Chapter Five

Willow's POV

I wake to Pete nudging me softly. We had arrived in Montana, and I slept through most of the flight. I lift my head from Pete's shoulder and rub my eyes to adjust.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

Pete chuckles, "It's all good. Did you sleep well?"

I nod my head and move to stand in the aisle with everyone else waiting to exit the plane. I look back at Pete. His eyes are puffy and red, and he looks exhausted.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" I ask, genuinely concerned about my friend.

His reply is a short grunt which tells me that he didn't, and he didn't want me to ride his ass for it. Well tough titty said the kitty.

"Pete, we were safe on the plane. You should have tried to get some sleep. I appreciate that you want to help me, but never hurt yourself in the process. You look like shit."

He nudged me forward without saying anything. Once we are off the plane and inside the airport, Pete pulls me to the side and whispers in my ear, "There was a vampire on the plane. I didn't notice until he walked past us to talk to one of the flight attendants."

"It could just be a coincidence," I suggest.

He nods, "True, but I don't want to risk leading a potential enemy to Ronan's pack. I just want to hang back to see where the vamp goes and then we can meet up with Ronan."

I can appreciate his concern for his friends. I don't know this Ronan friend of his, but if he really is going to help us, the last thing I want to do is lead trouble right to his doorstep.

"Okay, so what do you suggest we do?"

"We are going to stay here until he exits and then we will follow him casually until we know where he is heading. If we don't notice anything suspicious, then we turn around and meet Ronan."

It's an agreeable plan. He left out one detail though.

"What do we do if we do see something suspicious?" I ask.

I was not expecting such a serious look from my carefree friend when he replies, "Then we kill him."

"You want to potentially kill a vampire in broad daylight in the middle of the airport? Have you lost your mind?'

He puts his finger over his mouth making a shushing noise. He has eyes on our vampire, and he grabs my hand as we begin to follow it through the airport. The first stop was a bathroom, oddly enough. I didn't know if vampires still used the toilet, but my guess is no. I mean how does that work if their body is dead?

Pete and I cross to the other side of the hall and pretend to be engaged in conversation as we wait for the vamp to emerge from the bathroom. He was drying his hands with a paper towel before he threw it in the trashcan outside of the restroom.

"Well, he gets kudos for good hygiene," I tease.

"Really Willow? Stop playing around."

"Okay, okay."

Pete pulls me along as he quickens the pace, trying to not lose sight of our target when suddenly our target stops to shake hands with a man in a suit sitting at a table in one of the airport restaurants.

"See, nothing to worry about Pete. Let's go."

He seems reluctant to leave, but I tug his arm in the opposite direction and he obediently comes along, checking behind us every couple of steps to make sure we aren't being followed. We finally reach the exit when I look over at Pete.

"Where is your friend meeting us?"

He looks out the glass door and points to a clean, brand new, black Tahoe with heavily tinted windows sitting right outside of the door. How did he manage to get a spot so close to the door without someone honking to move him along?

We push through the doors and step out into the sun. Both the driver's side door and the passenger side door of the Tahoe open and two massive men stepped out from each door. The first one to grab Pete and hug him tightly was at least six feet tall. He had brown hair cut into short spikes on top of his head, a nose and lip piercing, and a nicely chiseled body. His eyes meet mine as he releases Pete from his hold.

Pete steps forward, "Willow this is Xander. Xander meet my best friend, well more like my sister, Willow."

I step up with my arm outstretched, offering him my hand. I hear a growl come from the man on the left.

"Um, yea. Willow this is Alpha Ronan," Pete introduces me to the brute who just growled at me.

"Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping us," I offer him my hand just the same as I did Xander. I didn't want to be rude even though he did just growl at me.

He accepts my hand in his and the moment our hands meet a strange current runs up my arm and through my body. I pull my hand away and rub my arms to get rid of the goosebumps that had formed.

I glance over to see him staring at me. Slightly annoyed at his behavior I snap, "Take a picture. It will last longer."

He says nothing. He turns on his heels and moves around to the driver's side of the SUV and climbs in. Xander winks at me before following suit. Pete opens the rear door and waits for me to climb in before nestling into the seat beside me.

We rode in awkward silence for ten minutes before I decided to break the ice.

"So Xander, what is there to do in Wolf Point? Anything exciting?"

I hear laughter erupt throughout the car from both Xander and Pete. The big, bad Alpha on the other hand just sits in his driver's seat expressionless.

"Not really little wolf. We have plenty to keep us occupied at the packhouse, and we make our own fun. We rarely go into the human town. It's just safer that way."

"I see," I answer, nodding my understanding, " So surely someone like you has a nice woman at home. Will I get to meet her too?"

Ronan growls low, causing Xander to stutter, "Um, no. I haven't found my mate yet. What about you? Have you found your mate yet?" he asks, staring intently at Pete while he was asking me.

I pick up on his hidden question, but Pete cuts me off just as I am about to answer.

"No. As I said at the airport, Willow is like a sister to me. I gave up on finding my mate and fell in love with a human girl named Amelia. She died four years ago from cancer."

Xander shook his head, "Damn man, that's brutal. I'm sorry to hear that," he shifts his eyes to me, "How about you Willow? You find your mate?"

"Nope and I don't want to. Right now, my priority is finding out where my family is, or if I even have one. Finding a mate, I think would just distract me from that and I won't let anything prevent me from finding out the truth about them."

We turn right on an old dirt road, kicking rocks up so they pinged off the undercarriage of the SUV.

"Where are we headed?" I hear Pete ask Ronan.

When Ronan failed to answer, Xander piped in to answer his question, "We have to make a quick pit stop to check on something. It shouldn't take long."

"Where are we going?" I asked, a part of me afraid that Ronan would just kill me and drop me in the woods where no one could find me. I feel my heart start to accelerate, and my wolf Harmony stirs. She is usually pretty quiet. If she is stirring it is because she senses my fear.

"He fears you just as much as you fear him," she says.

"I highly doubt that this homicidal brute fears anything," I send back.

I hear her humph slightly before retreating to the back of my mind.

"What did Harmony say?" Pete whispers in my ear.

I whisper back, 'Nothing important."

I am suddenly flung forward so my face bounces off the back of Ronan's head rest. I grab my nose which is now bleeding.

"What the hell was that for?" I cry out.

Ronan slams the SUV into park and turns in his seat to face us. His anger rolls off him in waves causing Pete to slightly cower beside me.

"That right there does not work for me. There will be no secrets in my pack. If you can't accept that then you better tell me now and you can walk your asses back to the airport!"

"I'm not a member of your pack and there wasn't any secrets you psycho. He asked me what my wolf said to me, not that it is any of your business!" I yell back.

He looks to Pete who nods his head in agreement before he turns to me, "Willow, rogues can't enter a packs territory. It's considered an act of war. The only way Ronan can help us is if we pledge our loyalty to the pack and to him as our Alpha."

It takes less than a minute for the gravity of my situation to sink in. I either pledge my loyalty to this asshat of an Alpha or take my chances with the vamps back home. I lean over and hug Pete tightly.

"You go with them where you will be safe. I'll take my chances with the vamps," I say before opening the door and climbing out of the truck. I just started walking in the direction from which we came when all three men climbed out of the truck. Pete ran to catch up to me while the other two stayed back.

"Come on Willow, do you really think I am going to stay here and have you out here on your own when there are vampires after you? Please just come to the pack with me. Ronan is not that bad. You just have to get to know him," Pete pleads, holding me by my arm.

I hear Ronan growl the moment Pete grabs my arm.

"I fix my eyes on him and glare back, "What the hell is your problem? I didn't ask for your help. Pete did. You haven't been anything but an ass since you picked us up. Pete may know you and think you are an okay dude, but so far all I see is a pompous prick on a power trip. I would rather be eaten alive by vampires than submit to the likes of you!'

I pull my arm free from Pete and begin walking again. Before I know it, I am wrenched off my feet and slammed into a tree. My fear turned to anger, and Harmony unleashes a growl.

"I will not tolerate disobedience from anyone, especially my own Mate!" he screams in my face.

"I guess it's great that I am not your fucking mate!" I growl back.

Harmony springs forward in my mind, "Mate."

"Oh no you don't Harmony! There is no way that this miserable sack is our mate and if by chance the Moon Goddess was high enough to think that mating me with him was a good idea, I will reject him first," I scold her.

"He is our mate, I can feel it," she argues.

I push her back, gaining full control. I turn my anger back to Ronan, "Let me go before I rip your arm from your body and beat you with it."

He releases me so I half collapse against the tree and he just stares at me before suddenly bursting into laughter.

"You are a fiery one, I will give you that, but you are my mate therefore, leaving is not an option now."

"I stand as tall as I can muster and look him squarely in the eyes, "I am not your mate, and I will not pledge my loyalty to someone I don't know let alone trust!"

I hear Pete sigh before approaching me, "Willow, you trust me, right? I am your best friend. So, if I tell you that I trust Ronan with my life, you should trust that I am telling you the truth. If I didn't trust Ronan wholeheartedly, I wouldn't have brought you here."

I do trust Pete. I trust him more than anyone else in the world. What I don't understand is how Pete could trust this monster, but he did and that was going to have to be good enough.

"Fine, but the first time this psycho tries to lay some kind of wolfy claim on me or tries to hurt either one of us, I will denounce the pack and leave for good. Got it?"

Pete nods his head and looks to Ronan for his approval. In response Ronan glares at me and shrugs his shoulders.

"She will come around," Pete whispers to Ronan, not knowing that I could hear him.

"Not likely," I mutter to myself as I walk back to the SUV alone.

Xander meets me halfway and slings his arm around my shoulders and whispers, "You're a feisty one. I sure do hope you stick around.' He opens the door for me and gives me a wink, causing me to smirk as I climb back into the backseat.

At least one of the two has a sense of humor.