Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyers, my OCs belong to me
This chapter is dedicated to Alphabloodwolf, WriterNMomma and Noble
Loki
It was lunchtime and I was starved. I sat down near Dad in the food hall of the factory ready to eat my sandwich.
You want to tell me what the girls were fighting about this morning? Dad asked.
Lyd and Ast were trying to stop me getting to the bathroom so Mags stood up for me. Saying they were jealous of my love life and Astrid said Mags thought she was all that because she imprinted on Zeke, and Lydia added but she scratched up his face.
"Seriously?" Dad demanded aloud.
I nodded.
"No wonder Mags was pissed." He said, shaking his head.
"Yeah." I agreed.
"I'm gonna have to punish them." Dad said firmly.
"But then I'll be a tattle tale." I said, a little on the juvenile side, but I'd been on the receiving end of the GT wrath for snitching in the past, I could really do without that stress.
"They could slip up." Dad said and pointed to his head.
"I don't know. Might have worked when they were younger."
"Well they can't get away with it. I'll confront them directly. Make them fess up." Dad said firmly, then looked a little worried. "Maybe with your mother's help."
"Just as long as the GT don't know I said anything." I warned.
"Ok." Dad agreed.
We were silent for a moment, then remembered about Addie.
"I wanted to ask you something."
"What?" Dad asked, having drifted away into his mind.
"It's more for Addie, but anyway, I was thinking I could show him the ropes tonight before he runs for real?"
"Are you up for that?" Dad asked, not that he thought I wasn't but that this was something I wanted to do.
"Yeah. I know how it can be trying to synch in with the pack, and you know how telepathic he is. Might be better he's not out with the main pack while he calibrates."
"He should still have a few other minds in there too." Dad said looking thoughtful. "Maybe Silver and Olly."
"Why them?"
"Because they're younger. You might gel better." Dad said without elaborating.
"Gel better? Like our own pack?" I asked.
"Like your own squadron. I know Mags is back with her pack, but it'll only be a while, so if you can get along with Addie, Silver and Olly it would help a lot."
"Sure." I replied. "Though you maybe wanna check if they wanna run tonight."
"You could ask them." Dad said with a shrug.
"I'll have to search them out after work." I stated, realising that if I was to be alpha with my own pack I'd have to start acting like one, and that would be a good place to do it.
"Ok."
"Though they'll probably come crash our rehearsal anyway." I conceded.
"You're having one tonight?"
"We need to keep up to speed and we've missed out on a lot of practice this summer." I pointed out.
"I guess it's a way to relax too."
"Yeah." I said. "When we're all playing in synch it's awesome."
"Glad you got an outlet." Dad said as he closed up his lunch box. "But now we have to get back to the grind."
"Yeah. Cause you don't love every minuet of it." I joked as I stood up too.
Dad laughed as we went back to the factory floor.
Robyn
I looked anxiously over the side of the dinghy. I could just about make out Addie's shadow under the water, but I had this huge knot of worry in my stomach. What if he did get in trouble? If vamp-wolf him couldn't handle the water what hope did human me have of saving him?
I was holding my breath and I felt my ears ting and I had to breathe, but Addie still hadn't surfaced. How could he hold his breath that long? Was he really ok? How would I know if he wasn't?
Bubbles broke the surface of the water and I could make out Addie surfacing. He broke the surface and I sighed in relief. He swam back to the boat then held a humongous stone up to me, I was pretty sure it was the exact same one he'd thrown in earlier.
"Can you hold this a mo?" He asked, holding it up with one hand.
I took the stone from him, but had to use both hands it was that heavy. I watched as Addie hauled himself into the boat, the sun sparkling like rainbows across his skin. I was a little mesmerised as he took up the guide rope and dropped the middle part into the water. He obviously intended to tie the stone to the end, so I held it out to him. Once it was tied, Addie took the rock from me and dropped it into the water.
"We ok now?" I asked, obviously the rock was to act as an anchor.
Addie nodded.
"Good." I said and moved in to kiss him.
Addie's arms came around me and that's when I noticed how cold he felt. He was in his vamp skin and I hadn't had chance to really explore it. I pulled away enough to look into his eyes. Gold now instead of the usual startling blue. I stroked back his hair over and over, other than being wet it felt the same as normal, but his skin felt cool and smooth and the sunlight glittered off it.
"Wow, you feel so different." I whispered as I ran my hand down over his chest.
"Sorry." He said as his tan returned and his heat did too.
"I wasn't complaining." I crooned as I looked up into his eyes and continued to trail down to his waistband. "Just making an observation. It's the first time I've really seen you in your vamp skin. I wanted to see how it felt up close."
"You still want to?" He asked, but I had no problems whatsoever.
"Would you feel comfortable?" I asked, because he was less experienced than me, but Addie shrugged.
"I guess we'll only know by experimenting." He said, his voice squeaking a little.
"We can try it once and if either of us don't like it we can strike it off the list." I pointed out and Addie nodded.
He went into vamp mode again and I watched his eyes. Watched as the gold moved out from his pupil to cover his entire iris.
"I think that's the weirdest part. Not you losing the tan, but those sky blues turning gold." I admitted.
"It's something I can't help." He said, looking a little uncomfortable.
"I know, just observing again." I said before brushing my lips against his before he could say anything else, and that didn't feel so bad, which was the most important thing. "I think I could get used to it though, if this experiment goes well."
"Yeah." He said as he looked up into my eyes and stroked my cheek with his cool fingers. "So how do you want to do this?"
"Let's find the best way." I said and kissed him, only briefly wondering if his venom could effect me, but to hell with it, if I became a vampire all the better.
As we kissed I considered where we were. I think Addie's reservations were down to people seeing us, but if we went low in the dinghy nobody would see us from the shore. We should lie on our sides. Facing each other.
Is that really the best? Addie asked.
Yeah.
"Ok." Addie whispered against my lips and then he moved and turned us so we were now in the bottom of the boat, facing each other on our sides.
"Now what?" Addie asked.
I hooked my leg over his hip and pulled him into me. I could feel the cold of his skin against my bare midriff, but I ignored it as I started kissing him again, tangling my fingers into his hair. Addie's hands started exploring my body, then he slipped his fingers into my bikini bottoms, trying to figure out how to get them down.
I moved his hand to the string at the side and I thought toward him to pull it. He did while I leant up enough to pull the other string. It was easy then to remove my bikini bottom, or at least get it out of the way.
Then Addie was trying to pull off his swim shorts while still holding on to me and kissing me. I pushed his shorts down enough to reveal his boner, then I pulled him back into me, and he let me manoeuvre us until he was between my legs and inside me.
I felt the cold of the dinghy against my back as Addie used it as a counter to push in deeper. As much as I was enjoying it I felt myself shiver, and it wasn't in delight. I was starting to feel cold.
Then I felt the fire up my front and the blue washed through Addie's eyes, covering the gold. He'd stopped moving against me as he brushed my cheek looking anxious.
"I'm ok." I said, although I was still shivering. "My back is cold."
Addie moved his hand to my back and rubbed it up and down, warming me and I hummed as I started moving against him and he picked up the rhythm again until we both came. Then we just lay tangled with each other for a while as Addie continued to warm my back with his hand.
"I guess the experiment failed. No vamp skin from now on." He whispered.
"I don't know. It might work if we're somewhere warm. I was enjoying it until I got cold."
"I don't know." Addie said, looking worried.
"Just think of it." I said, snuggling closer into his chest and weaved my fingers into the hair near his temple as I imagined my scenario in my mind to add to my argument. "A cosy cabin somewhere, lots of blankets beneath us and a roaring fire. The type of room where I could do with some cooling down."
"Yeah." Addie said and put his lips to my head. It's a great picture, but could we even afford somewhere like that?
We can save up, and if all else fails, we can leave it till we're super famous rock stars. I thought back.
Yeah. Or if you do decide to change, after that.
If I'm a half vampire, won't I be warmer so wouldn't you feel even colder?
No. Your own body heat will counteract the cold. It's why I could stand in the middle of a blizzard in just shorts and t-shirt and only feel mildly uncomfortable. Now at least. When I was a kid I knew what cold was.
We've never really talked about that. I realised, as I started stroking his arm. "Did you know you were different from your family?"
"Yes. Of course I did." Addie muttered and he hugged me closer and buried his face in the top of my head.
"When did you realise?"
"Can't really remember. I sort of always knew. I mean Mam used to take me around in a papoose when she went hunting until a week before I was six and asked if I could stay with Auntie Mair." He whispered.
"Can you really remember that?" I asked doubtfully.
"Yeah. It's one of those standout moments. I remember asking Mam if I could stay behind and the next morning she told me I'd stay the night with Auntie Mair. I felt so happy, and I did have a good time. Helping Auntie Mair in the shop, going with Arwel to feed the animals. Helping Auntie Mair to cook for all her family on the Sunday. It was amazing. I remember it more than my actual sixth birthday party. I only know that cause of the video, but my first time staying with Auntie Mair when the others went hunting was an important event for me. After that my times staying behind blend together, but there's got to be times you can remember like that?"
I thought about it for a moment.
"There is one real stand out moment. First time I came to the Res when I was nine. When I first met you Freaks." I said and chuckled. "It was the first time I felt friendship. I had the cool teenage Leda telling me I was as beautiful as her, which was a load of bull, still is."
"What? You're the most beautiful woman in the world." Addie interrupted.
"You're my wolf, you have to think that." I pointed out. "And I'm not too vain to realise that I'm nothing compared to the Siren, she's just so ethereal. If I was casting elves, you know the noble Tolkien kind, not the things that sit on mushrooms, she would be my first choice."
"Well yeah, still doesn't mean you're not as beautiful. You'd be the human princess with the hidden streak of steal who'd sooner defend the dragon against the stupid knight that need rescuing." Addie said firmly.
"You really see me like that?" I asked with a snort.
"Not really. I just see you as one sexy woman who's not one iota conceited, I've always loved you. Well not always, but ever since I hit puberty." He said, growling a little and I felt tingly.
"You liked Leda too." I pointed out.
"Yeah, well she's my oldest friend and maybe if she hadn't been a half vamp it would have been different, but she was always older than me until this summer. You were way out of my league and I was starting to realise how much Leda liked me, down there on the Ranch."
"Is that why you bought her the necklace?"
"I bought it for her costume." Addie said firmly and I pulled away from him to give him a look. "At least, that's what I told myself to get the guts to actually give it to her. It seems weird to talk to you about this."
"It was before, I just want to know how close you were to getting together with her." I assured him as I stroked his hair behind his ear.
"Too close. All I can say is that it was lucky Rea press ganged me when she did, or the whole me imprinting on you would have been a whole lot more messy than Leda running off, getting off with Loki and deciding she hadn't realised what she was missing with him."
"I see." I said, thinking it over for a moment, but I'd had a hell of a lot more guys than that, and gone a lot further. I couldn't really be annoyed with it. "Good job you didn't get further. For Leda I mean."
"Really?"
"Yeah." I confirmed. "Anyway, back to you lot making me feel friendship for the first time, that was true. All of you. My cool cousin Leda, you and Loki, not so much Amy, but she's got her own issues." I said with a snort.
"Amy's not that bad." Addie said, but he was determined to see the good in everyone.
"She's the daughter of a wolf and decided there's no such thing as the supernatural." I pointed out.
"I think that was more cause she didn't phase. She was really hoping for that. And she's gonna be in our lives. She's technically Seren's niece." Addie babbled.
"You're right about that." I said, deciding to give him a break. "Ok, enough about Amy."
"Thank you." Addie said.
"We got more important things to discuss." I said firmly.
"Like what?" Addie asked, sounding worried.
"I just realised, of all the things we talked about, you never told me about when you got your fangs." I pointed out before giving him a curious look. "Do you remember that?"
"That and nearly everything after that. That's when I started remembering everything I'll ever do."
"Really?" I asked, feeling weirded out.
"At least I only remember everything from when I was eight. My sisters can remember everything from almost before they were born. It might take them a while to get to those memories, but they're still there."
"Wow. So you really remember everything since you were eight?" I asked, trying to imagine that.
"If I concentrate, yeah." He said, nodding slightly.
"So you remember the first time you saw me?" I asked, mostly teasing and not expecting him to answer.
"Yeah. I thought you were cute with those big glasses and your red hair sticking out from under your hat."
"You miss my red hair?" I asked, a little wary in case the answer was yes.
"You still got red hair." He whispered as his fingers played with my pubic hair and I felt myself shiver.
"I meant on my head." I said a little unsteadily.
"I love you no matter what colour you dye your hair." Addie said and kissed my forehead. "It's a way you express yourself and I love that about you."
"You don't think I'm hiding myself?" I asked curiously.
"You don't do it to hide your red hair, but to reflect whatever mood your feeling this season."
"How can you be so sure?" I challenged.
You really need ask. He thought toward me.
"You're wrong you know."
"Ok. That might have been the reason you started dying your hair, but you'd go back to your natural colour if that's what you fancied tomorrow without a second thought. It's just a fashion choice now and not a mask."
I sat up and frowned down at him as I considered it.
"You're right." I agreed. "And I might start growing the dye out."
"You will?" He asked, sounding just a little too hopeful for my liking.
"Well I haven't seen it since I was fourteen, I'm curious to see how it's changed." I said, instead of getting pissed.
"You think it will have changed much?" Addie asked as he put his hand to my cheek and stroked it.
I shrugged before I lowered my lips to his and kissed him. I was starting to get into it and hoping for a second round when Addie suddenly gasped.
Quick. Get your bikini bottom back on and then we need to capsize the boat.
Why?
Zoë and Mischa are almost here.
I didn't waste any more time in tying my bikini bottoms back on and Addie pulled up his shorts. Then I leapt into the water and swam a little away from the boat and trod water while Addie capsized it and swam underneath where I could hear the splash of water echoing beneath it.
Then he righted the boat.
"You want to swim a while?" Addie asked.
"Give a better reason of why the inside of the boat is wet." I replied.
Addie grinned and gave me a quick kiss while we trod water together. Then looked toward the shore a moment before I heard the engine. I looked to the shore too just as Zoë pulled up in her car.
"Were you keeping a mind out this time?" I asked.
Didn't want a repeat of the Seren incident. Addie explained.
I nodded in agreement.
"Oi!" Zoë called across the water to us.
"What?" Addie asked.
"You want to share that boat?"
Addie looked at me, giving me a choice.
I shrugged, I guess hanging with Zoë and her girlfriend wouldn't be so bad.
"Give us a mo." Addie called back.
He helped me back into the boat then climbed in himself. He pulled up the rope until he had the rock in his hands. He looked at it for a moment then glanced at me.
"You think you can hold this back to shore? Zoë can hold it then." He stated.
"Sure." I said, it hadn't been that heavy.
Addie nodded, handed the stone to me then pulled the rope up into the boat then untied the oars before he turned the boat around and started rowing back. I settled the rock in my lap and started gathering the rope together, tying it up safely so it was out of the way when Zoë and Mischa got in. When we reached the shore it was obvious it was gonna be a little snug in the boat so I turned and got as close back to Addie as I could.
"Cosy." Zoë said with a leer.
"You getting in or what?" I asked.
Zoë shrugged and turned to Mischa.
"How you want to do this cariad?"
"You're right about Addie and Robyn looking cosy." Mischa replied.
"We face em or what?" Zoë asked.
"If you sit against the…whatever end of the boat and I can face Robyn with my legs crossed." Mischa said coyly.
"Sounds like a good plan." Zoë said as she put her arm around Mischa and kissed her cheek.
"Just let me get out a mo and turn the boat around." Addie said from behind me.
I leant forward enough for him to get out and he tuned the boat until I was facing the shore. Zoë climbed in first then Mischa got in carefully into the space that was left and folded her legs so our knees were touching.
Addie moved the boat out into the deeper water then climbed into the boat behind me and started rowing again.
"So where to?" Addie asked as I felt his chest moving to and from me. It would have been interesting if we didn't have company.
"Was the swimming good where you were?" Zoë asked.
"Yeah. But maybe we should stop a little closer if we're going swimming. It's a little chilly that far out." Addie replied without thinking.
"Then why did you stop there for swimming?" Zoë asked.
"It was a mistake." Addie said firmly as he stopped rowing. "Here should be ok."
I nodded and unravelled the rope before dropping the stone into the water. It sank and the depth was nowhere near as great here because there was some slack left in the rope.
"You know, instead of lobbing a stone out, maybe you should set up anchor points with buoys so you know where they are." I said as I watched the rope floating on the surface.
"Depends on how regular a thing we want to make it." Zoë replied.
"It wouldn't hurt to float it past the pack." Addie said.
We all chuckled.
"What?" Addie asked.
"Seriously brawd? Float?" Zoë pointed out.
"Oh right." He said as he realised. "That wasn't meant to be a pun."
"Whatever. I thought we were swimming." I said before I let myself over the edge and into the water.
The water was cold, but with Addie close to me it wasn't bad at all.
"Oh my god!" Mischa gasped as she struggled a little.
"This the first time you been swimming outside?" I asked.
"Yeah." She confirmed.
"You get used to it, and if not, Zoë will keep you warm." I encouraged her.
"If that's what you want." Zoë said gently.
"How?" Mischa asked me.
"Zoë's a strong swimmer, just like Addie." I said as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist and he trod water smiling at me.
"You sure?" Mischa asked uncertainly.
"Come on cariad." Zoë whispered as she swam closer to Mischa and pulled her arms around her shoulders.
"Oh well yeah, this is a lot better." Mischa whispered as she moved in to kiss Zoë.
"What's going on here?" Someone yelled from the shore and I looked that way in time to see something streak into the water.
Addie threw me and I landed in the boat, Mischa landed next to me. We looked at each other then scrambled to the side to see what was happening. Addie was holding Zoë as he trod water and she was doing…I don't know what. Then a big glob of water floated up about a foot from Zoë, and inside was Adrian, Mischa's father who got vamped after she was born.
He floundered around in the water blob clearly raging.
"You'll wait for us at the shore." Zoë said firmly and threw her hands, sending Adrian, water and all, back to the shore.
The Llewellyn sibs jumped back in the boat. Addie raised the anchor while Zoë pushed her hands toward the back of the boat and we shot toward shore like we were on a speedboat. Mischa fell into me as I held on tightly to the rope on the side to stop myself from falling over.
As soon as the boat bumped into the shore, Addie and Zoë surged out. Both in defensive crouches while Addie was actually growling and there was a tremor going through his body.
"What the hell?" Addie growled. "Are you trying to drown Robyn and Mischa?"
"No." Adrian said, flicking the water from his arms.
"Well you were close to it." Addie replied, getting up close to him and I found myself getting out of the boat closing in on Addie to try and pull him back, but I hit a wall and realised it was Zoë.
"That's one way to show your gratitude." Adrian said flatly.
"For what?" Addie demanded.
"Saving your life." Adrian sneered.
"You pulled me up on the train, yeah, but you wouldn't have got Mischa out in time if I hadn't located her mind for you." Addie shot back.
"If you hadn't been on the train the League wouldn't have stopped it." Adrian hissed.
"How do you know they weren't after you? I'd been covering my tracks well with Thea. Not one single encounter until we caught back up with you. Not to mention, if I hadn't sensed them ahead of time you wouldn't be able to make a run for it and if I hadn't been there Gran wouldn't have known you needed help."
"Enough with the pissing contest!" I yelled, and hit at Zoë's shield. "Let me the hell through."
Addie straightened up and turned to Zoë. She let out a disgruntled sound then I stumbled forward a step. I righted myself and strode up to Adrian.
"Seriously dude, what's your problem?" I demanded.
"What's it to do with you?" He spat.
"When you're being agro with my best friends then I'm gonna have a problem." I spat back.
"I'm worried about my daughter. I'm allowed to be." He rumbled.
"Yeah. But you're worrying in the wrong way." I said, and I frowned at him, looking into his eyes that were still red because he hadn't long been on an animal diet. "I get it. I got absent parents too. They tend to over compensate when we can spend time together. That's what you're doing with Mischa. You weren't there for her and now you're trying to make up for it."
"I didn't choose…"
I put my hand up to cut him off and it actually worked.
"Yeah. You didn't choose to leave. You're like a murder victim, only your body was never found. Whatever vamp did this to you is the one to blame. The reason you couldn't be there for Mischa, and now you found her again you want to make up for it. Only problem is that she's seventeen, not three. Treating her like a toddler is just insulting after she's spent over a decade taking care of herself. She doesn't need you to be the worried parent of a kid but the respectful parent of a young woman."
"Don't move a muscle!" Addie yelled, and there was a strange resonance to his voice.
Adrian suddenly couldn't move and it wasn't Zoë holding him. He wasn't even pretending to breathe. He wasn't moving a muscle.
"Did you just Alpha him?" Zoë asked.
"He was about to hurt Robyn. It was either that or fursplode and rip him to shreds. I didn't think Mischa would want me doing that." Addie rambled, sounding panicked.
"No." Zoë said and she glared at Adrian. "You know if you had hurt Robyn we'd have every right to kill you."
"You can talk!" Addie said with the same resonance as before, and I felt both excited and a little intimidated by his power.
"You wouldn't do that." Adrian hissed.
"It's the law." Mischa said as she came up next to Zoë and hooked onto her arm. "I'm human and even I know that much. Washington State is vegetarian land. The killing of humans is banned. If you do it they will kill you. They have to."
"You're serious?" Adrian asked incredulously.
"Yeah." Addie said firmly. "We'll give you a pass this time because you're Mischa's father and we don't punish thought crimes."
"This isn't a punishment?" Adrian demanded, looking like he was straining even though he wasn't moving at all.
"No." Addie said firmly. "This is a warning. Don't raise a hand against any human when on our territory or you will suffer the consequences. I say that as an Alpha of the Quileute and the most senior member of the Cullen Clan present."
"What if there was a murderer and he was trying to kill Mischa?" Adrian asked.
"Well that's an exception and you can plead your case before the pack and the VCAC council." Zoë said flatly. "You know exactly what Addie means."
"Do you want me to let you go, or turn you over to Jane right now?" Addie asked.
"Ok. I'll shut up." Adrian said grudgingly.
"Yeah." Addie said. "Also, you can now move and you will leave the lake. You will never set foot within half a mile of the tree line in any direction from now on."
Adrian looked like he was about to argue, but then he turned around and ghosted away.
Zoë let out a sigh of relief.
"What just happened?" Mischa asked.
"This place is off limits to Adrian from now on." Zoë replied.
"How?" Mischa asked.
"I took away his free will." Addie said in a fatalistic voice.
I went to his side and put my arm around him.
"It's not like that brawd." Zoë said firmly. "You wouldn't use it unless you had to."
"So he really can't come out here?" Mischa asked.
"Not unless I lift my edict." Addie murmured. "Of course it's only here he's banned from. The Res too, but only in the sense he'll get torn apart if he tries to cross the border."
"Oh my god! He's going to kill us later!" Mischa gasped.
"He won't." Addie said firmly. "He won't start trouble or he'll get trouble."
"Wow. You're sounding like a warrior." Zoë observed.
"I am a warrior." Addie said, and he sounded pissed now. "That's the point of the wolf."
"Come on." I said and tapped Addie's back. "Let's head home. Loki will be home from work soon."
I wasn't even sure of the time but Addie nodded in agreement.
"What about the boat?" He asked.
"We'll take care of that." Zoë said. "We're going to stay out here a bit longer."
"A lot longer." Mischa corrected.
"A lot longer." Zoë agreed as she put her arm around Mischa.
"See you later." Addie said. "And any problems with Adrian, phone me."
"Will do." Zoë agreed.
I pulled my shorts and top back on over my wet bikini and picked up my bag. Addie pulled on his t-shirt and picked up his bag like it weighed nothing. It took all my strength earlier to drag it over.
We carried our bags back to the car, dumped them in the trunk then started the drive home.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked.
"Not yet." Addie replied as he looked out the window at the trees. "I need to think about it myself first."
"Well when you're ready to talk." I pointed out.
Addie turned to me and smiled.
"I know." He said.
"Good." I said, and smiled back at him as we carried on to the Res.
Leda
I had spent the morning trawling the few estate agents that exist in Forks, but still there were many hours before Loki finished work, but I could still utilise the tree house. I put all the printouts Kitty-Kat and I had gathered from the various outlets into my backpack along with my laptop and a few snacks to tide me over, then I ran for the border.
I crossed the wolf scent that marked the beginning of Quileute territory and made a beeline for the tree house. I was part way there when I heard a howl and for the first time it sent a shiver down my spine and caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise in fear as opposed to awe. I drew to a stop and a wolf appeared before me, dappled grey and brown. It was either Astrid or Lydia. I heard a growl behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see the other appear behind me.
I turned sideways and took a step back so I could keep both in my peripherals.
"Hello girls, are you enjoying your run?" I asked.
You're in the wrong woods leech. Astrid said into my mind.
You crossed the border without permission. Lydia added.
"I need no permission." I said glaring between the two.
Yes you do, daughter of Alec. Astrid began.
Niece of Jane. Lydia finished.
They closed in on me, and I was caught, surely they were messing with me? Yet the way they were growling and bearing their teeth made me think otherwise.
You got five seconds to get the hell off our property. They thought as one.
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
Time's up.
They charged at me and I lashed out defensively with my power, casting a blanket over all their senses. They dropped to the floor whining and I shot up into the trees, climbing to the very top. I leapt across the canopy, trying to put as much distance between myself, and the Gruesome Twosome.
I reached the tree line and headed toward the factory where I knew Loki to be. Near the village I missed my handhold and I fell down to the ground, landing on my back, the wind pushed out of my body and I was dazed for a moment. Whilst my vision was swimming, a face peered over me and I shrank away.
"Leda? What were you doing up in the tree." Magda asked as I pushed myself to sit up.
I rubbed the back of my head, unable to find my voice.
"They did what?" Mags demanded as she pulled me to my feet by the straps of my backpack and I wavered a little but kept to my feet. "That's it. Time to alpha them."
Could she alpha another with the power? I couldn't help but think.
"I outrank them. I can. I'll get Dad to reinforce it later." Mags replied to my unspoken statement.
"There's no need. I don't want to cause animosity between you and your sisters." I said aloud.
"Believe me, they caused it themselves." Mags said darkly.
"Ah hah." I said and put my hand to my forehead, I had a splitting headache, the first I'd ever had and I did not like it one bit.
Magda looked at me for a long moment, then looked off toward the direction of the factory.
"I just told Loki you're ok. He sensed you were in trouble and was about to run out on work."
"Oh dear." I muttered.
"But you're not ok are you? That was some fall. Let's go back to my house and have a nice cup of tea."
"What if the GT are there?" I asked.
"I'll deal with them, but they're gonna be in major trouble when the pack finds out anyway."
"Why? I'm a leech." I muttered.
Mags sighed and placed her arm around my shoulder and began leading me toward her house.
"You're not just a leach." She said. "And I know Loki hasn't imprinted on you, but judging by the fact that he just sensed when you were in danger there's something going on between you. Something that will hurt him if anything happened to you. That's something the pack stands against."
I nodded, that was too much for me to truly process while my head was still fuzzy.
"Maybe we should go speak to Portia instead." Mags said, stopping suddenly. "Or maybe Uncle Mal. I know he's psych, but he's done some physiology too. He might know what to look for more."
"I'm ok." I assured her. "I merely need to sit down for five minuets."
Then as if my legs had permission because I had said it aloud, I slumped to the floor and sat there in the middle of the path.
"Come on." Mags said and she lifted me up over her shoulder before carrying me swiftly to her house.
She sat me in one of the comfortable chairs in the small family room.
"I'll get you some water." She said and I nodded as I removed my bag so I could sit back fully.
"No sleeping." Mags said firmly and she was suddenly back in the room.
"I wasn't sleeping." I protested.
"You were about to drop off, that's not a good sign after you just hit your head." She stated.
"I know." I said warily and took the glass Mags offered to me.
I drank back the water but it didn't do much to elevate the fuzziness in my head.
"Do you have any idea why my dumbass sisters decided to attack you?" Mags asked and I shook my head. "I'll ask them when they get back."
I shrugged and felt my back twinge.
"Do you hurt anywhere other than your head?" Mags asked.
"My back I suppose." I whispered.
"Let me check it for you."
I nodded and pulled off my t-shirt. I turned my back to her and pulled my hair over my shoulder.
"You're pretty bruised up." Mags said as she ran her hand gently over my back. "How bad is it?"
"Not that bad." I said with a sigh.
"We need to keep an eye on it. We'll check in half an hour." She stated.
"Ok." I said and pulled my t-shirt back on. "I believe my bag bore the brunt." I added, attempting a laugh.
"Was there anything fragile in there?"
"Oh no!" I gasped and opened my backpack quickly.
My snacks had squashed, my water bottle cracked causing the liquid to spill all over my laptop. I pulled out said laptop, opening it gingerly in the hope that I could somehow save it, but no matter what life hack I used, my laptop was dead. The screen damaged beyond repair.
"Oh no." Mags repeated my alarm. "Well guess who owes you compo."
"I can't ask that of them." I said as I placed my damaged laptop on the table in front of me.
"You can. And you will. Or else I will. You wouldn't have been fleeing at the treetops if they hadn't tried to attack you." Mags said firmly.
"I suppose." I said and pressed the on button in hope, but nothing happened.
I looked up as the front door was opened. Astrid and Lydia clattered in giggling.
"What have you got to say for yourselves?" Mags demanded.
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.
"You know what." Mags said firmly.
"Whatever Leda said she's lying." Lydia put in.
"She didn't say anything. I got it all from her mind when she fell out of a tree and bust up her laptop." Mags said flatly as she indicated my laptop.
"What were you doing up a tree?" Lydia asked sounding all the innocent.
"Running from you." I replied.
"You thought we were serious?" Astrid said with a snort.
"You sure looked serious." Mags said, sounding unimpressed.
"You weren't there." Lydia pointed out.
"You forget I'm a lot more powerful than you. I get things a lot clearer than you do."
"Does that make you feel violated?" Astrid directed at me.
"No." I said firmly.
"You won't mind if we read your mind?" Astrid asked.
"I would with you for I know not what you would do with said information." I said flatly.
"You don't trust your sisters?" Lydia asked, sounding hurt.
"That's so sad." Astrid added in an equally hurt voice.
"Trust is earned and you've broken it too many times." Mags said flatly.
"What's going on?" Grace asked as she came in the door.
"You want to tell Mom or shall I?" Mags asked Astrid and Lydia.
"Leda used her gift on us." Lydia said.
"And why did she do that?" Grace asked, knowing her middle children well.
"They decided to tag team her in the woods when they were wolf form." Mags replied when it was clear the GT would not.
"Why?"
"We weren't being serious." Lydia complained.
"It looked serious enough from what I saw in Leda's mind when she fell out of a tree." Mags interjected.
"Fell out of a tree?" Grace asked as she entered the room and took her chair.
"That's how much they spooked Leda, she hit the trees to flee them."
I nodded.
"Ok. Well no leaving the house until your father gets home. Then we're gonna have to have a talk." Grace said firmly, then spotted my laptop. "What happened to it?"
"Nothing." I said, not wanting to cause more trouble.
"It was in Leda's backpack when she fell and she landed on her back." Mags explained.
"Then my girls are responsible." Grace stated.
"I have insurance." I interjected, lying but I really didn't want compensation.
"Besides the point." Grace said and looked sharply toward Lydia and Astrid who were edging down the corridor. "You'll stay in here where I can keep an eye on you."
"Come on Leda, we'll go wait in the practice hut for Loki." Mags said as she stood up.
I had no choice but to follow her.
"I didn't want to get them in trouble." I said as we sat down on the furniture in the practice hut.
"You didn't, they did." Mags said firmly. "Besides, if you let them get away with it they'll do it again."
"I suppose, but what if I did overreact?"
"Seemed pretty legit in your mind." Mags said firmly, then gave me a smile before changing the subject. "You want to show me these houses you're looking at?"
"Loki has yet to see them."
"I know, but he'll go along with whatever you suggest. Let me give it my big sister eye and give my advice on what I think will be good for a wolf."
"Very well." I said as I took the soggy papers from my bag. "Although I'm not sure how legible these are now."
"We'll sort through them." Mags promised me, and we did as I worried about what the GT might do to me once they had served their punishment.
Thank you for reading
Reviews are always welcome
Gemma x