The Turn of a Page

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

            Sat back down on the log, now back in the clearing; Theo had gone to stand beside the Gamma, seemingly keeping an eye on him. Baz had changed since I left and he now stood with the Alpha of the forest pack. What had happened while I was talking to Theo, I could not guess by mere observation and I doubted that anyone was going to tell me.

            Charlie was human for the time being, and he sat beside me. ‘What did you two talk about?’ he asked.

            ‘What does it matter?’ I asked back.

            ‘It matters because Baz was worried, even though Nathaniel reassured us that you’d be safe.’ I assumed Nathaniel was the forest Alpha.

            I put my head in my hands and sighed. ‘He explained a lot to me, stuff I wanted to know and stuff I now wish I didn’t know. Barry shouldn’t be with me should he?’

            Charlie sighed heavily and he and Baz looked at each other, Baz nodded and Charlie spoke to me on his behalf. ‘Technically, no. He should be with a female werewolf. But after the way he was treated by Sharon, he has been scared of being with anyone else.’

            I closed my eyes and sniffed as a few tears rolled down my face. Clearly, Baz had heard my snuffling as he soon nuzzled my arm while he sat in front of me. ‘Is it just because I’m an easy choice?’ I asked him.

            ‘Don’t ask him that, Kez. He loves you. It’s just hard for him on many levels, and you heard what their Gamma said earlier. So he should be with a werewolf, but why should he when he doesn’t love anyone else but you?’

            ‘How do you know that, Charlie? You aren’t him!’ I said, finding myself shouting from being upset.

            He snorted. ‘Because he told me, I am his best friend after all.’

            ‘And his Beta,’ I slipped in with a scornful look. ‘Yeh, Theo told me.’ He looked taken aback at this fact. He looked angry at this too. Looking at Baz, I saw he too looked upset. ‘I’m sorry, Baz,’ I apologised while stroking his cheek (or what I assumed to be his cheek) and looked him in the eyes as I knelt down in front of him. ‘I love you too.’ And my hands slid around his neck and shoulders as they usually did when either of us was upset and he was a wolf.

            ‘I see there is no changing your mind, Barry,’ spoke Nathaniel. Baz turned his head and shook it; I kept my eyes on him. ‘Hmm, very well. What to do? I doubt Charlie will want to be in charge.’

            ‘No way. I don’t know what it takes to be an alpha. That belongs to Baz; he is stronger than me and its part of who he is. Besides, I prefer to be second in command, though sometimes it’s a pain.’

            I tried following this part of the discussion, and seemed to understand better than if it had happened over half an hour ago. The problem was that, to them, Barry needed a mate so to create order among a pack and between packs. Also, and this seemed like a strong point to these wolves, he needed a mate to be able to have more potential alpha pups as it were. And me being a human apparently was not a good thing. But Baz and I loved each other and I didn’t want to lose him, even if I had a more emotional connection to him than he did to me.

            ‘This will take some time to think about. Kerry, will you be comfortable sleeping here or would you like to go back to your tent?’ Nathaniel asked.