by Jen L. Grey
"But I'm not. I'm making everything worse." Ever since I got accepted into Wolf Moon, it'd been one thing after another. "Now you have to hide here, and Max had to leave school."
"You are making a difference." Mom then pointed at Liam and Bree. "You all are bringing the issues that all of our packs are facing to light. Something that's needed to be done ever since your father didn’t return to me."
"She's right." Liam's eyes filled with adoration. "You're the Overseer. The one who fate created to level out the council. This change couldn't have gotten this far without you."
"And on that note." Mr. Thorn's voice came from behind. "I'd like to talk to the three of them alone for a few minutes before they have to go."
I gave them another huge hug. "I'm sorry, but we do need to talk to him. We'll come back as soon as we can to visit with you all again."
"I love you, honey." Mom hugged me once more while Dad wrapped his arms around both of us.
"Bye." Liam nodded at them, and the three of us turned and made our way back to Mr. Thorn.
"Let's go someplace we can talk." He pointed to a building that was slightly larger than the rest of them.
When we entered the building, we discovered it was one huge room with a rectangle wooden table in the center. Willow and Kai were already sitting there together on one side.
"We'd like to discuss a few things before you head back." Mr. Thorn sat beside Kai.
I took the middle seat directly across from Kai with Liam on my right and Bree to my left.
"First off, thank you for saving my parents. I was afraid that I might've been too late." The fact that they did that when they didn't have to spoke volumes to me.
"Yeah, you would've been." Willow tilted her head.
"Well, if you hadn't gotten my son when you did, he wouldn't be sitting here beside me." Mr. Thorn reached over and patted Kai on the shoulder. "So, we're even there."
"Yeah, thank you." Kai placed his hands on the table.
"You're our friend." Bree shook her head. "You don't have to thank us."
"So what is the point of us being here?" Liam dropped his hands into his lap. "Kai told us you were the one who was broken out from Chicago headquarters."
"Yes, it was me." Mr. Thorn nodded.
"How long have you been a part of this?" It was still kind of hard to believe, especially after the first time I had met him. He had appeared so calculative just like the council members.
"Ever since your father passed away." Mr. Thorn met my eyes as though in challenge.
Now, I had to face my hidden bloodline. There was no going back.
Chapter Twelve
"Wait..." Kai turned his head in his father's direction. "Her father is alive."
"You don't already know?" I'd figured if Willow knew, everyone else here did as well.
"No, we couldn't risk him giving up that information if the council caught on to us." Willow tilted her head in my direction and arched an eyebrow. "Now he won't be going back, so it isn't as risky."
"Then, why are we here?" Liam leaned back in his seat and studied Mr. Thorn.
"Because you and the rest of your group need to get acclimated to the rebellion." Mr. Thorn took a deep breath. "But if you left, your fathers' would grow suspicious. We need them thinking you're on their side. With your group, we have to risk it all.”
"Why? You could just attack them on campus." That was one place where they were all together. It was the main meeting grounds for all four regions to come together.
"All the other regional, district, and city alphas are loyal to them." Willow lifted her feet and put her shoes on the table, sprawling out. "So even if we did take the council members out, we'd still be facing a war across the regions. They'd force their alpha will on the packs, and we'd be destroyed."
"This has always been our problem." Mr. Thorn blew out a breath. "Until you." He focused on me.
"Wait, I thought you wanted to take the council down." Kai pointed at Liam.
"Yes, that was our goal originally, but now it might not have to be." Mr. Thorn motioned in my direction.
"Hold on." Willow dropped her feet back on the ground and stood, facing him. "We haven't discussed this, and I'm not sure if I'm on board."
"You want us to take the council seats." Liam pulled my hand into his. "If you wait another six months to a year, it'll happen."
"Will it?" Willow focused on him. "You think your loving parents are going to hand it over to you?"
Don't tell them anything. Liam squeezed my hand. They may have started trusting us, but they haven't done anything to prove their loyalty to us.
"It's the law." Bree's forehead creased.
"It's also law that they are supposed to take care of their people." Willow sneered. "And they aren't holding up to that either."
She had a point there, and Bree didn't know what they'd threatened us with only a few hours ago. I was on the same page as the rebellion. The members didn't plan on giving up their seats ... at least not willingly.
"All of them are changing." Kai's words were soft but stern. "Even Simon, which is crazy."
"I saw it too." Mr. Thorn pointed at Liam. "If we have the heirs on our side, the other alphas won't have much to argue about."
"It could still be a civil war even with them." Willow sat back in the chair, but her body was still stiff.
"If we can start helping the struggling packs, they would pledge their loyalty to us over the council members." They needed to see a set of heirs who truly cared like they had when the first original council was established. "Get our message out to them all, and let them know that the heirs stand behind this movement."
"But that sounds ridiculous..." Willow rolled her eyes.
"No, it makes perfect sense." Liam scooted closer to me. "Essentially, they would view us as the alphas and not our parents. They would pledge their loyalty to us."
"Yes, and with the information that the Overseer is taking the lead, they wouldn't be afraid to stand behind a complete council." Mr. Thorn smiled at Liam.
"But how do we accomplish all of that and keep it from their parents?" This would be risky. However, there honestly wasn't another alternative at this point.
"Maybe you create a new seal as your representation and let the rebellion know you need more followers before you can take down the current council. That if they let out your names, their life can't ever change for the better." Kai glanced at his dad and then Willow. "Everyone who hears the message will be those who would do absolutely anything to get out of their life situation, including keeping the information secret."
"A symbol replacing their names would help prevent the heirs’ names from being spread everywhere to deliver the message.” Bree shrugged her shoulders.
"It's nice being part of meetings like these and not having to bear any of the risks and responsibilities." Liam's eyes darkened as he stared Kai down.
I had always thought it was odd how the two of them hated each other. Although it was growing more and more clear that this was something that had happened years ago before I got here. I needed to talk to Liam about it later.
"If we're going to do this, we need to be strategic. We have to prove to them that the heirs have really changed." We were front and center, yet not front and center. "How many people live here?"
"We have about two hundred scattered around." Mr. Thorn motioned out the door. "We are continually building more homes with bare minimum needs. If people come here, it's because they somehow got free or are in need of protection. We don't turn anyone away."
"Do you have room for more?" The more people we had here, the more we could control the message and reduce our risk of being found out.
"Yes, houses can be built by our pack in a week or two." Willow pointed to the door. "That's how we all kind of earn our keep. More and more show up every day whether it's from us breaking a pack free or us finding them living homeless on the roads or streets."
"How much land do you have?" Liam fidgeted
in his seat. "And who owns it?"
"We have over fifty acres. It's owned by a human, not a shifter." Mr. Thorn gave a sad smile. "He's one of my best friends growing up. Since he’s human, we didn't hang out in public much, but we grew close over the years. His wife died around the same time mine did, which brought us closer. I kept him apart from the shifter life up until now."
I felt like an asshole. I hadn’t even known Kai's mom was dead. "At least, it won't be easy to find the location."
"Do these people know how to fight?" Liam's jaw twitched, which was the only sign to me that he was even remotely concerned. "Because our parents aren't going to go down without one."
"I'd hoped it could be done a different way, but I do agree with you." Mr. Thorn took a deep breath. "Willow and her direct pack know how to fight, so I'd say that's around twenty total."
"So we need to train the rest." That was the only way we were going to make it out alive.
"It's easier said than done," Willow growled. "If it was that easy, we'd be the ones training them, but we go on the missions. If we need to save someone or intervene, it's me and my men who handle it. And unfortunately, that number is increasing every day, so we don't have the time or the luxury to train anyone."
"That's something the heirs can do." All four of them were amazing fighters and grew up needing to defend themselves. And hell, Evan alone was a force to be reckoned with.
"Yeah." Liam glanced at me and smiled. "That way, we have a face with the people who are here and don’t risk getting caught in the crossfire. They can focus on the mission, and our group can train the ones left behind."
"I could even help too." Kai lifted a hand. "If that's cool with you guys."
"Are you going to be easy on them like you were Mia?" Liam lifted his chin.
Kai took in a deep breath. "Look, she's different..."
"We've made it very clear how different she is to you." Liam's voice was low and raspy but, surprisingly, not a growl.
"That's enough." I punched Liam in the arm. "That's all in the past. Evan is an amazing trainer, so I'm sure he can accomplish leaps and bounds with them."
"Wait... Are you talking about all the heirs coming here?" Willow arched an eyebrow and shook her head no. "No way in hell."
"Uh... yeah." Bree snorted. "What did you expect?"
"We're a team." Even if it was a recent development, we were a package deal. "You accept all of us or none of us."
"They're welcome here." Mr. Thorn looked at me. "It won't be an issue."
"Milo!" Willow snapped her head in his direction. "We're taking a risk..."
"It's already done." Mr. Thorn pointed at the three of us sitting across from them. "They're here, and she's right; they're a package deal. She and Liam aren’t the only ones ascending the council. All five of them are."
"Still, it would've been nice to have a word before you made a decision like that. It affects us all, not just you and your son." Willow's face had turned almost the same shade as her hair. "This isn't even your region."
"Actually, it is." Mr. Thorn closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "We are here because of my contact. Also, I was the one who found and recruited you. They're welcome because with them, we might have a chance to win this damn war." He opened his eyes and locked gazes with her.
An awkward silence descended around us as the two stared each other down. It was a battle of wills.
Sweat sprouted above Willow's lip as her wolf submitted to Mr. Thorn. Soon, her body started shaking, and she averted her eyes to the ground.
"Dammit." She growled the words.
"We better head back." Bree stood and took a deep breath. "It's getting late."
"She's right." Liam followed her lead. Let's get out of here.
"We'll make a schedule and send it to you shortly. Considering the way the council is watching us, all of us can't be gone at one time right now." A chill ran down my spine as I remembered the words Mr. Hale had spoken only a few hours ago. "So, I'll give you an update when we have it coordinated."
"Let me walk you three out." Kai jumped to his feet, eager to get out from between the unhappy pair.
The four of us stepped out of the building, and the sun was already setting in the sky. We'd been out here longer than I thought.
"You all be careful heading back." Kai stopped moving and saluted us. "I owe you guys one since you saved my ass when you didn't have to."
"Let's just call it even since you helped us find Mia that one time." Liam's voice grew oddly quiet at the end.
"Yeah, okay." Kai nodded at Liam and sighed. "All right, I guess we'll be seeing you soon."
"Come on. We need to get back." Liam tugged me toward his Escalade.
"See you," Bree called over her shoulder as the three of us made it back to our car.
When we all got situated, Liam turned the car around, and we headed back to the main road.
"We need to roll the windows down to get his scent out of here," Bree said as she rolled down her windows.
"No one is getting in this car besides us." Liam glanced in the rearview mirror. "Isn't that kind of overkill?"
"Better safe than sorry though." I had to agree with Bree on this one. "We don't want your dad to do a search or something when we get back on campus. They're going to know Kai escaped by a vehicle somehow."
"Fine." Liam rolled down his window, and silence filled the car.
When we pulled back on to the interstate, the air whipping through the car was the only noise. Hey, let's roll the windows up. Even though we didn't want Kai's smell to be in the car, we surely didn't want to make it where our smells weren't either.
Liam pressed the button, sealing off the vehicle again with silence.
"We need to turn on the phones." We needed them to think something odd happened while we were gone and where we lost signal was near where we appeared back on the grid. We always did it at the exact same place, a bar in Kansas City, so if they came to check it out, they’d think we’d been hanging out there.
"Okay," Bree said as the sounds of her taking her phone apart hit my ears. "These smart devices are a pain in the ass when it comes to the battery."
She wasn't kidding there. I grabbed both my and Liam's phones and went to work on them.
When we finally pulled into school and back into Liam's parking spot, I wasn't surprised to see Mr. Hale standing there, waiting on us.
As we stepped from the car, he arched an eyebrow. "You three have been gone a while."
"Yeah, we lost track of time." Liam grinned as he nodded at his father. "What are you doing out here so late?"
"We have an issue that we're trying to deal with." His face turned into a frown.
"Anything we can help you with?" Bree's smile was so sincere it shocked me.
"No, it's nothing for you three to worry about."
Mr. Rafferty stood in the grassy field between the dorm and restaurant. "Jacob, we need you back in the council room."
"On my way." Mr. Hale scanned the three of us once more before nodding at us. "I have business to attend to, but I'll see you soon." He turned and headed toward Mr. Rafferty.
The three of us began our trek to the dorms.
"Do we want everyone to meet up here?" Bree asked as she pointed to the girls’ dorm.
"No, we don't need to have a meeting right now. They're keeping tabs on us, and it might stir questions if we all got together." Liam wet his lips as he took my arm and tugged me toward his room. "We'll meet in the morning."
"Got it." Bree gave me a quick side hug. "See you tomorrow."
Do you think he was suspicious of us? His father hadn't asked any leading questions, which sort of surprised me.
No, he's going to get the spare key to my car and check it out. Liam held open the front door to the men's dorm room.
Well, it's a good thing we followed Bree's advice. There shouldn't be any evidence of Kai in there now.
Yeah, she knows how he thinks too.
So are you upse
t that he's going to search your car? That was a huge invasion of privacy.
Yeah, but I can't do anything about it. Liam frowned as he stepped into the elevator. The car may be mine, but it was purchased with our family money. It is what it is.
Within minutes, we were walking into his dorm room, and it was silent.
"Evan?" Liam called out, but there was no response.
"He must be helping them or something." Liam pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. "It feels as if this whole thing is never-ending."
As I melted in his arms, I had to agree. "It's got to get better at some point."
He lowered his lips to mine and sighed. This always makes me feel better.
It felt like it'd been weeks since we'd spent any time together like this, but it had only been a matter of days. Yeah, it does feel pretty great. I deepened the kiss, needing to feel his touch all around me.
His hands traveled down my waist to my ass. He groaned as he pulled my body flush against him, and I felt his hardness.
A low moan escaped me as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I love you.
I love you too. He picked me up by my waist and headed to his bedroom. As we entered the room, he slammed the door behind him. He placed me gently on his king-size bed and never once separated his lips from mine.
His fingers unbuttoned my jeans, and his hands slipped inside to touch me.
That feels so good. His touches always made me so dizzy. I wanted him to know how he made me feel.
With his free hand, he tugged my shirt upward. I broke our kiss to pull it over my head and toss it to the floor. He reached around me and unfastened my bra in one swift move. I layback, relishing the feel of his body all over me.
My hands jerked as I pulled on his shirt, needing to feel his body against mine with no barriers. He growled as he lifted back up and yanked down my pants and underwear before removing and throwing his own clothes on the floor.
He kissed down my neck as his fingers found my most sensitive spot below again. He kissed my breast as I blindly reached out and felt his length in my hand.
Right when he was about to pleasure my body, I yanked his hand away and wrapped my legs around his waist. Enough.