To Come First

by J C Rae

  "Well, Mr Kincaid," I start as I'm absorbing everything he said. "Our foster parents' bodies are in the basement because they came after us today. I wasn't sure what set them off but if Mrs Botch got ahold of them, they might have been trying to clean up the evidence." I lean back into the couch with a sigh and shake my head. "What the hell am I going to do now?"

  "You're coming with me!" Matt says firmly while looking at his Uncle.

  I shake my head slowly, knowing that I can't impose like that on his Uncle. No matter what Matt says, there's no way that he wants to take responsibility for a teenage girl. "Matt, I really appreciate that but I can't expect your Uncle to take me in too. It's not like I'm the easiest person to get along with and I'm used to being on my own. I'll be fine."

  With that said, I get up and start towards my room to pack. His next words stop me in my tracks.

  "Uncle, I owe Ash a life debt. She saved me when Glen attacked. If not for her, I would've bled to death from being shot."

  Carl seems to perk up at this information and his head turns in my direction before settling back on Matt. "And how exactly did she save your life, Matty?"

  He looks between me and his Uncle, as if unsure of what to say next. I know that he's wondering if he should tell his Uncle exactly what happened but he doesn't want to break my trust. The look on his face is painful and I can't take it. I don't get any bad vibes from either of them and Carl seems to set off the same feeling of family that I get with Matt so I decide to go out on a limb.

  "I guess I would need to answer that question for you since it is my secret to share, Mr. Kincaid," I start but get interrupted.

  "Young lady, from the sounds of things, you saved my only living blood relative today so I think you've earned the right to call me either Carl or Uncle. I would prefer Uncle, but I understand if you're not comfortable with that yet. It may take some time but I have a feeling that you will become part of my family. Now, please continue."

  Bewildered, I just stare at Matt who just laughs and nods his head for me to go ahead. With a deep breath, I continue. "As I was saying, I'm not exactly a normal teenage girl. I moved in here when I was 12 years old. I'd only been here for a couple months before Glen and Jane showed their true selves. They snuck into my room and assaulted me. Glen sliced up my stomach while Jane put her cigarette out on my skin. While they were doing that, I remember feeling a tingling go thru my body. I thought that I was dying and I was truly happy for the first time. But that's not what happened. The tingling spread out across my entire body and then shot out of me. It knocked them both away from me and shocked the shit out of them every time they tried to get close. I had no idea what was going on but I knew that I was safe for the moment. I passed out shortly after that and when I woke up they were gone. I still had the slices along my body but they looked a week old instead of a couple hours. I'm not sure what happened while I was out but it seems like my body tried to fix itself." I pause when I hear a quick intake of breath. The entire time I'm speaking, I've kept all emotion out of my voice. I look at Uncle quickly to see what he's thinking but the only thing I see in his eyes is pure rage.

  When he sees me looking at him, he quickly tells me that I don't have to continue but I shake my head at him. It's easier to gloss over it now so I don't have to rehash these memories once I'm out of this god forsaken house.

  "Thru it all, my shield would come and go. Whenever I was scared out of my mind, it would pop up so that no one could touch me. Over the last couple years, I have gotten much better at controlling it and now I can use it to protect not only myself, but someone else. That's how I kept Matt from getting shot--I wrapped him in my shield."

  They both just sit there, deep in thought, so I settle back on the couch to wait. Uncle was the first one to look up at me and the emotion I saw in his eyes almost broke me. I've never had anyone actually care what happened to me and I saw more in that one look than I had in a lifetime. He cleared his throat and then spoke softly, "Is that all?"

  I looked at Matt to see if he wanted to chime in and he nodded. "Uncle, when I shifted into my wolf, I was able to mind speak with Ash. Neither one of us knows how that happened but we could both hear each other. Umm, well...." he cuts himself off and looks at me so I continue.

  "I can hear him when he's in wolf form and when he's in human form. I'm guessing that's not normal?" I blurt out.

  Uncle stares at me like I've grown a second head and I have half a mind to pat above my shoulders to check but I sit still. He then turns his stare towards Matt, who shrugs his shoulders. Uncle clears his throat and turns back to me. "So, I'm guessing this is the first time that's happened?"

  I can't help it, I laugh. Quite loudly. "Yeah, this seems to be my first step towards the looney bin."

  "Well, you at least have a sense of humor!" He shakes his head and chuckles. "Would you be willing to try to connect with me thru my mind?"

  Now it's my turn to look at him like he's got two heads. "I don't know what I did the first time so I don't really know how to do that."

  That's okay Ash. I'll help.

  The only reason that I know he didn't speak the words out loud are because I'm looking at him and his mouth didn't move. Well, I guess if I'm riding this train to crazy town, I might as well enjoy it. Yeah, I can hear you. Guess now I have voices in my head. As if I wasn't weird enough!

  Chapter 10

  Uncle looks at me for a minute before saying anything. "First things first, what is this I hear about bodies that need taken care of?"

  "Well," Matt starts hesitantly," when Glen freaked out on us, we had to fight back. It took us both but we were able to get him down. He wouldn't stop fighting us though, so I had to kill him. His wife wasn't too happy about that and she decided that we needed to die. After Ash knocked her out, she came over to me to make sure I was okay. Neither one of us was paying attention to Jane so we didn't notice that she got up. When she tried to grab the gun, I noticed her movement and was on her as fast as I could. She didn't make it. I took both their bodies to the kitchen cupboard so we didn't have to look at them."

  “Wow, it sounds like you guys have had an interesting day!”

  Uncle was right. It had been a long day and I could definitely feel it catching up with me. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do but I know that I need to figure it out. My sigh seemed to catch both guys attention. They had been speaking quietly to each other while I was zoning off.

  “Ash, did you hear what I said?” Uncle asked me.

  Of course I didn’t but who can blame me. I haven’t had a normal day. First, I get whacked upside the head in what probably would’ve been a killing blow if I wouldn’t have been shielded. Then, I watch Matt change into a wolf right in front of me. The voices in my head are just the icing on the top of this shit-cake day. I guess either I’m completely insane or these guys are werewolves. Guess I’m going with the wolves then. With this revelation, I look back up at Uncle and Matt, who are both staring at me expectantly. Oops, guess I zoned out again.

  “Well, I’m still trying to figure out if I’m going insane.” I start with a little laugh. “I guess we can all visit crazy town together if I am. To answer your question, no I didn’t hear what you said to me. I’ve been kind of stuck in my head. What were we talking about again?”

  Uncle laughs as he looks at Matt, who just shrugs. “We were discussing what we need to do with Glen and Jane so we can get out of here and over to Uncle’s pack. He’s got a couple people coming in to handle things here so all we need to do is get our stuff packed, if that’s okay with you.”

  I know he feels like he owes me something but I just don’t want Uncle to feel like he has to take me with him. With this thought, I look over at Uncle. “You don’t have to take me with you if it’s too much trouble. I know you’ve been thru a lot losing your brother and then looking for Matt. I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.”

  “Ash, you are definitely not putting me out. I would be proud
to take you back to my pack with us. There’s a couple rules that we will need to talk about before we get there but it’s not too much. I hope that you will join us.”

  As he’s talking, I watch his face. He seems to be telling the truth and I know that Matt wants me to go with them. What do I really have here? I will miss the kids at the center but I can still come visit them or even give them a call at the gym. I definitely won’t miss this house and it’s not like I ever made any friends here. This is a hard decision and I would hate to jump from one bad situation to the next but honestly, how am I gonna support myself? Ugh, I really just want to find somewhere that I can belong.

  “Uncle, if you truly mean what you say then I would love to come with you guys.” That’s all I can get out of my mouth before Matt is picking me up off the couch to twirl me around. Damn, that boys strong. “Wait, Matt, I wasn’t done.” He gently sets me back down on my feet and it looks like someone kicked his puppy. I hate to be the one that put that look on his face but I have to make sure that this is going to be a good choice. “Uncle, can you guarantee that I will be safe going with you? I don’t want to go from one bad situation to another and I really don’t know you guys. I have never trusted easily until I met Matt and he just kinda snuck under my defenses. I want to believe that you have my best interests in mind but honestly, no one else ever has. So far, I’ve learned that no one is going to look out for me but myself. Because of that, I don’t want to put myself in another shitty situation.”

  With that said, I take a seat back on the couch to wait while these two sort themselves out. Damn, I’m tired but I’m hoping we can figure out what to do and get done with it.

  Matt snaps me out of my musing first “Ash, I would never let anyone hurt you. You will be safe and I hope that one day you will consider me family. You're like my sister from another mister and you’ve helped me from falling into that dark abyss of depression. I know you haven’t had it easy but from here on out, you will be taken care of.”

  “Ash, I have to agree with Matt. I know that you don’t know much about our pack but please understand that females are prized and protected above all else. No one will force you to do anything that you don’t want to. I will explain more on the way but you need to know that females are rare for wolves. Honestly, there’s about 1 in 5 born. Now, I know that you’re not a wolf but since you can mind speak with us, you must be related to us somehow. That make you able to be part of my pack. Even if you couldn’t, though, I would take you just for the fact that Matt seems to have adopted you into our family and you saved his life. Plus, I’ve always wanted a niece to spoil and never had the opportunity so you guys need to go get your stuff packed up and we will be on our way.”

  I’m not sure what to say at first so I just sit there and stare. They truly want me to come. They want to include me in their family. I’ve never really had that, at least not that I can remember. I don’t want to be the fool that gets taken advantage of but I also don’t sense any bad vibes coming off either one of them. For once, I am going to trust my gut and go with it. If I don’t like it, I can always leave.

  ◆◆◆

  It only took us about 15 minutes to get our stuff packed up. Uncle made a couple phone calls while we were doing that and there were people there cleaning things up before we had even left the house. Since that's taken care of, we pile into the car and down the road we go. I'm not sure what type of car this is but it's big, black and roomy. I didn't realize that someone had been sitting in the car the whole time that Uncle had been in the house but evidently that was the case. He didn't seem to mind.

  "Hi, I'm Ash. I didn't realize you were sitting out here or I would've invited you inside. Sorry about that."

  It was like he didn't know what to think about my words because he just stared at me. I didn't feel scared of him so I let him continue with his assessment and just quirked up a brow. I'm being cocky but my shield's in place and I know he can't hurt me. With that last thought, I sit back in the seat to hopefully enjoy the ride as the driver turns around and pulls out onto the road.

  Holy crap, I never asked where we are going. Damn, I must be losing it to trust them so much. I spring forward in the seat, "Where the hell are we going, anyways? I just realized that I didn't ask."

  With a chuckle, Uncle turns around. "Ash, we are going to my pack house, which is in Ohio. It's actually only about an hour away from here. Also, in case you were wondering, this is Randolf, one of my Beta's. I know you probably don't know what that means but I'm hoping that we can use this hour to go over some things."

  "Isn't a Beta like the second in command or something? I remember reading a book about shifters and they mentioned it. I'm guessing that you're the main man in charge, right?"

  "Yeah, I'm the Alpha of my pack. However, I am not the 'main man in charge', as you say. There are many different packs around the world and we are governed by the Alpha councils. I sit on the local council which is only 1 of the 10 in the world. It is our job to make sure all of our rules are followed and that norms don't find out about our existence. Beta's are like the second in command, so you are correct there. I have 4 Beta's in my pack and Randolf is of those. The other three are Luca, Bryce, and Braxton. You will meet all of them when you get to the house."

  With a smirk, I interrupt, "Well, if they're all as talkative as Randolf here, then I don't know if I'll be able to handle having them all together. We may have to stagger those greetings."

  A snort from the front makes me jump, mostly because I wasn't expecting it. I look towards Uncle but see that he is staring at Randolf with his mouth partly open and a confused look on his face.

  "You, young lady, are gonna be the best kinda trouble I've seen in awhile. Alpha Carl, you better watch this one. Without her scent, you can't tell what she's thinking or what she's going to say next. She's going to have the wolves nipping at her heels, especially with how pretty she is."

  What he's saying sounds serious but he's got a slight tilt of his lips that makes me think he's teasing me. Uncle still isn't saying anything so I take the chance to respond. "You Mr Randolf are correct. I'll be happy to keep you all on your toes during my stay. And you better keep those big bad wolves from nipping too close because I will blow their houses down!"

  Matt, who hasn't said anything since we got in the car, decides now's the time to chime in, loudly. "I've claimed her as family, so they will have to go thru me first! That includes you too Randolf. Don't think I can't scent your interest."

  Now, that throws me for a loop and I look between all three of these guys. Matt has an irritated scowl on his face, aimed towards the front, while Uncle is still watching Randolf like he's grown another head. The man in question just shrugs his shoulders and says, "I wouldn't be averse to getting to know her. What's wrong with that?"

  I’m not sure what the hell they’re talking about but I know I’m at the middle of it and I’ve had enough. “Hold the hell up you guys. First of all, what’s up with all this scent talk? I showered today so I know I don’t smell horribly bad. I mean, I did kind of help kill two people so I’m not flowery fresh but dayum, what do you expect! Secondly, if that’s your idea of hitting on me Randolf, then you suck at it. I’m not easy and I’m not scared of you. I also have no problem knocking the shit out of you if you try to get handsy. As for you, Matt, I appreciate the thought but I’ve dealt with assholes all my life and managed to take care of myself just fine.”

  Before I can continue my rant, Uncle holds up a hand as if to silence everyone. “Ash, I understand the confusion and I hope that I can help. Randolf does bring up a good point about your scent but he’s not saying it as a bad thing. As wolves, we can scent different emotions on people. This helps us to know if they are hurt, scared, confused, or even amorous. I didn’t really pay attention earlier but you don’t seem to have a scent at all. I can smell a slight scent coming from your stuff but not from you. Are you shielding right now?”

  “Duh, of course I am.” I start, as if he
should know. “I’m headed who knows where with people that I don’t really know. I may have been born at night but it wasn’t last night. I’m giving you guys the benefit of the doubt here but trust is earned, and no one has been able to earn that from me for as long as I can remember. Until I know that you guys mean what you say, then I will protect myself in whatever way I deem necessary.”

  Uncle seems to process my words and then nods as if he agrees. What he says next just confirms that. “Ash, I would like to earn your trust, no matter how long that takes. I do have a favor that I would like to ask but you can refuse.” I nod my head at him to let him know that I’m listening so he continues. “Would you drop your shield for just a couple minutes so that I can get your scent? This is just so that I can be familiar with it. As I said, you don’t have to but it would make things easier for me to explain some things to you.”