Alpha Erebon ☾ Book 2

Chapter 13

After Becca healed Jack, we all returned to the packhouse and then organised ourselves into different vehicles. Orpheus drives in a black SUV out front with Becca, Caspian, and Scorpeo.

Erebon drives me, Jack and my girls in a second SUV – the Sub-Alphas take their sports cars and follow us.

We're now travelling up the dirt road to Firwood, a two-hour drive from our territory, it's in dense forest off a national park. It's very far away from everything. In the car ride, Erebon kept stealing glances at me, like he wanted to talk but he kept every brooding thought inside. I am pretty sure most of what he wanted to talk about had nothing to do with family related issues... and more to do with the fact we agreed to mate every day and we hadn't since sunrise. I was fine, absorbed in the adventure. Erebon was a little distracted, the most he did to show me how he felt was to grab my thigh randomly during the drive, while letting out frustrated sighs. Then I'd hold my hand over his and he'd take it back to the steering wheel, trying to shake himself out of his wayward thoughts.

Alice and Noah had coloring books on their laps, they were quite interested in their own drawings, while Jack was squeezed into the middle of two bucket seats, looking uncomfortable but happy to be going home.

"I might not be a lawyer, but this territory must be exempt from taxation," Erebon murmurs, "Smart build – being on the edge of a national forest."

"Because we pay in being defenders against Bear Shifters, it's an old tradition, but we bear-ly see them," Jack laughs at his own joke, "Even so, we keep our traditions in our pack to help bonds and structure. It's isolated from other wolf communities because we are entirely self-sufficient in the Firwoods. It's magical out here. Really nice weather all the time."

"It sounds like a fairy tale," Noah whispers, looking out the window now, sick of her coloring book.

"What's your sisters names, how old are they?" Alice asks.

"Uh, Abigail is 10, Breanna is 9, Cali and Delores are 8, Freya is 6, Grace-Lynn is 5, Haven is 4, Kayla turned 3 today, Iliana is 2, Kiara is 12 months... annnd there's another on the way," Jack explains thoughtfully, his mind is both bright and sharp.

"How old are you?" Noah asks.

"15."

"Do you fight bears to the death?" Alice asks, before laughing manically.

Erebon shoots me a funny look, I just smile guiltily.

"Usually they'll kill wolves over disputes of land, but we're a big enough pack that they don't try it anymore," Jack murmurs, looking serious, "So no, I don't fight or kill bears, but I might have to one day."

"Don't, you might die," Noah says with concern.

"Kill the bears, all the bears!" Alice starts scrambling with a new color on the paper, while Noah looks terrified – looking at me as I glance back.

"I'm scared of bears, I have nightmares about them," Noah whispers, "Momma – I don't want to be here, I want to go home! I want daddy! Where's dad? I don't feel safe, mommy!" Noah starts to freak out – and I turn quickly back to the dashboard, feeling my stomach roll hard.

Fuck – shit. It's like a punch to the guts. Hans flashes through my mind.

I feel terrible.

I was a terrible mother! I had moved on far too fast. Erebon is looking over, pale as a sheet. He can't say anything either. Both of us had tossed Hans existence to the wind – forgetting the girls and any connection or memory that may remain with the bastard.

Jack knows her father isn't coming back, and that she doesn't realise, so he quickly takes Noah's little arm and then holds her hand in his, clasping it tight.