Chapter 25
The main room is dark in the morning thanks to the clouded sky.
I hop up to Jocko, his curly hair extra fizzy today. “How was the rest of your night?” I ask.
“Good. We behaved, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“It was.” I smile. At least some of us behaved.
The table is full for breakfast, and I take a seat by Kiya and Jocko. A few other Elders are here, and my pulse races. It’s not like they’re here to punish me again.
Eyes up.
I place my fork down and look over at Graden at the end of the table.
“Those who woke early have already been updated. Four of you will be going off to the other cohorts to update them on the Uprising. We will then reconvene with a meeting here to discuss further action. This will take all of our resources to be successful, and I’d like to thank Mitus for stepping in here while we take these steps to a safer home. ”
A few clap, and I smile back at Kiya across the table.
“You ready?” she asks.
I take a bite of a strawberry. “Hmm?”
“To meet the other cohorts. I’ll be with you. Stark and Jocko are coming too.”
The heat in my legs flames where those thick hands gripped last night. Bad. This is a terrible idea. I never offered myself up for this.
“What about Mitus?”
“He’s taking things over here while we’re gone.” She smiles up at her mate, who is talking over with Graden and Stark.
“It’s not like we have to go far?” Cohorts are all within an hour or two from each other.
“You’ll see,” she says.
I take in her mated mark covering half her forearm. The bite scar sits healed in the middle, the bond’s art branching out from wrist to elbow. Every pair’s is different—some soft swirls, others jagged as claw marks.
“I don’t know if I want to,” I admit.
“It’ll be great, and if anyone’s got a problem with you, I’ll be there.” Jocko gives my arm a quick squeeze.
When it’s clear that I’m not going to be given a choice, I head back to my room and pack a mini bag of clothes, then do a rush dye job before we leave.
I take one last ice-cold shower to calm the nerves.
Everyone here might have started to accept me, but the other cohorts won’t get the same time it took.
I am not looking forward to the comments.
I shut down my connection and breathe, reminding myself I won’t be alone.
When I step outside, Jocko waits on the steps with his bag. I take a seat next to him and lean into his shoulder.
Nerves fill me. “This is going to be interesting.”
“You got it, sis.”
I smile up at him. He does feel like a brother now.
Kiya stands to the side of the stairs, giving Mitus a hug.
Stark comes around the truck that he’s already pulled up. He eyes me, then looks at the others. “Jocko, you can have the front. Kiya and Aloka in the back.”
We all settle in for the drive, and I quickly strip off the sweater I put on to look the part. It’s too hot in the truck. I lower the window in the back to let air whip in.
“Close it,” Stark says. The Alpha side of him is in place, his face stone.
I click the button and let the window rise. My hands burn. He left without a word. I don’t know what else he wanted me to do. I hum into the silence, old tunes from last night’s dance session slipping out. Kiya sleeps against the window.
A few hours in, Stark slows to stop at a restaurant tucked into the forest for a late lunch. We’re heading to the furthest cohort from the Stark’s house first, then working our way around. There are three to visit in total—North, East, and West. Three chances for everyone to hate me.
Inside the restaurant, Kiya slides into the booth, and I follow her lead. When Jocko sits across from Kiya, Stark finally joins us, taking a seat across from me. I try to catch his eye, but he stares at the menu, lifting it up between us.
I close my menu. Time to get on with what I’ve been dragged along for.
“So, when I tell them what I’ve learned, what should I start with?” I ask. I wait for Stark to answer, but he just turns his head toward Jocko.
“Like how you did it with us. Tell them what you saw, a few things about operations,” Jocko answers.
“You want to give them the information they need to keep themselves safe, and also help us make a plan for taking them down,” Kiya adds.
“Right. I can do that.” I go over my speech from the debrief yesterday.
Both Kiya and Jocko stare at Stark, but even so, he says nothing the whole time, other than when we order food.
The rest of lunch goes by the same way, and even Jocko loses some of his chattiness under Stark’s continued silence.
Back on the road, I slump against the window and watch the trees blur by.
Two hours later, we pull down a long, winding driveway. The house is beautiful, sitting on the edge of a small frozen lake. A few people come out the front door, one of which is a tall man, older than all of us, his arm wrapped around the waist of a gorgeous woman.
I fill my lungs and cool my entire body as everyone else opens their doors and climbs out. Instead, I check the faces of the West cohort. Most smile, but there are a few I can’t read. Stark shakes the tall man’s hand. I got this.
Kiya leans over the back seat from the ground. “Come on, we got work to do.”
I give her a nod and open the door to step out. The second my feet hit the ground, arms wrap around me.
“You must be Aloka.”
I wiggle my feet, which are now dangling high above the ground. “Um?” Abruptly, my feet touch the ground, and the arms let go.
The man ambles back, a huge smile on his dark-toned face as he smooths down his short brown hair with his hands. “Sorry, I knew Pratt pretty well. It’s great to meet you despite the circumstances. I’m Wilde.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well.” I reach out and shake his hand. Wilde guides me over to the couple near the house.
“Aloka Tutten, it’s wonderful to have you here. I am the Alpha in the West cohort, Hendin, and this is my mate, Serena.”
“Thank you for having us.” I shake both their hands. Serena’s even more beautiful up close.
Jocko high-fives one guy, and Serena hugs Kiya. My heart sighs. Everyone knows each other because they haven’t lived hidden away for years.
Hendin leads us inside to a meeting room. Unlike Stark’s, it’s small, though the whole group finds a place standing or sitting along narrow benches. I trail him up to the front and take a look at everyone. There are two Elders at the front, including Irwin.
The walls move in. My breath gets heavy with the flames in my arms and hands. I adjust my legs apart and rub my wrists. No ropes.
“Aloka, you okay?” Jocko steps up from the side wall he was leaning against.
“Yeah, yeah, I just— Sorry.” I get myself together and nod at Hendin to start.
Stark gives a small introduction, then it’s my turn. He stares out into the crowd the entire time I talk and answer questions.
The meeting is unproblematic, and a few even clap at the end. Hendin and Serena give me a blanket as a gift. I hold it in my arms as we all filter out of the room. If things can stay this way, it will all be well. They invite us for dinner and to stay the night.
I take a seat at the table with Kiya, a huge smile on her face.
“This is so nice. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone outside of our cohort with all that’s going on.”
“I’m glad you’re having a good time.”
“Aloka, I’d love for you to meet my twin, Verna,” Wilde calls from across the table. Verna has his brown eyes and dark-toned skin. Her hair is tied up in a round bun, while Wilde’s is free and erratic, shooting out in multiple directions on top of his head.
“So nice to meet you,” I say.
“It’s good that you’re here.” Verna’s gaze meets mine, steady, and there’s no lack of sincerity to her voice.
Kiya nudges me, and I turn toward her “Do you know what’s going on with him?” Kiya points her chin in Stark’s direction, where he’s sitting with the Elders.
“He seems like regular Stark?” I can’t keep looking at him after last night. We crossed even more lines that we should both be ashamed of.
“If you say so.” Kiya goes back to chatting with Serena.
I talk with Verna and Wilde for a bit, otherwise I keep to myself for the rest of the night, fielding questions when needed.
Morning comes with no hiccups, and I’m pleased the first cohort meeting went so well.
If I could get over Stark, everything would be fine.
He managed to ignore me all night, and as we say goodbye outside Serena and Hendin’s home, he keeps a body between us at all times.
Maybe it’s for the best. He knows we shouldn’t get close to each other.
It’d just be nice if he could acknowledge my existence as we head off to the North cohort.
It’s not until midday, when I stand in the middle of the meeting room for the North cohort, that there’s a shift.
Their meeting space is replicated after the Elders’ Chambers, which is a bit nerving, though once the room fills with smiles, it’s a bit better.
I wrap up my speech faster than ever, now that it’s become well-rehearsed.
“Don’t you think a werewolf who has the intelligence to gather useful information should have gone instead of you?”
I smirk. “If you’d like to volunteer, feel free to go yourself.”
Kiya gives me a thumbs-up from the side of the room next to Stark, whose face doesn’t change.
“We are not here to judge or make comments. Aloka took a great risk and is now helping all of you keep your homes. Let’s be grateful.” Merik steps up next to me. He’s tall like Stark and wide set. His hair is dark and curly, cut short. He’s the first Alpha we’ve come across without a mate.
“Thank you,” I say.
The rest of the questions are normal, from how long I stayed to how I escaped.