Chapter Six

MAX

I heard and smelled some of the pack as I made my way home with Renko. Thankfully, most were on patrol and didn’t have time to see why I was out and about. My father met me at the door but never asked why I was naked and who the girl was I carried in my arms. I knew as soon as I laid Renko down and got dressed, I would be bombarded with questions.

“Care to explain?” My mother confronted me as soon as I entered the kitchen.

I grabbed bottled water out of the fridge and sat down at the table. “About?” I knew what she meant but might as well prolong the agony.

Mom sat down across from me. Her expression already said she wasn’t happy with this scenario even before she said any words. “Max don’t play stupid. Your father told me what he saw tonight. Who’s the girl? Why were you carrying her here?”

“Long story short, I was out running, a car came up the back road behind our house, the driver saw me, swerved, hit a tree, so I brought her here until she regains consciousness.” I took a long drink and hoped the answer would suffice, But knowing how my mom was, the one who gave orders and demanded full explanations like an alpha’s wife, this was far from over.

“Not a good enough answer, Max. You would never bring a random person, let alone a girl, home. You know we try to keep tight security around the property.” Mom snatched away my water bottle as I reached for it. “So, let’s try this again, who’s the girl?”

“Renko Watson. She’s a senior like me this year. Me and the pack were at Suri’s party, it was boring, so I left early and went running. That’s when the accident happened.”

“And once again, Max, why did you bring this Renko girl here?”

I rubbed my hand over my face. I had no clue why, all I knew was my wolf demanded we take care of her. “She needed help. I couldn’t leave her out there alone. It was my fault for not watching my surroundings when I shifted and ran.” There, I took the blame without having to answer any questions regarding why I cared, that was something I’d never done before, so why her and why now.

Mom nodded, but her tight-lipped smile showed she didn’t believe my answer or felt there was more to the whole story. “I want her gone as soon as she wakes.” Mom stood and walked towards the long hallway that led back to the private section of the house that only the alpha and his mate were allowed, then turned back around to face me once more. “And please don’t bring any more townies back to our home.” And with those parting words, mom continued back to their quarters.

And that is reason one-o-one why Renko cannot be my mate. Not only would the females of our pack chew her up and spit her out, but so would my mom. Renko was so far from being a shifter’s mate, let alone a future alpha, it wasn't even funny.

RENKO

I remembered the sounds and flashes of light when I woke up. I felt sore, but not in pain. Obviously, I wasn’t too hurt by whatever had happened. I tried to undo my seatbelt, but it wasn’t there.

In fact, my whole car wasn’t there.

I glanced around at my surroundings. I wasn't in my car, I was in a room, one that I'd never seen before.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness as there was only a sliver of light coming in from under the door. I was on a bed with a blanket covering me up to my waist like someone had tucked me in. Thankfully, I still had my clothes on, so it wasn't like someone had taken advantage of me while I was unconscious. 

I remember I was at Suri’s party with Ashlyn. She was a bit tipsy and hanging on to Reese’s every word. Vance was there, doing what he did best, humiliating me if I wasn’t handing him the goods on a silver platter. He was with some cheerleader girl out of the junior class… and….my eyes started to water as I remembered what happened next.

I found Vance with Ms. Greene.

In her bedroom.

Doing the only thing that Vance liked to do, something I’d never done, not even with him.

They were having sex.

I walked in on my boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend right now, getting it on with Suri’s mom, someone twice our age.

My stomach started to turn. Ugh. I was going to puke.

I still must be at the party. Maybe the car wreck was all a dream. I know I told Ashlyn I was leaving after what I saw, but maybe I did some shots of whiskey and passed out. I’d have to thank whoever put me in this spare room and let me sleep off the drunkenness.

The creak of the door opening startled me. Even though I was fully dressed, I still pulled the blanket up closer to my neck. I was expecting to see Ashlyn, or maybe even Vance, but it was someone else, a guy around my age. I remembered seeing him at school. I think his name was…Matt…no…um…

Mike?

No, that wasn’t it.

Think Ren. Think.

Max. His name was Max. He was involved with a group of guys who were like totally hot, like not even the guys on the sports teams could compare. This guy and his group acted like they were the so above everyone else, and in some aspects, they were. 

Dark hair that dipped into his deep brown eyes.

Chiseled cheekbones.

Perfect bodies.

Muscular.

Gorgeous.

Totally doable.

A perfect eleven on a scale up to ten.

The guy stared at me. Questioning me with his eyes. Probably thinking I was a freak for not speaking to him.

“Um,… if you were the one that brought me into the spare bedroom, thank you. Was I like totally drunk?”

“This is my bedroom.”

Max’s voice sent quivers through my body. Not only was he physically hot, so was the sound of his voice.

Wait.

What?

Why the hell was I in his bedroom?

How did I get here?

Did I really want to know?