A/N: Thanks to Niffer01 (lol), k2rduk, sunsetkisses (welcome!), and Angel of the Night Watchers for their reviews!
I know this story has steered away from the Reid/Talia action, but trust me, we'll be getting back to it soon. I just didn't want to let the others in the dust.
Review and Enjoy!
"Kate…want…be happy…want…you…do still care about you."
Alex froze as she caught a word here and there from Pogue's conversation. Three guesses who he was talking to.
She had come to find him after he'd been late for lunch. It wouldn't been the first time he got caught up in the workshop and forgot the time. But when she'd approached the partially open door, she'd paused, recognizing the voices within. She tried to convince herself she must have misheard, but when she moved closer and peeked through the gap at the room beyond, her stomach dropped.
Pogue was standing there, his strong arms wrapped tightly around Kate's slender body, with a look of peace and happiness on his face. As she watched, he kissed Kate's forehead and pulled back with a smile.
Alex ran away, she'd seen enough.
Will woke first. He was on the way back from the bathroom but he time Maya woke with a sleepy "Mornin'"
"It's afternoon actually," he replied playfully, climbing in next to her with a grin.
She smiled happily back before his words settled in. "What?!" she asked, sitting up fast and clutching the sheets against her naked body. "Oh Gods! The others will be back any second!" she yelled, pushing him none-too-gently off the bed and running back to her room with the sheets tangled about her legs like grasping ghosts.
Will followed after her, frowning. Usually he had to pry girls out of his bed, not go chasing after them. "What is the matter?" he asked, catching up with her before she could disappear inside.
"What's the matter?" she said, her voice getting progressively higher with each word. "What's the matter?! The others are going to come back and find me like this! They'll know what happened! It's one thing to be curious and try something new, but I can't parade it around like the rest of you! It's unprofessional!"
"So it was all just some game for you?" he asked, his voice perfectly even and his face perfectly calm. "Just trying out something you haven't fucked before? Thank you, check Lycans off the list, next please."
She scoffed, "What, like it was anything different for you? You were playing this game since we met, trying to seduce the Clan Council Agent. Well, you did. It was fun. But that's all, right?" She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you're getting so upset, we're both adults, aren't we?" she countered, staring him down.
His ego was bruised by her cavalier attitude and easy dismissal. He smiled. "You know what? You're right. Plenty more fish in the sea, no problem."
She nodded tightly once, them closed the door in his face.
He growled once, them realized that he was in fact standing in the hallway butt-naked, and the others, including Mrs D., could be back any minute. Deciding he was too pissed off to sit and play nice, he shifted and quickly padded outside, figuring a good run would make him feel better.
As soon as she sensed him leave, she leaned back against the door and slid down, becoming a small puddle of sheets and flesh. She knew it was coming, but it still hurt. She was nothing more than a challenge to him. She'd known from the start, even encouraged it, but she couldn't help it. He was charming and funny and sexy, and maybe if things had been different…But no. Things were what they were. No amount of school girl crushes could change that. She was a professional, and it was time to start acting like one.
Wiping off the tears she hadn't even noticed crying, she pulled her self together and got up off the floor. She showered his scent of her skin quickly, ignoring the bruises and love-bites that covered her flesh.
Dressing and grabbing her keys, she went down to her car, passing the parade from Spencer at the end of the drive. Not pausing, she kept driving, needing to get away from their insanity for a while. Will could deal with them all.
Talia frowned as they passed Maya's Council-issued SUV on their way up the drive. The older woman didn't even wave, just stared woodenly ahead as she drove past. Talia shook her head. She had a feeling it was going to be one of those days.
Alex had been giving a very confused Pogue the cold shoulder all afternoon, and was now sulking in the back seat of Tal's Impala while Pogue went ahead on his bike. Now Maya was acting weird? Gods save her from grumpy Witches.
They went inside, the guys heading directly to the kitchen for sustenance, the other girls following behind. Tal went in search of her brother, but found the large house completely empty. Making her way back to the kitchen, she perched next to Reid, and stole his sandwich when he wasn't looking. He glared at her, but she just gave him an innocent 'What?' and went back to eating.
Shaking his blond head, he stood up and started making himself another. "Hey man," he called as Will walked into the kitchen, still pulling a t-shirt of his chest, his head wild from running. He brought the scent of the forest, crisp and clear. And something else that had Talia and Jess' heads snapping up to stare and the older Shifter.
"You didn't?" Jess asked incredulously, and the other's stopped to watch, unsure of what was going on.
Will just shrugged, not meeting any of their questioning eyes.
"Damn it Will! You were just supposed to distract her, not fuck her brains out!" Talia moaned, dropping her head into her hands.
"You slept with Maya?" Caleb asked, eyes wide.
Will smirked. "There wasn't much sleeping involved, Danvers."
"God, are you insane? We think the Council are covering shit up, and you sleep with the enemy?!" Talia demanded, Reid's sandwich now forgotten in front of her.
"It's not like I'd be the first one here to do that," he replied snidely, then let out a weary sigh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It was just…" his expression got a little darker. "Curiosity. We're both very clear on that, don't worry."
"Don't you know the damn saying about curiosity, Will?" she sighed, frowning at her brother.
He grinned boyishly. "Good thing I'm not a cat then, huh?"
Talia snorted and smiled, shaking her head. "Whatever. Just go take a shower, would you? You reek of sex."
He laughed and loped off up the stairs, followed a few seconds later by the sound of running water. Talia looked at Jess who just shrugged in response to her friend's disbelieving look. "Men," she muttered, picking up the sandwich and taking a large bite.
The others were still staring at the two girls curiously. Pogue cleared his throat. "So you guys can, uh, smell that stuff?"
Jess and Talia froze, but lucky for her, Tal had a mouth full of ham and cheese. Shooting her friend a dark look, Jess replied, her face filling with color as she avoided their eyes. "Uh…yeah. Our sense of smell is very acute. We can even smell strong emotional reactions. It's just considered a little rude to mention it…" she trailed off.
Everyone in the room had a distinct pink tinge to their cheeks at the thought of people knowing when they'd been having sex. Everyone except Reid, who smirked at Tal. Her only response was an eye roll at his shameless ways.
They were full into afternoon snack mode when Will came back down the stairs, his hair still wet. "So we gotta get out plans set for heading to Chicago," began, pulling out a road map and smoothing it out over a clear spot on the table. "I figure we leave here about 10am, hit Boston for lunch. Check in with Ophelia, and Sarah and Caleb can meet up with her folks. The rest of us will continue on, getting into Rochester around nine or ten. It'll take us about twelve hours to get to Chicago from there, so we need to leave on the early side. Caleb and Sarah can follow down later."
Jess took over. "I scouted out a motel in Rochester that looks okay, and everything else seems to be set. I'm assuming that you guys have fixed whatever needs to be fixed with your parents?"
Tyler nodded. "We just told them it was Covenant business, they didn't ask anything more."
"What about you?" Jess asked Alex, who had remained quiet otherwise.
"My folks don't care where I am, so long as I'm not with them," she said casually. Pogue slid a supportive arm around her shoulders, only to be shrugged off with an angry glare. Pogue looked just as baffled as the rest of them, and there was a moment of awkward silence.
"I think my parents will be okay with me coming, they're pretty good about trusting me, and they love Caleb," Sarah said, rolling her eyes with a grin. "If I stress the fact that I'll be staying with a female friend under adult supervision, I think they'll be cool. I figured is was a good idea to leave out all the rest."
"You might just be right there," Talia laughed. "I can see it. Mom, Dad, I'm going to stay with my Shifter friend and her family so that we can try and stop and evil Witch's plan to kill us all and steal my boyfriend's power. Don't worry, it's all good."
"Are you sure Jacob is okay with Sarah and I showing up late?" Caleb asked.
Will grinned. "It's not a problem. As far as my brother sees it, you're already allies, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. Plus it gives him a little time to round up everyone who's on a Long Run."
"Long Run?" Tyler asked. "How's that different from regular run?"
"Well, our Pack lives mostly in the city, but we still need to Shift regularly, and get a little fresh air," Jess explained. "We're suited well for many different species, as we're near a few different kinds of environments. Chicago is a few hours drive from a couple big forests, and there is a grass land preserve to the South. And of, course, we're right on Lake Michigan for all the water-based Shifters we have."
"See, most people spend a couple days a week outside of the city, but sometimes we need longer, like a vacation. So some people will spend a couple weeks in the wild, camping out in their skins when they're not running in their fur," Will added. "For this first meet, the whole pack is supposed to be there. A few who are overseas won't make it, but everyone else will be called back."
Tyler nodded in understanding.
"We also need to sort out supplies and stuff for the drive, and figure out which of Vargssen's books we want to take with us," Talia added.
"You guys would probably be better to figure out the books, it's more you're are at this point anyway," Reid pointed out. "We'll handle supplies," he said with a grin.
"Why does that statement fill me with fear?" Jess asked.
Tyler hugged her with a grin. "'cause you're smart. Don't worry, we won't let him go too wild."
"My hero," she grinned back, pecking his cheek.
"Ugh. Whatever," Will groaned. "We'll meet here at nine-thirty, and aim to leave by ten, alright?"
After eating, they'd split up to do their separate last minute things, and to make the most of their free time. Alex had hitched a ride with Tyler and Reid into town, picked up a few things she needed from in town, then rode with them back to the dorms. They didn't ask her about what was going on with Pogue, but she could tell from the curious looks they kept shooting her that they were wondering.
She knew the whole 'Liaison' thing was a bad idea from the start, now she had to see Pogue, even though he was getting back with Kate. Now she'd never be able to avoid him.
When she got back to her dorm, it wasn't empty. Only instead of her pain-in-the-ass-bitch of a roommate, he was there.
"What'd you want?" she asked, dumping her bags on her desk, not looking at him.
"I want to know what the hell is up with you today! What's going on?" Pogue asked, spinning her around to face him, his face filled with anger and concern.
"It's okay. I know what's going on, and I understand. I don't want to be with someone who's in love with someone else. Just don't expect me to me happy, okay?" she said tugging her arm out of his grip and turning back around, forcing back the tears.
"Wha…? What the hell are you talking about?!" Pogue asked, confused. He tried to spin her again, but she wouldn't budge. So he walked round in front of her and gripped her shoulders, crouching down so he could meet her eyes. He moved one hand up to push her hair roughly out of her face, then cupped her cheek. "What is it you think you know?"
She bit her lip. "In auto shop. I heard you say you still cared about Kate. I saw you hug her!"
He frowned, then straightened up, shaking his head. "I do. I also told her we weren't met to be, and that it was over for good. I was saying good bye." He paused and took a deep breath. "I want to be with you, Alex. For real. You're not my back-up. But I'm sick of trying to convince you. Part of the problem with Kate was that there was no trust. I need a little faith from you. If you can't give me that, if you won't fight for us…then I won't either."
He turned then, and walked away, opening the door to leave. But he stopped when he felt her hand on his arm.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, cupping his face. "I'm not used to having…People. I'm not used to being able to trust people to have my back," she bit her lip to stop it from trembling. "I'm not used to being wanted."
He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight. She snuggled closer into his warm, safe arms, and didn't even notice when her tears began to dampen his t-shirt.