Amelia had come to realize that she could learn without it harming anyone. Her dad had wanted her to shoot things. Not happening. Maybe that was when her parents started to lose patience with her.
“Wait a minute,” Val said, coming toward her. “Are you … you’re weak. You can’t defend yourself.”
“Okay.” Amelia handed him a gun. “Can I go and restock the fridge?”
“No. No. You can’t go anywhere.”
She stood, waiting.
Val stared at her. “You’re not weak, are you?”
Amelia took a deep breath. “Yes, I am.”
Val glared at her. “No, you’re not. I’ve watched you. You pick up your dogs without breaking a sweat. I’ve seen you run as a wolf. You’re not weak, but the pack thinks you are because you don’t believe in violence. You could take them on, couldn’t you?”
No one had ever dared to ask.
When it came to the deer that was injured, she carried it to the vet and lifted it in her arms.
Amelia knew she was strong. She didn’t know if she was strong enough to be considered an alpha, but she had never cared to try. No woman had ever made it within the club.
“I don’t believe in violence, Val. Can we leave it at that?”
She had also taken a few beatings from the pack, and the truth was, none of them had hurt either.
“You just … Amelia.”
She started to walk back to the bar and then turned to glare at him. “What? What do you want me to say? That I’m an outcast and probably could kill every single fucking person who ever said anything nasty to me? That I might be able to take on one or two of the Poison Wolves MC? I don’t know. I know that I am strong. I know that I am capable, but I … refuse to hurt others. That is my vow, Val. I will never hurt anyone.” Amelia grabbed the door handle about to yank it open.
“What about for the safety of the pack?” Val asked.
She glanced at Val and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
After entering the bar, she went straight to the stock room, picked up a large crate of beer, and carried it through to the front. The fridge was empty.
Alpha had announced the town hall meeting, and they all had to go to it that morning. It was why she was late to work, and why she ended up walking here with Val.
Val entered the bar, and Amelia put the large case of beer on the counter.
He sat down on the chair and watched her.
“No one will believe you, you know,” Amelia said.
“I always thought you were different.”
This made her laugh. “I am different.”
“I know, but those are choices. You’re … different.” He pointed at her body.
She rolled her eyes. “Can we just focus on getting this bar cleaned and ready for opening?”
“You’re right, no one will believe me, but I feel a little better knowing that you can handle yourself.”
“Val, I’ve been handling myself for a long time now. I’m good.”
“Have you ever gone up against humans?” Val asked.
She shook her head. No, she hadn’t.
Val opened his shirt, showcasing his chest, and along with it, the scars.
“I went up against humans. Was out running. Angry little wolf I was many moons ago. Thought I was unstoppable.” He showed off his wrist. The scars were clear to see.
“A bear trap?”
“A bear trap. Couldn’t get out of it in time. Nearly chopped my fucking paw right off. The hunters came as I turned into a human. They didn’t see that I was a wolf.”
Amelia winced.
A naked man trapped in a bear trap, that wasn’t good.
“They were drunk and angry that I had ruined their trap, and they wanted me to pay for the damage.”
She winced. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Val said. “For two hours, I had to wait, to bide my time.” He shook his head. “But I did. I got out of there, and I made sure no one would ever be able to tell the tale but me. They’re cruel, Amelia. You saw what they did to your dogs. Some dogs don’t get to have a happy ending like you’ve given them.”
Amelia nodded.
“My opinion, not that it’s worth a lot. You face off with a hunter, you kill him. Don’t put your life or the pack at risk.” Val slammed his palm on the counter. “Sometimes violence isn’t the answer, and then, there are times that violence is the only answer.”
He left, heading toward his office.
Amelia nibbled on her lip and didn’t move for several seconds.
She hated violence. Couldn’t even stand movies that were full of it.
She rubbed at her temple and then grabbed the beer bottles. She wasn’t paid to sit and worry about what might not happen.
Other than Val, no one had any idea what she was capable of.
Her father had often called her a waste of space, a loser. Her mother hadn’t been too happy with her either. Amelia hadn’t wanted to mingle with the other girls, trying to gain male attention. She pushed the memories of her parents to the back of her mind.
They didn’t deserve to have space in her thoughts. They had turned their back on her because they considered she was a waste of their time.
Assholes.
Chapter Four
Three days later, there was still no sign of the hunters coming back, but Alpha wasn’t impressed.
“I don’t want us to calm down,” Alpha said.
They all sat in church, listening to Alpha give a rundown of everything that pack had to deal with.
Church happened every single Friday evening.
Wolfe glanced at the clock, wondering how much longer he was going to have to wait. He hadn’t been to see Amelia in the past couple of days.
Enjoying a coffee with her was the extent of his pleasure. He’d wanted more, but he’d seen himself out after one cup.
He wanted Amelia.
Staring at the club, he wondered what they would think if he told them that he wanted her.
They were strong. Amelia was weak. And she was fast becoming his weakness.
“I’m going to demand round-the-clock patrols,” Alpha said. “We’re going to be using the beta team.”
Boyan snorted. “Seriously? The beta team? They’re fucking useless.”
“I’m with Boyan on this,” Enzo said. “They only use the beta team to get their dick sucked.”
“Most of the men would cower in a real fight,” Ryker said.
“It’s why they’re not club,” Alpha said. “The beta team will allow us to rest. We don’t know if the hunters are a one-time deal or if they’re researching the area. I don’t want us to risk any shit going down because we got fucking lazy. Any of you got a problem with that?”
They shook their heads.
“Good. I’ve got two fucking petitions here,” Alpha said. “One an attempt to overturn Amelia’s deer hunting.”
Boyan burst out laughing.
Wolfe kept his anger in check. This was not the first time a petition had been brought forward.
“How many signatures this time?” Gray asked.
“Not enough to overturn Amelia’s,” Alpha said. “Denied.”