It wasn't her fault, not entirely. She shared it with her parents, her father mostly. He was her Alpha and he should have known better, but River liked her head leaning against his chest so he didn't say it aloud.
"There's plenty of blame to go around," he said instead. "Nobody forced those packs to take the risk."
"But there wasn't supposed to be a risk and the Chase was my idea. Sweet Valley needed the money and I thought that if I had to mate, they could see some benefit, too. If Dennis had won, everybody would have gotten something. He and my father would have realized their dreams. My mother would have a son to fuss over and a daughter who stayed close. My pack would have money to help them start over and I would have had my pack. Now, it's all ruined."
River couldn't stand hearing her misery any longer. He had to do something to make it stop, so he lifted her chin with his finger until she was forced to look up.
"Did you ever hear the saying poo happens?" he asked with a straight face. He saw the flicker of a smile in her eyes and he felt as if he'd won a challenge.
"No, because it's shit happens." She made a sour face as she said the distasteful word.
"It does, Babe, and they say it that way because when it happens, you can't do shit about it."
"You like to use those words, don't you?"
He shrugged. "Limited vocabulary. I think my first word might have been fuck."
"Fudge," she corrected.
"No, I'm pretty sure it was fuck. I didn't know what fudge was until I was about twelve." Or maybe it was thirteen. He'd stolen it as a treat for the pups and kept a tiny corner for himself. He didn't know his exact age. Charles had made an estimate and Kat had picked a date. Ryker thought he was older and going hungry had slowed his development.
Reb thought he was kidding. "You're impossible," she said and there it was, her smile.
"Hell no, I'm easy. Kiss me and I'll show you just how easy I am."
For a moment, he thought she might. She'd looked up into his eyes and held them with her own. She licked her lips as if she was undecided, but then she raised up on her toes and closed her eyes.
That was when six cars followed an old RV and a blue Ford F150 pulled into the parking lot. Her pack had arrived and they'd brought his truck with them.
Chapter 12
A fist pounded on the door. River didn't have to guess who it was. Reb was on her feet, looking around the room like she wanted a place to hide.
"Rebecca? Rebecca, we know you're in there."
"Rebecca? Rebel? Becky?" he hissed. "How many names do you have?"
"Becky, honey, it's Father and Mother." As if she couldn't figure that out. "Are you all right?"
"Four," she whispered back. "You call me Babe." She stripped off the belt. "I'm fine, Mother. Just a minute," she called to the door. The giant trousers slid to her ankles and she kicked them under the bed. She undid the top three buttons of the oversized shirt.
"Rebecca, open this door or I shall be forced to take strong action."
"Coming, Father!" Instead of going straight to the door, she bent at the waist and shook her head. When she straightened, all her finger combing was gone. She looked like she'd just rolled out of bed.
What the hell was going on? Whatever it was, it wasn't good, though neither she nor his wolf seemed to care. She had no right to look so damn sexy. With any other female, he would have yelled, "Come back in an hour," but that was her father, an Alpha no less, banging on the door. Talk about bad timing. River's dick was starting to dance in his pants. His wolf was howling for joy as if that was a good thing.
He stood and readjusted his jeans just as Reb threw open the door. Fortunately, the parents' eyes were on their daughter and not on the hand at his crotch.
Her father entered behind her mother, leaning heavily on a cane. He looked tired and his face seemed to sag. Deeply drawn lines ran from the sides of his nose to the corners of his mouth. He looked ill and the sickly scent River detected at the park was stronger than before. There was nothing wrong with his eyes, however. They looked bright and alert, and angry.
"We've been worried to distraction and here we find you gadding about with this...this." He peered more closely at River. "Have we met?"
"Yes, sir. Last night. I fought beside your Mate." He wanted to say that he saved her ass twice and then saved their daughter's, but he didn't think the Alpha would want to hear it. It would sound too much like he was claiming a reward.
The Alpha looked down his hawk-like nose to the fly of River's jeans. His bushy eyebrows rose in recognition. "Good heavens, I remember you now. Those obscenely ridiculous wolves. Margaret, I thought you said we could trust him."
"I said I thought we needed him, dear. That's not quite the same thing as trust." She frowned at her daughter's attire. "Good heavens, darling, you can't be seen like that."
"Would you prefer I take it off?"
He mother ignored the threat. "Darla," she called back through the door without waiting for an answer. "Please bring Becky something decent to wear."
"Father, Mother, this is River. He rescued me."
The Alpha's harrumph expressed his thoughts on that. His eyes took in the room, shuddered at the mural on the wall, and zeroed in on the unmade bed. His glare returned.
Nothing like being blamed for something you didn't do, and what was the big deal anyway? So what if they'd spent the night together. They were adults and it was a full moon.
Whether it was the full moon, or going over it and shifting into wolf, the monthly rising increased the sexual appetites of wolvers. It was a fact of life. Mated pairs would disappear soon after the run was over. Unmated adults would search out partners for the night. It didn't mean anything.
It wasn't the sex they objected to, River concluded. It was him. They'd have had no problem if he was an Alpha she'd only met once. Any one of them could have fucked and bit her and Mommy and Daddy would have jumped for joy, but dirt didn't touch their darling and River was dirt.
"I'm sure he did rescue you, darling, and we're very grateful for it, aren't we, dearest?" Her mother smiled at River, but since he wasn't of her pack, he couldn't tell if it was real. "You won't mind excusing us for a minute, will you, River? We'd really like to speak with our daughter in private. I'm sure you understand."
He understood she wanted him to hell and gone, but beyond that, he had no idea what was going on. He wasn't going to be around long enough to care which bothered him a little since nobody else seemed to care about Reb and somebody should.
"Yes, ma'am. Sir," he said to the Alpha with a nod of his head.
At least they'd know he had some kind of manners, but if they expected him to sidle guiltily out the door, they'd better think again. He'd show them the respect that was due an Alpha and his Mate, but he wouldn't offer his neck in submission. He was done with that shit.
The Babe-in-the-woods grabbed his hand as he passed. "You won't leave, will you?"
That was the plan. If he acted quickly he could have his bike loaded and be off before someone got the idea to steal it again. But there was something desperate in her eyes and he couldn't do it. Whatever this was, she needed an ally, and his alliance would have the added bonus of pissing her folks off.
"Not if you want me to stay, Rebel." He hoped the name reminded her of who she wanted to be.
"Rebecca," her father said. River couldn't tell if it was a correction of the name or a warning to his daughter.
"I'm not sure that's a wise idea, Becky," her mother said gently.
Rebel's eyes never left River's. "Please wait for me."
"Rebecca." It was definitely a warning. River waited for the trickle of the Alpha's power that would follow it, but none came.
"Father," Rebel warned right back and in the exact same tone.
"I'll be right outside." River gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.
He couldn't openly defy an Alpha, of course, and the old man could make him go if he chose to. Go, or face the consequences, but Riv
er didn't think he would. The man's eyes were on his Mate as if waiting for her direction, but the Mate was already turning back to her daughter. "This is not how an Alpha's daughter behaves."
"Really, Mother? Then maybe it's time for things to change or did you miss the bloodshed last night."
Darla, who turned out to be the big female who attacked him at the van and the driver of the clown car, was approaching the door as River moved out of it. She carried a load of clothes across her outstretched arms. A pair of boots was laid across the top. Two pairs of shoes dangled from her fingers. River was surprised when she gave him a lift of the chin.
"She okay?"
River nodded and Darla nodded back. She disappeared inside, came out, and stood in front of the closed door. Arms folded over her chest, legs spread to hip width, the woman was apparently the designated guard of the Alpha's family privacy.
River folded his arms, too, and leaned against one of the posts that held up the roof of the walkway. He crossed one ankle over the other and closed his eyes, making it clear that privacy or not, he wasn't going anywhere. He looked a lot more relaxed than he felt.
They stayed that way for several minutes. Darla spoke first.
"It's hitting the fan in there." It's, not shit's.
He opened his eyes and raised his brows.
"Is it?" he asked as if he couldn't hear the angry rumble of the Alpha, the higher pitched anger of his daughter, and the quiet, calming voice of the Mate.
Darla rolled her eyes up and tilted her head back toward the door. "You do that?"
"Hell no, whatever's going on in there is all on them. Reb can handle it, though." He said it more to convince himself than Darla. He didn't like it that Reb was in there alone with no one to take her back.
"Reb?"
"With all those names, I had to pick one."
"So you picked the one she likes." Darla didn't hide her skepticism.
Actually, he'd pick Babe because she seemed to like that more, but why complicate things. "Seemed to fit or at least she wants it to."
It must have been an acceptable answer because he got another nod. Darla went back to silently guarding the door and River let his chin fall to his chest. He closed his eyes in imitation of a man who had no worries.
"How are the beds here?" Darla asked after another few minutes of silence.
Fishing. The woman was fishing and not doing a very good job of it.
"I wouldn't know. I haven't slept in one yet." He grinned. Let her try to figure out what he meant by that.
Darla finally gave up fishing and came right out and asked. "Are you joining with the others or are you just here for the fun and games?" She added another head tilt toward the door where the argument was escalating.
River's wolf had begun to snarl at his refusal to interfere, but whatever was going on in there was none of his business. It wasn't his fight. Besides, it sounded like the Rebel was holding her own, so he kept his eyes on Darla.
"Don't know about fun, but I don't play games unless someone tries to play me first, and I'm not looking for a new pack. How do you know about the others?"
The warrior woman smiled though only one side of her mouth turned up. "I'm closer to the door."
"Isn't that considered rude?"
Wolvers had excellent hearing, so it was sometimes hard to keep conversations private. Cubs were taught to ignore the conversations around them. Eavesdropping was rude. River never learned those lessons. Apparently, Darla hadn't either.
Her lopsided grin widened. "I've been considered a lot of things, most of them wrong. The only thing you should consider me is loyal. To Rebecca. You mess with her, I'll mess with you, and since I've seen you fight, I won't have any problem with putting a knife in your back when you're not looking."
River mirrored the grin, lifting one side of his mouth. "You could try." He stepped from the post and stretched. "But you won't have to. You've got your wires crossed. I just came to get my truck."
"Then why is she..."
The door opened and the subject of their conversation came storming out. She was wearing a short sleeved shirt that buttoned up the front. The shirt was neatly tucked into a pair of tight fitting jeans that showed off her long legs and high rising ass. It did a lot more for her figure than the clown suit. The orange sneakers didn't match the outfit, but she'd worn them anyway. Everything else did, including the small purse that hung from a chain draped over her shoulder.
She turned back to her parents as she stepped outside. "I'm an adult, not a cub, Mother. I know what I'm meant to be, so you can stop reminding me. I know my destiny, but until the time comes to fulfill it, I'm just like any other unattached adult. I'm free."
"Rebecca, as your Alpha, I order you..."
"No, Father, you can't order me to do anything, not in this case. In this, you're just my father." She marched over to River and grabbed his hand. "Take me for a ride."
She would have dragged him behind her, but he stood his ground. It was obvious she was making some kind of point, but he wasn't a lap dog to be ordered around.
"Hey, hold up there, Reb." He bent to her ear and spoke as quietly as he could. "You're not my Alpha either. You snappin' your fingers don't mean I'll jump. You want a ride, I'll be happy to do that, but you ask me nice."
It was only when she answered that he realized she was on the verge of tears.
"Please, River, please take me away," she whispered. "I don't want them to see me break."
"You got it, Babe." He kept her hand in his, but as they walked away, he turned back to her father, who'd followed her out the door. "I'll take care of her, sir, and bring her back in one piece."
"I hope I have your word as a gentleman on that," the Alpha called after them.
Without stopping, but walking backward, River called out again. "You have it, sir."
This time he noticed Darla, standing behind the Alpha. She was still grinning, but now it reached both sides of her mouth. Turning, he caught sight of four more wolvers, all grinning with thumbs raised in salute.
They rode, but not too far. River had promised to bring her back in one piece and she wasn't wearing a jacket or a helmet. When it came to his luck, Fate wore shitkickers and he didn't want to tempt her to use them on Reb.
A few miles up the road, he found a restaurant and bar, a local watering hole by the looks of it. It was late afternoon and there were only three cars in the parking lot, one of which belonged to Harry.
"I'm not really hungry," she grumbled when he turned the switch to KILL, but she no longer looked on the verge of tears.
"Then you can watch me." He hadn't eaten in days.
The building was divided with a large dining room off to the left and a small barroom to the right. River chose the left since the room was empty, except for a waitress playing solitaire at a table in the back. He led Reb to a table for two by the windows. He waited until the waitress had taken their drink orders and left the menus before he spoke.
"I don't like being used..."
"I'm not..." she interrupted.
He raised his index finger. "You are, Babe, and I don't like being used." He kept his finger raised. "Unless I know what for and I agree to it. So let's hear it."
He leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest, and waited while she collected her thoughts. He waited while she unwrapped her napkin covered utensils and laid them carefully in their proper place. He waited while she pressed the napkin flat with her hands and laid it on her lap. Her hands stayed there with her napkin. She kept her head bowed.
The waitress delivered their drinks.
"Ready to order?" she asked.
"Just give us a few minutes," he told her and she smiled at Reb's bowed head and then at him.
"Sure thing, hon, you just give me a wave when you two get things worked out."
"I won't wait forever, Babe," he said when the waitress moved far enough away. "I'm hungry."
~*~
Reb didn't know how to beg
in. If she couldn't find the courage to explain it to her parents, how on earth would she explain it to him? If she told him the truth, he'd probably head for the hills or back to the pack he came from. She glanced up and there he was staring at her with those soulful eyes that broke her heart and filled her with longing all at the same time. She took a breath and then another and decided that half a truth was better than none.
"They treat me like a pup," she said to her lap.
"And?"
"I'm not."
She wanted him to laugh and say, "You definitely ain't no pup, Babe," but after waiting a beat, all he said was, "And?"
"I'm tired of it," she told him because she was. She was tired of being an Alpha's daughter. She was tired of being a good little girl. She was tired of being a freak.
"And?"
"I wanted them to think I slept with you," she said in a whispered rush, but that wasn't what she wanted to say at all.
"Yeah, I get it," he said, but he didn't look pleased. "How does a spoiled, pretty female with expensive clothes and high class parents rebel? She finds the wolver who'll give Mommy and Daddy nightmares."
How could he think such a thing? "You're perfect," she blurted.
"Of course I am. I'm uneducated. As a matter of fact, I can barely read. Maybe you want to write this down, Babe. You wouldn't want to forget. I swear, not fudge and shoot, but fuck and shit. I wear black leather, and have a motorcycle that would scare Mommy wolf right out of her furry skin. When it comes to making a statement of independence, what sweet young thing could want for more?"
"Maybe you are all those things," she said.
"Damn right, I am."
"But you're also brave, and handsome, and kind, and everything I would want if...if I was allowed to want," she added quickly so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. Or the right one.
River blinked. He looked confused. "Say again?"
His shocked response gave her courage. "You treated me like I was real and not some china doll. I liked you. I liked the way you made me feel back in the forest." She gave him a lift of her shoulders along with her apology. "I didn't know that until after I hit you with the rock, so I'm sorry for that, too." She took a deep breath and let it spill. "You... you liked the way I made you feel, too."
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