Pack Mentality

by Idella Breen

  Art sat up in his seat. There was a sickening gleam of sudden interest. “Her mate?”

  “Jezebel Vega, from the Vega pride.”

  “Our allies?”

  “The very same.”

  Art rubbed the scruff on his chin. “How can we use this?”

  Silvia shrugged. “You’re the alpha.”

  Art grunted. “Bring her to me.”

  Silvia stiffened. “What?”

  Art met her gaze. “I want her.”

  “But she’s an allies mate. Surely, you aren’t—”

  “We will use the Vega’s but the Lander’s omega is too useful to leave alone. I want to completely annihilate the Lander’s. Bring me their omega. I’ll deal with the Vega’s after the land battle. If it comes to it, I’ll just deal with this particular Vega on the battlefield. Accidents happen after all, and people die in war all the time. Whose to know who killed who in such chaos?”

  Silvia nodded. “I see.”

  She didn’t move for a moment. Art made a shooing motion. “Go on then, retrieve her by any means necessary. I have no other need for you at this time.”

  “Are you—”

  “Do I need to make a call to Cain’s Kickboxing?”

  Silvia held her tongue.

  Art smiled. “Remember, Silvia, I own you. It would do you well to not forget that.”

  Silvia bowed and turned around leaving his office. She pulled her cellphone out but paused as she saw a flash of white going around a corner. She slipped her phone back into her pocket and moved quickly. Reagan was skipping down the hallway as she rounded the corner.

  “Rae?”

  The girl spun around a look of pure fear morphing into controlled happiness. “Vi!”

  “Rae, do you know where the Lander’s live?”

  Raegan tilted her head. “Elena Lander’s home?”

  Silvia nodded.

  “Yes, but it’s far from here.”

  “I know.”

  “Why?”

  Silvia took a deep breath and touched the soft strands of white hair. Omega’s were required on the battlefield to maintain control over the wolves. This, she would not regret. “I want you to go there and stay there until I come for you.”

  “Go…there?”

  “Now.”

  “Now?”

  “Go Raegan. Right now. Go and wait for me!”

  “But—”

  “Now, Raegan!”

  The fear was back on the child’s face but she was nodding now, and soon she was moving, and then she was running, and Silvia felt her heart constrict as she pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number that would change everything.

  It connected on the first ring. “I need you to fulfill that favor I spoke to you about, Beth.”

  She paused. “I need you to bring the Lander’s omega to the lower rooms here.”

  Silvia was quiet for a moment. “Now.”

  Another moment. “I don’t care if she gets injured. Your alpha wants her and I have other things to do. Bring her here.”

  Silence. “Good. I’ll hold you to it.”

  A pregnant pause and Silvia’s eyes sharpened as she walked down the hallway. “You’ll see soon enough. Just watch him, Beth, and you’ll understand that I’m telling the truth. You’ll know what kind of man he truly is.”

  She nodded. “Good. See to it then.”

  She ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Silvia walked down the hall of the place that had been home for the past year. Despite who she worked for, the McCloud’s had been more of a family then her own father had ever been. She sighed as she turned another corner and a man nodded his head in her direction in respect. She would finish her work for Art then she would finish this all for good. Silvia was always a woman of her word. Her brother always came first. Nathan was always the most important. Until, he suddenly wasn’t.

  Gwen was moving her feet back and forth. Gwen was swinging her legs while she sat on a couch in Integra’s study. Gwen was trying to understand how she’d suddenly found herself here, of all places, with a stupid and dopey grin on her face. Above all of this, she was also trying to understand something else.

  “He told me that I needed to better understand my position as the omega in our clan! What does that even mean, Integra?”

  Gwen wasn’t put off by the blatant fact that Integra had been ignoring her since she’d burst into the older woman’s office an hour ago. She was trying to understand her alpha and her place within her clan now that she had such a complicated situation. Both of her mates were from such different backgrounds. Especially Silvia, who was practically an enemy.

  “Silvia is wonderful and so is Jazz. Remus said that I could pursue them both once we worked things out with the land dispute but I may have accidentally jumped the gun—”

  A soft snort broke her monologue and Gwen grimaced.

  “It was an accident!”

  Integra continued to write and Gwen huffed. “Anyway, Remus is going to be annoying, because I know I smell different, so he’ll know what happened the moment I walk through the front door.”

  She was going to have to go back home soon or else Remus would come looking for her but she was also still buzzed from her visit with her mates. Being fully accepted by two amazing women was something she’d never thought she’d ever experience. The fact that they were both women was surprising, as Gwen always thought she’d be with a man, yet also wonderful in its own way. How had this been missing from her life? What was once a gaping hole in her chest, was now filled with a sense of contentment and belonging she’d never known could exist.

  Yet, Gwen knew that things were never so easy. Silvia was a McCloud and Jezebel was a Vega. Both belonged to other groups and both were connected by their responsibilities to those groups. Gwen sighed, things in her life were never easy. Which was why she was now sitting in Integra’s study swinging her legs like a child and asking for advice she was sure she could force out of the women with enough pestering. So far, Integra had been doing a great job of ignoring her.

  “I love them. I want them in my life, and yet I feel like trying to force something like this could destroy everything I’ve worked so hard to have in my life. How do I know when to fight and when to just, to just let go?” She whispered the last few words while looking down at her feet as she kicked them together. Her sneakers slapped, rubber against rubber, and she felt the resistance of one against the other.

  The clearing of a throat made her heart rate spike and she glanced up to meet Integra’s gaze. The woman had finally looked up from what she was writing, what looked like an official document if the header at the top of the paper was any hint, and held Gwen’s gaze with deep dark eyes that held a type of wisdom gained through difficult trails.

  “Gwen, I’m going to tell you something and I want you to listen to me closely.”

  Gwen sat up straighter, from where she had begun to hunch in the cushions of the love-seat and nodded, signaling that she was ready.

  Integra’s mouth was set in a firm line that split as plush red lips spoke words that sent a chill down Gwen’s spine. “Beware, for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”

  With furrowed brows and her lip held between white teeth, Gwen nodded, then shook her head, and laughed outright. “What does that even mean, Integra?”

  The salamander sat back in her chair and smirked. “It’s a quote from Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. The original novel, not the interview that is taught about in most monster high schools these days.”

  “But what does it mean?”

  “Well, my darling, you’ll just have to figure that out, won’t you? Don’t worry, it will come to you when you least expect it and when it does, you will have the answers you seek.”

  “But Integra—”

  “No! That’s all I have to say on the matter. Now off with you! I don’t have time to listen to you gush and complain about your mates while you try to figure out girl problems. I have work that must be done
and little time to do it.”

  “But—”

  “No buts, Gwen! Off with you! See that the door doesn’t hit you on your way out.”

  Gwen frowned and grumbled as she stood and made her way to the office door. Integra was already back to work when she glanced over her shoulder and Gwen couldn’t help but feel a bit snubbed.

  She just wanted some advice. It wasn’t like she was asking Integra to fix all of her problems. Instead, the woman comes out with some strange quote about being fearless! What did it even mean? Gwen huffed as she shut the door. Why did she always come to this woman with her problems anyway? There were a million other people she could talk to? Gwen couldn’t help but stomp a little bit as she made her way down the winding hallways but stopped suddenly and slowed her gait as she realized the truth of the matter, which was that she didn’t have a million people to go to with her woes and complaints.

  Integra was unconnected with her pack and therefore uninvested in keeping her in the position of omega. Gwen could get an unbiased opinion from her which she couldn’t get from anyone else. Sure, the salamander was a bit stuck up and much too bossy but she was always honest with Gwen and somehow the woman always said exactly what she needed to hear whether she wanted to hear it or not. Integra was a no-nonsense kind of woman and Gwen valued their relationship.

  “That doesn’t mean she has to be so rude all the time!” She grumbled as she once again stomped down the hallway and outside onto the driveway of the Bennett’s ridiculously large house. It was the last sentiment she had before everything went black.

  Remus was staring. He didn’t really know why, but he was. Yet, he also felt like no one could really blame him. Who he was staring at didn’t make sense to him. It was like his brain had short-circuited finally and was shutting down. He wondered absently if he was still asleep but the ache in his body from running drills with his wolves yesterday was still present and the crick in his neck from having slept on his couch was still annoying. He was somewhat regretting being such a light sleeper as he wouldn’t have bothered answering the door at all if he’d slept through the soft but insistent knocking. Had he had a child of his own, then maybe this would make sense. He’d heard the annoyed complaints of some of his married friends talking about how random neighborhood children had a tendency of showing up at all hours of the day, parentless, asking if their children could come out to play.

  Remus would nod his head in false understanding because, as he stated earlier, Remus had no children of his own. Yes, there were children in the clan, but they had parents and no reason to bug him unless they had questions about being the alpha of the clan. So, the person he was staring at, this whole situation, would make a lot more sense if he had children, but he didn’t. So, Remus was staring. Finally, he found his voice.

  “Silvia sent you?”

  The child nodded.

  “Silvia Cane— I mean, McCloud?”

  The girl tilted her head in obvious confusion, “Vi, is Vi.”

  Remus nodded. Of course, Silvia would always find ways to mess with him. After all, their history was one that left both a sweet and bitter taste in his mouth. He looked out at the path the child would have had to walk to reach his home. His home was buried deep into the woods on his land and a bit further from the rest of the clan’s houses. How’d she’d found his house was a mystery but he suspected her wolf had already manifested and as the alpha his scent would be easy to identify as it was all over the woods. She might have decided to come to him because her wolf knew he was in charge.

  How she got passed his wolves on patrol was also a mystery but she was a child and an omega, his wolves are on guard for betas and alphas as omegas don’t fight. It goes against every instinct their wolves are born with. Remus knew desperate times could change this in the future and looking at this child he wondered if she was the beginning of that future. Something about her screamed dangerous.

  Despite the sun he knew was high in the afternoon sky, there was little light reaching them. The woods around the clearing his house rested in were dark and ominous. He liked it that way. It was this woods he’d grown up playing in and learning to hunt in. It was also filled with things that liked to eat little omega children for dessert.

  He didn’t think he should make this particular child aware of the fact that it was a miracle she’d made it this far. Remus sniffed and his eyes narrowed on her as he drew in her scent and his wolf’s hackles immediately rose. Maybe not so much of a miracle then, he decided. “And you walked here all the way from town?”

  She nodded again. Remus considered her. The McCloud estate was located just outside of downtown Missoula. Remus lived close to Petty Mountain. His lands surrounded it. That would mean that this child had walked around five miles to reach his house.

  Remus trailed his eyes along the toned arms and legs of the seemingly fragile body of the girl. Her clothes were a size too large and hung off her small frame. They were soaked in sweat. Her sneakers were ratty and worn and held together by duct tape. Yet, here she stood, seeming to have walked a seven to eight-hour trip. She would have had to have started the walk in the early morning and walked through lunch. Remus knew she was a werewolf, of this he was certain, yet his instincts told him that this child was not so simple.

  “Why?”

  “Because, Vi told me to.”

  Right, because Silvia telling a random child from her new “family” to run over to an enemies clan and stay there wasn’t strange at all. Remus folded his arms. “Do you want me to take you back?”

  “I have to stay here until Vi comes for me.”

  “Stay here—”

  “Yes, Sir,” she cut him off as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

  “Well—”

  “Is Elena Lander here?” Raegan stood on her tippy toes to look around him. Remus held back a snort. She barely reached his hip.

  “Lander?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Remus was beginning to realize that the child never met his gaze for long. She seemed to always look just slightly to the left or at his nose. For some reason, this didn’t sit right with him.

  Remus bent down, resting his arms on his thighs. Somehow, it seemed he was unknowingly associated with a specific child. Remus grunted. “Sweetheart, Elena is a Fallon and she’s not here right now.”

  “Oh,” her whole face seemed to dim and her shoulder sagged as if finally feeling the exhaustion he knew she must be hiding. She perked up a minute later.

  “Will she be here soon?”

  He scratched his beard, or lack thereof, because he’d recently shaved. “I guess, maybe?”

  “I’ll stay then. May I come in?”

  “You said Silvia sent you?”

  She nodded. Remus sighed. He’d dealt with stranger things. What harm could the kid do anyway?

  “Alright, you can wait here for Elena. Gwen should be back soon too. Once she gets tired of running away from her responsibilities I’m sure she will sulk home. If Elena hasn’t come by then she can take you to see her. How’s that sound?”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  “Call me Remus, kid.”

  “I’m Raegan McCloud.”

  “I know.”

  “Oh, right, you were at the meeting.”

  Remus sighed. “Are you hungry?”

  Raegan stopped her attempt of trying to slip past him and looked up at him in wonder. “For food?”

  “Well, yeah?”

  “I can have some?”

  Remus shuffled uncomfortably. “I’m not the best cook but you can’t really mess up a sandwich, right?”

  “I can have one?”

  Remus felt a chill roll down his back. “Come on kid,” he gently touched her shoulder, and tried to ignore her flinch, guiding her towards the kitchen. He’d make them a sandwich but he was definitely pulling out a cold beer for his troubles. It was too early for this. He’d been up all night talking war with his counsel and he had been counting on sleeping in late. Desperate times indeed
. “I’ll make you a sandwich.”

  14

  A cold liquid, like icicles, slapped her in the face waking her. Water, she realized belatedly, from the lack of scent and the taste she managed to get from the large amount that entered her open mouth. Gwen coughed, and spit and sputtered.

  “What—” she tried to get out but her lips trembled, her teeth chattered and her body shook. She felt the cool bite of metal on her naked skin.

  Light. A bright light was in her eyes, blinding her.

  “How many wolves are in your clan?”

  “What—”

  Icicles, water, cough, sputter. Cold rough metal biting into her wrists as she tugged and twisted.

  “I’ll ask the questions,” The voice was measured and calm. “How many wolves are in your clan.”

  “I don’t—”

  Cold, water, she can’t breathe for a moment as it pours into her mouth unrepentantly and down her throat. She can’t breathe. Then she can.

  “Try again,” the voice is deep. A man.

  “Stop! Please, stop!” Gwen wants to fight, but her body is weak from the moment when she lacked air.

  “Tell me,” the man’s voice is still calm, the lights are still bright.

  “I don’t know!”

  There was a moment of silence then, “Do fifteen seconds.”

  Fifteen seconds? Fifteen seconds of what? Then a rough hand gripped her chin and a device was shoved into her mouth to hold it open. Then the water poured. It filled her mouth like cold blades slicing open wounds in her gums and teeth but this time it didn’t stop. She couldn’t breathe, she screamed in her head. God! She couldn’t breathe. It poured and poured and for a moment she thought she might be in hell but the pain kept her very aware that she was still very much alive. The water stopped suddenly, then she was vomiting up everything, the water, last nights dinner, everything. She was still on her back and the vomit was now suffocating her.

  “Turn her!” The voice was a command. The kind of commanding voice that only an alpha could have and Gwen finally realized where she was, and who she was with, and she felt fear like she’d never felt it before, but there was also anger. It was hot and bitter as it twisted in her gut, her gut that wanted to force it out with the water that made her shiver, and tremble, and shake. This wasn’t how land disputes were supposed to be done, she thought as she fought the rage. They were made official to prevent these sorts of underhanded methods.