The Mountain Pack

Chapter 2

      I follow Ben to his house feeling completely awkward. It's a nice house with a decent sized yard. The outside is white with blue shutters and brick stairs leading to the door. Ben opens the door and holds out an arm for me to go in first.
      "Claudia, I'm home and I brought a guest!" Ben calls and walks through the house. I follow slowly and walk into his living room. I stop walking when I notice another person sitting on the couch. He stares at me with sharp green eyes. His hair was jet black. We look so similar. I subconsciously grab onto my long black hair. My eyes are only a slightly darker green than his. I try to take in my surroundings but I can't focus when he stares at me.
      I guess he's a friend of Ben but he doesn't seem all that friendly. We stare at each other and I don't move. I shouldn't have come to dinner. I'll just show everyone in this pack that I'm worthless and awkward. Ben returns to the room. "Ah, Collin, I see you've met Reina. Don't worry she'll warm up to you." Ben laughs lightly and sits on the couch.
      "What if I don't warm up to her." Collin says. His voice is smooth and warm but his words and menacing. I can feel myself tense and I know they sense it too. "He's teasing, Reina. He's not so bad most of the time." Ben tries to reassure me. I watch as Collin's gaze shifts from me to Ben. The look in his eyes changes but I can't tell what he's trying to convey.
      A woman emerges from the kitchen with a big smile on her face. She has blond hair and soft blue eyes, she was beautiful. "You must be Reina. I'm Claudia. I'm so glad you're joining us." She smile brightly and tells us that the food is ready.
      We sit at the table. This has to be the most awkward dinner I've ever encountered. Ben and Claudia talk, occasionally address Collin or me but we never speak. Collin doesn't even smile when one of them makes a joke. In fact he seems kind of angry. When he finishes eating he stands. "Don't be late tomorrow, Ben." And with that he walks out. A few seconds later I hear the front door open and close.
Well that wasn't rude or strange at all. "So, Reina, I was wondering if after you do breakfast prep tomorrow if you'd like to go shopping with me?" Claudia smiles warmly. So I guess we're gonna ignore Collins's exit. How could I refuse. A friend would be a nice thing to have and after she's been so welcoming to me it would be rude to say no.
I smile in return, "I would like that." After making plans for tomorrow I thank Ben and Claudia a thousand times before leaving to head back to my room. The night air here is freezing. It should be fall soon, maybe tomorrow I can buy warmer clothes.

      The next morning I'm up early and headed to the kitchen. Elsie gives me a speedy introduction to the rest of the kitchen workers and throws a knife into my hand. "Start chopping tomatoes for the omelettes." She barks out an order quickly and then moves on to something else.
      I walk over to the cutting board with the tomatoes on it and start chopping. I had gone through about five tomatoes when I notice the chatter in the kitchen dying down. I look over my shoulder to see that Collin has entered the kitchen. "So it's not ready. You know I take my breakfast early." He says with a blank face.
        "Yes Alpha. We got a late start today." Elise says with her head low. Wait, Alpha! I feel my eyes go wide and the knife slips off the tomato I was holding down and goes right across my hand. I drop the knife and clutch my hand. I watch in horror as blood drops off of my hand and onto the cutting board when the tomato sits.
      I look up slowly to see everyone looking back at me. Elsie scowls. "We're going to have to throw all of those tomatoes away!" "I'm sorry", I mumble. She just shakes her head at me. "So you're clumsy and weak." Collin crosses his arms and stands there, like he's judging me. Those stupid green eyes pierce into me and make me squirm.
      "I'm not clumsy." I say, trying to stand up straighter. "Yet you don't deny being weak. I think it's because you know you are." He walks out of the kitchen and everyone gives me a last glance of disapproval before getting back to work. Elsie sends me to their doctor to get my hand patched up and tells me not to bother coming back for today.
      I send Claudia a text, she insisted on exchanging numbers, and tell her I don't feel well. She responds telling me that we can reschedule. I meet Dr. Jones who was nice and get my hand patched up. I spend the rest of my morning sitting in my room and watching my hand, just waiting to feel the signs of faster healing. But I know it won't happen, I don't have my wolf anymore.

      Later in the day I decide to go for a run. A very boring and slow run but I have to exercise to stay strong now.  I run with mucus blaring through my headphones I must not be paying attention because all the sudden something hits me in the chest.
      I'm flung backward from the force and I land on my back gasping for air. I wheeze for a breath and then cough a couple times. I clutch my chest and roll so that I can see what I hit. Or who really. A man stands over me with several large wolves behind him. For the looks of him I would guess he's a rouge.
      "Well hello." He says. I scramble to my feet but he grabs me by the hair. I let out a blood curdling shriek. Somebody from The Mountain Pack has to hear me, I didn't wonder that far from the territory. The man lifts me up by the hair and extends his claws ready to cut my throat open.
      I close my eyes but suddenly he's knocked off his feet. I open my eyes to see that he's shifted now and fighting with another wolf. A large black wolf that's possibly the biggest I've ever seen. It must be Collin. I duck behind a tree and watch as he fights off the rouges. He takes down every one, alone.
      When the last rouge is dead Collin looks toward me and shifts into a human again. I instantly move my gaze to a nearby tree and shuffle awkwardly. Out of the corner of my eye I see his stalk toward me angrily with a scowl on his face. He yanks me forward by the arm but instantly lets go as if it burned his hand to touch my skin.
      Oh no. My skin. He touched my skin. Oh god, his reaction. I can't- oh no. "Are we-" I breath out. His eye brows furrow before he says, "You're my mate?"