I briefly noticed them all walking into the Westin Foundation like it was nothing, as I was speeding past. Kyle as a wolf, Mike completely naked, and Ted tagging along after them. I couldn't let myself think about what could happen to the people I worked with.
A part of me wondered if they were all in on it. Was I the only one that didn't know? Oh my gosh, Lily and Elise were Kyle's sisters. Were they werewolves too? Everything I knew about werewolves was evil, but I didn't think I was evil. I didn't think Lily or Elise had an evil bone in their bodies. And Kyle. Kyle had been good to me, both in human and wolf form.
In my mind, I understood these to be truths, but my history told me to run, to leave this area behind and survive. And I couldn't trust my heart. It was broken in a million pieces. Even though I knew I could never have Kyle, I cared a lot for him and had wished for so long things could be different. I never imagined he had been hiding something so big from me all this time. It was like all the lies of my life came crashing in on me.
I shut off my brain, and I shut off my heart, and I did the only thing I had ever known how to do. I turned the car towards my cottage and I ran into the house to grab my go-bag and I prepared to run. I prepared to survive. It was all I knew.
I was in my den trying to get the safe open with shaking hands when I heard tires screeching in my driveway.
Oh no! I thought I'd have enough time to grab and go. I was so scared. I cowered into the corner and when my wolf surged forward, I didn't fight it, and gave in to the shiver that went through my body. I then crouched low and backed into a hole and waited.
There was a knock on the front door and my wolf let out a low growl.
"Her car's still here, Kyle. She has to be here." I heard Elise say.
"Just check the door. Is it unlocked?" Lily said.
I heard the door knob turn and several pairs of feet entered my house. I couldn't tell just how many.
"Ugh, how does she live like this? There's so much air freshener I can't even tell if she's really here or not," Lily complained.
I knew wolf noses were super sensitive. It had taken me a long time to build up an immunity to the harsh smells of the air fresheners, but it was also an extra security measure that I knew helped cover my scent so any wolves passing by wouldn't suspect I was there.
"She's not here," Elise said.
"She has to be," Lily stated. "Look, her bag's still here."
"Kelsey!" Kyle started yelling through the house. I could hear his heavy footsteps as he paced back and forth. "Kelsey, where are you?"
My wolf started to whimper.
No you do not! I silently threatened.
I could feel him pulling my wolf towards him, and I struggled to stay in hiding.
My heart began racing as the basement door creaked open and footsteps began to slowly descend.
Growl at him! I silently demanded but the wolf in me wouldn’t listen. Instead, I heard a light thumping and realized it was the wolf's tail happily wagging behind us. Traitor!
"Wow!" Kyle said aloud.
"What is it? What's down there?" Lily asked.
"Hold up, okay? She's down here. I can smell the fear rolling off her. Just give me a few minutes."
"Please tell her we're really worried about her and hurry it up."
"You hear that Kels? You got everyone concerned about you. I never meant to frighten you today, but I couldn't let Mike threaten you like that. I've made sure the others stay away. He broke a direct pack order and will be punished for it. I promise. I'd never let anyone hurt you."
He was quietly walking around my den. I should have felt violated. My den was a sacred place to me, but instead I felt... I'm not even sure how to put it into words. It was like for once in my life everything was righted, but that seemed all wrong. He was a monster, like the monsters that killed my parents and the one who changed me.
My wolf snorted and tried to move forward a little. It took a lot of willpower to keep us there.
"Kelsey, come here."
I felt this strange power wash over me that I didn't understand and my wolf whimpered as I fought to refuse the invisible leash trying to draw me out of hiding.
"Kelsey, come here," he said in a stronger voice.
The power emanating through the room became stronger, thicker, and harder to resist, but I stood my ground.
"Damn it, Kelsey, how are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
I heard Kyle jump and knock something over as Elise entered my den. My wolf didn't like another female being there and began to growl loudly. I could feel my hackles rising.
"Shit! Elise, back upstairs, she's in wolf form."
That stopped me in my tracks. Pushing back against my wolf urges I surged to take control and felt the familiar ripple as I transformed, waiting for the nausea and dizziness to subside.
"You knew?" I demanded, crawling out of my now too small space. "You knew all this time and you never told me? Never even let on that you had any idea of what I am?"
The feeling of betrayal was so strong that I didn't even notice I was standing naked before them until Elise yanked my robe off its hook by the steps and brought it to me. She hesitated as if judging my stability.
"Thanks," I told her, letting her know it was okay. I wasn't mad at her right then, I was mad at him.
I watched him cringe as I turned my attention back to him.
"How could you? How could you not tell me, even after everything I told you today!"
I didn't want to cry in front of him, but I couldn't stop the tears. I had been alone all my life, and finding out that the only friends I'd ever had were monsters just like me was both a relief and a fear. I didn't know for sure that Elise and Lily were werewolves too, but I suspected as much.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
KYLE
Chapter 8
I have never cowered to anyone in my life, not even my father who is the only wolf in all of Westin Territory who out ranks me, but seeing the pain and betrayal in my mate's eyes had me ready to beg for forgiveness.
"Kelsey, let us explain, please." Lily was begging already.
Lily wasn't an alpha like me. I was born an alpha. Alpha females by birth were rare, and the Grand Council had a standing kill order out for any that were born. Alpha females were dangerous and too strong and too powerful to control. I didn't really agree with the Council on this. I couldn't imagine killing a young she-wolf showing extraordinary powers, but it had been done for generations. And luckily, it was an extremely rare occurrence. Better yet, it had never happened in the history of the Westin Pack.
"You?" she asked my sister breaking, my thoughts, "Are you, Lily? Are you a werewolf too?"
"We don't really like the term werewolf. We call ourselves wolf shifters, or just shifters."
"How? How did you all get like this? Did a werewolf come through and bite everyone?"
I couldn't help the stunned look on my face. Did she really believe the wolf that had killed her parents had turned her into a werewolf? I tried hard to think back through the little she had confided in me.
"Kels, we're not created from a wolf bite. We're born this way," Lily told her as calmly as she could.
I saw the disappointment and despair in Kelsey’s eyes.
"Oh," she said quietly.
"Lily and Elise, excuse us. Kelsey and I have a lot to talk about."
I let some of my authority flow over them and saw Kelsey's eyes widen. So, she did feel it after all. I had always been lead to believe that alpha power was natural and that all wolves were born to it and born to recognize and respond to it, but since meeting Kelsey I had been second guessing that theory. Could it be that wolves were taught at such a young age about alpha powers that they never doubted it? Could it really be nurture and not nature? It went against everything I had ever been taught, but Kelsey wasn't raised in a pack and seemed immune to my powers.
With my sisters gone, I sat down on the floor, looking around and taking in my surround
ings for the first time.
"This is amazing, Kelsey. I've wondered every day since you showed up in my office why you didn't come out to run. I waited for you. I called to you. This den is incredible. Is this what you use to keep your wolf side happy while cooped up inside?"
I could still smell her heightened stress levels, but they had eased a little with the girls’ departure. I waited for her to respond, but all I got was a small nod of her head.
"Is it okay that I'm down here? Wolves are very territorial."
She shrugged. "She didn't like it when Elise came down. I had to change back to keep her from attacking." She looked ashamed. Didn't she know that was perfectly normal? "You don't seem to aggravate her, though."
I should hope not. Her wolf side had to know I was her mate even if she didn't seem to have any understanding of it.
"Will you sit and talk with me?"
She sighed and sat.
"You don't understand, Kyle, I'm not like you guys. I need to get away from here, far far away."
What in the world was she talking about?
"Babe, tell me why you think that."
"The werewolves, they are dangerous. If they find me, they'll kill me. My mother warned me to stay away from the wolves. I can't tell who's good and who's bad here. And I don't understand any of this. How can you be born this way? It doesn't make any sense!"
"So, tell me why you think you're some evil werewolf? Cause I know you, Kels. There's nothing evil about you."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"I've never told anyone what happened that night."
"Can you trust me enough to tell me?"
She was quiet and I didn't think she was going to tell me. Then she surprised me by speaking.
"Two wolves came in the night. My father woke up and tried to hide my mother and me while he fought them off, but they were too fast, too strong for him, and they took him down before we could get away. I remember crying and wanting to scream for him, but my mother hushed me and wrapped me in her arms and dragged me out the back door. We almost made it to the woods behind our house when we heard them coming around the corner. They attacked my mother from behind. Her screams and the sight of all that blood gushing from her still haunt my dreams every single night. Something distracted them and they left for just a minute. She yelled for me run, but I couldn't just leave here lying there. I started to cry and she begged me to leave her, but I stayed. I didn't know what to do or where to go. She pushed herself up to sit with her back, raw from the attack, up against a tree. I know she must have been in pain, but all she cared about was me. I laid my head in her lap and she stroked my hair and begged me to leave. When we heard the wolves coming back, she got frantic and demanded I go. 'Kelsey, run. Run baby, and don't look back. Don't ever look back….' Those were her last words to me. I got up and started to run. One of the wolves chased me, but even then, I was fast, but I tripped and turned to face him, scrambling backwards. He lunged for me, snapping his jaws and clamping down on my leg. He took a big chunk of it and I screamed and kicked out, connecting with his nose. He howled and stumbled back. It was enough for me to get up and run. I ran and ran and never looked back. While running, I started feeling cold then my entire body started itching."
I couldn't believe what she was telling me. I knew what she was about to say. What she was describing. But how was that possible?
"I remember screaming, but I don't really remember it hurting. The next thing I knew I was on all fours, running even faster through the woods. I woke up the next morning, naked, lying next to a road. I was miles away from my house. I was in such shock and they said I lost so much blood that I blocked out a lot of the following days. I think they kept me heavily drugged while in the hospital. I had my first three skin grafts before I left the hospital. I was put in foster care, but even though I was young, I knew I could never let anyone know how they had turned me into a beast, a monster."
I reached out and gently wiped her tears away. I wanted to grab her and pull her into my arms and just hold her. But even that simple touch brought me a little peace. I didn't want to freak her out knowing how fragile she was in that moment, but I needed to feel her, to assure myself and my wolf that our mate was okay. I was thankful she did not shrink away from my touch.
"How old were you?"
"Twelve."
"Twelve? Jesus, Kelsey, I've never heard of any shifter changing that young, and all alone. I can't imagine how scared you must have been, and how lonely your world has been since then. But, baby, I can only imagine the stress of that night caused your wolf to come out sooner than it should to protect you. To the best of my knowledge, it's impossible to change someone with a bite the way movies and books depict. You're either born with a wolf or you're not. Most shifters don't change for the first time until somewhere between 18-20 years old, and it's not uncommon for it to be as late as about 25. For a long time, I wondered if maybe you were just late changing, but then your wolf showed in the woods, and I could tell in your eyes that it wasn't unfamiliar, like your first time."
"You knew it was me that night? How?"
"Kels, I'd know your scent anywhere. There's a lot about wolf shifters that you need to know about, and I promise you, you are a wolf shifter. There's a lot about pack life and protocol that you need to know too. It's going to be a lot to take in, and I don't want to stress you out or overwhelm you anymore than you already are." I remembered something that had bothered both me and my dad about her,
"Kelsey, do you know what pack you come from? Do you remember anything at all about them? It's the one thing that Dad and I have struggled with the most. Why would any pack allow such a young pup to go through life alone?"
"I don't even know what you mean when you say pack. You mean like a pack of dogs, a group of animals living together?"
"More or less, yeah, though most of us spend more time in our skin than in our fur. And I think of it more like a large close family who all live in the same general area and support each other," I smiled at her example, though, there was some truth in that too.
She shook her head. "I don't ever remember living with others. It was always just me, Mom, and Dad as far as I remember. I don't even remember ever having a babysitter or aunt or uncle. Nothing."
I frowned. How was that even possible? My wolf growled, and it escaped from me before I could stop it. Kelsey's eyes widened, but she didn't shift away from me, remaining within arm's reach.
"Sorry. It just makes me so angry to think about that happening to you. To think your pack just abandoned you like that. I could never do that to anyone, but especially not a young pup."
"I don't know how I could have ever lived with wolves, or wolf shifters, Kyle. I told you before I have always been terrified of wolves, even before the attack. You were the first and only wolf I haven't been scared of, aside from my own wolf of course. Why do you think that is?"
Because I'm your mate! I wanted so badly to blurt that out, but something told me this was not the time for that. She already had enough to take in and accept without adding that to it. So, I shrugged, unable to speak, and ran a nervous hand through my hair.
"Maybe we should let everything sink in for today and start going through all your questions tomorrow? I really think you need time to process all that's happened. I can't even imagine going through life thinking I was some fictional monster, only to discover there are plenty of others just like you. Somewhere out there you have a pack, and if you want to find them, Kels, I'll make that happen, but you have to know, you will always have a place in Westin Pack."
I couldn't explain to her just yet that she would not only have a place in my pack, but that, if she'd have me, she'd someday be the Pack Mother, the highest position possible for a she-wolf in the pack.
Kelsey
Chapter 9
I couldn't believe what he was telling me. Could it be true? I was having a tough time absorbing it all. There were others like me? I wasn't created, but I was born this way? When
he talked about pack, he talked about family. I have a family? Where were they? Why didn't they come for me? The amount of questions bombarding me was overwhelming, and he was right in that I needed time to take it all in.
I had caught Kyle Westin staring at me so many times over our last two years working together. It had never seemed inappropriate or uncomfortable, and I always felt like he had just been waiting for me to do or say something. I shivered, thinking that's exactly what it was. He had known all along and never once alluded to anything. It shouldn't have hurt to think of it, but it did. I couldn't explain the stabbing pain in my heart when I thought about it. It felt like betrayal, yet I trusted him and believed what he said was true. I still didn't see how I could have been born a shifter and my parents never mentioned a word of it. They had to have known. Why wouldn't they have told me?
He was staring at me again. Waiting. Letting me sort through my thoughts and questions in my own time. I was grateful to him for it and as I thought about it, as I looked at him, a surge of something brushed through me. It felt like my wolf, but not like she was fighting for control or to get out. I had this uncontrollable urge to just reach out and touch him.
I know he saw my eyes go wide with shock. He gave me a slight little smirk of a grin like he knew exactly what I was thinking. I felt the urge brush through me again, and before I realized it, I had scooted closer to him. So, close. Our bodies brushed up against each other and my hand was out and headed for what? Him? His face? His body? I licked my lips at the thought just as it all came slamming into me.
What the hell was I doing? I jerked my hand back and made a move to scoot back, shocked and embarrassed at my actions. It had been like I was in a trance and couldn't control myself from reaching out to him for comfort.
He gave a small chuckle and reached out and grabbed my hand. He laid it against his cheek, and the slight stubble of the day's growth tickled my palm in a delicious way that I loved. I couldn't stop myself from stroking his cheek even while his large hand covered mine, holding it against him. And he looked. happy? It was as if my entire body relaxed into a puddle of goo at his touch and he looked as if he was having the same affect from mine.
One True Mate (Westin Pack Book 1) Page 6