The Wolf's Prey (18 page)

I look up
to dad and see a very tired man. "Thank you, for everything." I
tell him. He leans down hugging me.

"Come
back soon." He demands, kissing the top of my head.

"We
will." I reply.

"Lennox,
promised you'd spend Halloween and thanksgiving here." Dad says,
pulling away.

"Well,
Jessica will be happy." I smile slightly, horrified about what
costume she'll make me wear for Halloween. They laugh and I'm
almost knocked down from behind.

"Don't
go! Stay longer! Tell Lennox to leave you here."

I laugh.
"I don't think that would go over well. You can come visit whenever
you want." I offer, turning to hug her back.

"Okay,
I'll go pack my stuff." She says, excitedly running down the hall
to the stairs.

"Don't
even think about it! You have school." Dad states, stopping her mid
run.

I say
goodbye to the twins hugging them tightly. T and Brenda are last
and I order her to let me know when the baby is born. I know Andrew
is still here, but he must be busy. I don't see him to say
goodbye.

I leave
with a heavy heart. Even after the plane leaves the ground the view
doesn't help my thoughts. What if I never came back? Would Rachel
still be here? Would their family still be intact? Is this my
fault? I look over to Lennox, who is concentrating on flying. I'm
sorry I had to leave my family, but I want to be alone with Lennox.
I care about him as my mate. I couldn't imagine being with anyone
but him. However, I feel like there's a closeness we're missing. I
don't know much about him. I know about his father and mother, but
I want to know about his hopes about his dreams. I'm also missing
trivial things about him. What kind of movies he likes, his
favorite pizza toppings, what TV shows he likes. I want to know him
through and through. Not just what he gives me little glimpses
of.

Lennox
lands the plane and I'm relieved. No matter how long I'm gone
there's always that sense of relief when I get home. I see Liam
waiting for us and wave. He waves back as I climb out. Lennox
carries the bags to the truck and throws them in back.

I go to sit in
the middle of the bench seat, but Lennox makes me sit on his lap.
I'm tired and for some reason my wrist is hurting more than it was.
I lay my head on his chest, watching the scenery pass. I wish I had
classes with Marta, it would make school more bearable. I'm not
looking forward to tomorrow.

"How'd everything
go?" Liam asks.

I smile. "My real
parents are amazing."

"Everything with
Rhys is settled." Lennox replies.

I realize I
didn't ask what happened with Rhys. "What did my dad do with him?"
I question.

"He took care of
him and sent him back to his son."

"Took care of
him?" I question.

He nods. "Killed
him. Quickly." He adds.

I expected him to
kill Rhys, I just wish it never would have never happened. I wish I
could've had the family I was supposed to have and no one would
have gotten hurt.

Liam pulls up to
Lennox's house and I open the door climbing off Lennox's lap. I'm
sure Lennox wants to get back to his work. Maybe I'll go talk to
Marta. Even thinking about seeing the Robinson's I get mad. I'll
ask if she'll come see me here, I'm not ready to see them yet. I'm
hurt my 'mom' never told me who I really was. I expected this from
my 'dad', but not her. Lennox grabs our bags and Liam
leaves.

Once we are
inside Lennox turns to me. "I have some work to catch up on. Give
me an hour?"

********

Alpha Rules

"Okay." I reply,
understanding that he needs to work. "Maybe I'll call Marta and see
what she's doing."

He takes my hand
and starts walking down the hall. I follow after him. What is he
doing? He opens the office door and it occurs to me he's probably
letting me use his office phone. He walks to his desk chair and
sits down. Starting his computer, he pulls me onto his lap. I pick
up the phone to call Marta, but before I can dial he takes it from
my hand and hangs it up. I look at him curiously. "I want to spend
time with you. It won't take long and we can talk while I
work."

He wants to talk
while he works? I don't know why, but I'm pleasantly surprised. I
shouldn't be, Lennox continues to shock me. "What do you want to
talk about?" I question, happily.

"About
you."

"Oh." I reply a
little disappointed. I don't want to talk about me. "I'm boring.
What do you want to know?"

"What are you
feeling about your real family and the Robinson's? What do you want
done with them?"

"I love my real
family, but I love Marta too. I don't want you to hurt da-Theo, or
anyone else involved. Chris Rhys was responsible and like you said,
he's taken care of."

"Theo lied to me
before he came into my pack. I can't just look the other
way."

"What are you
planning on doing then?"

"Kick him out of
my territory." He answers.

I freeze. If he
kicks Theo off his land then Marta and mom will have to go as well.
“Please, don't do that. I can't lose Marta." I beg, my eyes staring
to water.

"She can stay."
He offers.

"She won't,
she'll leave with them." I reply knowingly.

He watches my
face obviously feeling my panic. "If I let him stay it will be
viewed as a sign of weakness. That I tolerate people that lie to
me. It's inexcusable to lie to an alpha, it's a punishable offense
that I take seriously. I've built a reputation on being fair
without exception."

I don't care
about his reputation, I don't want to lose my sister. I've lost my
parents and gained a whole new family. A new family that I had to
leave all over again. Now, he wants to get rid of the person I'm
closest to. I turn away from him, angry and hurt. That's what he
wants to talk about? He wanted to hear what I was feeling about my
new family and tell me he's getting rid of my old one?

I don't want to
be near him right now. I try and stand up, expecting his refusal.
"I have to use the bathroom." I say, quietly.

"No you don't.
You're angry with me."

I nod. "I am
angry. I don't want to be near you." I admit, honestly.

He releases my
waist and lets me stand up. I walk away quickly. Opening the heavy
wood door I walk into the hallway and to the front door. I need
air, I need to think. I walk to the park sitting under the tree
where I fell asleep. It's not that I don't understand where he's
coming from. I get it, I really do.

But what did he
expect me to say? Oh, go ahead and ship off the most important
person in my life. I'll get over the fact I just lost my sister and
best friend. No, if he makes them go I'll never forgive
him.

I thought being
alone together would bring us closer. I thought he really wanted to
get to know me as badly as I wanted to get to know him. I couldn't
have been more wrong. He's an island and I don't have a boat. I
don't know if I care to know him anymore. I know he felt my pain
and panic thinking about losing Marta, but he's more worried about
his reputation. I'm his mate, I should be important to him, not his
image.

I watch the kids
playing and running around. I stand up and start walking back. I
know he'll come looking for me soon or send someone to get me. I'm
probably being followed right now. I see his house and walk at an
even slower pace. I wonder when he'll make them leave. If he's
worried about his reputation it'll be soon.

Opening the front
door quietly I listen for him. I don't hear anything, so I go to
the kitchen. I take a bottle of water from the refrigerator and
walk up to our room. I don't want to be awake when he's done
working. Spending time with him right now, isn't as appealing as it
once was. I lay down hoping to find sleep before Lennox comes to
find me.

I'm not so lucky,
minutes later I hear the door opening. I don't turn to look at him.
When he walks to stand beside the bed I look at his legs avoiding
eye contact. "Next time you leave the house I expect you to tell me
where you're going."

"Okay." I reply,
wishing he'd just go away.

"I'm going to
talk to the Robinson's, would you like to go with me?"

"No." I answer. I
can't say goodbye to Marta. If I see her leave my heart would
break. Just the thought is painful enough. I know I'll be able to
talk to her, but that's not enough. I want to see her whenever I
want and know I'm near her if she ever needs me. I hear him slam
the front door as he leaves the house. Letting my pain out I cry
loudly, hugging myself tightly. I've never felt so alone, so
isolated.

Alpha Lennox
Hall

I slam the front
door, irritated by the pain I feel I'm causing her. I can't let
this go. I won't overlook the fact a pack member lied to my face
about his family. She's going to have to realize, I'm the one she
needs, not her "sister". If she needs to talk, she can talk to me.
I'm making her my world, I expect her to do the same. I drive to
the Robinson's, fully aware of the pain in my chest being
hers.

I walk to the
door and knock once. Theo answers the door and I can tell by his
face he's weary of my presence. "You have twenty four hours to get
off my land."

"Yes, Alpha
Hall."

I turn around go
back to my truck. I drive to the house and park in the driveway. I
don't know what to say to her to make it better. I hate that she's
angry with me, she's soft hearted and forgiving. I expect her to be
like this, but she can't expect me to be the same. I hear her
crying as I walk up to the house, making my wolf go wild. I open
the door and hurry up the stairs to or room. I find her in the
fetal position her arms wrapped and her stomach. I lean on the bed
touching her side. She finches away from me and I growl loudly,
instantly angry. I grab her hip and roll her towards me. I lift her
chin to make her look at me, but her eyes stay closed.

"Open your eyes."
I demand. She opens her eyes and I narrow mine at her. "You will
show loyalty to this pack and to me. Not to that lie of a family."
I feel her hand connect with my face and I stare at her stunned.
Then I feel pain, her pain. I grab her waist. At least she didn't
hit me with her broken hand. I see her palm is red from my face and
massage it. "Don't do that again."

"Just leave me
alone." She says, pulling her hand from mine and turning away from
me.

I leave her alone
and walk back down to the office. This is not how I wanted our
first night alone to go. I call Travis. "Lennox?"

"Yes, did you
find out anything from the Red Wolf Pack?"

"They said she
hasn't been there. I called around and confirmed Chris Rhys story.
She was shopping for an alpha mate at two other territories.
Apparently, she thinks mating is her only option to get protection
and revenge on me."

"She might try
overseas soon."

"Maybe." He
replies, tiredly.

"I told the
Robinson's to leave."

"I know. I just
talked to Theo Robinson and told him to find another pack. That my
pack was full. How did Jocelyn take you kicking them
out?"

"She slapped me."
I answer.

He laughs. "That
sweet little thing slapped you?"

"Right after I
told her she would show loyalty to me and my pack and not her fake
family." I explain, knowing I deserved it.

"Idiot." He
replies.

******

The Slap Heard
Around the World

I wake up after a
few hours of sleep. Lennox isn't in bed with me. I can see that
it's dark outside and I check the bedside clock, 10:17 p.m. I stare
at the phone beside the clock for five minutes before I pick it up
and start dialing Marta's cell phone number.

It only rings
once before she answers, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." I
croak out, my voice rough from sleep and crying.

"Hey." She
replies starting to cry.

"I don't want you
to go." I say.

"I have to. You
know I do."

"I know." I
admit. "Where are you doing?"

She sniffles, but
answers, "Well, Alpha Griffin refused us. So dad spoke to Alpha
Briggs from the Brookside Pack and he agreed to let us stay. It's
not far from your parent's territory. Do you think you could
visit?" She asks, hopefully.

I think about it
for a second then it occurs to me, Andrew took them in. He has
shared land with my father’s pack. "Yes, I can! Andrew and my dad
have a parcel of land they share. We can meet up there and I'm sure
he'll even let me come stay a few nights or my dad will let
you-"

"No, I think it's
best if we keep us and your parents apart."

I sigh, knowing
she's right. "I feel like I'm losing everything I have." I cry,
feeling the crushing loss of losing her. "When are you leaving?" I
question, sadly.

"Beta Holden came
to help, we're almost done. Did you really slap Lennox?" She
inquires somewhat giddy.