Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Chelsea - Six Years Later
Chelsea tipped her head back and forth, cracking her neck as she walked across campus toward her dorm. It’d been too long since she’d had a run, and she looked forward to going on one this weekend with Charlie at the pack compound.
Among other things.
She softly giggled to herself. She still had a year left of college before she and Charlie would even begin to talk about pups, but it didn’t mean they didn’t have a lot of fun together when it was safe for her to do so, because she didn’t want to risk accidentally getting pregnant.
No, he’d promised to support her in any way she needed so she could get her degree, and that’s what she would do.
She had zero regrets about being Charlie’s mate or being engaged to him. They were already living together when she wasn’t in the dorm. She’d tentatively set the date for their wedding but didn’t want to jinx it by formally announcing it before her graduation.
And, one day, she knew, Charlie would be Pack Alpha.
Hopefully not for several decades at least, so they could enjoy growing their family before the full weight of the pack and all the responsibilities that entailed fell on their shoulders.
But it was important to her to set a good example to other women and girls in their pack.
To let them know it was not only okay to hold off and take care of your education and future first—if you wanted to—but that it was normal.
The times were a-changin’, and a woman’s place didn’t have to be in the kitchen. Unless that’s where she wanted to be.
And yes, ironically, Chelsea did want to be a wife and mother.
But with her degree, she’d be in a better position to help run the pack school and manage the financial aspects of their business to assist Charlie with those duties.
Her own mother, while not formally educated the way Chelsea and her sisters were, was whip-smart, always learning about new things and studying, and had encouraged them to pursue their interests in school.
When Chelsea heard the man clear his throat too close behind her, she whirled, immediately on alert, cursing her inattentiveness.
Walter Endquist.
“Sorry,” he said, edging closer. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Which was a lie, and she knew it as she took three full steps back. “What do you want?” she snapped, a little harsher than she’d meant but—
No, wait. She did mean it.
“Just happened to see you and thought I’d say hi.”
She took another step back. She couldn’t outrun the Prime Alpha on two legs, but it was broad daylight and there were plenty of people around, although none close enough to overhear their exchange.
“So you’ve said hi,” she said. “Is that all?”
He scowled. “Look, I just wanted to ask you—”
She held up her left hand, showing him the engagement ring. “I’m a claimed mate and engaged. We have a mate bond. Charlie Bleacke and I are publicly announcing our wedding date at the Muster next month.” Well, I guess we are now…
His face told her more than his mouth did. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No, let’s stop this right now, Endquist.” She opted to channel both her father and her mate.
“I know you asked my father about me, and he told you no because I’m already mated.
And I know you’ve asked others about me.
Now I’m telling you no, and in no uncertain terms. We all know you didn’t grow up in a pack, so we’ve cut you slack because we felt sorry for you. ”
His cheeks turned absolutely red. “I’m not looking for anyone’s pity!”
“Fine. Then learn. Your. Place,” she snarled.
“Maybe you don’t understand how mate bonds work, or how mates are viewed, so let me make it perfectly clear to you—I have zero interest in you.
None. Charlie and I are mates for life, and we’re in love.
And when someone is a claimed mate, you.
Leave. Them. Alone. Is that understood?”
He took a step toward her and this time she bristled, drawing the small pistol she kept holstered under her shirt.
“I know you’re a Prime, but you will bleed like anyone else.
And if you dare reach for me, it will be the last thing you do.
I’m one of the best shots in the pack. At this distance, no way will I miss. ”
Apparently realizing she was serious, he stopped, although he didn’t retreat. “Why do you have to be a bitch about this? What does he have that I don’t?”
She sadly shook her head. “Turn and walk away, right now, and no one will ever hear about this incident. Or I can go call my father, and by nightfall you’ll have trouble finding a shadowy corner of this country remote enough to keep you hidden from him.
And from my mate. Our pack took you in and welcomed you as one of us.
You don’t repay that kindness by being an asshole.
Had you grown up in a pack, someone would have scruffed you as a pup and taught you to respect your place as well as to respect claimed mates. ”
“I am a Prime! I deserve respect by default! I should be Head Enforcer by now and not stuck grading dirt roads and chopping up fallen branches and emptying garbage cans!”
“You are an asshole, which is why they refuse to make you an Enforcer. You want an example of a Prime? Look to Badger, to Charlie, to my father, and others. A Prime Alpha deserving of that status doesn’t throw their weight around.
They earn respect by working for it, not by being a jackass.
They work their way up to prove they’re worthy of that respect.
If you don’t like the way things are run in the Targhee Pack, then by all means leave and go start your own.
No one’s stopping you. My father would probably help you out financially if you did. ”
She motioned with the gun, not taking her focus off him.
“There are plenty of eligible women in this pack, and there will be even more at the Muster as people travel in from all over the country. Start dating. You’ve had a creepy fixation on me for a couple of years, and don’t think I don’t know that.
It’s well past time for you to move on. Charlie Bleacke will be the next Pack Alpha, once my father decides to retire.
And if you want to stay in this pack, you’d damned well better remember your place. ”
He finally wheeled around and stalked off. Only once he was far enough away that she knew he couldn’t sneak up on her again did she holster the pistol. Fortunately, no one had seen that, and her tote bag had concealed her actions.
Now the shakes hit. She walked over to a nearby bench to sit.
She had no doubts that if he’d gotten his hands on her, he would have tried to take her with his Prime powers. Not that it would have accomplished anything good, and would have earned him a death sentence had she not clawed his throat out first.
But this…
This was beyond the pale.
And the longer she thought about it…
Yeah. He needs to go.
She was through trying to be nice. She shouldn’t have to go out of her way to avoid him just because he had a problem taking no for an answer.
As a daughter of the Pack Alpha, she and her sisters had been raised to be gracious to their fellow packmates and not be bitches to them.
To set a good example. To foster unity and a feeling of extended family, even if someone wasn’t related by blood.
But a guy like Endquist made that nearly impossible.
After the Muster, if he hadn’t pinged on a mate of his own, she’d ask her father to send him away.
And that would be the perfect excuse—that he needed to go find a mate elsewhere because he obviously wasn’t locating one among their eligible packmates.
She didn’t want to cause trouble for him so he couldn’t integrate into another pack, but if he was still single after the Muster, he needed to leave.
Immediately.
And thank the Goddess her father and Badger had never appointed the guy to the Enforcer team!
Finally, once her shakes were under control, she stood and resumed her trek, making sure to pay better attention. She even took a roundabout way back to her dorm in case he was watching her, but she didn’t sense him.
Hopefully that’s the end of that.