Perrin
Lost in my own thoughts, I make my way through the rest of the backwoods trail, catching a glimpse of the training facilities on my way to the infirmary.
Chapter 19Packhouse, Alpha’s Office
LeilaOn the way back to my room, I stop in the kitchen for a quick bite to eat.
PerrinI don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this.Our pack had gone all out for the Welcome Ceremony and I was definitely impressed.The ballroom of our packhouse (yes, we still had a ballroom. We didn’t actually have balls in it anymore… parties, I think, is probably more appropriate) was cleaned to the nines. A platform had been raised at one end of the hall for seats of our highest pack members, my father included.Even though I was his son, I wouldn’t be on the platform. I wanted the Alpha Title badly, but I still had to fight for it. Standing on the platform with my father would be in poor taste.Pack members and high pack elders lined the walls of the ballroom. All challengers were to wait
PerrinI didn’t really listen to what my dad was saying, but he stood again and greeted each of the packs by name. I had heard this all before… countless years of hearing about the Sacred Call will do that to you. Thanks, dad.Something caught my attention--and out of the corner of my eye, I see Kira peeling out of her chair, catching Lo’s hand.Lo! I hadn’t even seen her on the platform.She was sitting, legs crossed, in a beautiful, thinly strapped silver cocktail dress. It clung to her body, accentuating her curves. Her sleek, straight silver hair caught the light of the hall chandeliers and brushed just above her tan, chiseled shoulders.But something was off. She didn’t look right. Her face was alarmed and a thi
PerrinI turn quickly. Ethan’s here?! No way!My heart stops as I see Lo, embracing Jack in a massive bear hug.“It’s so good to see you!”Jack’s look of alarm is enough to make my heart hurt. He tries to wriggle out of the hug. It’s clear he doesn’t recognize Lo from when we were kids. And I tell he’s embarrassed about being mistaken for Ethan.Lo steps back, releasing Jack and beaming at his face.“It’s me! Lo!” She smiles expectantly, waiting for the light bulb to go off. Her silver hair is coiffed to fall right above her tan shoulders. A hint of red lipstick shimmers on her lips, crowing that beaming smile.
KiraThere’s a reason I don’t drink.I hiccup, taking a second glass of wine. Cheap drunk, I think they call it? My phone buzzes in my clutch.JACK: Just wrapping up. I think Perrin is heading out anyway. Where are you?I don’t really want to respond to his text. We had plans to meet up after the feast but… I had seen Jack sitting next to Perrin in my brother’s place. It was so hard to watch.Perrin had been all honor and pride leading his procession. And my brother had worked so hard to stand right behind him. He should have been there. It should have been Ethan, not Jack.Why was this so hard to process? I tried not to cry, but tears threatened to
PerrinThe feast left little to be desired for me after talking to Lo. There was dancing and plenty of flirting amongst the wolves attempting to find love, mates--or lets be honest, probably just hookups at this point. But I really wasn’t interested.Had it really only been 36 hours since Ethan?I headed towards the parking lot. My dad’s driver was at the edge of the lot on a smoke break. Charlie was such a great guy. But he failed to understand, as one of the few humans working in the pack house, that our sense of smell was keen enough to realize that he was a chain smoker, despite his repeated denials over the years.He quickly dropped the cigarette and stomped it out, rotating his shoe into the butt of the ashes.“Where to?&rd
PerrinCharlie dropped me off at the front of the packhouse an hour later.Walking inside, I decided to stop by and grab a plate of leftovers from the feast. I know Dina would have a few plates set aside for the Night Guard in the pack kitchen. Fortunately nobody at the welcome ceremony had noticed that practically half the Alpha Guard was on duty tonight… just in case.But with all the new wolves and visiting packs, nobody really knew each other so it was easy not to realize, especially when only the challengers were wearing our special coats.I made my way down to the kitchens and Dina was finishing clean up with a few other of the pack cooks. She ushered them to other duties as she saw my face at the door.“I didn’t mean to d
EPILOGUEMarge shuffled through the archive, her shoes making the only sound in the quiet stone building, echoing all the same through the high vaulted ceiling of the church building above. She raised a gnarled hand to the shelf and deposited the book after two tries, her hands shaking slightly with the cold. There were only a few books to return tonight. Far fewer than there had been when Leila had been here.So why had she waited until this late in the evening to do it? She just shrugged and pushed on, the slow creaking of the cart’s wheels punctuating the silence, her old watch on her pale wrist noting the time; 1:45 a.m.She really had no business being there so late. But she had gotten caught up in one of her research projects, spread out across her circulation desk and totally lost in thought until the rumble of her empty sto
Perrin“How long is it going to take?”I sat on Lo’s bed as she shoved clothes into her suitcase. “Maybe a week? I’m not sure.”“Why don’t you just leave all of that stuff here?” I pointed at the suitcase. “It’s not like you’re not going to bring it back.”She heaved a heavy sigh, full of fake exasperation. “I still have to pack it to move it down the hall. It’s just easier if I do it all at once.”“Nah. Let’s just throw it all in some garbage bags and unpack later.”She laughed. “Hand me those shoes?”I strode over and picked a pair
Perrin “Because I never want to create a monster like my father.” Silence hung in the room. I digested each word, the implications of it. “But you’re not…” I said, more for myself than for her. “No, I’m not. He never got his hands on me. My little brother made sure of that.” And even though she spoke in a viscous, quipping way; there was a hint of something grateful in her tone. “So he won’t be anything like him!” I said, assuring myself more than anything. “Does it matter?” She snapped, regaining her typical composure. “If my father’s insane lust for power is hereditary, then it’s best that the blood line ends with me. At least my brother won’t be breeding any offspring considering he’s gay–” sh
Perrin I glanced at my phone, then at Lo. We had made love for several hours, refusing to stop until we had our fill of each other. But each time hadn’t felt like enough, leaving us drained and happy but wanting more. After one particularly hot session in the middle of my bed involving whipped cream, I pulled her close to me, blissfully peaceful with her cradled in my arms. I felt her stomach growl against my hands. And apparently hungry. I swept my mouth to her ear and felt her shiver against me, goosebumps appearing up and down her body. I fought the impulse to warm her with every inch of mine. “Do you want me to get you a snack?” I said, and waved the small can of whipped cream in front of her face so she could see. She hummed lazily in my
PerrinAnd it had happened like that.I recalled the broad strokes for my friends.“You what?” Ethan said, shocked and nearly angry. “You can’t make that kind of promise!”Justin shook his head sagely. “That’s free reign, Perrin. And a dangerous move, backing out of every challenge. It puts you at a huge disadvantage if anyone trespasses on your territory.”“Or attacks on your land,” Ethan said.“Or poses a border dispute,” said Kira.“How will you expand?” Ethan asked, c
PerrinI tried to cover the nail marks she had left on my shoulder with a spare set of scrubs from Deidre’s office. It was no use. The scrubs were too small, tugging comically at my shoulders and Lo’s pink cheeks and ruffled hair couldn’t be fixed.We had retreated long enough to ourselves, and I pulled us back into the world of the living and down the hall, walking hand in hand as we rejoined our friends.Ethan smirked when he saw us. “Nice.”Kira rolled her eyes, glancing at her imaginary watch. “Couldn’t you two wait?”“At least get a shirt,” Ethan added, eyeing my bare chest. I had ditched the scrubs, unable to get them over my chest.
PerrinWe didn’t talk as much, even though that had been the plan.I had taken one of the chairs opposite Deidre’s desk, hoping to keep my brain thinking platonically for as long as possible. But part of me was still in shock. I could smell the smell of her coconut shampoo. See the glimmer of her earrings in the desk lap. And I had felt the tips of her fingernails as I held her hand; the short ones that she chewed on when she was reading and lost in thought.But I knew it was definitely her the moment I felt my head slightly dizzy with the draft of warm honeysuckle, intoxicatingly perfect.I wasn’t shy, needing to have her by my side. I pulled her easily into my lap, and she didn’t protest, as if still quite unsure that all of this was really happening either. She swun
PerrinAs soon as Mark dismissed the crowd, the crowd had begun to descend from the stands in droves. It hadn’t taken long for Lo to find me, fighting the current and pushing her way against the flow of teaming bodies and up to the platform.I sensed her, long before she ran up the platform stairs, Justin hot on her heels. I dove past my father, darted behind Mark and ran to meet her, not caring for any protocol or public indecency. I needed her.Her scent hit me first. It made my blood sing and my heart beat so fast I thought it would stop.And then there she was. The sight of my home and my heart, running and slipping across the wet platform towards me.My weight almost buckled beneath me, the unexpected reality of seeing her here st
Justin The arena was packed. I could hear an excited roar from the crowd from behind the Lodge, drifting over the top of the massive building and floating through the chill evening air. Lo parked illegally in front of the entrance to the building. Now was not the time to point it out. A series of battered and limp-hanging banners and signs showed the way around to the back. It had rained today, apparently, and we made progress towards the arena as quickly as we could, sludging through mud and the trampled pathway. A stadium had been erected, filled to the brim with stands of onlookers, cheering and applauding in a range of darkened colors, soaked from the rain. Despite the bad weather, it hadn’t dampened their spirits. The crowd had been here all night, awaiting the results. Colored tents for each challenging pack were spaced ou