20. Finley
Finley
The next day was fairly the same; we all got up and ate breakfast with each other before Lane, Colt, and Elias went about their day.
I ended up back in my nest, reading, trying to gain all the knowledge I could about this new world that I was living in.
Pack life was so much more complex than anyone gave it credit for, and I understood why Lane and Colt couldn’t be with me right now.
They hadn’t been prepared for an omega, let alone a mate, to show up in their lives, so an adjustment period was bound to happen.
“Snuggles, are you really going to spend all day holed up here again?” Mason asked from the doorway.
Closing my book, I gave him my full attention. “Did you have something else in mind?”
The grin on his face told me he did indeed have a plan.
“Remember how you said you wanted to get better at using your senses as a wolf?” I nodded.
“What about a game of hide and seek? You could use all the skills you’ve learned as an assassin and whatever I’m sure you’ve learned in those books to see how long you can avoid being caught. ”
The idea was rather brilliant; it gave me a chance to figure things out and test my skills I already had.
I’d been far too inactive the last few days, and even my wolf perked up at this idea.
She wanted to get out and play too. If I wanted the chance to re-enter the world in hopes of finishing my mission I needed to get a handle on my werewolf side.
Not to mention how to act like a normal person with heightened senses and crazy emotions.
“Okay, what are the rules?” I asked, sliding out of my nest.
“Hey, Noah, she agreed to the game!” Mason called over his shoulder. Seconds later, Noah was standing beside him with an excited energy around him. “She wants to know the rules…”
“Don’t get caught?” Noah suggested.
“Sounds perfect. Throw whatever you got at us, snuggles. I want to see just how badass you keep claiming to be,” Mason challenged. “Now, I’m going to close my eyes and count to five— that should be more than enough time for you to get a head start.”
They both stepped into the room and covered their eyes. “One…”
I flew out of the room and down the stairs, having to trust in my new enhanced abilities as I aimed for the sliding glass door.
My wolf was hopping around in my head, excited that she was going to be let out to play.
I didn't want to waste time stripping out of my clothes, so I hoped shifting in them wouldn’t slow me down.
The second I crossed over the threshold, my wolf leapt forward, and we shifted in mid air, clothes and all.
Since I was much bigger as a wolf, my clothes shredded, but my bra got caught on my front leg, causing me to stumble.
I snarled at it, yanking it off with my teeth before I darted into the underbrush.
Remembering what Elias had said about scent, I tuned into my surroundings, trying to find the best way to lose the twins.
I could hear them barking and snapping at each other as they made their way into the woods, heading deeper, not thinking I would stop so soon.
I hunkered low and let my black coat keep me hidden as I moved through the shadowy forest. Even though it was close to the middle of the day, the dense trees kept the forest dim, perfect for me to hide in.
Tracking the twins was almost as much fun as being chased by them.
It was more challenging to keep out of sight as they searched for me, but this was far more natural to me as an assassin, and my wolf seemed to enjoy not being the center of attention.
I, of course, had no idea how large the forest was or what borders the pack had, but the only rule was— don’t get caught.
They seemed very much confused on how to find me as I too caught my own scent trail intermixed with their telling me we walked in a large circle.
Baring my teeth in a wolfish grin, I came up with an idea.
Using more of my skills of evading capture, I started to make different scent trails, doubling back on them or intersecting them to throw the twins off.
I could tell they knew that I was close by since they kept circling the same area trying to follow my scent.
It didn’t take them long to understood the game I was playing, making them yip with excitement at my challenge.
As I made a trail, I came across a river, sniffing it to see if I could drink from it.
The water was clear and crisp, fresh run-off from the mountains that still had snow on them.
The sound of a twig snapping had my alert ears swiveling, trying to locate where the sound had come from.
Lifting my nose, I tried to catch a scent, but nothing out of the normal wooded smell stood out to me.
Then a wolf I didn't know burst out of an outcropping of rocks on the other side of the river, barreling into me.
I tried to dodge out of the way, but the slick stones under my paws didn't give me enough traction. Getting slammed to the ground, I let out a pained yelp as I landed on my leg funny. The wolf snarled at me, letting out a low growl as they snapped their teeth at my face, warning me not to move. I could feel his anger pouring off of him like a slap to the face, but I couldn’t tell if I was the cause or if it was something else.
My wolf was petrified and didn't need any encouragement not to move.
Mind racing, I tried to think of a way to handle this, but I was afraid that if I shifted back to human, he would just kill me easier.
At my distress, my wolf let out a long whining howl, desperate for someone to come help us.
All the training I'd gone though that had been beaten into me day after day was stripped away within seconds as the realization of why omegas didn't live very long became abundantly clear.
The twins returned my call, tackling the unknown wolf into the river, causing water to splash everywhere.
The smack to the face of icy water shocked my wolf enough that I could coax her into moving away from the fight.
To her, there was no fight or flight; it was just flat out run the fuck away from the scary thing.
Diving under a bush, I hunkered down and curled up into a ball, trying to keep from running even further away from the two men trying to keep me safe.
The fight didn't last long, and soon, three waterlogged naked men stood on the riverbank, yelling at each other.
"Who the fuck was that?" the unknown man asked.
He looked older than the twins. My guess would be late forties or early fifties. His hair was salt and pepper while his beard was just steel gray. He was smaller in stature than the twins, but they were just huge in my opinion. Other than Zander, I couldn't picture anyone coming close.
"Don't worry about it. The alphas will explain everything at the pack dinner tonight, Craig. Just know that she isn't a threat. You better be fucking praying to whatever gods you believe in that she isn't hurt," Noah snarled.
I could tell right away that the two of them didn't like each other very much, but Noah was far more dominant than Craig.
"There’s a strange wolf on our land, and you're telling me not to worry about it?!" Craig snapped. "Is this what the Federal Marshals wanted? Are you harboring a fugitive?"
Mason stepped in, catching the man by his throat. "Are you questioning the rule of your alphas, gamma?"
Craig fought to pull Mason's hold off of him as he struggled to breath. Inside, I was at war. Part of me wanted to put a stop to this, but the other part was simply too terrified to make a move. Gritting my teeth, I crawled out of the bush and shifted, knowing I needed to have more control over my actions to deal with this. I couldn’t stop myself from wincing when I stood, the weight of my body settling on my ankle and making me hiss.
Mason and Noah's eyes snapped in my direction upon hearing my pain, and both of them started to growl.
"Stop, Mason, let him go," I demanded as I made my way over to them. The ankle hurt, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Craig, on the other hand, was turning blue. "Mason, you're going to kill him! Let the man go… please."
"He hurt you," Mason growled, eyes lit with his outrage. "No one gets to hurt you while I'm around."
"Craig didn't know who I was. He was doing the right thing by trying to protect his pack," I argued. "I would have done the same thing."
Noah stepped up and turned me to look at him. "He should have scented that you're an omega, so there was no need for him to act as he did. Not to mention your mates' scents are all over you, another warning that you were no threat to this pack."
I blinked up at him, not having considered that aspect to this situation. "At least let him breathe so he can talk. I'd like to hear what he has to say."
Mason dropped the wolf back into the river, causing the man to splutter at the frigid temperature. "There’s no way that she’s really an omega. They don't just show up out of thin air! What did you guys put on her? She's not acting like a scared shitless bottom feeder."
Whatever hope that man had of getting out of this unharmed had now flown out the window.
Mason lunged at the man who still was clueless as to what he'd just done.
Noah picked me up and cradled me against his chest as Mason all but dragged the man out of the water and over the ground as we headed back into the forest.
"Noah, I can walk, and if I shift, it will be easier with all the extra legs," I said, wiggling for him to put me down, but at one look from him, I shut my mouth and sat still.
Up until this point, I had thought that Mason was the one to be worried about, but the rage that glowed in Noah's gaze told me Craig was lucky it was Mason dragging him around.
Noah tucked me against his chest tighter nuzzling my hair as we left the river.
I had a guess as to where we were going, but I wasn't sure until I started to see the simple cabins scattered about the forest. The pack house was in the middle of the whole village, which was where Mason dropped Craig to hustle up the porch and into the house.
Seconds later, he was back with a cell phone up to his ear.
"You want me to deal with him, or one of you?" Mason asked into the phone, eyes locked on Craig. At least he had the smarts to not move from where he'd been placed.
The pulse of angry energy that was coming off of Noah and Mason made me a little sick to my stomach, but I knew they were going to protect me. Noah seemed to be in an almost primal state, refusing to put me down, tightening his arms any time I tried moving.
My wolf still wanted nothing to do with this situation and begged for me to let us allow our mates to handle things. I on the other hand didn’t want a man to die because he didn’t know who I was, but as the twins pointed out Craig should have known better. So why risk their wrath?
"Finley, sit still," Noah instructed, flicking his eyes down to me for a moment before returning to Craig.
"Do you really think he would hurt me?" I questioned, feeling so confused as to what was really happening here.
The sound of a vehicle racing down the road caught my attention, and I could see a cloud of dust getting kicked up as the truck came flying up the drive.
An extremely pissed off Colt was driving, with Lane not looking much better off in the passenger seat.
An auburn wolf jumped out of the back when it slowed enough and came charging over, flying by me to pounce on Craig.
Elias bared his teeth, letting out a low, threatening growl as he loomed over the man under his paws.
Distracted by Elias, I didn't notice Lane until he was scooping me out of Noah's arms and cuddling me to his chest like a baby. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"
Nuzzling my face into his neck, I took a deep calming breath of his clean scent to ground me in the chaos of emotions.
Before my shift I could catch glimpses of their emotions but now it was like getting blasted with one feeling after another with how volatile things were.
Lane was angry as well as worried, but his anger at seeing who’d caused the trouble outweighed the worry.
"You attacked my MATE!" Colt roared, causing me to peek out from Lane's neck. "I could kill you for harming her on that fact alone, but add on the fact that she’s an omega you have no hope for leniency from us."
Colt blazed with alpha energy, making me shrink into Lane's hold.
I knew he wasn't mad at me, but it was oppressive to my omega nature, and I didn't know what to do to fix it.
As if sensing my distress, Noah wrapped his hand around my ankle, offering his support and allowing me to take a deep ragged breath.
"How was I to know you took a mate?!" Craig shot back. "You were gone for two, almost three days, without a word, and half that time you took the betas with you. Then, while I'm out on patrol, I find this strange wolf lurking about our forest, leading those two on a wild goose chase."
"Do you have a nose, or did that get lost with your brain?
" Mason growled. "We were playing, you fucking moron. She’s a new shifter, and learning how to be a wolf is essential to helping the bond grow between human and wolf.
You were bitten. I'd think it would be easy for you, of all people, to understand that. "
"Yes, and I was unlucky enough to be bitten by a gamma when I should have been an alpha!
Do you know who I was before I was turned into this abomination?
" Craig spluttered. "I ran a million-dollar company and had thousands of employees to look after, but it was all stripped away from me by a damn dog. "
I gasped as I was shocked in the chest with his self loathing and hatred for us and who he was.
The intense anger that he felt at being a werewolf made my issues pail in comparison.
It was almost as if he’d become toxic to himself and left unchecked would spill out to others around him.
If someone didn't do something, he would be too far lost with no hope of redemption.