Kate

Kate POV

Cassie, Angie, and I arrive back at the house. Trip, Karen, and John are still gone on business for the Alpha. The three of us put away the meat we scored from the Alpha’s leftovers. Most of it looks untouched. I cannot believe how much food they waste.

“Do you want to go for another run tonight after dinner?” Cassie asks me.

“Yeah, that would be great,” I answer her.

“We have to stay close; we don’t need anyone seeing your markings,” Angie says.

“Exactly, we don’t need any trouble,” Cassie says.

The three of us begin to put dinner together. Cassie does most of the work while Angie and I drink a beer and talk. I never thought I would like beer, but it is nice to chat with them and drink one. We talk and laugh as Cassie cooks dinner for all of us. John’s truck is loud when it pulls up to the house. The three of us go out on the porch to greet them. John and Trip come into the house, but Karen is not with them.

“Where is Karen?” I ask.

They all look at each other. I can tell the group of misfits is trying to decide if they should tell me the truth or not. “Well, she is on private business for the Alpha,” John says.

“Okay,” I say.

I know John is not telling the truth, but I am sure they will eventually tell me what is happening. Maybe I don’t need to know. We go into the house to eat dinner. I get some beers out of the icebox and hand the guys each one. “Where you guys busy today?” I ask.

“Alpha always has us on some bullshit, but at least we don’t have to clean his house and deal with Luna,” Trip says.

We sit down at the table. “Well, luckily, Luna was asleep all day,” Cassie says.

“Lucky for Kate,” John says.

“She is not that bad; she is just a royal bitch,” Cassie says.

We all laugh. We eat dinner discussing our day. “Tell the boys about your encounter with Erick,” Angie says.

“It wasn’t much of an encounter; he asked me a question while I was throwing out the trash,” I say.

“It was more than that; I think he has the hots for her,” Cassie says.

“He probably wants to know why she is here. Hell, I want to know why she is here,” John says.

“I am here because my father is a drunk and has a gambling problem. I am here because Jackson offered to clear his debt if he sold me to the Alpha. I am here because I have nowhere else to go,” I say.

I get up from the table mad, run out of the kitchen and onto the porch crying. I look into the clearing and decide to run into the woods. I take off into the woods. I run until I take my wolf form. I can feel the tears running down my fur. “Stop!” I hear someone scream from behind me. I stop dead in my tracks. I look around and realize nothing looks familiar. I am not where we were last night. I have run into an area I am not supposed to be in. I hope no one hurts me. Damn, how much trouble can I get in for this? The black wolf from last night comes to my side. It is Erick. “You cannot be here. You have to stay over there; that is the rules. Not my rules but the Alpha’s rules,” Erick says.

“I am sorry. I was running because I was upset, and now I have no idea where I am,” I say to him.

“Why are you upset?” Erick asks, circling me.

“They were asking me why I am here,” I answer him.

“Why are you here? You should not be here. I can tell you are an imperial. Imperials are royalty and should serve no wolf,” Erick asks me.

“I am here because of my father. He did not want me anymore. Gambling and money are more important to him than I am. I am not royalty. I am a no one important,” I say.

“I saw a picture of your mother today. In my father’s office, they knew each other,” Erick says.

“How do you know it was my mother?” I ask him.

“You look just like her. Did you know her father was an Alpha?” Erick asks.

“No, I know nothing about her or my life before she died. The only thing I know is she died, my father was banned from the pack, and so was I. They did not want me either. No one wants me,” I answer him.

“Maybe it is time we find out who you are and why your father was tossed out of the pack. But more importantly, I would like to know if they are looking for you,” Erick says.

“How will I do that?” I ask.

“I could ask my father about your mother and what happened to her if you want me to ask him?” Erick says.

“I don’t want any trouble. I only want to work off this debt and figure out what to do after I am done here. Erick, I have no one in this world. This situation is the first time I have ever belonged anywhere in my life. I honestly don’t want to leave. So please don’t cause any trouble for me,” I say.

The others run up to see us talking. “We will be on our side of the woods. Let us know when you are ready to go back,” Cassie says.

“I will make sure she gets back,” Erick says. The four run back to our side of the woods. Erick and I stroll back to the other side. He walks me almost to the house. The others are on the porch pretending not to watch us talking and walking side by side.

“I will find out about your past for you, Kate. You deserve to know your past. No one should go through their life not knowing who their family is. I will be discreet,” Erick says.

Erick runs back into the woods, and I return to the house. I walk through the front door. Everyone is waiting on me to find out what Erick said to me. “I did not mean to upset you,” John says. I hug John. “It is no big deal. I should not have gotten so upset. It is hard for me to talk about my father,” I say.

“You really should not run off without us. You were lucky to run into Erick and not another wolf. Someone could hurt you. We are not allowed in certain areas. You have to remember we are the misfits. We are the lowest members of this pack,” Cassie says.

“So why are all of you out here?” I ask.

“Like your story, we each have a long story to tell, too,” Angie says.

A car pulls up in the driveway. I walk out onto the porch. It is Karen being brought home by the Alpha. He stares at me for a long time before backing out and leaving. Karen doesn’t say anything to me. She walks past me and goes inside the house. Cassie joins me out on the porch. “Don’t ask any questions. It is better to pretend like you don’t know anything about this situation,” Cassie says to me.

“I don’t want to know anything about the situation or what is going on; it is none of my business,” I say.

“What did Erick say to you tonight?” Cassie asks.

“He told me there is a picture of my mother in the Alpha’s office, and he said they knew each other. He wants to find out what happened to my mother and why my pack disowned my father and me,” I answer her.

“Do you want to know what happened? Are you ready for those answers?” Cassie asks.

“It has been a long time. I don’t care either way. One part of me wants to know what happened, but in reality, I think it is best to leave the past in the past,” I say.

“I understand. I don’t want to bring up my past. Sometimes it is better not to know, but I am not an imperial wolf. If I were an imperial wolf, I would want to know why my pack left me with a father that did not want me,” Cassie says.

“I don’t know anything about being a wolf. I like how it feels to be here with all of you. I have lived independently for so long that having a family is nice. I wonder what having my pack would be like,” I say.

“We are your pack now, and I promise we will take care of you. If you decide you want to know, I will help you find out everything,” Cassie says.

“Thanks, you have no idea what that means to me,” I say.

“There are some imperials close by; we could talk to them and see what they know. Maybe we could have Erick accompany us to talk to them. They might talk to the future Alpha,” Cassie says.

“Maybe. I am not sure what I want to do yet,” I say.

“Well, then, how about a beer?” Cassie says.

“I could go for a beer,” I say.

Cassie and I go into the house. The others are talking but stop when I come into the house. I am not going to tell Karen’s little secret. It is none of my business. I do not care who she is screwing or not screwing.

“Karen is very secretive about her little love affair. It is not like it can go anywhere, but she has been seeing him for a long time. I think that is why Luna treats us so shitty.” Cassie says.

“I am not going to say anything,” I say.

Karen comes into the kitchen. She grabs a beer and joins the conversation. “What are you two talking about in here?” Karen asks.

“We were talking about her family and finding out more about her mother,” Cassie says.

“You know we should do that; it might be a fun adventure for us,” Karen says.

“I am not sure I want to know anything yet,” I say to Karen.

“Good or bad, you should,” Karen says. She takes her beer and leaves Cassie and me in the kitchen.

“You know something, she is right. We should find out more about my mother,” I say.

“Tomorrow after hell day, we will get to work. You should let Erick help you,” Cassie says.