Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
I was still shell shocked from what had happened, but the warmth of Brennan’s arms felt like an anchor.
He kissed me gently on the forehead and he kept whispering soothing words into my ear, assuring me that everything would be alright…even if it felt like nothing ever would be again.
He was the alpha of a rival pack, and he had just killed a member of my pack.
If anyone found out… this would lead to open war between our packs.
He wrapped me in his jacket and called someone.
"You aren't going to like this," he said. "But I need you to come get a body and bury it in our pack land. You can fuss at me later."
I looked at him in surprise. No one from my pack would find their way onto Steele land. No one would ever find Curtis.
But it meant revealing our secret relationship to another member of his pack. I chewed my lower lip, thinking of how we'd left things, as he ended the call and wrapped his arms around me.
"I'm sorry, Brennan," I whispered.
"I'm sorry too," he said. "I should have told you I was alpha from the beginning. I thought you wouldn't want to be with me if you knew, but that was your choice to make. But I was so worried I’d lose you. You're my mate, Amelia. I’ve known it since I first saw you, and I can't imagine life without you."
He looked intent and thoughtful—and blurry, as I blinked tears from my eyes. "Can we still leave together?"
"Yes," he murmured. "Yes. It'll take time... I need to leave my pack in good shape...but we can go somewhere no one will ever know us and start a new life in pack territory. You can stay here, or I'll get you set up somewhere else... you never have to go back there."
I shook my head. "I have people to take care of too, Brennan. I'll go back."
I couldn't just disappear on Rose, Aiden, Lawson, Alison or even my mom. They all deserved some closure from me before I left. I hoped, one day, I'd be back in their lives again in some way.
A surly girl arrived with a car, Stone in the passenger seat. Stone unfolded his enormous body, gave me a look like he despised me, then hefted the body into the trunk. He moved that enormous wolf corpse as if it weighed nothing.
"Do you always manage to find trouble?" the girl asked Brennan.
"And you always get me out of it," Brennan said with that charming smile. She rolled her eyes, not seeming charmed, as if they were close as siblings.
"Let's move," the girl said.
My legs shook and I couldn't help but wonder what they would think of me when they found out that I was a part of the pack that had caused so much trouble for them. Would they hate me even more?
Nausea swept through me, making me feel hot and tense, and I doubled over before throwing up. The girl made a disgusted sound. “Her first dead body?”
“Enough, Tee,” Brennan warned. He stroked my back gently. “It’s all right. Stone, get me the anti-nausea pills from the med kit.”
"I'll be fine.” I swiped at my eyes, trying to stem my tears. I didn’t want to cry in front of these two grouchy members of Brennan’s pack. All I wanted was to hide away and hold Brennan.
As I straightened, he wrapped his arms around me, and I rested my forehead on Brennan's chest.
"I know," he said. "He may have been an asshole, but it's still hard to see a man killed.”
I didn't want to think about it. I wanted to be with Brennan and pretend that nothing bad had ever happened. But instead, I steeled myself. "If I stay away any longer, it'll seem suspicious. They'll think I had something to do with Curtis's death. I need to go home."
Even though that house didn't feel like home.
Home was wherever I was with Brennan.