Fault Lines

by K. C. Stewart

  “Not my problem?” Sadie said with a sneer. “Who the hell are you to decide who or what is and is not my problem? I’ll have you know that I survived just fine before I met you.”

  The hole Tyson was digging was going to be his grave if he didn’t stop soon.

  “Did you though?”

  The silence that followed could have woken a baby it was so loud. Sadie’s body had completely shut off. Mira had seen in many times in the past year. There would be no getting through to her for at least a day. It seemed Tyson knew this too. The stubborn glint that had raged in his eyes cleared and only the knowledge of his sever fuck up was left behind.

  “Sadie…”

  “Don’t,” she snapped. “Just….don’t.”

  Sadie grabbed her bags and went into the kitchen without another word. Tyson rubbed a hand down his face and breathed out a “shit.”

  “You are screwed, dude,” Mira said to add to his suffering. Oh yeah, she was still here. A fact which he obviously forgot. Mira enjoyed reminding him.

  “I know I am,” he sighed.

  “And you are completely wrong. You should have told her. She has every right to know.” His eyes, all golden and bright, met hers. Eye contact didn’t bother her with most people but with Tyson she had the urge to look away. “Knowledge is everything to her,” Mira finished and gave in, looking away.

  “You’re right. I know you’re right. I just want to protect her. I want to take those burdens she has carried for so long. She is my love and my heart which makes her my responsibility and I will not apologize for keeping her safe.”

  Well damn. Mira really couldn’t argue with that romanticized logic. “Tell her that. I don’t know if it will help but if it were me, I’d be a puddle at your feet with a speech like that.”

  Tyson grinned.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m pissed at you too but it wasn’t my trust you betrayed. Make it right with her.”

  “I will.”

  Mira left him to his thoughts and plans of redemption. It was early but staying any longer would have just made it awkward. She remembered seeing a coffee shop on her way to the trail yesterday. After a five minute walk in the wrong direction she found her way.

  *****

  Owen walked into The Wick expecting to see carnage but he only found Tyson alone at a table instead. It caught him off guard for a moment. He knew it had only taken him a few minutes to get there. Had the storm blown over already?

  “Tyson?” he asked hesitantly. His friend looked up and sighed.

  “Of course you would show up.”

  “What happened?” There was no Sadie or Mira but he could smell both of them fairly well. Either they were in another room or the left.

  “If I just told you that I protected my Mate as I saw fit, would you leave it be?”

  “No chance in hell.” Even if he wasn’t Alpha he’d want to know.

  Tyson nodded looking pretty beat up. “Thought so.”

  “Where’s Sadie?” he asked as he pulled out a chair across from him.

  A few pans clanked together in the kitchen. “She’s pretending that the mixer she is loading up with cookie dough is actually me.”

  He nodded in understanding. “Just get it out.”

  Tyson told him how he had meet Peter’s brother a month prior when Sadie had been living with Lee. It was a surprise but what pissed him off was that he wasn’t told either. Owen couldn’t really fault him for not telling Sadie because in his place he probably would do the same thing. They were dominate wolves who protected what was theirs. It was genetics to be an asshole when it came to their mate’s safety. But as Alpha, he should have been informed.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” was his first question when Tyson was done.

  “You’re not my alpha.”

  Owen leaned his forearms on the table. “Bullshit. I may not be your alpha but I am your friend. You know I wouldn’t have gotten in the way but you should have told me.”

  “I was handling it”

  “Were you?”

  Tyson’s leg bounced under the table like a jackhammer. “She’s my mate. That means she is my responsibility.”

  Weak argument. “She is in my pack. That makes her mine too.” Owen took a breath and backed off, leaning back in his chair. Tyson was right, he wasn’t his Alpha and that wasn’t who he needed at the moment either. Tyson needed a friend more than a commander. “Come on man, why didn’t you tell me?”

  He rubbed both hands back and down his head. “I wanted…no, I needed to know that I could protect her.” A need every mated wolf needed but he understood this was even more so with Tyson. He was unstable yet and they both knew it. “It had been going well until Mira showed up. Shit man. This just got all fucked up.”

  Yeah it did. It really, really did.

  Chapter Nine

  The rain clouds hovered over Mira, mocking her and her flat tire. She had taken the infamously fussy Trixie out for a drive and when she was a few miles outside town, her tire blew. There was no driving on it at all considering pieces of it now littered the deserted back road. Mira could handle a flat tire. With how often Trixie broke down, she could handle a lot of the basics but the deep rumble of thunder rolled through the forest, vibrating her down to her core. She had barely gotten out of her car when the ominous clouds darkened the previous clear blue day.

  Mira bit her lip as she peered up at the sky. “What god did I piss off today?” she wondered.

  Spiders, clowns, small spaces, all things she could deal with, but thunderstorms had her crawling into a corner and begging for her mom like a five-year-old. They terrified her like nothing else on the planet. And she was about to be stuck in one with only a jeep with a flat tire for company.

  The rain hadn’t started yet. And if what her Gran used to tell her about counting between lightning and thunder was right, the storm was about five miles out. She could stay and tough it out or she could run like hell and hope to come across someone who wasn’t about to have an anxiety attack because the sky was getting angry.

  A tingling in her senses had her looking around. It was a feeling she had before and would no doubt have again. It was something everyone had from time to time. She wasn’t alone. Be it a person, animal or ghost, something was nearby. Something that made her stand a little straighter.

  “Crap. What do I do? What do I do?”

  Her fingers tapped in a constant, rapid pace on the steering wheel. The odds of her finding someone in time were slim to none, but she had played blackjack in Vegas and knew when to take the bet. Mira grabbed her purse and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction of the storm and whatever had given her the chills. Every second that passed, the day turned more and more into night. It wasn’t gradual. It wasn’t a pretty kaleidoscope of colors. It was fierce and powerful and had Mira sprinting like it was going to eat her.

  A small dirt road jutted off into a long winding driveway. Or, at least she hoped it was a driveway since that’s where she turned at. Someone was looking out for her since a minute later a massive house broke through the trees. She didn’t have time to gawk. The booming thunder slid down he spin with every drum roll. The rain that she had tried so hard to avoid arrived with a vengeance that the Greeks could only describe as a Zeus’ fury. In two strides, she was drenched to the bone. The pelting rain drops gave her a distraction and a burst of agility. She could still feel the presence of another being around her but they were keeping their distance. Mira guessed it was an animal. She wasn’t sure why that was her guess, other than being in amongst the trees and wildlife; it was a natural thought progression.

  Mira kept running. Animals and uneasy feeling aside, the storm was here and her panic was almost at a ten. The front door was just ahead she knew if she could reach it before snapping completely she would be safe. Or as safe as she could be running into a stranger’s house in the middle of the forest. There was a porch, something she never thought she would be so happy to see, but the moment she st
epped out of the rain, her body began to shiver wildly.

  Another rumbling turn of thunder and Mira was banging on the door. Her manners and any kind of civility went out the window. Mira pounded on that door like she was dying. A woman, annoyed and elbow deep in flour answered the door. The sweet scents of cookies drifted out the door around a soft, warm glow of light. This was just the sanctuary she needed to ride out the storm.

  “My car broke down. Can I come in?” Mira was standing too close for comfort apparently, because the woman shifted backwards.

  “No,” she said simply.

  “What? What do you mean no?”

  The woman began to swing the door closed. Hell no. Mira was not getting stuck in this storm. She refused to. She stuck out her hand and let the door hit her palm. Surprise registered on the woman’s face.

  “I would like to come…AH!” Mira jumped as a bolt of lightning struck nearby.

  Hysterics were threaded in her voice so tight she felt she might choke.

  “Please…I, I know I’m just some crazy woman on your doorstep but I can’t…this storm…oh god…”

  Another flash of light followed closely by a clap of thunder.

  “I’m sorry but I can’t let you in,” there was a hint of sincerity in her voice but for the most part she wasn’t having any of what Mira was selling.

  *****

  “Didn’t know it was supposed to rain today,” Tyson commented from his seat by the window. He looked as dreary as the sky above. After both of their plans for the day fell through, Tyson agreed to head back to Owen’s place. They had nothing to do and no women to keep them company, so they pulled out the Xbox and got down to some very important zombie killing. It was easy to forget that sometimes the world could be put aside to let you just indulge for a little while. The controllers were dusty since they hadn’t been used in over a year. At one point they had gotten together every few weeks just to have a day to unwind and be men. Beer, shots, video games and no pack drama.

  Today, neither of them were particularly in the mood for anything more than the game. They didn’t talk, just allowed the game to occupy their thoughts for a little while. The reprieve didn’t last long, it never did. All too soon his intercom buzzed.

  “Get it,” Tyson had said.

  Owen didn’t really want too. He wanted this time with his not feral best friend. The events of the prior year taught him to embrace the things he loved. They could be gone in an instant.

  “Yeah?” he said into the intercom.

  “Sir, we have someone at the door. It’s a human. Something is wrong but I’m not sure what.”

  Tyson smirked without looking from the screen. “Have fun,” he said dryly.

  “Don’t be jealous.”

  Owen could smell the fear before he even got to the first floor. It clouded his senses so strongly that he was having a hard time distinguishing who it was coming from. A small crowd had gathered in the hallway by the door. Wordlessly they parted for him, many staring with questions in their eyes. The fear was so distracting that he didn’t acknowledge those questions. But he found that the emotion wafting through the house was not coming from one of his wolves. It was coming from the person at the door.

  Lylia was there. She made herself a wall and wasn’t about to let anything past her. Owen laid a hand on her shoulder and felt her weaken. The tough face, as always with her, was purely an act. He felt her guilt as if it was his own. Lylia stepped out of the way so he could deal with whoever was putting his wolves ill at ease.

  “Owen?” a shaky, breathless voice half questioned, half signed. As he turned to look at the woman, her arms encircled his waist and clawed at him as she tried to get closer. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around her small frame to protect her. He didn’t have to look to know who it was; his body had already memorized hers.

  “What…Rabbit? How did, never mind. Jesus, what’s wrong?”

  Mira, drenched through from the storm, was shivering and vibrating with such an intense fear his wolf was battling to come out. He could see that she was physically unharmed. Although the rain washed away any scents that might give him a clue to her current state. Lightening illuminated the sky with a crackle. Mira tried to get closer, he had no doubt that if she could, she would crawl inside of him for safety. Pride swelled in his chest. That she would come to him and choose to be comforted by him made Owen feel more like a man than ever before. He wanted to fight off whoever put her in such a mindset but that was the problem, no one had. Nature, Earth, Gaia, Mother of all, had done this, had done this for a reason.

  A small tilt of his lips was the only pleasure he would allow himself to show. A gift was a gift no matter how it was wrapped.

  “It’s ok Rabbit, I’ve got you.” He smoothed a hand down her hair and kissed her forehead. “Shhh, just let go. I’ll hold you up.”

  She hesitated. But his calm disposition pulled her in. The shaking lessened and with it, so did her strained muscles. Her small body practically dropped in exhaustion. Had it not been for his arms already around her, she might have fallen. Owen picked her up and spread her thighs so that they parted around him. Her legs crossed at his back, locking her into place.

  On the next crash of thunder, her breath halted, choking her. It had crossed his mind but this confirmed it. The Rabbit was skittish because of a thunderstorm. He thought it was adorable as he walked through the crowd of wolves to the stairs. More questions littered their faces this time. He gave a reassuring smile but nothing else. They’d have to wait. Mira, solid in his arms, was his primary concern at the moment.

  Tyson waited in his suite. He frowned at them when they walked in before shooting to his feet.

  “What happened?” Only days into knowing each other, and a rocky start at that, but Tyson already considered Mira his family, his pack. His genuine concern came of no surprise but was reassuring to hear.

  “I don’t know how she ended up here but she seems to be scared of the storm.” Scared speechless it would seem. Mira hadn’t said a word since climbing him like he was a tree.

  “Is she ok?” Tyson was pushing back her wet hair to get a look at her face. With her head in the crook of his neck and shoulder, he couldn’t see her expression very well. It must have been as heart wrenching as he had believed because Tyson’s hardness softened away.

  “God, she’s so pale. She looks like a child in this state.”

  Owen knew the right thing to do was to pass Mira over to Tyson to be cared for. They were family. But when he thought about her soft curves cushioned against him and the small puffs of breath hitting his neck, he found he didn’t want anyone else to experience all that. Tyson must not have had the same mindset because he turned from them and found his phone on the table.

  He paused in his dialing to look over at Owen. “Can I use your phone? I don’t think Sadie will pick up if I call from mine.”

  “Sure,” he motioned with his head to where his phone sat. “So how’s the view from the dog house?”

  Tyson’s glower was all the answer he would get. Sadie picked up on the second ring.

  “Sadie…don’t hang up! Its Mira…She’s ok. I think she’s ok. Does she have issues with thunderstorms?…Yeah, she’s with Owen and I…She’s terrified, Babe. Do you need to come down?” Tyson looked to Owen and he shook his head. They had this. He had this.

  Owen walked over to his couch and sat with her still coiled around him. She was so quiet and still he wondered if she had fallen asleep. His hands, now free from holding her, ran up and down her back in an attempt to soothe.

  “Thank you,” a small breathless whisper hit his ear. He smiled and leaned his head against hers.

  “For holding you? No, Rabbit, it is my privilege and pleasure to hold you.”

  When the call ended, Tyson came and bent down in front of them. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed. “Mira, how are you feeling?”

  “Embarrassed,” she mumbled against his skin. The hairs on his neck rose to her warm breat
h and soft lips dancing over his sensitive flesh.

  Tyson chuckled. “No need to be. We all have something we fear.”

  “Do you get paralyzed by fear when you see a spider, Tyson?” She lifted her head a few inches to look at her brother in law. “Because I don’t see either of you having a phobia that causes you to crawl into the arms of someone’s house you’ve just forced your way into.”

  Actually, Tyson did had paralyzing fears, they both did. But being where they were in the pack, or had been in Tyson’s case, they couldn’t allow themselves to let it affect them. If their fears were known, they could be used against them.

  “Do you want Sadie?”

  She shook her head before lying back on Owen’s shoulder as if it were too heavy to hold up.

  “No, I’ll be fine in a minute.”

  “She said you would say that,” Tyson remarked.

  “She’s strong, our Rabbit.”

  Mira snorted a laugh.

  Owen’s heart smiled. “How did you end up here?”

  “Trixie got a flat tire and then the storm started. I just ran.”

  His arms tightened. “Where is your car?”

  “Down your driveway, make a right.” Tyson stood and nodded to Owen. He’d take care of the car. “But be careful,” she added before Tyson got too far. “There was something else out there. Animal I think but I didn’t see it to be sure.” His golden eyes hardened until they looked more like a wolf’s than a human’s. He should be worried. The man spent a year as a wolf and that can twist the mind. But Owen had faith that he could hold it together, even if it looked the contrary at the moment. Tyson slipped from the room to track whatever had been following her.

  After Tyson left, the only sound left was that made by the rain pelting against the glass. The thunder was growing distant which led his little Rabbit to lift her head and look around. He wasn’t ready to let her slip away just yet, so when she laid her head back down with a sigh, so did he.