«life is the art of pretending top be normal»

–atticus

I learned quickly that Charles was a quiet man. He hadn't said a word to me yet I could tell we were almost to our unknown destination.

Factoring in the time I spent at the pokey, I figured that Charles must have been in the area and one of the pack had called his father who then sent him here. Charles must have spoken to the pack and since Alpha was gone they could tell him the truth. We all knew Jack was a loose screw. Then he came to make sure I told the police something that wouldn't cause suspicion and is now taking me to, I think, the airport.

"I truthfully didn't anticipate you coming," I told him to break the silence. "I heard of you and your job but I figured that if I took care of the loose ends then the Marrok wouldn't care."

He looked uncomfortable and angry. Angry was an emotion I didn't have good experience with. When the old Alphas I had were angry they were at their most violent.

"1670. 1672. 1673. 1674. 16—"

"What are you doing?"

I glanced at him and saw his blank face. He had to smile sometime. I bet he even looked beautiful when he smiled. Maybe if I got him near his mate I could see it.

"Athena?" He was looking at me now.

I cleared my throat and answered his question. "You're old too, Charles. We have seen many things and most of it is not good. Counting the years helps me cope. Stupid but it works."

He didn't say anything and neither did I for the rest of the ride. When he pulled into the airport I expected more wolves to be with him but it was just us. I got out of the car and admired the plane. It was simple and sleek like the man who I assumed piloted it—Charles.

"The wolves in your pack told me some about you, Athena." The tone of his voice had changed a bit. There was familiarity and sympathy to what he'd been told.

I turned to Charles and smiled weakly. "Life sucks. Funny coming from me, a werewolf who has the potential to live forever."

He didn't comment on that but instead helped me into the plane. I hadn't asked where we were going. Something about Charles told me it's better to just be quiet and follow. Plus, if he was going to kill me I don't think he'd waste plane fuel on hauling me out of Miami.

Montana is cold. Werewolves have a high body temperature but that wasn't saving me from the chill. I had on a short-sleeve shirt and Charles' jacket and my jeans that were covered in dried blood.

Oh yeah, I was so prepared for Montana.

The only nice thing about the snowy scene was that it was akin to my birthplace in Norway. I hadn't been back there in roughly 95 or so years. How I missed home.

I was sitting on the cold tarmac while Charles talked to some humans and wolves. Honestly, I had no idea where we were or why but rolling with it had worked so far.

"You're the second bitch Charles has brought home," a man stated matter-of-factly. He smelled human but the way he said bitch told me he wasn't using it as an insult. The man must have a werewolf mate or the kid of a werewolf. Bitch—when speaking about werewolves—is used in the literal sense of "you are a female and, well, a dog."

"My name is Hank," the man said and held out his hand. I took it with a smile and patted the ground next to me. He happily obliged and lowered himself beside me.

"I'm Athena."

Hank smiled. "Pretty name you got there."

"Thank you," I said through chattering teeth.

Hank's smile dropped to a frown. He looked to Charles who was still blabbering and shouted, "Hey, Charles! This beautiful girl is freezing!"

Charles' blank expression landed on me and he said something quick to the men he was speaking to before coming towards us. Hank got up and tipped an imaginary hat to me then walked off.

"My Da wants to meet you," Charles said and helped me up. I wrapped his jacket around me tighter but noticed goosebumps on his arm. I took off the jacket and put it around him. He looked down at me with slight confusion and lift of his eyebrow.

"The cold—you have goosebumps," I told him as I started lightly hopping in place to keep warm. Charles hurried me to an old truck. I slid into the passenger seat and waited for him to drive off.

I decided I liked Aspen Creek—Charles had told me the name of the town in the truck. Even though it was freezing here, the homes looked cozy and inviting.

Charles stopped at one of said homes and got out. Since he didn't say otherwise I followed him into the home. The inside matched the comfy feeling on the outside. It also smelled really nice. This had to be the Marrok's home. I never liked Alpha's homes, usually, I was kept locked up at their house.

This place was proving to be an exception.

Charles led me down a hall and into an office of sorts. There was a young werewolf sitting in the chair behind the desk. He looked kind and recently changed. He had short sandy hair and a lean figure. I couldn't deny he was cute in a nerdy way.

"Da," Charles murmured to the man. I dropped to my knees before he could finish and bared my neck to the Marrok. Holy. Cow. I can't believe I thought that was a fresh pup. I called the Berserker wolf cute.

"Alpha—Marrok, I apologize for the trouble I caused." I kept my eyes on the floor like my old Alphas expected. He'd probably expect the same behavior.

A warm hand touched my cheek and my nerves calmed quickly. His touch felt so peaceful and I didn't bother hiding the relief. The Marrok didn't take away all my stress but he did a darn close job.

"Stand up," he said. His voice was so soft and there was no dominance in it. I was lost in the peace he brought for a moment. It had been years since I felt this way. The only other Alpha I had met who brought me peace like this was my old Alpha from Spain.

"You're from the Miami pack in Florida. Athena Harlow."

It didn't sound like a question but I answered. "Yes."

"What happened with your pack?"

The smell of a very, very crazed wolf filled the air and I suddenly wished I hadn't come out of the basement. Jack slinked down the stairs and toward me. There wasn't an ounce of human in him, it was all wolf. I stumbled back and tried slowly going to the ground and submitting to him.

The Alpha was dead; his blood was burning my nose and I felt the snap of his death from the pack bond. It caused me to cry out in pain and sadly set Jack into a frenzy. The wild man barreled into me. I let him have his way with me. His fingers and teeth dug into the soft parts of me, my stomach and neck. My cries filled the house and echoed. I thrashed against my better judgment. Pain bloomed all over me as my thick, red blood welled up from the aching holes Jack had made.

He would kill me for sport then leave the house to go find more prey. Word of a crazed werewolf devouring innocent humans would send the world on a hunt for every werewolf. My kind would be exterminated like common household pests.

He pulled back for a moment and wiped my blood from his face. "I can't wait to make you suffer," he smiled. "To carry my pups and watch you in pain as you miscarry them to the pull of the moon."

I snapped. My wolf and I snapped.

"Athena!"

My eyes flew open and I spun to the Marrok. He was crouched in front me with his hand extended. I felt my wolf taking over my human form for me while I gathered myself. She was brasher with Alphas but it wasn't her fault. Instinct drove her to forget the past and trust in the Alpha before us.

"Come," he ordered with a lot of his dominance surrounding me.

It was overwhelming but I had a feeling he was just giving me a taste of his power. My wolf was too submissive to disobey even though I wasn't part of his pack. I realized I was curled up in a corner of his office behind a cabinet. She crawled to him and put our cheek in his palm. He quickly gripped our chin and nuzzled the side of our face. It would look really awkward to humans (it kind of was). The motions he used were familiar to me, though. My first Alpha, the only kind one, would do this when our wolves were in the forefront and they were panicking; it kept us cool. The Marrok's touch had the same effect tenfold.

My wolf dropped to putty at his feet and purred. My Alpha or not, he was dominant and taking care of me like real pack. My heart slowed and I was able to breathe normally. She stayed curled around his legs as he ran his fingers soothingly through our hair. I took back just enough to communicate but my actions were still controlled by my wolf.

"The Alpha kept me in his house and in the dark. Jack, the second in command, went crazy. He killed the Alpha and came after me. I had to put him down. I covered up what happened at the house and got the human police thinking they could help me get away from my pack. Charles came."

The Marrok was quiet for a moment. "How did you take care of everything?"

"Fire. Left the stove igniter on and poured gas in part of the house. Told them I was attacked while cooking and the Alpha had spilled gas on his way to the garage earlier." The Marrok's fingers found a soft spot behind my ear that made my wolf shiver and whined happily. I didn't like it but my wolf was busy being the boss of my actions to notice. "I threw a Molotov through the kitchen window and kapoof. I said a pack-mate tossed his cigarette."

"Excessive," Bran stated.

I smirked and loosened up a bit. "I was taught you can never go too far with fire."

"Why didn't you turn to your pack?" Charles asked.

I'll admit that at the time I felt like how a human told me being high felt. The Marrok and his son packed dominance when needed and right then I was swimming in an ocean of it.

"Bad," I mumbled. "They kept me locked up and used me for touching. Beat me and hurt me with silver. I let it happen, my fault. They wouldn't have believed me. I'd of been killed."

The Marrok's calming fingers slowed for half a second but that was enough to let me know he was bothered by what I'd told him. I stayed on the floor, my wolf acting like I would have had I been in my wolf form.

After a few minutes, I heard the sound of a car pull up to the Marrok's house. The wolf entered without knocking. I recognized her scent from Charles. "Your mate," I whispered. He didn't respond and walked out to her.

The Marrok stood and let me stay at his feet. We waited for Charles and his mate, Anna, to come in. My wolf kept wanting to go through the doors but I argued for her to wait.

Charles finally pulled Anna in but I didn't get a chance to look at her. My wolf lurched forward and latched onto her leg like a child. She nuzzled her thigh and hip with my nose. She felt so comforting and nice.

"Charles, she isn't going to hurt Anna," the Marrok said slowly.

I realized Charles was growling. I didn't like him growling near Anna.

"Soft. Smells. Very nice." I figured out later that the thoughts I wanted to say didn't come out right. Although I was still controlling my talking and what information to give, my wolf was doing all the actions. She still spoke Norwegian and it was getting harder for my brain to focus on English the more she had control.

"It's fine, Charles," a silky voice said. "Let me help her." Anna patted my head and pulled me off her. I went limp in her hold. She had hair that reminded me of whiskey and bright eyes.

She pulled me into her arms and hummed an old song I'd never heard of. A warm feeling wrapped around me and all my fears melted away. I felt even calmer like the world was softening up.

Omega, I thought. A wolf outside pack hierarchy that can calm anyone. An Alpha that didn't need violence. I hadn't heard of one in a long time.

Voices started talking as I drifted off in her arms. She felt safe and relaxing and I gave into the dark.