Alpha Devon still hadn’t given over his pack to his son, and I didn’t know if his son was any different. Mom always got quiet when I spoke about him or his heirs, so I stopped mentioning them. I had seen their Beta-to-be in the training and had heard he was pretty damn good for a Beta. But it didn’t make me want to even go near him. I’d probably end up killing him.
“Mom, one day you’ll hear something. I promise.” Reaching out, I squeezed her hand.
She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Thank you. You sure you are okay? Did you…?”
“I’m fine, Mom. I need to finish this up because I’m taking Sam with me to the castle in a few days. I’ll be there for a few days and so I don’t want to leave a pile of paperwork behind. It’s only going to get worse.”
“Did you want me to…”
I groaned. “Mom, stop. Stop trying to work. I got this, don&rs
“Sweetheart?” “I think she was stabbed in the leg.” She inhaled sharply, tears filling her eyes. “Why…why must she go through so much pain?” I rubbed my thigh, the phantom pain still making it throb. “I don’t know. It’s been pretty quiet as of late. This is the first bad one in a while.” Her lips pursed in a line. “Can you really add the pain of rejection to this poor girl’s list of injuries? Add that scar to all the other ones?” “Mom, I don’t want to talk about this.” She sighed and nodded. Her hand came up and brushed my cheek with her thumb. “I know I say this often, but you are blessed. This link you have with her, it’s a blessing from the Moon Goddess. It may not seem like it, but it is. You’re supposed to help each other. If you don’t, what’s going to happen to her? Or your Beta?” I knew she wasn’t looking for an answer. She never did anymore. Getting up, she headed out of the office, but turned before she closed the door behind her. “Eat, sweetheart. Maybe rest a little.
“Chest? Like good or bad?”She munched on a chip. “Bad? I dunno. It’s a tightness, like it’s harder to breathe. It’s been continuous since yesterday evening. Like something has been decided and it’s moving forward. I dunno. I know I sound crazy.”I chuckled. “Yeah, you’re talking to the Alpha who has a prophecy of having two mates. You sound sane next to that.”Sam laughed as well, taking out a water bottle she brought and sipping from it. “I dunno, Alpha. This…this seems big. It doesn’t last this long without anything happening. It should already have happened.”Nodding, I reached in and grabbed a chip out of her bag. “We’ll keep our ears up. It could just have to do with this treaty. We are supposed to meet Peter on Saturday. It could just be related to that.”Humming, she rolled up the bag of chips and put her chair back down in as horizo
*** Skylar’s POV *** I rolled out from under Thing, yelling at the top of my lungs with Emmett. ‘A-B-C-D-E-F-U’ ‘And your mom and your sister and your job’ ‘And your broke-ass car and that shit you call art’ Even Raine was yelling the lyrics in my head. Emmett was sitting on the workbench in the garage as I worked on doing the final checks to the engine and everything connected to it. We’d never started her up after Caleb took out her engine and did some work on it. ‘Fuck you and your friends that I'll never see again’ ‘Everybody but your dog, you can all fuck off’ ‘Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah’ ‘A-B-C-D-E-F-U’ We’d started early this morning, considering the long task this one was going to be and how crucial Thing was to my escape. Emmett and I usually worked on the car, so it looked normal for a Sunday. Maybe even as a last hurrah together as brother and sister. No one bothered us last night, but it would have taken effort since we’d kept the hatch ‘locked’ all night.
“You chose. The two of you chose. I don’t get a choice. I get to be taken, raped, becoming an old perverted Alpha’s whore. That is, until I’m used up and provided the number of pups he wants. Then what? My usefulness comes to an end, so does my life? Will I be like our birth mother? Destined to rot in some cell while I give birth? Tortured and then tossed away? Praying every day that someone will save me until I lose all hope and die? I’m not like you at all.”I shook my head. “You’re the golden boy who will step into the Alpha position and make our father proud. You’re already doing so well. Finally turning into the Alpha he always wanted you to be.”It sounded like I was praising him, but we all knew better. It was an insult. The ultimate insult to be compared to our father. At one time, Caleb rejected the cruelty.“We need this treaty, Skylar. Our pack will suffer if we don’t. Your friend
Heading out to the parking lot and Vince waggled his eyebrows. “Don’t look now but there is a black Mustang with your name on it.”I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. I’ll pass. I did manage to grab some of the good green on Sunday if anyone wants to join.”All three of them exchanged smiles. Henry clapped his hands once before throwing his arms around Steph and my shoulders.“Where to this time? And who’s driving?”“I’ll drive.” Vince was first to pipe up.I hummed, glaring at the beautiful Mustang. “I’ve got just the place. I’m leaving, so it should be passed to the people who will need it. Come on, I’ll direct you.”With Vince driving, I got in the passenger seat with Steph and Henry in the back. Cranking up the music, we peeled out. After a couple of vague directions, Vince nodded to the rearview mirror.“We are being followed.”I chuckled. “Probably to make sure I don’t run away. Here! Turn into the dirt area. It’s a bit of a trek but it’s worth it.”We all got out once Vince parked. Headin
After Vince and I got out, drying in the small rays of sun that shined in the clearing, I felt whole. This would be our last outing together and it was a good one. One I would cherish. Stomping our way back to the car, Vince dropped off Steph and then Henry.“You want me to help with your grandmother?”He sighed. “No, I’ll deal with her. I have a feeling bringing you home would make it worse.”I chuckled. “You’re not wrong. A block away is fine.”Vince pulled over, far enough from the pack house to not be seen. “Do you need anything? Is there anything I can do to help?”Shaking my head, I opened up the door and got out, but leaned in through the rolled down window. “Today was great. Thanks for driving.”“Skylar.”I just gave him a quick smile. “I want you to be happy, Vince. Use what you have at your fingertips and chase happiness. Don’t let this pack poison you or your mate.”He nodded and I stood, tapping the door.“Get home. Fight the grandmother.”A wide smirk spread onto his face
Emmett and I got up together in the morning before we separated. I stayed on the bus as he got off and it headed further into town. This was the same bus that would eventually take us to Carl’s shop, but the library wasn’t as far. It took five stops until I finally got off, looking around. There didn’t seem to be the black Mustang following me, but I had seen it when we left this morning from the pack house. I adjusted my backpack and headed up the extensive stairs that were in front of the large library.It was the biggest building in the area, and it held most of the pack’s history from the time the pack was founded. There weren’t just the normal books that you would see in a non-shifter library but a bunch of magical tomes as well. It was still pretty early but the librarian I knew opened at 6:00 a.m. for the local college kids who needed to prep for their early classes. Slipping in, there was a college aged she-wolf sitting at front desk. Leaning forward, I smiled at her.“Shouldn
Humming for a moment, she got up and this time I followed her as she wove through the rows of books. Stopping near the back, she looked up at the shelf, narrowing her eyes.“What kind of information are you looking for exactly?”“Territory lines, alliances, past Alphas, that kind of stuff.”Her head turned slightly to me, a wry smile on her face. “You mean information a new Alpha would need?”Chuckling, I nodded. She reached up and took a huge book off the shelf. It wasn’t just thick but was also triple the size of a normal book. My eyes widened as I took it.“This one isn’t able to leave the library but you’re welcome to copy down any information. It’s updated every quarter, so it’s due for its next update in December, but it is still pretty much up to date as far as I know.”“Perfect. Thank you.”She turned and headed out of the aisle, and I he