Santos slowly shook his head. “You know he doesn’t. Completely blank. Doesn’t even know who he is, much less where he’s at.” He got a strange look on his face. It wasn’t mean, but it was unpleasant. “Why do you care?”
I frowned. “I… don’t know. I don’t.”
“Of course not,” he repeated, and there was a nasty curl to his lips. Santos didn’t like me. “Don’t you have someplace to be? Ezra went by a while ago, which means you’re already late.”
I cursed. “I don’t know why he didn’t wait for me.”
“He knows how you get in the morning.”
“Yeah, yeah. Keep it up, Santos. See how far it gets you.”
He laughed, mocking. “Sure, Robbie.”
I waved and left him to it. I glanced back over my shoulder at the house once more. I thought I saw movement in one of the windows, but I told myself it was just a trick of light and shadow.
The biggest house in the compound was a two-story cabin with a large covered porch that looked out onto the lake. The windows were open, letting in the cool air. I climbed the porch stairs, the wood creaking underneath my boots. I hesitated for a moment before opening the door.
The interior of the cabin was spacious. A fire roared in the fireplace, and wolves were hurrying around the ground floor. A few spared me a glance, but most of them ignored me. They were busy, and the Alpha of all liked to keep it that way.
I climbed the stairs to the second floor, stepping close to the banister as a woman I vaguely knew flew down the stairs. She grinned at me as she passed, but otherwise didn’t stop. The house was loud and always moving, people coming and going.
I reached the top of the stairs. To my left, five doors led to bedrooms and bathrooms. To my right were a closet and a pair of doors that led to the office. I felt something strong pulse within me. It tugged me toward the double doors.
She knew I was here, even though the room was soundproof.
It was part of being the Alpha of all. I belonged to her, and she could find me always.
I knocked before opening the door.
Ezra sat in a chair in front of a heavy desk. There was an empty chair next to him. He didn’t turn to look at me, but I felt his magic curl over me. I relished the feel of it more than I ever did with her. I thought she knew that, but we never spoke of it.
And there, sitting behind the desk, was the Alpha of all.
Michelle Hughes folded her hands in front of her and said, “You’re late, Robbie.”
outright defiance/little wolf
When we’d been on the run, hunters chasing after us with a frightening persistence, my mother did everything she could to keep things normal for me.
Sometimes we could afford a cheap motel. They were always dingy and smelled awful, but she said we needed to be thankful for the little things.
Some nights she stayed with me, curled around me, whispering quietly in my ear.
She would tell me about a place where we could be free. Where we could shift and feel the earth beneath our feet without worrying someone would hurt us. She told me there was a rumor of a place, far, far to the west, where wolves and humans lived together in harmony. They loved each other, she whispered, because that’s what pack was supposed to do.
And she told me other stories, little things that made me ache.
About how her grandfather had been sweet and loving. He would always give her fruit candies when no one was watching.
About the first time she shifted and saw the world in shades of wolf.
About how she had made mistakes, but she couldn’t be too angry because those mistakes had brought me to her.
She said that in a perfect world, my father would love us. He wouldn’t care what we were. That he wouldn’t have used her. That when I was born, things would have changed for him.
“No one can know the minds of men,” she said, her voice so bitter that I could taste it. “They tell you things, and you believe them because you don’t know any better.”
I would reach up and tell her not to cry.
Sometimes she even listened to me.
“Sorry,” I muttered as I closed the door behind me. “Got tackled by a bunch of cubs.”
Ezra chuckled. “They do seem fond of you.”
I patted him on the shoulder as I stood next to his chair. “Thanks for waiting for me.”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “I told you to get up. It’s not my fault you’re lazy.”
“And it’s not my fault your idea of morning consists of getting up before the sun rises. There’s something seriously wrong with you.”
“Cute,” Ezra said. “Ageism at its finest.” He looked at Michelle. “You see what I have to put up with?” He smiled at her.
She didn’t smile back.
Ezra had been her witch for years. When she’d taken over as Alpha of all, he’d come along with her. He was the one who’d come to fetch me last year per her request and brought me back to Caswell. Their relationship confused me. All the witches to wolves I’d met before had an almost symbiotic relationship with their Alpha. Ezra and Michelle seemed to be on good terms, but they had a history I wasn’t privy to. I’d thought about asking after it, but I never did. Part of it was not wanting to ruin what I had by dredging up memories they obviously didn’t want to talk about.
“Come here,” Michelle said. She added, “Please,” almost as an afterthought.
I walked around the desk and stood next to an old bookcase filled with texts and tomes that held the history of the wolves. I didn’t want to seem too eager. We were still learning about each other, but we had time. When I first met her, I’d thought her cold and calculating. It took me a long time to see through it. It wasn’t a front exactly, but more the byproduct of being in her position. Once you got through the façade, she was a good Alpha.
And she trusted me.
Gave me a home.
I owed her.
She stood, and I tilted my head in deference, exposing my neck. Her eyes flashed red, and she trailed a finger along my throat. Her scent was spicy and sharp.
“Ezra tells me you were dreaming again,” she said quietly.
I glanced at him before looking back down at her. She was a short woman, slight and pale. But I wasn’t fooled, nor had I been when I’d first met her. She was stronger than any Alpha I’d ever come across. Part of it was being the Alpha of all. Part of it was from her lineage. If it came down to it, it wouldn’t be a fair fight. She could take me down with ease.
“It wasn’t….” I shook my head. “It wasn’t anything. Just a dream.”
“The same one, though.” She tapped her fingernails on the desk.
“I guess,” I said begrudgingly.
“And what do you make of it?”
“It’s nothing. Just… probably something from before.”
Her expression softened. “He can’t hurt you anymore. He’s been dead a long time, Robbie. The wolves that found you saw to that. Those hunters are gone.”
“I know,” I said honestly. “It’s why you shouldn’t worry about it. I’m fine.” I smiled to reassure her.
She looked dubious. “You’ll tell me if it happens again.”