by M. Ekman
CHAPTER 8
Once in her room Ruth sat the beautiful dress on her bed and couldn’t help but smile. She wondered what Tyler would think of her all done up. Stop! She had to stop doing that. What did it matter what Tyler thought of anything? He was another pack’s alpha and she didn’t feel anything for him anyways. Ruth wrinkled her nose at the obviously lie.
When she’d seen how exhausted Tyler was, it had brought something out in her. Almost like a need to intervene, to take away whatever was causing him distress. Speaking of that, Ruth still wondered what had caused his sleepless night. Was it possible that it could have been her?
Almost before the thought was finished, Ruth found herself at Tyler’s office door knocking. “Come in,” she heard a muffled voice utter.
At the point of no return Ruth opened the door to find Beta Jason with his head bent over his desk writing something and Tyler slumped back in his seat holding some document in front of his face. Tyler plopped the paper down before raising his head up to see Ruth standing in the doorway.
Suddenly his whole demeanor changed. Tyler sat up straighter and a huge grin spread across his face as his eyes lit up. Ruth had never had that kind of affect on anyone before, not even Nathan. It caused her to blush and lower her eyes to the floor unsure of how to act.
She didn’t need to worry though because Tyler was, apparently, all action. He stood up from his desk and swiftly made his way to her, stopping to raise Ruth’s eyes to his. “You look stunning my little warrior. Just couldn’t stay away from me could you?”
Ruth rolled her aforementioned eyes despite her increasing blush. “You wish.”
Shocked at her snarkiness Tyler paused for a beat before bursting into laughter. “Of course I do,” he finally said without any sort of pretense.
“Tyler,” Ruth almost whined. Honestly, this man could be so ridiculous. She couldn’t handle it. “I came here to see what was going on.”
The laughter left his eyes as he hedged, “Going on with what?”
Ruth huffed with her hands on her hips, “Your sleep, you ninny. What is up with those purple pillows under your eyes?”
One side of Tyler’s lips turned upward in what was becoming her favorite of his smiles. “Ruth—”
Suddenly Tyler became abnormally still and his eyes glazed over. He was mindlinking again, but something was different this time than when he’d last been called in front of her. Ruth glanced over at Beta Jason and saw that his stance mirrored that of the alpha. Ruth’s gut told her something was wrong.
After a few moments both men seemed to unfreeze almost in sync. Jason nodded to his alpha before making his way out the door. Tyler steered Ruth into his desk chair and looked down at her with an unfathomable expression that did nothing to assuage her worry.
“STAY HERE,” Tyler said in a deep voice that resonated throughout the quiet office before he exited the room behind his beta.
Ruth’s eyes nearly popped out with shock; he had just used an Alpha Command on her. The only way an alpha could command a wolf not of their pack would be if the alpha was stronger than the other wolf’s pack alpha. The Command had rung in Ruth’s ears, but then it seemed to almost slide off of her. This was something that had never happened to her before. She would’ve thought that Tyler would be much stronger then her alpha, who was nearly 50, but she didn’t dwell on it.
Ruth was too focused on figuring out what was causing the alpha and beta’s odd behavior. Where could they both be going and why were they trying to keep from her?
After waiting for an excruciatingly long 15 minutes to pass Ruth quietly opened Tyler’s office door and tiptoed over to her bedroom. Once inside she made her way to the small window on the far wall and silently slid it open. She could have tried to sneak out the main entrance, but she was worried that Tyler might have someone guarding it. Climbing out her window seemed vastly more practical.
There was a small squeal of protest from the window frame, which caused Ruth to still for a moment. However, when she heard no evidence of anyone having noticed the noise, she began to move again. Thank goodness her room looked out on the west side of the territory where there was nothing but mountain ranges.
Sliding her legs over the windowsill Ruth sat with her feet dangling over the two-story drop. Before she could think the better of it she planted her hands on either side of the window frame and pushed off. Before her body hit the earth, Ruth tucked her head and rolled out of her fall with a grace that only a trained werewolf could muster.
After stopping for a moment to dust herself off, Ruth heard a commotion, a single indecipherable yet angry sounding voice. Creeping around the side of the building toward the ruckus, she found herself at the front of the pack house where there stood a clump of Alpha Tyler’s tense enforcers. All of them had adopted the same stance; arms crossed with glaring eyes fixed forwards.
The shouting Ruth heard certainly wasn’t coming from any of these wolves, but now that she was closer she felt that there was something familiar about the voice. Ruth wormed her way through the crowd without touching anyone so as to avoid the annoyance that was her unclaimed bond. Each wolf she passed shifted to make room but gave no outward appearance of acknowledgment. She finally stopped behind the two hulking bodies that were Alpha Tyler and Beta Jason. The yelling had gotten louder, but the two men’s large statures prevented Ruth from seeing the seemingly hysterical man they were facing.
“I know that she is here! If you have harmed a single hair on her head this will mean war! Speak, damn you!”
Ruth realized that she recognized the speaker. “Alpha Brax,” she breathed?
The shouting immediately ceased, though Ruth’s voice hadn’t been loud enough to be heard over it. Tyler and Jason became still as stone, but Ruth ignored them and quickly squeezed herself in between the two goliaths to find herself face to face with her pack alpha and no less than 10 of his enforcers.
Alpha Brax visibly softened; he’d always held some affection for Ruth, though she never knew why. “Ruth you are safe. Thank goodness.”
“What are you doing here? How did you find me so soon?”
Alpha Brax was a little startled by her brash questions and defensive stance but answered Ruth all the same, “we came to get you. Your father noticed you were missing when he came home after our meeting with the northern territories. We got some of our best trackers together, including my Nathan, and found you.”
Ruth’s heart sped up at the mention of the two men in her life that were causing her such heartache. “My father is here?” Ruth looked closer at the 10 enforcers, but none were her father.
Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly Alpha Brax mumbled, “No. He had to stay behind. He wasn’t…feeling well.”
Ruth’s heart sank to the bottom of her shoes but outwardly she didn’t so much as twitch a muscle. Of course her father didn’t come for her and it was silly of her to think otherwise. “And Nathan?”
Behind her, Ruth heard Tyler grinding his teeth clearly displeased by the inquiry of her less than amiable mate. Alpha Brax’s eyes flicked to the large werewolf behind Ruth but otherwise didn’t comment on the fellow alpha’s behavior.
“He is currently at the border with a few of our other trackers sleeping. They are exhausted from having to continuously switch forms and be on high alert as we raced through other pack territories.”
Blurting out her next question without thinking Ruth uttered, “Nathan helped to find me but he wasn’t the one to report that I was missing?”
Befuddled Alpha Brax asked, “Did Nathan see you before you were taken?”
It seemed that confusion was contagious, “Taken? What are you—No! I wasn’t taken.”
Alpha Brax folded his arms in what was meant to be an intimidating manner, “A Head Enforcer’s daughter of a prominent pack doesn’t just up and disappear.” Alpha Brax glared menacingly at the two men behind Ruth.
At Alpha Brax’s thoughtless words, the lawn they were standing in became dead
quiet, not even a single insect chirped. Ruth was the first to break the silence since she could feel anger rolling off Tyler in waves. She had this odd compulsion to lean backwards and close the distance between them, as if her touch would calm him. What an odd thought, which Ruth promptly shook her head to be rid of.
“Alpha Brax, I was not taken. If your trackers were able to track me all the way here, wouldn’t they have smelled other wolves with me? Better yet, if I were going to be kidnapped why wouldn’t they put me in a car to make my scent much harder to find? These men seem like terrible kidnappers to me,” Ruth gestured to the pack behind her.
The alpha’s jaw went slack, “You went rouge?”
Ruth held in an exasperated sigh, “No, Alpha. I was in an…” Ruth chose her next words carefully, “emotional upheaval when I didn’t find my mate by midnight on my 18th birthday.”
Secretly a part of Ruth had wanted to tell the truth, to rage to her alpha about what an unthinking and coarse son he had. However, somewhere between finding out that Nathan was her mate and seeing Alpha Brax, Ruth had changed. She found something better than a mate, which she had never before supposed possible, she had found a place to belong.
With this new thought at the forefront of her mind, Ruth continued her explanation, “To work out the stress I went for a run. I just let my wolf take charge not paying attention to where I went. I made it all the way to the edge of this territory before exhaustion claimed me.”
Sputtering Alpha Brax replied, “There’s no way you made it all this way on your own!”
It was Ruth’s turn to cross her arms over her chest with a glare. She could almost feel Tyler’s smirk.
Recovering Alpha Brax spoke, “Fine. You had your run, and now I’m taking you home.”
He reached out a hand to her and she suddenly felt Tyler’s focus turn solely on to her, drilling holes into the back of her skull. This was a crossroads and no matter what decision Ruth made she couldn’t turn back.
Ruth glanced at her alpha’s outstretched hand and then turned her head to look at Beta Jason, “Go get the file Ty—Alpha Tyler prepared for me.” Why had she started being so informal with the alpha behind her, they were not equals.
Turning back to Alpha Brax’s now lowered hand she said, “Alpha, we need to talk.”
Alpha Brax’s stormy grey eyes’ just about popped out of his skull, “You can’t mean you want to stay.”
“Please Alpha,” Ruth spoke in a hushed tone, “Let’s talk in private.”
“Do you even know what pack you’re in? They are monsters!”
Ruth rose to her full height and glared contemptuously at her alpha, “They are not. They’ve shown me more kindness in a few hours than I’ve ever been shown by your pack.”
The day after Ruth had appeared, Maggie, the woman who’d brought her clothes and food, was almost jumping out of her shoes in her excitement over Ruth’s sudden appearance. Then Violet had practically taken Ruth under her wing, like a sister. She had been nothing but welcomed and cared for since the moment this pack found her. What difference did it make what pack it was?
Going red from the top of his baldhead to his neck, Alpha Brax ground out, “This is the Blood Mountain Pack!”
Ruth stilled, she had heard rumors about the Blood Mountain Pack being murderers and cutthroats who skirted just enough within werewolf law so as to not be disbanded. But that couldn’t be this pack. Not one of them seemed as if they would so much as swat a fly...well, except for the supremely ticked looking enforcers behind her. Despite the disquiet in her mind, outwardly Ruth merely cocked an eyebrow at Alpha Brax. Her heart, as well as her pride, wouldn’t let her back down now.
As if called by Ruth’s inner turmoil, Jason appeared back at her side. She looked down at the file in his hands and took a deep breath. Ruth had tasted belonging and she didn’t know if she could ever go back to living in that miserable empty house with a pack that hated her, if Nathan’s words were to be believed.
Before she could think better of it Ruth grabbed the file and the pen clipped on top. She flicked it open, quickly signed the dotted line, and shoved it at a shocked Alpha Brax. When he looked down at the document the alpha’s eyebrows nearly leapt into his hairline.
Earlier, when Tyler had presented Ruth with this life-changing document she had noticed that space where her new pack was supposed to be listed was blank. However, she’d just assumed it was an innocent mistake, but now she wondered if they were trying to keep the truth from her. Did they think that their packs reputation would scare her away?
Alpha Brax’s eyes morphed into a dark steel color as he glanced up at Ruth, “So this is your choice then?”
She took one step closer to the only wolf from the Forest Stone Pack that hadn’t completely shunned her after her mother’s death. Her progress was halted by a low and almost imperceptible growl from Tyler.
Knowing that now probably wasn’t the best time to test either alpha, Ruth stopped moving and opted to speak instead, “Alpha Brax, you are a good man and you run a good pack. But what is there to keep me? I have no friends and…no mate.”
It was only after she forced herself to spit out the words that Ruth realized Nathan wasn’t the kind of mate that she wanted anyway. All his life he was always trying to prove himself better than his brother, everyone in the pack knew that he hated being second born. He angered easily and forgave hardly ever. Looking at it now, Ruth was sure that he wouldn’t have ever accepted her in his life; at least not in the way she wanted.
Alpha Brax opened his mouth to argue when Ruth, reaching across the marginal gap between them, put a hand on his arm ignoring the pain that flared up. Her action earned a louder growl from behind her but she ignored it.
“You gave me a good home, but I cannot be consigned to loneliness the rest of my days. Plus, with me gone, perhaps my father will be free to…He might finally give himself a break.” She smiled sardonically at her last words.
She didn’t think “break” was anywhere in her father’s limited vocabulary wheelhouse. It’s not that Ruth’s father was unintelligent but he was a man of very few words, and had been that way was even before her mother died.
Sadly, Alpha Brax looked into Ruth’s eyes, “I do understand your desires Ruth. I guess I just don’t get why you are choosing this pack. You could always wait for the next mate party, or—”
Ruth cut him off, “This is the ‘right time, right place’ kind of situation. Will you please sign the papers?”
Shaking his head Alpha Brax speedily penned his name and handed the folder back to Ruth almost as if he couldn’t get it away from himself fast enough. Ruth turned to her new pack and took a few quick steps toward Tyler. His arms unfolded, and despite the power she could feel rolling off him, Tyler gently took her offering. She dared a glance at her new alpha and saw pride shining in his eyes.
Too swiftly to track Tyler’s expression changed and grew somber as he turned to Alpha Brax, “Let us do the ceremony now so you can be on your way back home.”
CHAPTER 9
Alpha Brax stepped towards Ruth and grasped her left hand flipping it palm up. “This will only sting for a moment,” he murmured. He retrieved a dagger from one of the many pockets of the military style jacket he wore, and swiftly cut shallow lines in Ruth’s and then his palms.
Ruth tried not to squirm at his touch, which was now causing a dull ache due to her still intact mate bond. Some part of Ruth still felt bad for deceiving Alpha Brax about Nathan, but after everything was said and done she really didn’t want to go back.
“Ruth Osbolt. I release you from the Forest Stone pack.” Usually when a pack transfer ceremony was held, a lot more flowery eloquent speeches were given, but apparently Alpha Brax just wanted to get this done.
Ruth felt the buzzing in the back of her mind, where her pack mindlink was stored, go silent. For a horrifying second Ruth felt the earth shattering loneliness of what a rogue feels when they cut all pack bonds. Before she could get too wor
ked up though Ruth felt the tug of a warm calloused hand on her limp right arm.
Staring into her eyes Tyler flipped over her hand and pulled out his own knife to cut her palm and then his without breaking eye contact. “Ruth Osbolt formerly of Forest Stone pack will you be loyal and faithful to your new pack putting your fellow brothers and sisters before yourself?”
In a voice much stronger then Ruth felt, she responded, “Yes.”
“As you have promised to guard us, we promise to guard you. Your life is ours just as ours is yours. You will never be alone, forgotten, or forsaken. Welcome to the Blood Mountain Pack.”
Alpha Brax had released Ruth’s hand as soon as Tyler had taken it and the stinging she’d felt was replaced by a warm tingly sensation.
Before Ruth’s thoughts could run amok, her mind filled with voices which all spoke in chorus, “Ruth Osbolt, welcome to the Blood Mountain Pack.”
Tyler was still holding her hand, but at the sound of a blood-curdling howl, she was whipped behind his massive form.
From the direction of the main road came a wolf Ruth recognized all too well, “Nathan.”
At her soft-spoken word Tyler crouched in a protective stance shaking with the need to shift. Nathan stopped about three feet from Tyler, Ruth, and Alpha Brax before he shifted back into his human form. His eyes were still not fully human and he grabbed his head in evident pain.
He looked at his bewildered father, “What have you done?”
Nathan abruptly dropped to his knees practically writhing in agony. What was going on? Even if she switched packs Ruth didn’t think it would cause her mate to be tormented like this, especially since Ruth herself felt no pain whatsoever.
Making a swift decision Ruth used her newly formed pack mindlink to talk to Jason. “Get the pack doctor. We need wolfsbane.”