-9- Lily

A couple of hours later, Lily was free of the hospital and tossed the cop’s card into the trash. They questioned her and she answered with mostly lies to protect the pack. She walked to her car, then paused. What little good mood she had dissipated when she saw Tony leaning against her car. “What are you doing here, Tony? I thought I told the grand and powerful alpha I can make it home on my own,” she said, letting her irritation show.

“Aw, not happy to see me?” he teased with a pout.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “Not if it means what I think it means,” she replied.

Tony looked at her with a sly expression. “Yeah, Dad sent me here to keep watch over you for a few days. You know, make sure the werewolf doesn’t want to finish what he started. Also, he wants the pills you have left.”

Lily stood there and grit her teeth together. “Tony, there is no way I am going to let you follow me around!”

“Yes, you are. Its alpha’s orders and you should feel lucky he put out the future alpha at your disposal,” Tony told her. He gave her his charming smile that did nothing to sway her opinion.

“Oh, I am going to dispose of you alright! Just not like you both planned,” she snapped.

Tony laughed, then grinned at her again. “Be nice Lilliput or I promise I can make this really un-fun for you,” he teased. The nickname he gave her when he had read Gulliver’s Travels in school. She, of course, hated it.

Lily paced back and forth. She rubbed her left temple since it was the only w that wasn’t bruised. Wishing that her headache would go away, Lily smiled as she realized the loophole that would get her out of this mess. She’d hit Tony with his greatest weakness. “Great Rex! I’ll let Liz know you will spend the night with me.” She couldn’t resist a smile as the alpha’s son paled.

“Hey Liz, I hope you don’t mind, but Tony and I are going to be spending the next couple of nights together. Oh, and I only have one bed so we will be sharing!” Lily said, fluttering her eyelashes and holding her hand up in the mimic of a telephone.

“You wouldn’t,” he growled at her, looking panicked and desperate at the same time.

She gave him a sly grin and watched him tense with nervous anger. “No, I wouldn’t,” she admitted after a few moments of letting him sweat it out. “I value my life too much for that. Even if you told her the fluffy bunny version, Liz would still want to paint my house with my blood, Tony. Don’t say you won’t tell her because then she will kill us both when she finds out! You and I both know how territorial she is.”

“But all this is beside the point,” Lily told him. “Because I do not need you to babysit me!” He opened his mouth to comment. “I know Alpha’s Orders. I will just have to take it up with him, obviously,” she said, pushing him off the car door so she could get in.

He hopped in the passenger side. “Geez Lilliput, you can be so rude, you know that?” Tony told her as he buckled his seat belt.

“Geez Rex, you can be such a pain in the ass, you know that?” She shot back with a smirk as she started her car and drove to their father’s house.

When they arrived at the Robert’s home, an unhappy Liz was waiting for them. Tony wasn’t out of the house, but an hour at best, and Liz was already getting upset. Lily glanced at him with a see what I mean look before she got out of the car. Liz immediately ran up to Tony, wrapping her arms around him and gave Lily an icy glare. “How are you feeling Lily?” she asked. Her tone icy sounded like she wished Lily stayed in the hospital.

“I’m feeling better thanks, Liz,” she told the territorial she-wolf. She gave her a quick smile before dashing into the house. Lily was sure it was a good idea to put as much distance as she could between the unhappy she-wolf and herself. Sandy came out of the kitchen and gave her a warm hug. She repeated the same question Liz had just made. “I am having one of the worst days of my life and Andrew isn’t making it any better!”

“Maybe you should stop and listen to him. Lily, you always want to do everything by yourself. You know, not even an alpha does everything alone. He has the beta, the enforcers, and other elders to help him,” Sandy said, concern painted upon her face.

Lily let out a tired sigh, feeling as if the world had settled on her shoulders. “I can’t live my life waiting for someone to come and save me every time the forces of nature decide to screw with me!” She loved her family, but they couldn’t understand why she needed to be independent and do things on her own. Life had taught her one thing: the only person who would always be there for her was herself and only herself.

“I’ve got to talk to Andrew,” Lily told the older woman and left before Sandy could say another word. So lost in her dark thoughts, she forgot to knock and walked in. Unfortunately, he was meeting with the pack doctor, Xavier Thompson, and James. God damn that man! Lately, she couldn’t take a step without seeing James! The Alpha’s expression was stern. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to explain her unannounced intrusion.

“Sorry Mr. Roberts, but I wish to speak with you...now, if it is possible.” She told him and noticed his jaw muscles tightened with irritation. She was pushing him today, but was pushing her too.

The doctor got up from his chair. “I could use a break.” He nodded at Andrew before turning to leave. Lily gave him an appreciated smile, which he returned with a gentle kindness.

James got up as well, following him out of the office after giving her an odd look. He may be able to kill her in less than a second, but if he kept giving her odd looks, she was going to punch him. “Lily Nawassa, what have I told you about just walking into my office?” Andrew snapped when the door closed.

Her anger surged to the surface. “I don’t care right now,” she snapped back before she could stop herself.

His eyes flashed a golden hue with his anger. “Young lady, I am the alpha of this pack. You may not be a werewolf or a member of the pack, but you will obey me when I am in such company!”

“I was nice! Look, I am not a little girl anymore, Andrew! I am not a mutt groupie of yours either, so I will not bow down to your every whim like everyone else,” she shot back.

He slammed his fists onto the table and stood up, glaring at her. She could feel the anger coming off of him in waves. Part of her wanted to scream. I am sorry, but the other part needed to challenge him. Needed to prove she could stand on her own. She wasn’t that scared little girl that came running to him late at night for asylum. “Do not insult my pack, Lily! You will obey me while you are in danger. I don’t care if you like it or not!”

Lily stomped up to his desk, angrier than she had ever been in her life. “I am not in danger; he wanted the pills, not me! If the guy wanted me dead, I would be dead! You and I both know that! I’m sorry, but I refuse to give you anything, and I refuse to have your son follow me around. That would put me in more danger than ever! You know how Liz is, and she’d freak out!”

She took a deep breath and looked at her father, hoping to convey her need to him. “You can’t force me into obedience, Andrew, and I need you to understand that I can handle things on my own!”

“No Lily. You think you can handle everything by yourself, but you can’t handle this. Don’t forget that you are just a human and even the weakest among us can kill you with no effort at all! You may not be of my blood, but you are my daughter all the same. Until I’m sure you’ll be safe, someone will be coming over to keep watch,” Andrew argued.

Disappointment assaulted her. It would always come down to that: she was just a human, and that was a synonym of weak and incapable. Not this time, she vowed. “No Andrew, I put my foot down! I refuse to have some needless bodyguards!”

He growled at her, stomping around the desk before grabbing her arm, startling her. “You have no say in this matter! As my daughter, you’ll do as I say. The end,” he snarled at her, then dragged her out of his office and down the hall.

She attempted to free herself from his grip, but he was much stronger than her. This was a side of him she’d never seen before, and it scared her a little. Lily considered apologizing. Yet when she noticed everyone staring at them, she scowled even more with embarrassment. She demanded he let her go, but Andrew ignored her as he pulled Lily down the hall.

Andrew opened the front door and pushed her out onto the porch. “Stop trying to act like a one-man army,” he demanded in a harsh snarl. “You’ll do as I say! A pack is as strong as its weakest member, and you are our weakest member! Now go home and get some rest! Someone will be over soon,” he shouted at her, then slammed the door in her face.

Lily stood there for a moment in surprised shock. Closing her gaping mouth, Lily turned around and walked down the stairs. She’d never felt so embarrassed or hurt in a long time.