CHAPTER TEN

“Miranda, no! Stop!” Caleb shouts at her, racing after her, but she’s disappeared into the woods, leaving us alone again.

“She’s going back to the pack house,” I say. “She’ll tell everyone that I didn’t follow the rules of banishment.”

“I’m the Alpha,” Caleb growls. “She can’t to this to you. To me. To us.”

“I should go,” I mumble, bending down to clean up the picnic supplies. “You can tell them that I tried to trick you into letting me come back, that you were just taking advantage -”

“No.” Rage flares in Caleb’s grey eyes. “You’re my mate. I love you. This can’t happen. Let’s go.”

“But,” I protest, “I’m banished.”

Caleb isn’t taking no for an answer, though. He shifts into wolf form, his jet black fur rippling in the forest breeze. He tosses his head, gesturing for me to climb on top of him, and I grip his thick fur in each fist, sticking close to his muscled back as he rushes through the woods. His paws take each twist and turn of the forest path perfectly, and soon we’re in front of the pack house, him back on two legs, striding purposefully forward.

He slips one hand into mine, and I grip his hand tightly.

Inside, Miranda is already there, telling them the story of how she caught us kissing in the woods. Everyone is gathered in the big front room, Malcolm and all the other shifter kids from school, plus their parents.

“Is this true, Alpha?” Malcolm asks, stepping up to face Caleb. “Have you been secretly meeting with this Omega who we banished?”

“No,” Caleb says, shrugging. “Clearly I haven’t been secretly meeting with her, since Miranda found us so easily. I can do whatever I like without having to hide it from you all. Or have you forgotten that I’m the Alpha of this pack?”

Miranda laughs and tosses her hair. “Oh, please. You had no idea I was tracking you. That alone should disqualify you from leading this pack. An Alpha who can’t sense another wolf nearby? It’s not only embarrassing and pathetic, it’s dangerous.”

“Yeah,” another member of the pack says. “How are you supposed to protect us when you can’t even look after yourself?”

Someone else pipes up. “And how can you enforce pack laws as an Alpha if you’re going to run around with a banished Omega?”

“Let’s worry about Caleb later,” Miranda says, turning on me. “It’s not easy to remove an Alpha from his position, but it’s definitely possible to get rid of a nasty little Omega who can’t follow the rules.”

I swallow. My chest feels tight. I want to take a step closer to Caleb, seek protection in his strong embrace, but I know that would just anger Miranda and put us in more danger.

“I say we banish her for real this time,” Malcolm snarls, circling us. “Put her on a bus back to her old pack. Make sure she never sets foot in this town - no, this state - ever again.”

“I don’t know,” Miranda says, glaring at me. “We tried banishing her once, and she’s shown that she doesn’t respect that. What’s to say she won’t come back and try to seduce our weak willed Alpha yet again?”

“I say we don’t even give her a chance to come back,” shouts another member of the pack.

“Yeah! Kill her!”

“Death!”

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest as the pack howls and bays for my execution.

Maybe it’s for the best, I think. After all, pack rules are there for a reason. If I’m a distraction to Caleb, if I prevent him from being a good Alpha to this pack, then I should be gotten rid of. At least if they kill me, I won’t have to deal with the misery of being an Omega who can’t even shift.

“Stop!” Caleb puts a hand up. “This is getting out of control. Violating a pack banishment is a serious offense, but it’s not a death sentence.”

“Go ahead,” Miranda snaps, “protect your little girlfriend.”

“He’s right,” says an adult wolf, someone who’s been standing in the back and not joining in with the rest of the mob. I can’t see him, but I can hear his voice, deep and scratchy. “We’re a small pack with a young Alpha, and we can’t afford to let things descend into violence. It’s best to stick to pack laws and do things the right way.”

“Fine.” Malcolm sneers at me, then turns to the crowd. “I believe the original sentence for this useless Omega was banishment. I say we reinstate that sentence, with an added condition that if any of us see her anywhere near this pack again, it’s death on sight.”

“If you agree,” Miranda says, “raise your hand.”

Most hands go up. I try to get a glimpse of who isn’t voting for me to be kicked out forever, but I can’t tell who it is.

Besides, I’m not sure if those people aren’t voting to banish me because they think I deserve a second chance, or because they want to kill me instead.

Either way, the vote passes easily. Miranda claps her hands together triumphantly.

“Well, brat,” she says, turning to me, “I hope your fancy little date with Caleb was a good time, because it’s the last you’ll ever see of these woods.”

“I’d offer to drive her to the bus stop myself,” Malcolm says, “but I don’t want her stink all over my car seats.”

Everyone laughs.

“She can walk,” Miranda shrugs. “I mean, in human form, it will take her forever, but that’s her own fault for not being able to shift.”

“Then this is over,” says the older wolf who spoke up a few minutes ago. “The decree is handed down, Miss Sarah will be departing on her own two feet, and none of us have to worry about this cub drama anymore.”

I see Malcolm and Miranda roll their eyes at him, but they don’t argue.

“Go on, then,” Malcolm snaps, shoving me toward the door. “Get lost.”

“Wait,” Caleb says, snatching Malcolm’s hand so he can’t touch me anymore. “As the Alpha of this pack, I hereby reverse the decree. Sarah is no longer banished.”