by Kat Keppeler
“Hey! Where you going?” He called, trying to run after Finn. “It’s not grocery day! Can I come with?”
Finn turned, his expression troubled. The fierce frown he wore carved deep furrows in his brow. “Micah, go find Caleb please. I’m not in the mood.”
Micah’s distress was palpable as he realized Finn carried a packed duffle. He cringed away from Finn’s uncharacteristic glare.
“Just go on already, Micah.” Finn’s tone brooked no argument. It was the command of an alpha to a subordinate. The omega backed away frowning, fully prepared to go tattle as Finn got into Skye’s car and then called out.
“Tell them I’ll leave the keys at Pete’s. They can pick it up from the Greyhound stop.” Finn turned the key in the ignition and tore out of the driveway to head towards the small town.
Chapter Eighteen
By the time Skye and Rory pulled up, Lee had been left alone to deal with a panicked house of an entirely distressed pack. Of course, Micah had told the first person he’d seen and Chance had left Lee to comfort them as he drove directly for the airport with little more than a bag with his cellphone and laptop inside.
“Oh god, oh god, what’s happening, Rory?” Skye asked, and not for the first time. Her face was pale and lined with tension. She had a strong connection to all four of her mates and she could feel the determination in Chance and the despair and fury in Finn as they both took off in different directions as well as Lee’s rising panic. It had hit Skye like a hammer while they’d been enjoying a rare date with Rory. It felt like she was being ripped in different directions all at once. Her hand went up to the marks that burned against her skin as if she could soothe the way they burned with her touch.
Rory didn’t know either, but he felt the unsettled emotions of the entire pack roiling against his thoughts. They rushed into the house to find Lee with an inconsolable Micah in his arms. The other pack mates clustered around weren’t faring much better. Lee, himself, looked like he’d been through the wringer. The moment he saw them walk in Lee sighed with relief.
“Oh thank god! Help!”
Rory was immediately in the front room in front of the many frowning faces of his pack. His presence alone, however, was a stabilizing force as his gaze swept over the frightened wolves. “Okay, I leave for an hour and suddenly it feels like the walls are coming down. What’s going on here?”
Lee cuddled Micah’s sobbing form against him, patting his back like he was soothing a troubled child and not a man that was larger than Lee was himself.
“Finn and Chance got into some big…. Something… It wasn’t a fight or a challenge, not really, but it was big,” Lee said, the fear still evident in his eyes. “I don’t know, I just know I walked into Chance throwing Finn against a wall.” That in itself was surprising that Finn hadn’t fought back. “The old man stormed off, Chance said he was going to Atlanta, and Finn got into Skye’s car and drove away.”
Micah looked up then.
“He had a bag, he had a bag and he said to pick the car up at Pete’s. He’s going to the Greyhound depot.” Micah’s tear stained face fell again as he dutifully repeated the news of Finn’s departure.
There was more to it, Rory could feel it but he didn’t know why his pack had utterly collapsed in the span of an hour. “Fuck my life. Skye, Call Chance until he answers. I’ll go get Finn.”
Skye had her hands over her belly where she’d really just been starting to show. They could have been Finn’s and he was just… leaving?
The hell he is.
“No one,” Skye said, the rarely felt full force of her wolf rolled through the room. It was strong and soothing. She’d really had it with the fighting among the dominant wolves of the pack. “Is vanishing forever. It’s going to be alright, Micah, honey. Don’t worry, he’ll be back.”
There was only certainty in Skye’s voice because if he didn’t come back with Rory then Skye was absolutely going to track him down. Her blue eyed gaze cut to Rory and she arched a brow, “I think that we should switch roles there, don’t you?”
She was the only one who could really ask those sorts of questions as there was no inherent challenge to the words. She was coming ever more into her own and when she spoke to Rory on pack matters, more and more, it was as equals who shared the responsibility for the well being of the people who followed them.
“Because Chance is very good at sidestepping me when he feels like it’s for my own good and that’s gotten to be even more true since we conceived. If he thinks that it’s bad for me and the babies, he’s as intractable as a goat. Let me go get Finn, Rory. I can track him with our marks and he’s more likely to listen to me. There are promises that he’s made to our family and to our pack and while maybe it might be time for the two of you to fight it out, that should be up here on pack land and not at the bus station.”
The expression on Rory’s face clearly said that he did not like the idea one bit, but she was right. If Finn had run off in a huff, and with how often he and Rory bickered, a tussle was likely to happen. He frowned, but stepped to kiss her gently.
“Please… Please be careful. Take Lee?”
Lee just made a face at that, one that said he clearly thought going along with Skye a bad idea. Micah moaned softly, clinging to Lee at the idea that the gentle man might be the next taken from them. This might have set Micah’s progress back a bit.
“Or don’t take him.” With a heavy sigh, Rory stepped into Chance’s office to survey the damage and to pick up his cell phone and call his oldest and best friend.
Lee made a face at Skye, Micah was still curled in his lap weeping. “I’d love to go get him with you, honey… But he threatened to tear out Chance’s throat and I don’t know how Micah would take it if I didn’t bring him with. I know it will only make things worse if Micah is around Finn while he's mad. Too many old memories of different angry alphas.”
Lee’s hand was gentle as he continued to soothe Micah, empathy in his brilliant turquoise eyes. Lee knew what it was like to be the bottom of the hierarchy. More than his dominant mates, Lee could understand the desperate fear of wolves like Micah. The poor boy, he and his brother were middle aged by human standard but still considered almost cubs, had developed some serious separation anxiety along with the post traumatic stress disorder. “I just don’t think I can leave him, honey.”
Skye stepped forward to wrap her arms around Lee, Micah cuddled in Lee’s lap between them. She pressed her cheek to Lee’s, leaving her scent along his skin.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Finn wouldn’t hurt me,” Skye said with absolute confidence. “Well, except by leaving apparently, but I don’t need backup. Are you going to be okay?”
Skye pulled back to look at Lee. She could feel just how strained and frazzled he was by the whole afternoon. Her brows creased with concern as she met his gaze, “Will you be alright here with Rory?”
Lee nodded gently, his fingers combing through Micah’s hair. “I’ll be fine here.”
Lee was not fine, he was absolutely frantic with the way everything had happened but for the moment he was shoving aside his fears. He had to be strong, the omegas in the household all looked up to Lee as if he were somehow more than just one of them. Lee didn’t understand it, but he recognized that it was true nonetheless.
From Chance’s office came the sound of Rory’s muffled but angry shouting at Chance through the phone. Whatever the conversation between the two men was, Rory was apparently not happy.
“Hurry back, okay?” Lee said meekly up at Skye. “Hurry back, because everything feels so wrong right now.”
The day had gone from fine to supremely sour within the last hour.
“I will,” Skye promised and she pressed her lips Lee’s quickly before she turned around and snagged Rory’s keys from where he’d tossed them down on the table. Since Finn had taken her car, and Chance had driven the SUV, that left Rory’s truck, which Skye really didn’t enjoy driving at all. That did not help her mood as sh
e stomped out to the car.
Thankfully, it wasn’t that long a drive into the town proper from where the pack land was. She slowed down and parked in front of the greyhound bus stop but didn’t see either her car in the tiny parking lot, or Finn. Skye’s emotions flickered rapidly between fear and frustration and then back again. Men. Freaking dominant alpha male bullshit. She was so tired of it at this point and once she got done hugging Finn, she was going to yell so much about his efforts to scare them all to death. Or maybe she’d yell first and then hug. Skye hadn’t decided.
She slammed the car door shut and stepped out into the crisp early spring breeze. Rory was right, Belcrest was at its most charming this time of year but Skye was in no mood to enjoy it. She stalked over to check the bus schedule before she headed for the counter.
“Did Finn come in here?” She demanded without even a ‘hello’ for Amber; the feline shifter who worked the greyhound terminal. It was only when Amber blinked eyes gone too wide with distress did Skye realize that the rumble of her wolf was threading through her voice. Hell, her eyes had probably gone eerie blue. Skye closed her eyes, struggling for a moment to get her wolf under control before she offered poor Amber a tense smile. “Sorry. It’s been a day. Have you seen him? He’s the big guy.”
“Oh, yeah, the doctor,” Amber nodded quickly and then shook her head. “No, ma’am, I have not. D’you want me to call if I see him?”
“Yes, please,” Skye said as she jotted her number down, “Please give me a call and try to stall him if you don’t mind. Thank you so much, Amber. I really appreciate it.”
Stepping back outside, Skye threaded her fingers through her thick hair in outright agitation. Finn was a freaking giant and Belcrest had three hundred people in it. He couldn’t just disappear. As she cast her troubled gaze along main street, she finally caught sight of a familiar cheerful blue hatchback parked in front of Ruby’s bar.
I’m going to kill him.
When Finn had reached Belcrest, he had pulled into Pete’s as he was unable to even pull his car to the Greyhound Terminal. Every instinct that Finn had told the big man that he was going the wrong direction. Overcome with wracking guilt, he’d found himself at Ruby’s before he’d even recognized where he was going.
It had been a few hours and while most shifter’s metabolize alcohol very quickly, it didn’t mean they weren’t able to feel the full effects of alcohol once they’d imbibed enough. Two hours of drinking, an empty bottle of Jack in front of him and Rita pouring him more had seen Finn thoroughly tanked.
He perched on that barstool a perfect drunken gentleman, no laughter or tears, just Finn singing ‘Rocket Man’ to himself while he tossed back a few more fingers of whiskey. Ray was sitting beside him, chatting away about his latest conspiracies.
“It’s all Big Pharma’s fault! They put it in our water and then we go drinking the kool aid like good little lemmings! By the time it's all said and done suddenly they have their hooks in you, sneaking into your room while you’re sleeping to microchip your brains! The government knows we exist, they know what we are and what we do, and they are making more by poisoning the water!” Ray rambled on, drinking along with Finn while the barmaid, Rita, stared at the two men with a clearly annoyed expression on her features.
Neither of these two tipped well enough for Rita to be willing to put up with their nonsense.
“I think you forget how exactly we all end up this way, Ray. Ain’t got nothing to do with water…”
“Shut up, woman! I ain’t listening to someone who eats worms and thinks it’s a five course meal!” Ray bellowed, clapping Finn on the back halfway through the second verse of his song. “This man’ll tell ya! He’s a doctor! Wait… He’s a doctor! He’s in on it!”
“Settle down, Ray,” Skye said with a sigh and a shake of her head. Ray was a lovely man, when he wasn’t ranting. The big bear of a man wouldn’t harm a fly and the whole town was well aware of that fact. Skye gave Rita a slightly apologetic look as she made her way to the bar. Ruby was a sweetheart but her barmaid, Rita, was often much more sharp tongued and Skye really wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable snark, or the gossip that would follow. With the too tight long sleeve she was wearing, there was no missing the baby bump and here she was to collect one of her mates who, apparently, had spent two hours trying to beat his werewolf metabolism with hard liquor.
“Hey, honey, there you are. Let’s settle up your tab and get you home, okay?” Skye said with determination as she came up to the bar alongside Finn. Her gaze fell down to the wedding band he was still wearing and Skye put her hand on top of his lightly, “I think you’ve had enough to drink.”
Finn just smiled at Skye sweetly, the alcohol addling his brain enough that he had forgotten his initial rationalizations and instead took pride that he’d not actually left town.
He’d only just threatened to, and got righteously drunk.
“I didn’t go anywhere, just here…” Finn slurred, draping his arm around her to pull her close. He reeked of whiskey, it was on his breath as he buried his face in her neck. “I tried but I just couldn’t. So I came here. It’s nice here, Ray’s real nice…”
Ray was staring at Skye after having been told to be quiet, a frown on his face, and Rita was already texting her friends about the antics of wolves.
“I don’t want to go nowhere, I want to stay here. Rita! Get Skye a Doctor Pepper, it’s okay she can have one sometimes….” Finn at least had the gumption enough to remember she couldn’t drink with him, demanding a soda instead of the whiskey he was drinking.
“No, that’s okay. Finn, we need to go back. Micah’s a nervous wreck and he’ll feel better once you’re back home,” Skye said, her nose wrinkling at the overpowering smell of whiskey rather than Finn’s clear juniper and pine scent but she sighed and put her arms around him, trying to coax him to leave and get in the car. Skye was strong but Finn was a big man and unwieldy when he wasn’t cooperating with her efforts.
“I’ll feel better once you’re back at the house, too. I don’t even know why you tried to leave in the first place but we can talk about it at home. I can’t believe you were going to just leave.”
Despite Rita’s gleeful texting, Skye couldn’t help adding as hurt leached into her tones, “It could be your babies I’m carrying and you were just going to go? Where? What the hell, Finn! What were you thinking?”
“Aw don’t be mad at me, sweetpea, I was thinking about you…” Finn said, but clearly he cared enough about this business to get up and start walking toward the door like he was told. “Doin’ it for you.”
He staggered toward the door leaving her to trail after him, pushing it open and walking into the spring afternoon. He stood on the sidewalk, his vision fuzzy and his head swimming, to look in the direction of the bus terminal just a half mile away. It was as if he were contemplating still leaving, despite Skye’s presence right behind him.
“You don’t want me to come back. S’alright, Rory had first crack at you… They’re probably his.” The words leaving him were crude, once he was sober and heard it repeated back he’d wince at them. “S’better if I go. Chance said I gotta keep my damned mouth shut and I been lyin’ a long time. I just don’t wanna anymore…”
A drunken man volunteered the sober one’s secrets. He started walking, patting his pockets as he did. The wallet he was searching for had been left behind at the bar. They’d have to return for it later as Skye had no desire to have to wrangle Finn from the bar a second time.
Skye scowled at Finn’s broad back.
“I thought it didn’t matter who fathered them?” Skye growled at her mate. Despite her barely leashed temper, the hand she put on his back to nudge him towards the passenger seat was gentle.
“It is not better if you go and I know Chance didn’t tell you to leave. This is some idea you’ve cooked up in your head and it’s half baked at best. Your wolf knows that it’s the wrong call already - I felt it howling for me all the way down int
o town. Get in the car, Finn. I am so tired of this alpha male bullshit. It has to stop.”
She pulled the door open to Rory’s truck; they’d have to come back for her tiny car later and prodded Finn until he got inside. Once he sat down, she leaned over him to buckle him in despite the aggravation that was radiating off of her.
“...Men. Feh.”
“As good as did,” Finn countered as Skye buckled him, his interpretation of Chance’s words might not be correct but Finn was nothing if not stubborn. Once she started the truck and started driving away Finn frowned, his mind a jumble of all of his thoughts and lubricated by an unhealthy amount of alcohol.
“Doesn’t matter who fathered them… But I already got one, Rory don’t have any of his own. Best if he takes it on.” Finn leaned his head against the window despite it bouncing off its surface at every bump. “Been a council threat since you found me, doesn’t matter what the wolf thinks. It’s better for you and the cubs. Already in enough danger without me around.”
“You’re not making any sense,” Skye told him with frustration. “Already have one of what? This is insane, Finn. You don’t get to make choices for me that I’m not included in. That’s not what a marriage is and that’s what you said that you wanted. You threatened to fight for me and now you’re just… what… running away?”
Skye’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel until they were almost white. “I don’t care if you were born in the sixteen hundreds, that’s not the way this works. You don’t decide unilaterally what’s good for us and for our family. We decide that together, as a unit. I don’t care what’s normal for the pack; that’s going to be how we work and, so help me, you are all going get on the same page even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming. I am not losing a single one of you, do you understand me?”