27. Finley
Finley
"Where would you like me to take you?" Elias asked as we walked down the road back to the main pack area. "There’s a group who work in the gardens, kitchen, and with the pack’s children keeping them out of trouble."
"With my skills, I could be of help on patrol," I ventured.
Elias growled at the idea and tightened his grip on my hand. "There’s no way I'm going to let you do that, not to mention if your mates found out, I might get my throat ripped out—Sentinel or not."
That had me stopping in my tracks, scowling. "So I’m never going to be able to help this pack if it puts me in danger? Elias, I'm one of the best assassins the Organization had, not to mention I've killed more people in my life than all of you combined."
"Yes, but that was before you became an omega and mated three possessive, overprotective, dominating alphas," Elias countered.
"I can't say that I like the idea of you being put in any kind of danger either.
We have no idea how you will react. Mason and Noah said you froze when Craig attacked.
You could have been mauled or even killed if the twins hadn't been there. "
My anger spiked at this; I'd always exceeded expectations in what was asked of me, pushing myself to be the best. I’d endured decades of training that would be considered torture by most people only to have him fault me for freezing one time!
My chest rumbled with a growl as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"That's not fair. I have no idea how to fight as a wolf.
That's like handing a gun to someone who's never shot one before then being pissed they missed the target.
All I need is someone to teach me, show me how to use my body to the best advantage as a wolf, and believe me that will never happen to me again. "
Elias' eyes widened ever so slightly at my outburst, letting me know that I'd caught him off guard. "Be that as it may, it doesn't change what the others would think."
"You’re really telling me that my choices are no longer valid now that I have mates?" I snapped.
"Welcome to being part of the pack. The alpha is judge and jury when it comes to all things when dealing with a pack member even if they weren't your mate. Add that detail as the cherry on top of the cake, and you, Finley, are now going to be living in a protective bubble."
Snarling, I twisted my hold on his hand to grab around his wrist. I jerked him to me, pitching him off balance so I could sweep out a foot in front of him knocking him to his knees.
"I might be forced to be labeled as omega, mated to the pack leaders, but I will never be placed aside to be coddled and protected from the dangers of this world. "
The pain of betrayal burned in my chest, and it was then I noticed that wasn't the only thing that was scorching through my veins.
There was a throb of power that pushed against my skin as if trying to break free, but it wasn't strong enough yet to manage it.
The power built, causing me to gasp when it eventually had nowhere to go.
I dropped to my knees, slumping into Elias' hold.
He started to murmur something in my ear as he stroked my head, trying to get me to calm down.
This feeling reminded me of the battle my body had gone through with that first shift.
Could it be that I was closer to my birthday than any of us imagined?
"Breathe, my heart, just breathe," Elias whispered into my ear. "That's it, deep, even breaths. You need to slow your heart rate down."
It was hard to take deep, even breaths. My lungs refused to listen, making me gasp for air instead. Elias shifted me so my ear was on his chest over his heart. "Listen to mine and try to slow yours down to match. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth… Good, now do it again."
Once I stopped trying to force my body to listen to me and relaxed into Elias' hold, I managed to do as he asked.
After I did it once, it was easier to do it again and again until I was breathing normally once more.
I wrapped my arms around his chest and snuggled into his hold, more than a little freaked out at what my body just went through.
"What just happened?" I mumbled into his shirt.
He didn't answer right away, but let his hand rub up and down my back. "My best guess is that your elven nature peeked its head out of where it's been hiding in response to your emotions. It was clear that you were angry, but was that all that was going on in that beautiful mind?"
"I'm not a pretty bird to be put in a cage, looked at and only taken out when you feel like it.
I'm a hawk, meant to fly free and hunt. Part of me is omega, but that isn't all that I am.
There's a reason that I was so good at my job, Elias.
It was the elven part of me— the warrior.
I can't be kept in a bubble to make them feel better; it will crush me.
" I sobbed as I came to the realization.
We sat there for a while as I let my emotions run wild for the first time in a long time, and it felt amazing if I was being honest with myself. Elias shifted me so he could see my face, wiping my tears from my cheeks and giving me a sad smile.
"You, my heart, are one of the most complex creatures I have ever encountered," Elias said, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.
"What if you and I do some training on how to fight as a wolf? We’ll work on honing your senses and becoming one with your wolf nature.
If I feel like you can manage fine with me, we'll broach the subject with the others. "
My spirits soared at this. "I can work with that as long as there's hope I don't have to learn to knit or learn something else equally ridiculous that doesn’t give any real value."
Elias laughed, surprising the shit out of me.
I’d gotten the impression he wasn't one to laugh at anything.
"No, my heart, we won't make you learn how to knit...
needlepoint maybe, but no knitting." Standing up, he reached out a hand and pulled me to my feet.
"Come on, I think working in the gardens might be the thing for you today.
Fresh air and sunshine always helps when I've had a rough night. "
As much as I wanted to ask him what he meant by rough nights, I didn't feel that he would tell me until he was ready.
Comfortable silence hung between us as we reached the main pack area and headed further north past most of the houses to an open plot of land with one of the largest gardens I'd ever seen.
There were already people hard at work, preparing the land for spring, as well as others in the green house which Elias led me over to.
At first glance, the greenhouse didn't look all that impressive, but once I entered, it was clear that the outside was deceiving.
"Peggy," Elias called out.
The woman in question looked up from where she was transferring a plant from a pot to the raised bed. Seeing Elias waving at her, she dusted off her hands with a slight frown and made her way over.
"What can I do for you, Beta Elias?" Peggy asked, her tone respectful but cold.
"Finley is here to work," Elias stated.
"I see. Do you have much experience working in a garden?" Peggy inquired as she looked me up and down.
My wolf whimpered, feeling as if she'd already failed our pack since I knew absolutely nothing about that. "No, I've never had the chance to learn, but I catch on quickly."
"Hmph," Peggy grunted as she turned on her heel. "Come on, let's see if we can find you something simple enough to do."
I glanced over at Elias, who looked like he was about to bite her head off, and gripped his arm.
He looked at me, and I gave a slight shake no as I headed off to follow Peggy.
There was no way the pack would accept me or get to know me if I always had one of the leaders glued to my side, scaring everyone off.
When I'd touched Peggy the other night, I could feel worry rooted in her concern that I would somehow harm the pack, so I had to trust that she might warm up after she saw I wasn't looking for trouble.
"We have a new addition to the greenhouse, but we haven't had the extra help to finish off these new raised beds since people have had to get jobs further away from pack lands," Peggy informed me as she stopped in front of ten twelve-by-twelve wooden squares made out of what looked like old railroad ties.
"There’s planting soil and other additives that need to be mixed together before we can fill the boxes.
The supply room is over there." She pointed to a set of rolling barn doors.
"Near the bag of soil is a list of all that needs to go in the mix, along with wheelbarrows and anything else you might need. Any questions?"
I shook my head no because I knew better than to think she was really asking me if I had questions.
"Don't pick anything unless expressly asked by myself or Daniel.
This food is for the pack. We had a rough winter and lost a bunch of the winter crops, so what we have is precious.
The pack is growing faster than we can support, which is why so many have left to work.
I'm glad to see the alphas aren't playing favorites and having you pull your weight.
I know omegas like to be spoiled, but you came to the wrong pack for that.
" Peggy sniffed as she turned on her heel and went back to what she was doing.
Oh boy, today was going to be delightful…
Three hours later, I was covered in dirt from head to toe and smelled like shit— literally.
I'd gotten more than half the raised beds done when Katie appeared with a huge grin on her face.
"I heard you got dropped off here this morning.
God, you poor thing, Peggy's working you to the bone.
I don't know why she has you doing this; we don't need to plant them for another few weeks, and it's not even April yet. "
I had to bite my tongue not to say something rude about her sister. Thankfully, I knew my face wouldn't show my irritation thanks to my years of training not to show my emotions.
"Come on, it's lunch time. We all gather at the pavilion to eat," Katie announced, grabbing my arm, dragging me away.
"Is there somewhere I can clean up?" I asked as I followed along.
Katie paused and looked at me again before blushing a little. "Right, of course you would want to scrape some of that mud off of you. Milly is always telling me to use my brain, but I just get so excited meeting new people and all that. There’s a washing station outside the greenhouse you can use."
Sure enough, there was a row of sinks with bars of soap ready to use.
Quickly as I could, using the frigid water, I scoured the dirt from my hands and arms, feeling better about joining the others for a meal.
The sun was shining high in the sky, warming us as we stood in line to get our meal from the head table.
I assumed this was run by the people who worked in the kitchens.
Seeing the massive amounts of food they provided made me glad I wasn't placed there.
Our assassin training only included basic cooking skills so we didn't starve, but a chef I was definitely not.
Grabbing a tray, I was given a bowl of hardy beef stew, fresh bread, and a cookie.
This made me feel like I was once again back in basic training that also intermixed what I assumed most kids would have for school.
The Organization wanted full control over our education, but they taught us what we needed to know to get through life.
Life was much simpler back then and in some small ways I missed that.
"Oh look, there's Milly and a few of the other single ladies. You’ll like them, I promise. Don't worry, Peggy takes her lunch back to the greenhouse. She isn't much for interacting with others," Katie rambled as she led the way.
I could tell that Katie meant well; she just had a larger than life personality that you either loved or hated.
Being that I was far from impulsive, it was interesting to watch her interact with life around her, never knowing what she'll do next.
It made me relax a little knowing that Katie would be able to carry the conversation with the others making it far less awkward then the silence I would provide.
"Oh, Finley, it's so nice to see you joining us," Milly greeted with a bright smile. "Grace, Sarah, and Barb, you remember meeting Finley last night?"
"Yes it's nice to see you out and about with the pack," Barb said, nodding her head as I sat beside her.
Smiling at the new faces, I gave a little wave. "It's nice to meet all of you as well. I didn't know what to expect from pack life, but I'm impressed with what I've seen so far."
"Milly, we can't let her go back to the greenhouse. Peggy has her doing all the awful jobs for some reason," Katie muttered.
Her sister frowned at this. "Why, for heaven's sake, would she be doing that? They need a lot of help in the gardens, with planting the crops for spring and harvesting the last of the winter produce."
"It might have something to do with the fact that I have zero idea what I'm doing," I offered, not wanting to upset anyone when I didn't mind the hard labor.
After so many years of pushing my body to its physical limit, having spent the last six days not doing much was odd.
"There are plenty of newcomers that have no idea what they are doing.
I'm going to pair you up with one of the others who can show you the ropes and help us where we need it more.
" I started to argue, but she raised her hand to stop me.
"Peggy might be in charge of the greenhouse, but I'm in charge of making sure we have help in the areas we need it.
Someone's always claiming they need more people than they really do, so I keep it all as even as possible. "
"See? Problem solved!" Katie said, clapping her hands before digging into her meal.