He can't be trusted at all."

  "I don't think it's entirely his fault." For him to act like that, something tragic had to have happened.

  "You're too forgiving." He pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. "But we're still safer here away from them."

  That, I couldn't disagree with. "So about tonight..." I hadn't told him yet what I'd overheard since I didn't want to interfere with the meeting they were having. If you could even call it that; it was only about how they needed more money to make money. Not once did they mention the poor conditions in which some of the packs were living.

  "Are you excited about seeing the play? I think it's Phantom of the Opera." A small grin spread across his face.

  "I don't think we should go." I hated saying it. I’d always wanted to go watch an opera.

  "Why not?" His forehead creased as he tilted his head at me.

  I filled him in on what I had overheard at the restaurant. "I think we need to go check it out."

  "I'm sure they'd let us know if they were..." His words trailed off, and he took in a deep breath. "No, they wouldn't let us know, would they?"

  "Nope." It was like watching him sift through sand as a part of him woke up that he’d never even known was dormant. "All they talked about was ways to make themselves and all of you more money."

  "Dammit." He leaned his forehead against mine. "I've never noticed that stuff before, but you're right."

  "So are you okay with my plan?"

  "Yeah, you're right. We need to go check it out." He took in a deep breath and let it out. "Let me text Evan so he's not waiting for us."

  I glanced at the clock and couldn't believe how late it was. It was almost six in the evening. That meeting had felt like it took forever for a damn good reason.

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and typed a message. "Are you ready to go?"

  The sooner we got there, the better. "Yeah."

  As we walked out the door, the heirs’ room opened with the three of them in the doorway.

  "What are you doing?" Liam's body tensed as if he was preparing for a fight.

  "We want to go with you." Micah shrugged his shoulder as he glanced from me back to Liam. "It's not like I really wanted to go watch that show anyway."

  "Are you sure you want to do this?" Liam's eyes landed on Evan. "If we do find something, it'll be hardest for you to turn your back on it."

  I squeezed Liam's hand. He was trying to be a friend to Evan, but this was something we all needed to see. I hadn't wanted to force them to go, but if they were willing, we needed to take them up on their offer.

  "Yeah, I'm sure." Evan nodded his head and stepped into the hallway with us.

  "I've got a limo downstairs, waiting on us." Micah stepped beside Evan.

  "Wait. No." Were they crazy? "You're expecting us to roll up to a place that has horrible living conditions in a fucking limo?"

  They all blinked as they processed what I said.

  "No, we can take a taxi just like anyone else." I'd feel like an asshole doing that.

  "For the record, I think this is all bullshit and we should just go to the show or to a bar to find a quick lay." Simon's cold frown landed on me. "But of course, none of you listen to anyone … but her now."

  "Will you stop with the bullshit?" Liam's growl was way too loud for a hotel hallway. He was beginning to lose control. "I'm so tired of your mouth. None of us give a damn about what you think anymore."

  Simon's amber eyes began to glow.

  "You two knock it off." We didn't need them shifting and fighting right here in the hallway. "Let's go. Simon, you don't have to go if you don't want to." I turned on my heel and headed toward the elevator.

  Hey, he was being an asshole. Liam caught up to me, his jaw still clenched.

  And we're out here where humans could see and hear us. I don’t think Simon takes any of that into account when he starts things with you, and I think he provokes you in public on purpose. I hit the elevator door, and the five of us piled inside.

  The ride down was quiet, and when we walked out onto the sidewalk, Liam hailed two cabs.

  He and I got in one, and the remaining three got in the other. We gave them the road and the description of the apartment building, and then we were on our way.

  It took nearly twenty minutes to get there with all of the traffic. When we pulled up to the building, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a brick building, but some windows were busted out or cracked. I climbed out of the car, followed by Liam. We both stood there and waited for the others.

  Shifters definitely live here. Liam took my hand and glanced over his shoulder at the other three heirs as they got out of their cab.

  I have a feeling it's going to be even worse inside. I headed to the front door.

  Simon hissed behind me. "Why is everyone okay with her taking the lead?" He pushed Evan in the shoulder. "That should be you."

  "Shut up." Evan glared at Simon. "Touch me one more time, and see what happens."

  "Just come on, man." Micah grabbed Simon's arm and pulled him after me. "It's best if you keep that damn mouth of yours closed."

  Not even bothering to pay attention to his incessant griping, I pulled at the main door, expecting it to be locked, but it swung open. "That's not very safe." Then, the scent of feces and urine hit my nose, causing me to gag.

  Liam stepped into the place, and I followed directly after him with the other three coming in behind us. There was a set of stairs to the right where the railing hung down, not even connecting to the steps. Liam bypassed it, going straight to the end where a long hallway stretched off to the right and left. There were water stains streaked down the walls and ceiling, and a rat scurried by on the dingy, brown carpet.

  It sounded like a television was on in one of the rooms to the right, so Liam turned in that direction.

  He lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

  The television stopped, and the sound of footsteps led to the door. "Who is it?" The voice cracked with age.

  "It's the heirs to the council." Liam's voice was scratchy, and he cleared his throat.

  "Is this some kind of joke?" The door opened, revealing a man who was Liam's height but was hunched over and so thin that skin hung from his skeleton. His almost white eyes widened. "Holy shit." He took i
n Liam, then me, and then the three huge men behind me.

  A door a few apartments down swung open to reveal a younger woman—or at least, I thought she was—who glanced down the hall at us. Her expression seemed young, but her hair was limp, her eyes sunken, and her posture was hunched.

  "Look, don't you think we’ve paid enough for it?" The older man stumbled back with fear shining in his eyes.

  "What do you mean?" Liam said his words slowly as surprise filtered through our bond.

  "Don't act like you don't know. Why else would you be here?" His lower lip quivered. "We now live in a dump where it hurts to breathe. Isn't that penance enough?"

  "Have you told anyone about the conditions you live in?" Something had to be amiss, or at least, I hoped. However, after what I had heard earlier, I doubted it. "Like Mr. Lyndon or Mr. Grover?"

  The old man started cackling. "Who the hell do you think did this to us? Hell, Mr. Lyndon is our landlord."

  "There has to be a reason for this." Evan's face was a mask of indifference.

  I'd learned that his neutral expression was used when he felt too many emotions. It made him appear cold, but it was actually when he cared the most.

  "Oh, there is." The old man paused and took us all in. "You really are clueless, aren't you? Your dad didn't tell you?"

  "Tell us what?" Micah took a step toward the old man so he could look inside his apartment.

  "We heard that The Blood Council was giving our city more money, so we had asked for help with the cost of living. It's hard to survive here and blend in with the humans. Mr. Grover and Mr. Lyndon ignored our requests, so I went straight to the top. After all, I'm their pack alpha. One week later, we got an answer. One we had thought was a blessing."

  This wasn't going in a good direction. I glanced around and saw several people now leaning out their doors, watching us. They all looked greasy and unkempt like they didn't even have running water.

  "They said they bought us an apartment building so our whole pack could live together and we would only have to pay a thousand a month each. Here, that's cheap, so we jumped at the opportunity. We have to live in packs here and only where the city alpha will allow us. When we rolled up here, we thought, surely, they were going to remodel. After ten years, we gave up hope. It's actually gotten worse instead of better."

  "How so?" Evan's voice was deep.

  "Well, we don't have clean water any longer. Between the roaches and mice, it's hard to sleep here even in animal form." He shook his head. "Since we caused so many problems, we all could only get low paying jobs cleaning up after the elites of the city. We struggle to feed ourselves, and we can't go out in wolf form often because it's the city."

  "I'm sure you all deserved it." Simon sneered at the older man. "Let's go before we start smelling like this place."

  "Shut the fuck up, Simon." Micah's tone was harsh, which was rare for him. He usually didn't talk to any of the heirs that way.

  "Well, if we did, there are several others in similar situations. Only a handful of packs here live in good conditions. The only thing we can be thankful for is a roof over our heads, but some days, I think it might be better to live as our animals outside."

  "Why don't you move to another city then?" There had to be some other reason that kept them here that I didn't know.

  "Because in my region, you have to get approval to move." Evan shook his head and took in a deep breath before wincing. "I can honestly say I had no idea this was happening."

  "But will you make changes when you come into power?" The older man's eyes barely glowed.

  He was weak, but his pack wasn't worth taking over. No one person would choose to live here.

  A baby screamed at the end of the hall where a lady was standing. She rocked the little angel in her arms, but the baby kept wailing louder.

  My eyes landed on the scene, and I took a few steps down the hall. I approached the woman slowly since she looked so frightened. "Is she okay?" I finally could see the baby clearly, and she was bone thin as well.

  "She's just hungry." The mom's eyes filled with tears. "I can't breastfeed her because we don't have enough to eat … and we get formula as often as we can."

  My heart broke. These people might as well be homeless, and yet they still paid a monthly rate to live this way. We need to do something. These people can't starve.

  We'll order them some pizzas, and I'll get some groceries delivered too. Liam's eyes met mine. It'll have to do until we can go home and make a change.

  Simon and Micah had left, but Evan, Liam, and I helped deliver groceries to each apartment in the building. We made sure each household with children got larger supplies of whatever they needed.

  We were pretty sure we had found the person that the young lady had been so upset about in the restaurant’s bathroom. When we entered her room, an older lady was weak and lying on the ground. The alpha had told us about how she’d stepped on a nail or something and within the next few days, she couldn’t open her mouth. That was two weeks ago, and she hadn’t been able to eat or drink since then. She looked as if she was already at death's door.

  With Evan being pre-med, he had known it was tetanus immediately and cleaned the wound on her foot, which still hadn’t healed from the toxins. He explained that even though we were shifters, there were certain bacteria that could even take us down. Had she been human, she wouldn’t have lasted this long. He called a family friend who dropped antibiotics off while we were still there.

  As we headed to leave the place for the night, the older man rushed toward us before we walked out the door.

  "I want to say thank you." Tears filled his pale eyes, and he took a deep breath. "We haven't had someone take care of us like this in such a long time. I hope you're able to make the changes needed when you come into power, and remember what The Blood Council is meant to stand for."

  Ignoring his smell, I pulled him into my arms and hugged him. "We won't forget." And I meant every word.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The night’s events had taken a toll on all of us. The ride back to the hotel had been quiet, and as soon as we got into the hotel room, I took a long, hot shower.

  My heart was still broken over what we had seen. Yes, we bought them food, treated the ones who needed medicine, and even scheduled a pest control company to handle the rats and roaches. Still, it didn't seem like nearly enough. And the fact that the alpha had alluded to other packs being treated the same way made me want to vomit.

  It made me feel horrible for staying in such a nice place. Even the shower was nicer than what I had back home. The white marble tile and rain faucet almost felt sinful to enjoy.

  "Are you okay?" Liam's voice was raspy as he slid open the shower door and joined me under the spray.

  My eyes soaked up his naked form. His chest was muscular, and his strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me into him.

  "I can't get over what we saw tonight." I had expected it to be bad, but that had been so much worse than what I could have ever imagined. "I don't understand how they could do that to their own people."

  "I'm shocked too." His hand ran through my wet hair. "But because of you, we're seeing what's going on, and within the next year, we'll be on the council and can fix everything."

  "The next year?" I knew it was coming up soon, but it was faster than I had expected. "When you graduate?"

  "Yeah, but don't worry. You'll be able to step into the Overseer role at the same time we ascend. I'll make sure it happens." He lowered his lips onto mine.

  Some of my worries melted away as my body warmed to his touch. What are you and the others graduating in? I know Evan is pre-med, but it's strange that I have no clue about your major. The mate bond was unusual in that your soul recognized its other half, but the small details like majors and family life were things you had to learn about one another just as humans did.

  I'm majoring in Business while Micah is majoring in Economics. He pulled back as his shoulders started shaking.
And Simon is Communications.

  That had to be a joke. You've got to be kidding me?

  Believe it or not, he can be convincing when it's something he believes in. Liam leaned down and kissed my lips again. But enough about them. Right now, I want to give my amazing, caring mate some much-needed attention. His hands slipped between my legs.

  As he touched me, everything else seemed to fade away in my mind. His touch was doing wonderful things to my body.

  He began trailing kisses down my neck and stopped at my breast. Water coated both of us, but in this moment, it was like it didn't exist. Right now, his touch and lips were making me delirious.

  My back was against the cool tile wall as he thrust inside me. With each move, he connected with me more in both physical and emotional form.

  He was upset about what he’d seen too, but he knew we could overcome anything.

  It was amazing because even though I loved him with every fiber of my being, I managed to still fall in love with him more and more with each passing day. I moaned as his fingers dug into my waist, holding me steady as I wrapped my legs around him.

  His lips claimed mine again, and my head grew dizzy. His smell, his touch, and his mouth were the only things that mattered to me at that moment.

  It was only a short time later that we both climaxed. His body leaned toward mine as he pulled me against his chest and into his arms.

  At that moment, I knew no matter what happened, we'd get through it together.

  "So, now we're going to bumblefuck." Simon pouted as he dropped into his usual spot on the airplane, away from the four of us. "After hanging out in that hell hole, I now have to go get dirty in the south."

  "You do realize I'm from there, right?" Micah arched a dark eyebrow as he took his usual seat in the recliner where his back was toward him.

  "Yeah, and your room is disgusting." Simon leaned back in his chair as he turned on the television. "So if the shoe fits."