by Price, E A
“Me either.”
Lilah twisted a leaf between her fingers. “What did Adam mean when he said you’d earned both our places in the pack?”
“It was when I was trying to find Airis’ killer… I tracked her here to Rose. When the pack discovered me here we found her and we… uh… we killed her.”
Lilah remained silent. Kira twisted on her side to look at her twin.
“She was insane, she was trying to kill Alec’s mate – her own niece! We had to do it. If I hadn’t been there the pack would have done it anyway. She had to be stopped. Even the Council of Shifters agreed.”
“I know Ki. I know you wouldn’t have done it unless you had to. I am sorry you had to though.”
Kira scrubbed a hand over her face. “It’s more like a bad dream now; I try not to think about it.”
Lilah sprang to her feet and held out her hand for her twin. “Come on, we should probably clean up Jolene’s yard. We kind of made a mess…”
Leaves were strewn all over the place. “Yeah whoops!”
They grinned at one another and got to work.
Kira shuddered as she felt a hot flash of rage. She glanced at Lilah who seemed not to have reacted. Kira pushed at her admittedly weak Omega powers and tried to scan the area for other people. She couldn’t sense anyone near. Maybe the rage came from Lilah, although she seemed pretty peaceful.
It was probably nothing. Her powers were still faint she must have just imagined it. But it had felt so real…
Chapter Seven
25th November
Kira stood impatiently waiting for Gabe. It had gotten to the point where her ride home with Gabe was the highlight of her day.
Over the past few days Kira had told him the highlights of her life, about growing up in New Mexico, about her mother the witch and her father the wolf. She told him about how her father owned a horse riding stable and that she adored riding. She and Lilah had shared a horse when they were children called Thundercat. It had seemed like a good name at the time. She even reminisced about the first pony she ever rode, a powder blue horse with bubblegum pink hair on a carousel at the county fair. She went back every year to ride it right up until she left home.
Boy Gabe must be sick to death of listening to her prattle on. He hadn’t said one word about his own life. Which was a bit odd…
Her wolf yipped as Gabe pulled up to the curb and rushed out to her. “Sorry I’m late.”
He said he’d pick her up at 11.05pm, it was now 11.07pm. “I’d hardly say you were late.”
Gabe shrugged. “Hey two minutes is still two minutes.”
Kira giggled as she climbed in the car. “Well if it makes you feel any better I’d only have wasted them anyway.”
Settling into the driver’s seat Gabe turned to her. “So when we left off yesterday you had just won the county horse riding competition. What happened next?”
She grinned. “I’m impressed that you remembered but I think it’s probably time we talked about you.”
Gabe sobered and scowled at her. “Why?”
Kira was momentarily dumbfounded. “Well… ummm… to get to know you I guess. That’s what I thought we were doing. Getting to know each other.” Had she really read the situation that badly?
He grunted and started driving. “My mom died when I was nine, after that I was raised by my aunt. End of story. The rest is none of your business.”
Kira was humiliated to feel tears springing forth. Her wolf whined at her. “I’m sorry, I thought that you and I…”
Abruptly he pulled off the road and jerked to a stop. His wolf snarled at him for daring to use such a harsh tone with their mate. “No I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I really do… ummm…”
Kira groaned as shame, anger and remorse flooded through her. Tentatively she reached out and stroked his arm. His hands were still clamped around the steering wheel, his knuckles almost turning white.
Slowly under her gentle touch he relaxed and was bathed in a soothing wash.
Gabe looked at her dreamily. “I’m really sorry. I just don’t like talking about my past. I have issues with my father.”
“Shhhh it’s okay, you don’t have to tell me anything. One day I hope you will but not until you’re ready.”
“I hope so too.” He breathed as he luxuriated in the calming sensation.
Kira removed her hand and Gabe blinked a few times. He frowned. “Kira are you an Omega?”
She nodded shyly. “When I was living as a rogue I lost touch with my abilities, but since I came back to Rose they’ve been returning to me. You’re not mad are you?”
“Mad? Of course not!” The little she-wolf was full of surprises.
“I was kind of worried they’d never return, but apparently Rose agrees with me. I’m not a very strong Omega to be honest. I’m probably a bit too bossy and opinionated to make a very good one.”
Gabe shot her a lopsided smile. “Glad to hear it… uhh about Rose agreeing with you, not about you being bossy. Not that there’s anything wrong with being bossy but…”
Kira snickered. “How’s that hole you’re digging? Coming along nicely?”
“Well I’ve dug better before now…”
“Oh I believe you!” She teased before sobering a little. “Lilah’s an Omega too, her powers started dwindling when her husband mistreated her but they’re starting to return too.”
Gabe looked at her thoughtfully. “You should tell Adam. As your Alpha he should know.”
“I will, I promise.” She sighed. “Is there any news about the meeting between Adam and my old pack Alpha?”
Gabe’s jaw twitched. “No. Alec contacted the Charming Alpha about a meeting, he didn’t say what the meeting was for but I doubt the Alpha couldn’t guess. So far the Charming Alpha has politely declined, stating he’s too busy. He’s just stalling, while he decides what to do. If he desperately wanted Lilah back he’d have agreed to the meeting in a heartbeat and tried to force Adam to hand her over.”
Kira cut her eyes to Gabe a worried expression on her face. He grinned. “Don’t worry Adam would never have given in.”
Kira nodded. Although Kira didn’t doubt the ferocity of her old Alpha Adam was bigger, stronger and younger. She doubted Joseph Sr would risk challenging Adam. Joseph Sr was slowing down, although he clung to his position it was only a matter of time before he had to step down or be pushed out. Considering that his son was next in line to be Alpha it could go either way. It would be a bad day for the Charming pack when Joseph Jr became Alpha, the father wasn’t the greatest but he was at least a little more reasonable then his son.
Kira felt a little tense as Gabe drove the rest of the way back to her temporary home. He ran round the car and helped her out. Clutching one hand he slid the other round her waist and quickly placed a soft chaste kiss to her lips. Warm jolts pulsed through her body and her wolf virtually fainted in happiness at even the smallest sign of affection. Silly puppy.
“What was that for?” Kira asked breathlessly.
“Just a little apology and to make you feel better.” Gabe told her smugly. He licked his lips savoring her sweet strawberry flavor. His wolf rumbled his pleasure.
“Mmmm I hope you don’t use the same tactic on your boss.”
Gabe shuddered thinking of the six foot three Beta. “No I doubt it would be appreciated.”
He kissed her again, harder this time and said goodnight. He was elated and practically walking on air. Which was probably why he wasn’t watching where he was going and very inelegantly tripped over a rock. Damn what was it that turned him into such a graceless oaf around her?
Kira waved at him from the porch trying not to giggle. He was such a cute klutz!
She shivered as she stared out into the darkened woods. The hairs on the back of her rose. She’d never noticed how quiet the woods were at this time of night. Too quiet. Shouldn’t there be some nocturnal animals blundering around?
No, everything was fine. She was worrying and
creating problems where there were none. Everything was fine.
*
26th November
Carly, Lilah and Kira sat in a circle in Jolene’s family room. Kira had spoken to Adam that morning regarding their burgeoning Omega powers. He told them they needed to immediately sit down with the pack Omega Carly so she could assess their abilities.
Within thirty minutes under the Alpha’s orders Carly arrived at Jolene’s house. Kira didn’t resent Adam’s wariness. Whilst Omegas were treasured and useful members of packs on occasion they had been known to abuse their abilities. And create havoc among their pack mates.
Wolf shifters were aggressive and dominant creatures by nature. Omegas were physically weak and tended to shy away from confrontation. Probably why Kira’s abilities shriveled up when she was on the hunt for Airis’ killer, a vengeance quest wasn’t something an Omega generally did.
Given their natures Omegas were often bullied and scorned by the stronger members of the pack. But a wolf could only take so much… and when Omegas fight back they mess with people’s emotions which generally results in chaos. Wolves don’t need any more incitement to be angry.
Carly looked between the twins serenely. Tendrils of her powers coursed through each of them making them shudder identically. Carly could sure pack a punch if she wanted to. Together the twins could be quite formidable but Kira doubted that both of them were a patch on Carly.
Carly sent waves of calm to them.
“Wow!” Breathed Lilah, she was so relaxed from the strong Omega she felt like she might just melt into a puddle. “You’re really strong.”
Carly beamed at them. “Just practiced. I’ve known I was an Omega since I was 5.”
Kira looked at her incredulously. “You mean you were an Omega before you actually had your first shift?”
Wolves tended to shift for the first time at about age 13; although in truth it could happen between ages 11 to 16. Omegas generally didn’t develop until at least a year after their first shift and sometimes it took as long as ten years after. Carly was unusual to say the least.
Carly waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not that big of a deal. My mom was an Omega, so was my grandma and my great-grandma. It’s kind of like a family tradition. I don’t think there was ever any doubt that I’d be one too.” Carly blanked out the anger her father had felt, he hadn’t been proud of his weak, Omega daughter. No, she didn’t want to think about that now.
“When did you two discover you were Omegas?”
“When we were 14.” Replied Lilah.
“Yep, it made high school a real blast.” Said Kira sourly thinking of the aggressive females from her childhood pack. Bitches.
Carly arched an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’ll ever find an Omega who hasn’t got some sad stories about high school. We’ve all been there.”
Lilah rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Kira huffed. “Yeah because you were considered the hot twin. You were dating a bear shifter who was the captain of the football team. They left you alone and went for me instead!”
“She’s being overly dramatic. We knew what to expect, our father is actually an Omega too.”
Carly’s eyes lit up with interest. “Really? I’ve never met a male Omega. Is your mother a wolf too?”
“Nah, she’s a witch.” Said Lilah proudly. “We’ve got two younger sisters who are witches too.”
Kira snorted. “I don’t think our dad would have survived being married to a she-wolf, he’s a bit too easygoing.”
Carly fidgeted with her hands. “You’re probably right, Omegas are better off sticking to other Omegas or humans.”
Sadness flickered over Carly’s face. Kira tried to unobtrusively search her emotions but Carly was too strong and easily repelled her.
Truthfully Kira was a little put out by Carly’s comment. Her wolf was grumbling. Gabe was a wolf, and he had been nothing but sweet to her, apart from last night... but he explained that. Would she really be better off without him?
Carly clapped her hands together making Kira jump out of her reverie. “So why don’t we start with a few exercises to try and get the juices flowing?”
Chapter Eight
27th November
After work Kira clambered into Gabe’s car and muttered a strained hello. She was exhausted. For two days in a row she had been suffering through Carly’s visits before heading off to work at the Diner.
The things Carly wanted them to do had sounded so reasonable at the time, but after an hour of Carly’s ‘exercises’ she was convinced that the little Omega would have been right at home running a forced labor camp. She’d never felt so emotionally drained! And worse yet Carly was threatening to come back and train them every day until their powers fully returned.
Grudgingly she knew Carly was just trying to help them. And she was also very aware that the Alpha wanted to ensure that both she and her twin had control over their abilities. Adam was relying on Carly to test them and make sure that was true, if they couldn’t prove they had control… there was always the possibility that Adam might kick them out. Then they’d be really screwed.
Gabe’s concern wafted to her as he drove. “Are you alright?”
Kira tried smiling but her whole head actually hurt. “I’m fine really. Your Omega’s been putting me through my paces. She looks all sweet and innocent but when you strip her down to her Omega powers she can be…”
“A tiny dictator?” Supplied Gabe.
“Exactly! Not that I’m complaining…”
Gabe raised his eyebrows.
“Okay maybe I’m complaining a little! It’s the only fun I get right now.”
Gabe cleared his throat. “Well maybe I could change that…”
Kira’s wolf perked up at as erotic thoughts flitted through her mind. She could certainly think of something fun they could do together… “Oh?”
Gabe flushed an adorable shade of red. His beast growled at him in annoyance. “I meant I was thinking about what you said the other day, about how you love horse riding. One of the pack recently took over running a horse stable. It’s about twenty minutes outside town. I was wondering if you wanted to go riding.”
Kira lit up like a Christmas tree. “Really? Oh my god that would be awesome!”
Gabe parked in front of Jolene’s house and turned to beam at her. “Great! How about tomorrow morning before you start your shift?”
“Perfect!” Squealed Kira. Unbuckling she leapt at Gabe and planted a big wet kiss on his lips.
Although surprised he soon relaxed. Arousal permeated his body as he felt his erection slowly rising. His wolf rumbled encouragingly but Gabe knew now was not the time and this definitely was not the place.
She broke away and a little shy after her forwardness she swiftly said goodbye and ran out the car to the house.
“I’ll pick you up at 9.” Gabe called.
Kira nodded and waved before disappearing inside.
With a dreamy expression on his face Gabe drove home practically on autopilot. His wolf once again grumbled unhappily. He knew his beast wouldn’t be satisfied until the she-wolf was mated, bonded and living with him. Honestly Gabe was more than a little itchy to see those things happen too. Since Kira had returned his sex had been uncomfortably hard and he had relieved himself in his shower more times than he cared to think about.
Working with a full on erection was pretty embarrassing. But not half as much as when the water board had called earlier that day. Apparently his water usage had tripled in the last twelve days and they had serious concerns there was a leak.
True he didn’t want to rush things but he also didn’t think blue balls were attractive. He was all for being a gentleman but he was part animal.
He could scent Kira’s arousal but worried that she was put off by his behavior. It didn’t help his cause that he virtually turned into a bumbling fool in her presence. Why couldn’t he be suave? Every time he did something silly his beast tried to p
ush forward and shift, convinced he could make a better job of wooing their mate. He was probably right.
Gabe frowned as he noticed a lone figure walking down the edge of the road. It wasn’t a member of the pack, so what was he doing so close to the woods at 11.30pm? His hackles rose fearing it was a hunter trying to scout the area. It was private property and hunters were not allowed, but that didn’t stop them…
Gabe slowed the car to a crawl and wound the passenger window down. “Hey buddy can I help you?”
The stranger turned and tapped the gas can he was holding. “Ran out of gas. I’ve just picked up some more and I’m walking back to my car.”
Gabe sniffed. The man smelt like gasoline and sweat. And he was definitely human. “You want a ride?”
The man shook his head and pointed ahead. “No need I’m just up there.” He patted his protruding stomach. “Besides my wife keeps telling me I could use a bit of exercise.”
Gabe nodded absently. “So where you headed?”
“Home which is in Darlington. I was visiting my brother in the south. He’s in hospital with cancer.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Take care.”
The man saluted him as Gabe drove away. He slowed slightly as he got to the man’s rusty old Cadillac and memorized the number plate. Can’t be too careful.
As he went over his exchange with the man. There was just something a little off about him, he was a little too eager to give Gabe information…
He shook his head and tried to convince himself he was overreacting. People run out of gas all the time. Instead Gabe let his thoughts return to Kira and her exceedingly soft lips…
*
28th November
Kira patted the light brown mare as her pack mate Hunter Donaldson held the animal steady. She made soothing noises and the horse chuffed at her and neighed happily.
Hunter smiled at her. “Wow you’re good, took Missy three months to warm up to me. But it was worth it, she’s a lovely animal. She was a rescue horse. Her owner virtually left her to starve.”
Kira cooed at her horse and looked at Hunter with respect and admiration. Gabe eyed the young wolf with more than a little hostility.