Blooded

I hadn’t understood it either, but that didn’t matter. “You have to have faith in me,” I said. “That’s how we settle it. If the wolves won’t accept me, you have to let me go. I understand everything you’ve said so far, and I don’t begrudge the decisions you’ve felt you had to make for the good of Pack. In my heart I’ve always known that, and I’m not a blind innocent in all of this. I contributed in my own way, never able to walk away from strife. I will take responsibility for my mistakes, but that’s all in the past. Everything is blown wide open now. I blew it open when I challenged Mitch in the arena. I did it for a reason, and I hope he doesn’t die for my choices. He certainly would’ve attacked me at some point down the road. He’s a huge asshole, which goes without saying, but that fight was mine. Now you have to do your part. I can’t stay here. If I do, I die. The next wolf will be stronger and smarter than Mitch. You know that Pack is better off without me. Your wolves are better off without me. We can’t coexist any longer. You have to choose.”

No one spoke for a minute.

James interrupted the silence. “What Jessica is saying is true, Callum. The wolves will no longer stay quiet. She has opened up the right to challenge. It will take time to coordinate the details, of course, but we can begin to formulate a plan to get Jessica off Compound safely by giving her a new identity. It’s a place to start. Once she’s gone, the Pack will calm and we can reevaluate at a later date.”

“I will consider it.” My father’s voice held a finality that didn’t allow a rebuttal. He was finished with this conversation.

It was my cue to go.

I stood up, gripping the chair to steady myself. My painkiller haze was finally wearing off, which was a blessed relief.

As I left, I slipped James a smile. He was going to have his hands full convincing my father it was finally time to let me go, but I appreciated the effort.

For the first time, I finally had a chance.

Chapter Three

My brother sat at the center island in the kitchen eating his breakfast. It was still early, even though it felt like a whole day had come and gone. Food overflowed the counter like it did every morning. Pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs. It appeared to be enough food to feed a dozen people, but it wasn’t. Werewolves were constantly hungry. Their metabolisms ran crazy fast, so mealtimes were frequent and plentiful. The family ate in here; the rest of the wolves dined in the cafeteria.

“Hey,” I said as I pulled out a stool and sat. I grabbed a box of cereal with my good hand, sliding a bowl over with the forearm of my injured one. It was the least complicated of all the food choices.

“What happened?” Tyler asked between mouthfuls. “Has Dad finally gotten smart enough to send you away?”

I arched my eyebrow at him and grabbed the milk.

“What?” Tyler shrugged. “One of these times the answer is going to have to be yes. It could’ve been today.”

“It won’t be that easy, and you know it,” I said. “But he did end with a resounding ‘I will consider it,’ so hopefully he’ll come to his senses soon enough. He’s too worried about the rest of the world, especially the other supes, and he somehow still believes he can manage the wolves through their fear. Were you aware he knew about all the other small fights? The ones we tried to cover up?”

“Yeah.” Tyler shifted in his chair. “I suspected. It would’ve been impossible to keep something like that from him completely. But I knew why he let us do it. I mean, what other choice did he have? He can’t go around killing his wolves all the time. It would’ve been a bloodbath, causing too much damage to Pack. There would’ve been some kind of revolt.”

“It would’ve been nice to have known,” I grumbled. “We crept around like bandits, trying to protect those wolves.”

“The moment he admitted he knew about the fights, he’d have to kill someone for fighting with you. Did you want that?”

“No,” I said. “Obviously our goal from the beginning was no deaths. You and I agreed to that when everything started to change. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night knowing I was responsible for killing people because I refused to stay locked in my room.” No one had issued any orders to stay out of sight, but it would’ve been the only way to keep everyone from trouble. Jail wasn’t my style.

“Well, there you go,” Tyler said. “It wouldn’t have worked otherwise. Having Dad’s support would’ve led to dead wolves. We couldn’t have it both ways, and it was the right choice, if you ask me. The wolves are reacting to something they can’t control when it comes to you, something unreasonable and unstable.” He grabbed the orange juice and poured himself another glass. “You realize you’re going have to start using a bodyguard or something from now on. Things are too out of hand. You can’t challenge a Pack wolf and stay under the radar.”

“I was under the radar? I thought I was the radar. And there’s no way I’m doing that.” I took a bite of cereal and continued. “I don’t need a bodyguard following me around. That would only make things nine million times worse. The stupid girl can’t take care of herself; look at her go cry to her bodyguard. Plus, there are exactly three people who would sign up for that job—you, Nick, or Danny.”

“You’re too pigheaded for your own good.” Tyler shook his head. “All you had to do was tell me Mitch was giving you trouble again, and I would’ve taken care of it. But no, you had to almost get yourself killed. You’re too reckless. That was a suicide fight and you know it.”

“I’m reckless? Please. You should talk. You fight anyone and everyone. And for your information, I set that fight up on purpose. I wasn’t planning on losing. I would’ve gotten around Mitch somehow.” The statement wasn’t one hundred percent accurate, but I’d had a shot and didn’t regret my choice to fight. “And if I’d been successful, everyone would’ve backed down for a while.”

“Fighting for status is completely different,” Tyler argued. “It’s necessary in Pack. If you’re alpha-born, you have to move up quickly or your wolf gets restless. It’s not natural to take orders from a wolf beneath you. The only way to reach the top is to fight.”

He had a point, but I wasn’t letting him off the hook so easily. “You know as well as I do that I can’t just run and tattle to you every time someone threatens me. If I did that without fighting myself, I’d have seventeen challenges an hour—”

“Unsanctioned challenges—”

I cut him off. “Standing up for myself is all I have. So that’s what I do. Until this year, it’s worked. Once things changed, I was forced to resort to something else. It actually makes perfect sense, if you think about it. Proving to the wolves I had some moxie was a necessary step to ward off further violence.”

“Going into the ring in the middle of the night without telling anyone doesn’t make any sense on any harebrained level. You’re completely delusional. You crossed a major boundary and brought the whole Pack with you. If Danny hadn’t found out and told me, you’d be dead right now. Mitch would’ve torn you to pieces.”

“I’m not as dumb as you think I am.” I pushed my point. “Mitch isn’t that skilled, and bringing the fight into the ring gave me an advantage. You have to believe I would’ve wo—”

“Did someone say my name?” Danny Walker strode into the kitchen, looking his usual rakish self. His chestnut hair tangled in his eyes and a devilish grin played on his lips. Danny was a fairly recent transplant from England, having joined the U.S. Northern Territories, my father’s Pack, a mere five years ago. Changing Packs didn’t happen often—only when someone wanted to relocate, or if their other Pack wasn’t a great fit. He and my brother had been attached at the hip ever since he’d arrived. He winked at me as he sat. “My ears were just burning. So what’s the gossip, then? I’ve just been informed Mitch is barely recovering from quite a thrashing last night. Can’t say the bloke didn’t deserve it, but the rumor is he’s holding on by only this much.” He put his fingers a fraction apart. “Wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now, poor bugger.”

I was glad to hear he wasn’t dead. If he was still alive, it meant he’d likely get to keep his life. And even though Mitch was a total douche, since the fight had been my challenge, his death would’ve been on me.

“The bastard shouldn’t be allowed to live.” Tyler shoveled another huge bite of food into his mouth. “Fighting…females…is beneath…us.”

“Hello.” I thwacked my spoon on his arm. “I’m sitting right here. I don’t see any females beneath you right now.” I mocked scanning the floor under his chair. “You just wish there were.” My brother was six-foot-five, with blond hair and a ridiculous set of dimples. Getting the ladies beneath him was not a problem. “And females can fight just fine. At least this one can. Especially when most of the young wolves have zero tactics, other than using their brute strength. It’s sad really.”

Danny grinned beside me. “Well, maybe you’d be willing to teach me some of your smart tactics a bit later. I’d be a grateful student, and I could sorely use some good one-on-one. That sounds quite nice, actually.”

I chose to ignore his innuendo, as usual. “Danny, I’ve seen you fight and you don’t need any lessons from me. You’d kill me immediately, and where’s the sport in that?” I had no idea how old Danny was, but he was a skilled fighter and an extremely dangerous wolf. He and Tyler sparred regularly. They were both powerhouses, wolves I knew better than to go up against. “Seriously, that English accent of yours lets you get away with saying the stupidest crap.” I laughed. “And it all sounds like a compliment.”