"Ryder! Thank God you're here," Hunt yells.
I follow Daniel into the room.
"Alpha, it's okay, Hunt is no threat. I'm sure he has a good explanation of why he was trespassing." Daniel gives Hunt a stern look.
"Yeah, uh, of course I do," Hunt responds.
"You going to share with us what that is?" Alpha asks him.
"Of course you will, Hunt, won't you?" I ask.
"Yeah, sure." Hunt looks nervous.
"Anytime now would be fantastic," Alpha persists.
"Okay, well. I was trying to find out why Daniel lied to Ryder and me."
I rub my head in distress. "Why are you so stupid?" I say to Hunt.
"Why would Hunt think I lied to you two?" Daniel asks me.
I can see Alpha intently watching us out of the corner of my eye. "Because, Hunt may be an amateur werewolf, but I'm not, and I could tell that you lied to us when we ran into each other. The only time you lied was when I asked you about the rogues. I heard your heart rate rise."
Daniel's eyes stray from mine. "Yes, I guess that is true, but I meant no harm in it. I didn't think it'd be my place to burden you with our troubles since how well your life has been going recently."
"Daniel, before this new family, you were my only friend, the only person I could go to for help. I owe a lot to you. I couldn't have accepted myself without you. If you're in need of help, don't turn me away. I know it's been quite a while since we've talked and I know that's my fault, but I need you to know I'm there if you need me," I say.
"Your reunion is really sweet and all, but it doesn't justify the trespassing your buddy did," Alpha states.
"Right, I'm sorry for the trouble he has caused you. He tends to stick his nose where he shouldn't."
"Daniel, you have things you need to attend to. I'll take this from here," Alpha addresses Daniel.
"Oh, yes of course, Alpha." Daniel turns to me and smiles. "I'll see you later, Ryder." Daniel hastily exits the room.
"Any reason why you sent Daniel off, Alpha?" I ask.
"Please, call me Eli. Getting called Alpha constantly gets old."
"Eli, why did you send Daniel away?" I ask again.
"I wanted to talk with you privately. Well, you and your annoying friend."
"Hey!" Hunt complains.
"And what exactly is it you want to talk about?" I wander around his office and gaze at the artifacts and knickknacks he has displayed throughout the room.
"I want you to reconsider our old offer. I want you to join the pack. And if I have to, I'll let your pal in too."
"I'm sorry but no. My place is with my family."
"I understand that. Ryder, you're stronger than you give yourself credit for. You came from what had to have been some powerful werewolves."
"I'm not here to talk about my unknown dead parents, I'm here to drag my friend's ass out of trouble. I said no. I'm not joining your pack," I bark in his face.
He takes a step back. "Parents a touchy subject, I see. We could really use someone like you to help us out, Ryder. I'm sorry I poked in the wrong place. Is there any way, any compromise we can make, to make this work for you? I can let you live with your family, I can let you continue your life as it is. You will be stronger if you join the pack. It'll be easier to keep those you care about safe. I'd only require you to come here once a week for training and pack meetings."
"I wish I could. It wouldn't be fair to my family."
"I'll give you time to think about this. Is your family aware that you're not, well, a human?" Eli asks.
"Yes, they know I'm a werewolf."
"Then talk to them. See what they actually think about it instead of speaking for them."
"Fine, but I promise you nothing. Can I go now?"
"Yes, can we?" Hunts asks.
"Of course, if that's what you want."
I start to guide Hunt out of the office.
"Of course, you could stay awhile and learn about your parents."
I stop in my tracks. I turn to face Eli. "Excuse me?"
"When I heard that Daniel had spoken to you, it inspired me to do a little research, and what I found might intrigue you." He looks up from a folder he holds in his hands.
"Though I'm sure you're in a hurry to get home, so I can give it to you to go, if you promise to give my offer some generous thought." Eli approaches me. He holds out the file for me to take.
I just stare at it, not sure what to do.
Hunt swipes it out of Eli's hands. "Yes, he promises to give it a good long think. We're going to go now. Bye." Hunts pulls me into the hallway.
"That was rude," I say to Hunt.
"Yeah, well, he scares me, and I couldn't take much more of him. Can we please go? I promise not to do anything stupid for at least a few days," he begs.
"Don't you think it's a little late for that?" I rip the file out of his hands.
***
"You going to read it?" Hunt asks as we walk up my driveway.
"I don't know," I state.
"You don't know?"
"I'm not sure I'm ready to know."
"Ryder!" Mist yells and tackles me with a hug.
"Hey, sis."
She pulls back. "I see you're okay. What happened?"
"It's a long story, and it's late, and I'm very tired. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, okay?"
"Alright, you better." She looks at Hunt. Then she looks back at me.
"I'm gonna head home. I'll see you guys around." He smiles at Mist, then turns and heads down the sidewalk.
"Come on, Mom is worrying her ass off inside, she'll be happy to know you're okay."
After Mom was one hundred percent sure I was okay, she sent me to my room where I now stare blankly at the file Eli gave me. I can't take staring at it any longer. I shove it in a drawer in my dresser. I climb into my bed and try to get some sleep, which I'm not sure how much I'm going to get. I look over at my dresser. "Maybe tomorrow," I say to no one. I close my eyes and try to fill my thoughts with something other than my birth parents.
YOU ARE READING
Foster Wolf
Lupi mannari(Complete) Ryder is a teenaged boy in foster care. his parents died when he was two and was put into the foster system. He has bounced from one home to another. Either he was sent back or ran away, but this time when his social worker, Mary, found h...
