Chapter 19 Casey
Casey
I brace myself as they invade my home, bringing with them the scents of linseed oil, aniseed, wet hay, and something foul I can’t place.
My father is a large man with meat on his bones, solid in a way an elderly dog gets.
He’s got mean eyes that are blue like mine, but, other than that, he has a darker receding hair and a mean jaw.
Raphael Foster always gets what he wants, one way or another.
“You’re coming to the gathering.”
No ‘hello,’ no ‘how are you.’ No ‘you look terrible.’ Nothing but a demand for my obedience.
But then, this is the reigning alpha; when he falls, Jonas will take over with Cindel, and I have no doubt my life will descend into hell. No, I’ll just be Jonas’ breeder, and when I’ve put out enough of his wolf pups, I will be disposed of.
They are cut from the same foul cloth.
My gaze goes to Cindel. They are a match made in hell. As he’s the strongest male, and she’s the strongest female, both of them alphas, they will be the lead pair, shoving the rest of the pack into line.
I refuse to be part of it.
“The gathering is in a couple of weeks; I didn’t realise I was required to make my presence known in advance.”
My father’s eyes blaze yellow, and he lashes out, hitting me hard across the back of the shoulders. “Watch your poisonous tongue!” he bellows.
I duck my head. Shit, his temper is bad today. “I’m sorry. I thought I had time to get ready.”
“I’m not here about the gathering.”
“Oh?” Well, this is worse.
“Who was the wolf?”
I still.
“What wolf?”
“The one you were seen with, the white runt who attacked James in the park the other night. The coward.”
I shrug. Angel? They saw Angel? “I didn’t stop to ask. I assumed you had new pack members, and I took off as soon as the freak left.”
My father rubs his chin. “I couldn’t find him; do you know who that human was?”
He says human like it’s the worst possible insult.
“No idea. I was meeting up with him to fuck, but then he pulled the wolf shit, and everyone here knows I’d rather slit my throat than fuck a wolf.”
I’m struck again, and, this time, my arm goes numb. Calculated move, and worth it, but the muscle is going to be sore for a while.
Pressure sits heavily on my chest, but I ignore it.
“Watch yourself.”
Yes, Alpha is sneered in my head, but I haven’t called him alpha since I was seventeen.
I won’t ever address him as that because he’s not my alpha.
You call the wolves here alpha all the time, a voice in my head points out.
That’s something I should consider at some point.
My father paces and I thank god I had enough time to spray the menthol deodorizer down before they got here. My home stinks like wolves that don’t belong here.
If my father smelled them, he would probably try to beat the answer out of me.
“What are you wearing to the meet?”
I look up at Cindel, thrown by her sudden question. Her nose is crinkled as she looks around my home with judgmental eyes. I don’t even want them in here. It feels like an invasion.
“I figured I’d just wear jeans and a jumper. There’s no reason for me to dress up.”
“Good.”
I look down at my foot and break into a cold sweat. Instead of panicking, I focus on breathing slowly, controlling my heart rate and pushing the fear down so they don’t smell anything.
Ever so slowly, I slide my foot across so it covers the three long red hairs.
“Right. Have you got our tithe yet?”
My head pops up. “Tithe? What tithe?”
“You live on our land, so you owe us a tithe.”
“This land does not belong to the pack-”
Another blow rocks me back against the couch. My head spins wildly, and it takes me a moment to be able to hear over the ringing in my ears.
“I was gifted this land from-”
He raises his fist again. I glare at him, furious and defiant.
“I was given this plot. It’s not part of the town; it's not part of the pack; it belongs to the witches that lived here long before the packs did.”
“You are not a witch.”
“I was gifted it.”
“And you are my daughter, and what’s yours is mine. So, you will pay the tithe or I will send people up here to take you back down to where you belong, and you can watch me burn this place to the ground.”
“No!”
“Then do what I want.”
“What do you want as a tithe?” I ask reluctantly.
“Three quarters of the vegetables, canned preserves, and all the meat you have stocked.”
I bite my lip on the protest. There is no arguing with him, if I even try, I know it will just end up worse.
But it’s everything I need for the winter.
You won’t be here in the winter; you’ll be tied to Jonas’ bed.
No, I won’t.
They stand and walk towards the door. Cindel turns back, peering hard at the floor. I break into a sweat again, waiting for her to say something that will probably get me killed.
“Didn’t you used to have a carpet?”
I don’t let them see how much her question relieves me.
“Yes, I got sick of it.”
She sniffs, and they walk out. I follow them onto the porch, silently begging the pack to stay away.
My father lingers, looking around, glaring as if searching for something he can use against me. When he finds nothing, he growls, low and threatening, before he climbs in to his truck and yanks the door shut. Cindel gets in like she’s relieved to be leaving.
I stand there long after they’ve driven away.
There is a noose around my neck, and it’s getting tighter and tighter.
Before I can do anything else, the pack gets back. Riot grabs my hips and spins me around, murmuring something in another language.
“What does that mean?” I ask softly, leaning into him.
“You are so beautiful it makes my heart melt.”
Khaos walks into the house and explodes back out.
“There were shifters here!”
I nod. “I know.”
I need to trust them a little.
I know I need to, but I don’t want to. I hunch my shoulders.
“My dad and sister.”
Khaos’ mouth falls open. “You’re a wolfless? I assumed you were human and just raised in a pack.”
I flinch hard.
“Khaos!” Riot snarls.
“You were born with wolf parents, but you don’t have a wolf?” Khaos asks again, stunned.
“Yes! That’s right. I am broken, and I don’t have a wolf,” I shout at him.
He jumps down the stairs, grabs my wrist, and yanks me to his chest. “How does your pack treat the wolfless?”
“How most packs treat us, I assume. Like we are broken and humiliating blights on their proud legacy.”
His eyes glitter as he stares down at me.
“What?” I shove at him, but he picks me up and puts me inside.
“You stay here. I need to talk to my pack. We will be back by night.” He pauses, looking over his shoulder. “I don’t care if you have a wolf, are wolfless, or human, you are Casey, and that’s enough.”
I glare at him as he leaves and then, to my utter mortification, tears start falling, and though I roughly try to wipe them away, they just keep coming back.
I put my head in my hands. “What is wrong with me? I don’t care about what they think; I don’t care what anyone thinks.”
Instead, I go to the stockroom and go through my supplies. I need to give my dad enough that will tide him over, but I’m going to make sure there’s enough for me to last. He’s not getting everything.