Chapter 4

GINGER

Oh Goddess, fucking Artemis. My head hurt, my stomach burned, my chest wheezed. The sun was so bright. I kept trying to open my eyes, but the light streaming in through the window made it very difficult. I moaned, in terrible pain, my whole body sore. This was worse than my worst hangovers. Even when I blacked out it was never this bad. I really did need to go to the pack clinic. I'd cry out for Paige to carry me there. She was a full-time warrior—her muscles were definitely strong enough by now.

I finally forced my eyes open and was instantly confused by my surroundings. This wasn't my bedroom. I'd never been in this room before at all. Had I hooked up with someone the prior night? I tried to think back. What had happened?

The full moon! It all hit me at once. I had taken the double batch of the potion and then everything got blurry. And, oh my Goddess, was that a dream, or had that douchebag from the fortune-telling shop really appeared? It had to have been a dream, right? But where did I end up? Clearly, I hadn't passed out in the forest.

Suddenly the door to the bedroom swung open and a woman entered with a bunch of cleaning supplies. "Oh, sorry!" she shouted, and exited, slamming the door.

"What happened? Are you okay?" I heard someone's voice outside. Someone who sounded very much like Alpha Blake. He had a very distinct voice that really commanded your attention, so it had to be him.

"There's a girl in there!" the women responded.

I heard the man who had spoken chuckling. "Fucking Tyce. It's okay, you can go home for the day, Wendy. Thanks for coming on your day off. I appreciate you coming in this morning to clean up after last night's big dinner."

"Of course, Alpha," the woman responded. Fuck, it was Blake. Was I in the packhouse? Why? And who was Tyce?

"Blake!" I heard another voice that also sounded very familiar, recognizing it as Paige's new friend, the new luna of the pack.

"Yes, babe?" Blake replied in a very tender voice.

"Paige just called me, hysterical. Her twin sister is missing. Can you get the warriors to put in a lookout for her?"

"Shit, when was the last time they saw her?"

"Last night. She says they all went to bed like normal, but she's completely missing from her bed and the house this morning, not answering her cellphone, and they can't mindlink with her."

"Can't mindlink? Like she's blocking them out?"

"I don't know. Maybe she's too out of range."

"Fuck, well, I'll get them right on that, Jaz. Tell Paige not to worry." There was a pause, and then he continued, "You know, you don't have to go through me to command the warriors anymore. You're the luna now and you have the power to give them orders yourself."

"I know," her voice trailed. "But I still feel weird about it."

"You'll get used to it, Misses Alpha."

Shit, Paige and my family were worried about me. I had to get out of here. But I didn't want to be noticed. The alpha and luna clearly didn't know I was here, also meaning they weren’t the ones that brought me here. But who was Tyce? Then, I remembered something else. Hadn't I been naked when I passed out? And that guy—wasn't he naked too? Shit, did he take advantage of me? I looked under the sheets and all my clothes were miraculously on. Had I gotten dressed?

"Also, have you seen Tyce anywhere?" Jasmine asked. "My parents want to invite him over for dinner tonight before the service."

Blake snickered. "That kid. Reminds me of me before I met the best thing that ever happened to me, of course."

"What do you mean?"

"He's definitely getting very familiar with what the pack has to offer."

"What does that mean?"

"Of the female variety."

"Oh!" Jasmine said in a very 'duh' kind of way, finally understanding what Blake was insinuating. Wait, but who was this Tyce guy?

"Anyway, I don't know where Tyce is. But he's definitely not in his room." Blake chuckled. Haha, so funny. I couldn't help but feel annoyed by how funny Alpha Blake was finding all of this. Some pervert had dragged me back to his bedroom while I was blacked out and did who knows what to me while I was unconscious. Okay, I wasn't sure that's actually what happened. Judging by the fact that I was fully dressed, that's probably not what had happened. But this Tyce guy did sound like a serious player, whoever he was. Even his name sounded like a fuckboy name.

I forced myself out of bed, feeling unsteady on my legs, a migraine pounding in my skull. I looked around—my shoes nowhere to be found. And, damn, I really had to pee. My bladder was throbbing. What time was it?

As soon as I heard footsteps disappear down stairs, I finally exited the room, stumbling the hallway, opening doors until I found one that led to a bathroom. I quickly peed, and then my stomach, again, violently rumbled. I bent over the toilet, just in time for bright green vomit to explode from my throat. I moaned again, in so much pain, then washed my hands and rinsed out my mouth, grabbing a bottle of mouthwash to rinse it some more. Goddess, I felt so gross. I had to get home. At least now that I had rid my stomach of those herbs, I was feeling somewhat better. A tear escaped one of my eyes, as I once again mourned the loss of my wolf. I tried to feel if I could sense her, but once again nothing. Another month that it hadn't worked.

I tried to console myself—these things took time. She'd been dead for six years before I had started doing the spells. Who knew how long it would take to bring her back to life? I just hoped that the herbs had had time to take effect before I had thrown them all up that morning.

I then spotted some large Adidas pool slides left on the floor of the bathroom by the shower. They were probably at least double the size of my feet, but better than nothing. I slipped my feet into them and then snuck out quietly, trying my best not to allow them to clack on the floor from how awkward it was walking in them. They were fucking huge. I thought back, and that guy from the fortune-telling shop was quite large and imposing. Was he Tyce? But no, there was no way that he and Tyce were the same person. I mean, what are the odds? I randomly met some douchebag in Salem and now he's staying at the packhouse? When I saw him last night had to have been a dream. And these slides were probably Alpha Blake's anyway.

I quietly made my way down the stairs, one slow step at a time, keeping an eye out. Once I was satisfied no one was around, I sprinted out the front door. The fresh air felt nice as I did my walk of shame. We lived a fair bit away from the packhouse but I probably needed the walk anyway.

I hadn't gotten far before a group of wolves swarmed around me. Terrified, I waited until one of them transformed, approaching me completely naked, his muscles on full display. "Gigi?" he asked. I knew nudity wasn't taboo in our pack, but I still had to get used to it, never really having had the opportunity to shift between human and wolf. I nodded back at him, completely speechless.

"Alert Alpha," he looked at the other wolves.

"Can I go?" I asked.

"We'll escort you."

"Oh… okay," I replied. Just as we were all about to start walking down the street, a wolf that was so dark brown it was practically black sprinted over, quickly shifting into Alpha Blake, also completely naked. And, holy shit, he was fucking hot. I mean, he was hot while he was dressed, but damn. I blushed, feeling my face burning red hot. I was gawking at my sister's friend's mate. I had to get a hold of myself.

"Gigi, are you okay?" he approached me with concern. "What happened?"

I stuttered, "Ye-yeah I-I'm fine."

"You're not hurt are you? Your family's worried about you."

"I-I'm fine… just going home now." He then looked down at my feet and back up at me, his intense blue eyes piercing into me, a smirk on his face. Fuck, was he going to recognize his own sandals? Or, shit, they might be Tyce's, whoever he was. He'd totally caught me as the girl that was in his bed that morning.

"Good night?" He had a mischievous smile on his face.

"Something like that," I replied, sick with shame. But I also didn't want to explain what had actually happened. Somehow, him believing I'd hooked up with this Tyce dude seemed like the better option. "Can I go please, Alpha? Alone?"

"I'll mindlink your parents so you don't have to change forms," he said, turning to leave.

"Thanks," I replied, thinking, more like because I can't change forms. Everyone then dispersed and I was left on my own to make my way home.

It took me about twenty minutes to finally make it to my house, ready to take an Advil and pass out again. My parents kept them on hand just for me since no one else in the family clearly needed them. As soon as I entered the house, I was bombarded, everyone shouting at once—their voices blending together, all concerned.

My mom finally quieted everyone and asked, "Gigi, where were you? We were all so worried. You're so vulnerable." She pulled me in for a huge hug, squeezing me against her.

Suddenly I heard obnoxiously loud laughter escape Heidi's mouth. "What shoes are you wearing, Gigi!?" Everyone's eyes turned to my feet. Shit, I should have kicked them off before I entered.

"Whose shoes are those?" My dad looked ready to murder.

"Calm down, Dad!" Heidi laughed some more. Haha, so funny! "That's just what Gigi does."

"What does that mean?" my mom and dad both said at the same time, their voices very concerned. Oh, did I mention that my family was very religious? This wasn't exactly a laughing matter. But I hadn't thought of any other excuse. Fuck. Why hadn't I kicked the shoes off before I entered the house?

"I hope you met your mate and you're not acting inappropriately, especially around our pack." My mom's eyes burned into me.

"We raised you better than that, Gigi." My dad shook his head, a very disappointed look on his face, making me feel even sicker than I already did. I couldn’t stand the fact that I had disappointed my dad.

"It's fine. Gigi wouldn't act inappropriately. Right, Gigi?" Paige looked at me with pity on her face. "You just went to a party and got so drunk you lost your shoes, right?" Hey, Paige actually wasn't so bad with this whole excuse thing. Was there a rebellious side of her I didn't know?

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I wouldn't ever be with anyone that isn't my mate, Daddy." I gave my dad my best puppy eyes.

"Of course you wouldn't, Peachy Gigi," he smiled. I knew parents weren’t supposed to have a favorite, but I was definitely my father's favorite. "But I don't like how you're going out and not telling us where you are. We were really worried about you."

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I wasn't planning to stay out all night, but it was a really good party and I lost my cell phone and ended up at Jocelyn's house. Her brother let me borrow his sandals since Jocelyn's feet are too small."

"Okay, be careful, Gigi. You know you're really vulnerable. I don't like how you're underage drinking but I'm glad you're okay. I'll let it slide this time." He paused. "Also, next time, don't just sneak out of the house without telling us where you're going. I know you're an adult now, but we worry about you when we don't know where you are."

"Okay, Daddy," I replied, trying to appear as remorseful as possible.

After my parents were finally satisfied that I was okay, I went upstairs, my sisters following me right into my bedroom. Sometimes I hated having sisters.

Heidi laughed like a hyena. "Those are some big shoes on your feet. He must have been huge! What are those, like size 16, 17, bigger? So is it true? Are feet and, you know, proportional?"

"Ha ha ha," I said sarcastically.

"Come on, you can tell us! You've never been shy about it before," Heidi hounded me, taking a seat next to me on my bed.

"Why'd you basically tell Dad that I sleep around?" I glared at her, very angry with my sister for her disloyalty.

"Yeah, that was mean, Heidi," Paige agreed. "You wouldn't have liked it if Gigi did that to you."

"Come on, it was hilarious." Heidi laughed again.

"No, it wasn't!" I yelled back. "You know how Mom and Dad are. That was really fucking rude. Now get out of my room."

Heidi rolled her eyes at me, but followed my instructions and left. Thank Goddess. I didn't have the patience for her that morning. I was still processing everything.

"So what really happened?" Paige sat down next to me. She sniffed me and then said, "You do smell like a guy, but he's definitely not from our pack. You're lucky that Dad just believes everything you tell him."

"Really?" I asked. "What pack does it smell like he's from?" And then I realized that Blake had likely smelled him on me too. So he definitely had no doubt about whose bed I'd slept in.

She sniffed again. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever smelled whatever pack it is."

"Oh." I slumped my shoulders hoping Paige would offer me some helpful information.

"So what really happened?"

"Just a rough night," I replied, not ready to tell Paige my secret. I knew she'd try to talk me out of doing what I was doing, and I didn't want to hear it.

"You know you can tell me anything." She took my hands in hers. "I'd never tell Mom, Dad, or Heidi."

"I know, but I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"Okay." She looked disappointed. I wanted to ask her if she knew of anyone staying at the packhouse. She would definitely have heard, being friends with the luna. But then she might put two and two together, so I kept my mouth shut. Whoever this Tyce guy was, I was going to find out, and also find out what really happened after I passed out.