His hand brushed lightly over the grass-covered mound, plucking away an errant twig, grooming it carefully.
Allison placed her hand on Michael’s shoulder and paid respects to the man who had led this pack before.
“He gave his life to protect us all,” Michael said. “He was like a father to us.”
“I’m sorry,” Allison said meekly.
“That night was like something right out of a horror novel,” he told her. “The wind was howling so loudly it was deafening, and suddenly it just stopped. Dead silence. Made my ears ring. Then a fog rolled in that was so thick you couldn’t see a finger in front of your face. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Allison was silent as she waited for him to continue.
“We’d been having trouble with Victor’s pack for a while. They wanted our territory, but it’s been in our family for over a century. Thaddeus offered to allow Victor’s pack to blend with ours, but Victor… he’s mad for power. It wasn’t good enough for him.
“Thaddeus, ever the diplomat, invited Victor over to discuss it. He showed up, alright, but he brought his pack with him. It was Victor, along with the cronies you’ve met, Phillip and Earl, and two others, Pritchet and Sonny.
“Obviously, Victor had no intention of discussing things diplomatically. His pack attacked, we fought back, and ultimately we were outnumbered. Finally, Thaddeus ordered us to retreat.
“Naturally, we thought Thaddeus would follow us. But he stayed behind. He fought valiantly. He took two of those bastards down with him – Pritchet and Sonny. But as I turned back to look for him, I saw in the distance the evil glint in Victor’s eye as he sank his fangs into Thaddeus’s throat, and even from such a great distance I could hear that sickening sound as his flesh was ripped away from his body. I meant to turn back, to help him, but the Alpha’s command overrode my emotions and I just turned and fled as he’d ordered me too.”
“Oh, Michael,” Allison breathed.
“I’ve carried the guilt ever since,” Michael said, his voice breaking.
Michael bowed his head and resting his forehead on his knee. Allison stroked his hair, but she knew this was something she could do little to comfort.
“You know it isn’t your fault,” Allison said. “You had no choice but to obey your Alpha.”
“I still can’t help but feel that I should have done something,” Michael said, rolling his head back and forth on his knee. “And now I’ve gone and fucked everything up! Thaddeus is the rightful Alpha. He should be here, not me!”
“Michael, he gave his life for all of you because he trusted you,” Allison said.
“Well, that makes me feel better!” he groaned facetiously.
“No, no… I mean he trusted you to make the right decisions, because you will,” Allison explained, her hand resting on his shoulder. “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. You’re only human… or… well, you know what I mean. I’m sure even Thaddeus made mistakes.”
“Perhaps,” Michael said. “But not as grievous as the one I’ve made. He never betrayed us.
Allison sighed. This weighed heavily on her heart, because she knew that ultimately the responsibility rested on her shoulders. If she hadn’t come into their lives, the pack would still be together.
“You have to stop blaming yourself,” Allison said. “If I wasn’t here…”
“If you weren’t here,” Michael interrupted her, pulling to his feet and grabbing her shoulders firmly, “then I would still be wandering aimlessly through life with no purpose! You’ve given me purpose! For the first time in my life, I know what I’m alive for! I’m living for you!”
“My, what a pleasant sentiment.”
The voice startled them both, and they whirled in unison to face it. Luke was trudging up the hill toward them, followed closely by Logan, who hid behind him.
Luke kneeled beside the grave and pressed two fingers to his lips, brushing them through the grass over Thaddeus’s grave. Then he rose and approached Michael, seething.
Logan cleared his throat uncomfortably and kneeled beside the grave, paying silent respects while also avoiding the confrontation.
Luke’s nose wrinkled as he sniffed the air, and his face reflected what he undoubtedly knew.
“I smell the stink of it,” Luke snarled, his face contorted with disgust.
“Brother, let me explain,” Michael began.
“I owe you nothing,” Luke said. “You betrayed the pack. You are not my Alpha.”
“But what about…” Michael tried to protest.
“The oath we all made to Thaddeus?” Luke interjected. “No, I haven’t forgotten it. Perhaps it is you who has forgotten.”
“I have never forgotten it for a second!” Michael shouted.
“Then what happened to remaining a pack?” Luke retorted. “What happened to looking out for one another?”
“I’m not the one who abandoned my pack!” Michael snapped.
“Abandoned?” Luke asked. “No. I didn’t abandon my pack. I reorganized it.”
“Reorganized,” Michael repeated dully.
“In other words,” Luke said coolly. “I’m the Alpha, now.”
“You can’t do that!” Michael exploded. “There are protocols in place! There are rules that cannot be…”
“Cannot be what, Michael?” Luke challenged. “Rules that cannot be broken? Alas, you, Michael, are the one who so nonchalantly breaks pack rules!”
“You don’t understand,” Michael attempted to explain. “It’s not like…”
“There is no explanation you can give,” Luke stopped him. “You broke one of our sacred laws. Because of my oath, I cannot oust you from our pack, but I can rightfully take your place as Alpha, and I am exercising that right effective immediately.”
“But…”
“Like it or leave it, Michael,” Luke said firmly, standing with head held proudly aloft. “Literally, if you don’t like it, you’re free to leave.”
Michael’s eyes shifted toward Logan, who stared solemnly at the grave.
“Logan?” Michael asked, seeking help.
Logan said nothing, which spoke more loudly than any words ever could have. Michael knew he was defeated.
“Fine,” Michael sighed.
“My first act as Alpha is banishment,” Luke stated, and Michael’s eyes grew wide.
“But you just said…”
“Not you, Michael,” Luke interrupted him. Then he nodded at Allison and said, “Her.”
Michael’s face expressed pure disbelief, and he turned to look at Allison who had failed to grasp what had just happened. She stared at him like a deer in headlights.
“You can’t do that!” Michael shouted, stepping into a defensive position beside Allison.
“I can, and I have,” Luke said. “You have two choices. You can take her somewhere safe immediately, or you can turn her over to Victor. The choice is yours. But you have until sundown to make it.”
Normally ever strong, Michael crumbled. In an instant, it was as if his very essence was drained from his body by some lecherous, soul-sucking vampire. He folded to his knees.
“Luke, please… I can’t do this,” Michael’s voice was pleading as he shook his head slowly.
“You’ve made your bed,” Luke said. And then more venomously, “Now lie in it.”
Michael looked to Logan for help once more, but again Logan kowtowed to his older brother, and he continued to stare at the ground over Thaddeus’s grave.
Allison had never seen a person being torn in two, but she was witnessing it now, right before her eyes, and she was helpless to stop it. The only thing she could do was play the martyr.
“I’ll go,” Allison said softly.
Michael opened his mouth to object, but Allison placed a finger on his lips and shook her head.
“It’s the only thing to do,” she said.
“Victor will find you,” Michael argued.
“I’ll go somewhere no one can find me,” she sa
id. “I know where, but I won’t endanger you by telling you.”
“I’m going with you,” Michael said, pulling himself to his feet.
“You can’t break your oath,” Allison pointed out.
“I’ve already done that,” Michael said. “More importantly, I’ve betrayed their trust in a way no wolf ever should. I don’t deserve to be here anymore.”
“It’s your choice,” Luke shrugged.
For the first time, Logan gathered his cojones to speak.
“Brother,” Logan pleaded. “Don’t leave. We’re a family, aren’t we?”
“You two are,” Michael said, nodding toward Luke. “Apparently, I am not.”
“Of course you are,” Luke argued. “Don’t go. We can work through this!”
“Not this time,” Michael said. “I disavow this pack. You are no longer my Alpha, and this is no longer my pack!”
Hearing his own words spat back at him, Luke twitched slightly, but made little other indication that he was affected. He leaned against the laurel tree with his arms crossed casually and said nothing.
“Let’s go,” Michael threw at Allison over his shoulder.
Allison shot a helpless look at Logan, but he only bowed his head shamefully and offered no solace. Reluctantly, she followed Michael into the tree line, noticing he didn’t even look over his shoulder as they went.
“The nerve of him,” Michael grumbled as soon as they were well out of earshot. “Taking over my pack and then trying to act like it had been his all along! I’ll show him. I’ll start my own pack, and it’ll be bigger and better than he ever thought of!”
Allison said nothing. This complaining was so out of character for Michael that it was jarring.
“What do you think?” Michael asked her suddenly.
Unable to stop herself, Allison blurted out, “I think you’re acting like a child.”
Michael stopped walking and spun on his heel to face her.
“What are you talking about?” he said, his voice rising far above its natural tone. “How am I acting like a child?”
“All I hear is you whining about what Luke did, but I don’t hear you taking responsibility for what we did,” she said. “From what I gather, Luke had every right to do what he did according to pack law, so…”
“What do you know about pack law?” he interrupted her. “You are nothing but an outsider, and that’s all you’ll ever be, human!”
Allison’s jaw dropped, and her heart jumped. A dozen thoughts ran through her mind at once, but rather than shouting, lashing out, or striking him as she was wanting so desperately to do, she simply turned and began to walk away.
“Where are you going?” Michael called after her. “Allison!”
She continued to march purposefully away from him, and she didn’t hear his footsteps behind her. She found her way back to Thaddeus’s grave, and Luke and Logan were still there. Their eyes turned to her as soon as they heard her footfalls in the distance.
“Take me to Victor!” she shouted, striding long and fast in an effort to reach them quickly.
Luke said nothing as she approached. Logan’s eyes darted to and fro, undoubtedly looking for Michael.
“Allison, what are you doing here?” Logan asked with pleading eyes.
“I want you to take me to Victor right now,” she said flatly, coming to a stop challengingly close to Luke. Her hands were on her hips, and her eyes flared dangerously.
“Might I ask why?” Luke asked.
“Begging your pardon, but I don’t believe you have any right to ask now that I’ve been surreptitiously ousted from your pack,” Allison said. “Will you take me, or not?”
Luke shrugged and said, “Have it your way.”
“Luke, what are you doing?” Logan nearly whispered in Luke’s direction.
“This is her request,” Luke said. “Who are we to deny it?”
“You’re only doing this because you’re pissed at Michael,” Logan challenged him.
Luke’s face clouded and he struck like a viper, backhanding Logan with such force that Logan staggered backward and nearly toppled. Logan rubbed his cheek and lowered his eyes in submission.
“Don’t ever question my authority again,” Luke snarled. Then he turned to Allison and said, “Let’s go.”
Chapter Nine
Their approach was obviously heard well in advance, because Victor and his cronies were already waiting outside when they arrived.
“Hello, boys,” Victor said with a wicked grin curling his lip on one side. “What can I do for you today?”
Phillip’s hands were balled into fists, and when he clenched them, his knuckled cracked like popcorn. Earl grinned a wide, stupid grin, and his nasty teeth were riddled with cavities and a few teeth were conspicuously missing. Allison shivered.
“We’re not here to start trouble,” Luke said, holding his hand up peacefully. “We’ve brought this woman to you.”
“A gift?” Victor asked. “How lovely.”
“Not a gift,” Luke said. “Simply returning to you what’s yours.”
Victor grinned widely and said, “Finally came to your senses, eh? It’s about time. Where’s your Alpha, anyway? I sincerely hope he’s not lying in wait somewhere planning an ambush. That would be incredibly stupid on all of your parts.”
“Michael is no longer Alpha,” Luke said coolly. “I am Alpha, now.”
“My, my, my,” Victor said. “This is a development, isn’t it?”
“Anyway, she’s yours now,” Luke said. “We’ll be going, now. In peace.”
“Wait,” Victor said. “Before you go, I’d like to introduce you to our new pack member. I believe you know this person quite well.”
The door of the rickety cabin creaked open and a woman with flowing black hair stepped out, grinning even wider than Victor.
“Lydia!” gasped Luke and Logan in unison.
“Brothers,” she greeted them with mock warmth.
“I thought you were…” Luke’s voice trailed away.
“Dead? Oh, no, no, no!” Lydia chastised them. “You should know better than that. It takes a lot more than five little wolf hunters to take a girl like me down!”
“What are you doing with this scum?” Luke demanded.
“Scum,” Lydia commented flatly. “Let’s see. Scum is someone who abandons his sister and leaves her to die, running away like a coward. Whereas Victor here gave me a home, fed me, nursed me back to health. No, dear brother. Victor isn’t the scum here. You are.”
“Lydia, I thought you were dead!” Luke cried out. “I saw you… they were… I never would have left you if I didn’t think…”
“I never would have left you like that!” Lydia shouted, her cool disposition melting under the heat of rage. “I’d have torn every last one of those hunters apart or died trying! And if you were dead, at least I’d have had your body to bring home and give a proper burial!”
“I’m sorry, Lydia,” Logan piped up meekly. “I tried to come back for you, but…”
“I know you did,” Lydia softened, looking at her youngest brother through a thick veil of lashes. “I heard you trying to get back to me. But there wasn’t much you could have done on your own… considering our brother here abandoned us both!”
“Lydia, I…” Luke tried to explain.
“Enough!” Lydia shouted. “I’ve a job to do, and it’s time.”
Lydia balled a fist in front of her and blew through the opening. Then she laid her hand out palm up, and blew across it, scattering a glittering golden powder into the air.
“Run!” Luke shouted.
Luke and Logan immediately turned to run, but roots rose from the ground and entangled their feet, spilling them both onto the ground. Allison was frozen with confusion, and she watched the powder slowly fluttering through the air until it tickled her nostrils.
She started to sneeze, but an overwhelming exhaustion suddenly gripped her, pulling her into slumber and sending her tumbling downward.
When Allison awakened, she was lying in a comfortable bed in utter darkness. She sat up and squinted, trying to see something… anything.
“Don’t bother,” she heard Luke say weakly.
“Luke? Where are we?” Allison asked. “What happened?”
“Victor has us,” Logan answered.
Allison tried to get up, but she discovered her feet were shackled to the foot of the bed.
“I told you not to bother,” Luke said.
“What is he going to do with us?” Allison asked. “And was that woman your sister?”
“I imagine he’ll try to break us with the intention of forcing us to join his pack,” Luke answered. “You, he will turn into the pack mate.”
Having ignored the question about Lydia, Logan answered, “Lydia is our sister, yes. She’s Luke’s twin.”
Allison sucked in a breath.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Luke said. “And I didn’t abandon her. I truly thought she was already dead. I never would have left her if I thought I could save her. But with her dead, or so I thought, I had to save Logan. I had to get him away from there. We wouldn’t have stood a chance against five hunters.”
“Five hunters? You could have destroyed five puny humans!” Allison cried in protest.
Luke chuckled darkly at her stupidity.
“We’re not talking about Bambi slayers here!” Luke shouted. “These are trained wolf hunters who seek out packs and destroy them! They slaughtered our parents when we were kids, leaving us all orphans! They killed Lyd… I thought they killed Lydia! They have every anti-wolf trick in the book under their sleeves, and we’re all but powerless against them!”
“I didn’t know,” Allison said softly.
“You might have if you’d bothered to ask,” Luke grunted.
“Stop it,” Logan said. “This isn’t her fault.”
“Ooh! Listen to who’s all brave now that I’m restrained!” Luke snarled.
Allison stared at what would have been the ceiling if she could have seen it and listened to Luke and Logan bickering back and forth. Their voices soon melded into one, and then faded into the background as she wondered where Michael was, what he was thinking, and what would happen to her if they couldn’t figure a way to get out of this situation.
Mated to the Pack Page 7