“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not any of our faults.”
Annie chewed thoughtfully. “I hate werewolf politics.”
Gemma laughed. “Yes,” she agreed. “Me too.”
***
When Annie finished her food, Gemma told her that Mark and Carmichael wanted to speak with her in the dining room. “Don’t worry,” Gemma added, waving her away. “I’ll stay here with Bradley and Huck. I’ll make sure that no one stirs up any trouble.”
Despite everything that had happened, Annie believed her wholeheartedly. It was nice, having an Alpha pack leader on your side. She felt like they were finally making headway to find peace. And now that Annie had defeated Julia, she was a Beta wolf herself. She didn’t feel any different, yet surely that had to be another asset she could count on.
She gave a small appreciative nod to Gemma and left the room to find Carmichael and Mark. A passerby pointed her in the right direction and she found her way a few minutes later. She gave a quick rap on the dining room door.
“Come in,” Carmichael called.
Annie opened the door. Carmichael, Mark, and several others she didn’t recognize were sitting around the dining table. Their expressions were grim.
“Annie,” Carmichael announced. “This here’s Mark.”
Mark, who looked strikingly like Gemma, stood and gave her a handshake.
“Bernice, his wife.”
Annie shook hands with the petite, pleasant woman.
“Call me Bernie,” Bernice said with a large, empathetic grin.
“Gavin, from Houston.”
Annie waved to a very tall Alpha with red hair. He scowled at her, unwilling to get up.
“And,” Carmichael added with a sigh as he gestured to a handsome young man with brown hair, “this is Adam, Gemma’s fiancée. Formerly of my pack.”
“Come on, Carmichael,” the man said, with a warm smile. “You can’t take credit for all of my good charm.” He shook Annie’s hand. “Pleased to meet you Annie. I hope everything is okay.”
Annie noted that Adam smelled a bit like Gemma, a mixture of her hints of lilac with an earthy undertone. She nodded dumbly, although it wasn’t going well. Huck was still unconscious, and Bradley was still at risk. She felt trapped.
“We’ve been discussing what to do with you and Bradley,” Mark said. “It’s...tough...”
“Yes,” she said. Her voice was hoarse.
“David and Julia are claiming their right to challenge Bradley,” Gavin said, his voice a lot deeper than Annie had expected.
“You can’t—” she started, meaning to defend Bradley.
“He’s just a boy, Gavin,” Bernie protested. “It would be murder.”
“And meanwhile, there is a pack in New Orleans without a leader,” Gavin continued. “The boy has a duty to his pack, and if he can’t do it, then someone else needs to step up. Otherwise, the pack will fall into anarchy.”
Annie immediately disliked the representative from Houston. She clenched her fists to try and keep herself from lunging at him. He was Alpha; she wouldn’t win. It was hard keeping her feelings in check, especially as physically and emotionally exhausted as she was.
“You know, it’s silly,” Adam said thoughtfully. He was staring down Gavin, although he spoke glibly. “You’re talking about grown adults like they can’t take care of themselves.”
“They need a leader—”
Adam let out a bark of laughter. “Really? And you expect a little boy to do it? He probably can’t even brush his teeth by himself.”
Gavin watched him darkly. “No,” he said slowly. “I do not expect a little boy to do that.”
Annie felt the blood drain from her face. Carmichael must have sensed her distress, because he leaned forward, his bearded chin in his hands. “Even if we keep those two bozos from challengin’ th’ boy, someone else’ll try.” He looked pointedly at Gavin.
“We can’t keep running,” Annie said, her spirits falling.
“We’re not asking you to,” Mark said with a nod. “That’s not what we’re saying at all.”
“Then what?” Annie said. Her voice cracked. She wasn’t going to give up Bradley.
Bernie looked pained. Gavin watched Annie keenly. She really didn’t like him.
“What if we did something like a regency?” Mark asked. “Put someone in as pack leader who has the boy’s best interests at heart. Someone who could defend Bradley. At least until he’s old enough to defend himself.”
“Can that be done?” Annie asked.
Carmichael waved it away. “Ya kin do anythin’ you want. Jest need t’ have the brawn to do so. And th’ back up of some packs.” He gestured to Gemma and Mark.
“I have Bradley’s best interest at heart,” Annie said, feeling the heat in her cheeks. “I don’t have the brawn though.”
“You’re what, a Beta now, Annie?” Adam asked. “Maybe you could challenge me, win and become an Alpha. Then you’d be strong enough. And I have Gemma to make me an Alpha again.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“You’re an idiot,” Mark growled tiredly. “It doesn’t work that way. That whole thing—it knows when a challenge is real. Otherwise there’d be a hell of a lot of Omegas that had jumped up to Alphas. Just ‘cause you did doesn’t mean that works for everyone. Annie would still be Beta, and you’d look like a pussy.”
Annie swallowed uncomfortably.
Bernie cleared her throat. “We don’t have to decide anything now,” she offered kindly. “It’s just something to consider. We’ll deal with David and Julia now. We can’t exile them, but we’ll figure out something. We just wanted to let you know that we’re we’re working on it.”
Annie nodded numbly. “Thanks.”
She felt like that was her cue to leave. She turned without a further word. Suddenly, she felt incredibly tired, unable to think straight. She caught Gavin’s eye for a second and he gave her a quick sneer.
She wanted to get back to Bradley.
“Hey Annie!”
As the door began to close behind her, Adam slipped through. She looked up in surprise at the handsome Alpha. He put a hand on her shoulder and starting walking with her back to her room.
“You don’t trust that Gavin guy, right?” he asked, his voice low so the others could not hear him. “Neither do I. He was visiting Carmichael on some other diplomatic mission, but he’s very interested in your case. I think he talked to David and Julia before. And I think they got to him.”
“What?”
“Don’t you wonder how David and Julia got to your meeting spot so quickly? He told them.”
Annie felt her blood turn to ice as the realization sank in. “What do I do?” she asked him, panicked. “It’s going to constantly be like that—someone will always want to kill Bradley. I mean, you guys and Carmichael have been wonderful, but how can we trust anyone from here? Someone will always want to challenge Bradley.”
“Well, you could do two things,” Adam said. He held up a finger. “You could hope that Bradley hits puberty, and fast. Or,” he held up a second finger, “if it comes down to it, you could challenge Gavin and win. He’s an Alpha. You’d become Alpha, and you could defend Bradley’s position as the leader of the pack. Gemma, Mark and I will support you, and I’m sure Carmichael will too.”
Annie shook her head. “Impossible,” she whispered. She’d only just been upgraded from a Gamma. She never had any interest in being more than that. Once you got higher, people picked fights with you and you were expected to be an integral part of the pack. Annie just wanted to keep her head low, blend in and live her life. She never wanted this.
Then again, she had never expected to be taking care of Bradley like this.
“Do you think I could do it?” she asked. She looked down at her hands. “Do you think I could...win?”
Adam shrugged. “I think you have enough fire in you to succeed. It all has to do with what’s in here.” He thumped her on the back. “You’
d be surprised what low-ranked wolves can do. I was an Omega up until I met Gemma. And even before then...you know...” Now it was his turn to blush. “I protected her from a Beta. Just think on it.”
Annie nodded. “Thanks,” she said.
Adam grinned. “It will work out, I promise.”
They reached her room. Gemma must have sensed her mate nearby, because the door opened to reveal her smiling face.
“All good?”
Adam turned his smile on her and embraced her, holding her close. “Nope. But we’re getting closer.”
“Bradley’s been asking for you, Annie” Gemma said, nodding into the room.
“Thanks.” It seemed that was all Annie as able to say at the moment. She was a bit overwhelmed.
“It will be all right,” Gemma said gently.
“I already told her that,” Adam said playfully.
The Alpha shook her head. “We’ve got your back, hun. Now, tend to Bradley.”
***
Gemma watched as Annie entered the room. The poor girl seemed so scared and unsure of herself, but Gemma could see a lot of herself there. Annie held a quiet strength, and while she was timid, she would do anything for Bradley.
That was something Gemma admired.
“They’ll be fine,” Adam said, kissing his mate on the cheek. She gave him the special smile she reserved only for him, but then he ruined the moment by adding her nickname, “Snowflake.”
She gave him a playful hit and he pulled her in close to kiss her head. She loved this man, and she was so glad he had almost literally fallen into her lap a year ago. She had some news to share with him, but she was just waiting for the right time. While they hadn’t discussed kids—hell, they hadn’t even gotten married yet because they’d been so busy—she knew that Adam would make a good father.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s give them their space.”
CHAPTER 8
Annie stopped in the doorway, looking at the scene in front of her in disbelief. Huck was awake. Though he looked a bit pale, he was sitting on the bed while Bradley busied himself with watching the TV. That meant that he was now a werewolf.
Dread filled her. She had done this to him. She had dragged him into this, when he had no business being in this horrible world. She would have given anything to erase what had happened to him.
A human who was bitten by a werewolf started on the lowest rung of the wolf pack, which was why wolves rarely ever Turned humans. It was a cruel fate, one where it was hard to rise within the caste system. Humans were only Turned when they were in a relationship with a wolf and were guaranteed to be raised above Omega because of their mate. Julia hadn’t meant to Turn Huck. She had meant to kill him.
Tears filled Annie’s eyes. Something Adam had said stuck with her. He had been Omega up until he had met Gemma. Maybe she could do the same with Huck. She did care about him and deeply. She just didn’t know if he felt the same way. Could she see herself spending the rest of her life with him? She didn’t know.
He apparently didn’t see her distress. Instead, he grinned at her and gave her a slight wave, wincing from the pain. He was healing faster now because of the lycanthropy, but it was still going to take a while to repair his shoulder completely.
“Annie!” Bradley said. He waved comically.
Huck sensed her mood change. “Annie, what’s wrong?” he asked, frowning.
The tears started falling unbidden. “You’re awake. You were bitten and now...”
“Now I’m a werewolf,” Huck said gently. “Like you and Bradley—”
Bradley snorted.
“Bradley will be,” he amended, a frown wrinkling his features. “I talked about it with Gemma while you were gone. She filled me in with all of the details. And I’m okay with it, Annie. I really am.”
“No, you shouldn’t be,” Annie cried. “You’re an Omega. And you should have never been in this mess!”
She didn’t want Huck, nor Bradley to see her tears. Chewing her lip, she headed towards the bathroom, hoping that some alone time would at least calm her nerves. She closed the door behind her and slid down to the ground.
Why does it have to be so hard?
***
Huck hated it when girls didn’t stay to talk. He especially hated it when the girl was Annie, who used to tell him everything. He handed Bradley the remote control for the television.
“Can I trust you to watch some TV and take care of yourself for a bit, kid?” he asked. “I need to talk to Annie real quick. Make sure she’s all right.”
Bradley grinned only like a ten-year-old could. He really was warming up to Huck. “Yeah, you can trust me.” He switched the television to the Cartoon Network. “I’m ten years old—TV’s what I do.”
“Thanks.” He got up to the lock the bedroom door. It wouldn’t do for a more intrepid wolf to walk in the bedroom while Bradley was by himself.
He made for the bathroom door.
“Huck?”
He looked behind him at Bradley who was watching him with his big blue eyes.
“Thanks.”
“For what?” Huck asked with a laugh.
“For saving our lives.” Bradley nodded to the bathroom door. “Annie’s just kinda being shy.”
Huck chuckled, masking the unease he felt. “I’ll be back in a bit,” he said.
He gave quick knock on the bathroom door. When there wasn’t an answer, he thought, Fuck it, and entered the bathroom, bumping into Annie’s back because she was sitting on the floor in front of the door. She had her elbows on her knees and one hand was tangled up in her hair. She was crying.
“Huck...” she said softly, looking up at him. She scooted out of the way of the door, as he closed it behind her.
He let out a breath. “It’s going to be all right, Annie.”
“I can’t protect Bradley,” she said quickly, her voice wavering on panic. “I can’t even protect myself.” She hugged her arms to herself.
He sat next to her on the tub. “You don’t have to protect him—or you—by yourself,” he said. “You’ve got me.”
She ignored that comment, her gaze steeled straight ahead. “And I was hoping that you would go back to your normal life after all of this, but now...” She swallowed. “Now you can’t.”
“I told you, I’m okay with this, Annie.”
She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have called you.”
Huck was taken aback. “What?”
“I shouldn’t have called you. Gotten you into this mess.”
“Annie, if you hadn’t called me, you and Bradley would both be dead now.”
She shook her head. “We wouldn’t be. And you’re an Omega now. You...you don’t even know how bad that is!” Her voice hitched. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Huck.”
“Don’t be,” he said softly. “After all, if you didn’t call me, I might have never seen you again.”
She gave a derisive sniff. “That probably would have been best.”
“No.” The sudden anger colored his voice. “It wouldn’t.”
He knelt down on the floor in front of Annie and kissed her. He felt her stiffen momentarily in his arms, and then she melted, responding as his tongue flicked in her mouth. He broke the kiss and touched his forehead to hers.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that,” he whispered, his voice slightly hoarse. “To kiss you again.”
Her eyes were huge as she looked at his face. He waited, each passing moment a dagger to his heart. She touched his cheek and his eyes met hers briefly. He kissed her again, this time longer, deeper, with more need in it than he would dare to admit in words.
“I love you, Annie Knowles,” he whispered, breathless. He had never told anyone else that before. No one. Because it had always been her. There’d been plenty of girls, sure, but he could never bring himself to say those words. Now he knew why.
“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. Even during...” he swallowed, suddenly unsure of
himself, “even during those twelve years. And even if it had taken another twelve to find you again, I’d still love you,” he said.
She watched him, her face white. He kept rambling, his nerves taking hold. He had expected her to say something right then. Not this wide-eyed, shocked look.
He swallowed. “I’m so sorry—”
“Don’t.” She pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t you apologize,” she said softly. “You did nothing wrong.”
She kissed him then, coming to her knees to get better access to him. He cupped her bottom with his good hand and brought her over to him. She straddled him, deepening the kiss. He was sure she could feel his erection between them. In fact, if they didn’t do something soon, he would explode.
“I want you,” he whispered. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”
She stopped, taking the time to study his face. She seemed so unsure then. He held her to him, not wanting her to slip away.
“Sorry—”
“Don’t apologize again,” she commanded glaring at him, a cheeky smile playing about her face. In fact, the authority in her voice turned him on. She seemed a bit timid elsewhere. But when she was aroused, she was the dominant one.
“I’m thinking. I...” She swallowed, sitting back. “I have to tell you something.”
He stroked her cheek. “Hmmm?”
“If you and I...if we do this, you won’t be Omega any more. You’ll be a Beta. Like me.” Her cheeks blushed deep scarlet. “But werewolves mate for life. We’d be...we’d be tied together for the rest of our lives.”
He grinned. “I can think of worse things.”
“I’m serious, Huck. Royce Tucker,” she added, saying his real name for emphasis. “You can’t go back on this.”
“I wouldn’t want to.” His mind reeled through all of the possibilities, of everything that would happen if they were bound for the rest of their lives. If they lived, they’d grow old together. Probably have kids together. And that didn’t seem like a bad thing.
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