Chapter 12 #2
“Nice to meet you, Lina. I’m Tess.” She crouches in front of me.
“Look, there’s something you need to understand here.
Damien didn’t have an easy time of it when he found his mate…
for a lot of reasons. One of the hardest things for a male is to watch his female suffer.
He blamed himself for a lot of what she went through after he brought her here.
There was… well, we had a mole. A shifter who worked with the WSSO.
Damien’s just being cautious about who he allows into the pack. ”
“Garrett didn’t tell me any of this.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to scare you off.” Her eyes lift with a smile.
“He wants me to stay long enough to heal. I don’t think he plans for me to stay any longer than that.”
Tess pats my knee as she stands. “That’s not his call.”
“No, it’s the alpha’s,” I state flatly.
“Lina, it’s yours. You determine your future, no one else.”
A nervous laugh escapes me. “You didn’t see how the alpha reacted towards me. He doesn’t trust a hair on my head.”
“If he considered you a security risk, there’d be a dozen guards in here with us.”
“He didn’t see us sneak away.”
“Sure he did, though he probably doubted you’d go with me. I wasn’t so sure myself. You looked kind of stuck.”
“Lately, I freeze up when I’m scared. I would have gone with anyone who pulled me away. It’s a big part of how Garrett got me to come to your pack.”
“He forced you?”
God, I’m going to do that male in by my recklessness. “He didn’t force me to do anything.”
She falls silent for a long moment. “What happened when he rescued you?”
“I was afraid to go with him.” Her eyes widen slightly, which makes me blurt out, “Not because of him. Because of his pack.” Shit, that’s not much better!
I reach for my wolf who’s always there for me, but she’s retreating, which adds to my anxiety.
“I mean to walk into a pack after….” I can’t say it, but those green eyes are staring at me, waiting so incessantly.
“… after what I’ve done.” My voice falls off.
It’s time to leave, before I say too much.
As I start to rise, Tess takes hold of my hand. “Survivor, remember? Whatever you did, you did it to survive, and that’s all anyone needs to know. Now, take a deep breath, and tell me what happened with Garrett. I sort of need to know. He hasn’t been himself for a long time.”
“Since Marla died?’
“He told you about her?”
“I need you to understand… Garrett’s been wonderful.
I just wasn’t ready to be with other shifters.
He talked me into coming here, though I don’t remember much of the discussion.
I think he led and I followed, mostly. Much of it is a blur.
I remember thinking I didn’t have anywhere else to go and he’d just rescued me, that I could trust him. ”
“He can be charming when he wants.”
“More like desperate to get away from the WSSO.”
“Makes sense. He left here without telling anyone where he was going. Not even which direction. Continue, please.”
“There’s nothing more to it, really. Garrett saved me and never once judged me. I guess that’s why I followed his lead.” I shrug. “I trust him.”
“He was right to bring you here. We’ll find you a cabin to stay in and show you around. No work or expectations other than taking the time to heal. Though I’m sure Damien will want to debrief you, glean any intel he can from your experience.”
I tense at the alpha’s name.
“Though maybe we can ask him to have someone else sit down with you to ask the questions. Someone less intimidating.”
“Like you?”
“I suppose, though that’s not something I typically do.
I’ll let him know. Either way, when you’re ready to move on—if that’s what you decide—we’ll help you however we can.
There are other packs out there that take in lone wolves like we do.
We can set up a meeting and escort you. There are a lot of decisions to be made, but no rush, okay? ”
“And if I don’t know which pack I want to go to, or none want me?”
“We have a few contacts in some of the cities, so there are other options.”
“A human city…”
“It’s not so bad, but there are challenges. I grew up among humans, in Florida. My pack stressed blending in, hiding who we were.”
“Were?”
“They’re gone now.”
I’m afraid to ask what that means, because deep down, I know. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She heads into the kitchen. “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” I hate to seem rude after all she’s done to make me feel at home. While she’s preparing the tea, I slip out of the oversized shirt, pull the sweater over my head, and wiggle into the jeans. They’re a little short, but damn, it feels good to wear real clothes again.
“Thank you for the clothing, and pulling me out of that melee, but I think I should get going. That brute of an alpha will probably send his guards after me once he realizes I’m missing. I don’t want to get you in trouble for helping me.”
“You’re welcome. As for that brute, he knows where you are, and he’s already accepted you into the pack.”
I scoff. “You didn’t see how pissed off he looked.”
“Believe me, I know that look. By the way, Damien’s calm now, working things out with Garrett.”
I rush to the window and look out. Sure enough, the crowd and guards have disappeared. Only the alpha’s second remains, and the three of them are talking, peacefully. “How did you know?”
She rubs her hand against her chest. “I feel it across my blood-bond with Damien.”
I stumble back, but she quickly takes hold of me and lowers me to the sofa.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t come with me or talk so openly if I’d told you I was Damien’s mate… and that this is our house. Quite frankly, I needed to get out of there as much as you. Hearing Garrett describe what you went through brought back a lot of memories I’d rather forget.”
My wolf’s hackles rise. She doesn’t like deception, not even the hint of it. This time, I work on calming her. Tess doesn’t come across as duplicitous.
“You should have told me you were his mate.”
“Yes, and it was a gamble not telling you. But I wanted a chance for you to get to know me as Tess, not only see me as the alpha’s mate. Despite what Damien might say, I’m my own person first, part of a blood-bonded pair second.”
“Everything you said about Damien’s mate… you, I mean… was it true?”
“Yes, but it’s not something I like to talk about.
Even before Garrett started spilling all the details, I saw your expression Lina…
and I knew precisely what you were feeling.
I also needed to get away from hearing more, but I couldn’t leave you there.
And I figured you needed to get away from all the shouting as much as I did. ”
I nod. “Why would you want to help me? Risk stirring up all those memories?”
“Because someone helped me when I needed it. They still help me. Look, Lina, I don’t know what’s going on between you and Garrett, or what you know of his past, but like you said, he’s a good guy, one of the best. But you don’t owe him anything just because he rescued you.
You don’t owe anyone anything. Remember that.
“Damien will invite you to stay here for as long as you need to recover. Becoming a part of our pack will be an option, but it’s too soon for you to make that type of commitment.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“You and Damien haven’t gotten off to a great start.
Garrett should have brought you in, given you and Damien a chance to talk, calmly, not shout out every traumatic facet of your life in front of the entire pack.
” Tess places her hand on mine. “Mistakes were made, by both males. But there are a lot of people who will support you here, help you the best they can.”
“What are you asking of me, Tess?”
“That you give us a chance. The entire pack, including Damien. Ask questions, get to know the shifters here, snoop, if you’d like.”
“Snoop?”
“It’s the best way to learn things.”
“Does your mate know you encourage newcomers to snoop?”
She shrugs. “I don’t think it would surprise him.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” says a deep voice by the door. I look up as the door closes, trapping me inside with the alpha, who doesn’t look pleased to see me here.