{Alex}
AS WE DROVE up to Thorn Valley Pack house, I nearly forgot about Mr. O'Connor. There were five-year-olds playing in the sun, laughing and chasing each other, shifting forms the way others might change clothes. The sounds of clinking glasses and muted conversation floated through the air, along with mouthwatering smells, and I was suddenly reminded that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I could almost forget about the heart-pounded terror coursing through my veins.
Almost.
My gaze drifted over to Jack without thinking about it, and I snapped my eyes back to the foliage dotting the road.
Trees. Think about the pretty trees, Alex. Nothing else.
They were very beautiful, after all. Tall and graceful, wide enough around that I couldn't have fully encircled the trunks with my arms, with healthy green leaves bursting off of every branch. The way the sunlight fell through the trees, sprinkling the grass below, was serene.
Suddenly, I found myself comparing the shades of green to the color of Jack's shirt, and then wondering whether--
I shut my thoughts down. Wondering was dangerous, especially when wondering about possibilities concerning Jack and I. The smart thing would be to cut ties now, to disappear tonight while he's busy and never look back. The smart thing would be to go away before we had The Talk--the one where he tells me that he really likes me but he just doesn't think we'd work out for one reason or another, and that he hopes I find someone right for me. The one where neither of us would look at each other, and it'd end in the thousands of unspoken words between us drifting away like cut balloons, settling with the stars before they had the chance to leave our lips.
The smart thing to do would be to disappear and become someone new, so Mr. O'Connor could never catch up.
I really didn't want to do the smart thing.
I could see Jack's eyes staring up at me, the shape of his mouth as he said goodbye. I bit on my lip, willing myself not to cry.
As he put us in park, I swallowed the coppery taste out of my mouth.
No time for that now, I reminded myself, trying to snap out of it. I couldn't be emotional, not when I was about to meet the Alpha of the Thorn Valley Pack and explain to him all the danger and secrets he was surrounded by.
But if I went in crying, he'd take one look at me and dismiss me as a weakling.
I took in a deep breath through my nose, willing the pain to fade. Apparently, my brain listened, because the tightness in my chest loosened slightly. I'd do what it took to survive for now, then worry about my emotional breakdown later.
"Ready to go?" Jack asked, his voice cutting through my swirling mind. I nodded, swallowing one more time before speaking.
"Let's see what your Alpha has to offer." My voice came out normally, and I held in my sigh of relief.
Yeah, Lilia said snarkily, wouldn't want your voice to give away the fact that you're nervous. It's not like you're, you know, deathly pale or shaking like a leaf or anything.
Shut up.
You could always let me take over--I won't be afraid.
Yeah, but you'll also do anything we need to do to survive in the short run, including joining the Pack, regardless of what I think. No thank you.
You humans and your long-term thinking, she grumbled, Why does the long term always matter more? It's not like you'll be around to enjoy it, at this rate. Your priority should be on surviving now, then figuring stuff out later.
I closed our connection a bit more--she could still talk to me, if necessary, but it'd be a bit harder, which I hoped would help discourage her oh-so-helpful commentary. The last thing I needed right now was someone pointing out all my mistakes as I made them.
"I need an audience with the Alpha," Jack said, facing a man with sandy blonde hair. He glanced up, stormy blue eyes flickering past Jack to rest on me, and let out a breath.
"Damn, Jack, who's the chick?"
A slight tensing in the shoulders was the only sign that Jack wanted to rip this guy's throat out, but I still had to beat back the urge to comfort him, to entwine our fingers and breath in kisses stolen in summer heat and--
I cut off my train of thought, shifting away from him slightly. These were not safe thoughts to be having.
"That's what we're here to see the Alpha about. I'm sure if he feels it's necessary, he will tell you all about it," Jack said coolly. "Now, may we see him?"
The blonde man growled faintly, irritated he wasn't getting all the juicy gossip, but buzzed us in. "He'll see you."
We turned, walking up what seemed like a never-ending line of stairs, until we reached a huge pair of heavy oak doors. Somehow, even with the bright light falling through the window and illuminating the floor nearby, the office felt cold, ominous.
I couldn't shake the feeling that we were about to take the first step down a long, dark path.
"Come in," someone called from within.
"Shall we?" Jack asked, glancing at me. I paused for a moment, blinded by his beauty, before nodding.
The doors swung open, and I had a split second to prepare myself for the changes that were coming with whoever lurked behind that door.
MY FIRST IMPRESSION of the Alpha wasn't that of a terrifying, faceless leader--more like a distant uncle you only see once every five years, but love anyway.
He wasn't all that old--maybe in his early forties, with salt and pepper hair that hung in a frizzy halo around his head and the quiet beginnings of a potbelly, which was unusual but not impossible for a werewolf.
"Ah, Jack! I heard you wished to speak to me. Does it have anything to do with this--" he paused, sniffing the air, "--unclaimed Were?"
"Yes, Alpha. This is Alex... and she's my mate. But that's not what this is about."
"Oh, really?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "So you're the one he's been sneaking off to visit lately?"
"Again, yes, but that's not what this is about," I said.
"Alright. You have my attention," he said, sitting down behind the desk.
"Sir--"
"Please, call me Howard."
"Okay, Howard, the man who Turned me is here, and everyone is in danger."
His eyebrows stopped their playful dance and shot up. "You were Turned?"
"Yes, but I swear, I'm not dangerous or--"
"Oh, I'm not worried about that, dear. All that stuff about Turned werewolves being dangerous... absolute nonsense. If a human hasn't turned Feral within 48 hours of being attacked, they aren't going to."
I let out a light breath. "Believe me, I'm glad to hear it. But out of curiosity... I mean, most Alphas would've freaked and banished me or attacked me. How come you didn't? Did you ever meet another one?"
"Meet another?" he asked with a light chuckle. "My dear, I was Turned."
YOU ARE READING
Predator and Prey
Werewolf"Everyone's a mess. Some people just hide it better than others." Alex is a college student, just trying to get through the insanity that has been her life for the last three years--since the night of her sixteenth birthday, when she was attacked an...
