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I blinked my eyes open and lifted my head. I sat up, groaning as parts of my body yelled in protest. I looked up to see Luke standing over Amara. My wolf immediately stood at attention. He was not happy with the way Luke was looking at Amara and he definitely wasn’t happy with how close they were standing. I pushed him down and pushed to my knees. Amara was doing something with her hands and I was seriously not happy with how close she was to him.
I opened my mouth to snarl at her to back up when she dropped her hands, looked up at Luke, smiled, and then passed out. I lunged forward, grabbing her before she fell to the ground. I wrapped her in my arms and kept her close. I pushed some of her hair out of her face, staring down at her.
Mate.
I sighed internally, wanting to just give in to my wolf. I wrapped an arm under Amara’s legs and back, shifting her into a bridal carry and standing up. Luke eyed me. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he only shook his head and turned around.
“Alright, folks, I appreciate your support, but it’s time to get back to work,” Luke said to everyone. Most of the wolves eyed me, not moving a muscle, until finally one-by-one they started to drift away. I remained where I was, waiting to see what was going to happen now. I had no idea what I was going to do now - I had attacked an Alpha. I knew there were going to be some serious consequences - I was sure his pack was already out for blood, but I needed to make sure Amara was okay before anything else happened.
“Dean,” Sam’s voice called to me. I turned to her, narrowing my eyes. She hit Amara and my wolf didn’t want her anywhere near either of us. Luke tooked a few steps near Sam, blocking her from my view. It didn’t stop me from lifting my lip in a silent snarl. Luke raised an eyebrow at me, letting his own wolf bleed through again. My wolf reluctantly backed down, since Amara was unconscious in our arms.
“Stop it. Both of you. We need to get Amara to my house. She’s extended too much power and is probably exhausted. She needs to rest and recharge. You two can stop having a dick measuring contest and help me get her to my house - and Dean into some pants,” Sam snapped, covering her eyes with a hand and still managing to make me feel a bit of shame over how I’d been acting.
She turned on her heel and walked away from us. Luke and I exchanged a glance, meekly following after her. It didn’t take us long to make it to Sam’s place, ducking into the small hut and laying Amara down on the bed that Sam was offering. Sam turned around, sticking her arm back behind her with a pair of sweatpants in her hand. I took them from her and jumped into them.
When I cleared my throat, Sam turned around and carefully averted her eyes. I stepped aside, letting Sam approach Amara. She was careful to move slowly, which helped my wolf stay calm. I backed up another few steps, staying close in case I needed to intercede. I eyed Luke over my shoulder, but he was staring at Sam intently. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, turning toward him more fully. He shifted his gaze to look at me, meeting my eyes directly. When I inclined my head over my shoulder at Sam, he nodded, looking intense and serious. I nodded back, understanding immediately.
I didn’t say anything, turning back to watch what Sam was doing. She had a washcloth and wringed it out, patting Amara’s forehead lightly. My wolf grumbled at someone else taking care of our mate, but I was too exhausted to deal with his attitude right now. I rubbed the back of my neck and turned back to Luke, feeling a bit sheepish. “Luke, can we talk in the other room?”
Luke nodded once, turning away and walking out of the room. I cleared my throat and turned back to Sam. “I’m sorry for going after you, Sam. I was out of line.”
Sam pulled away from Amara and gave me a soft smile, looking like she was humoring a toddler. “I appreciate your apology, Dean. You’re going to have to work a little harder to get Luke and the rest of the pack to forgive you, but know that you have my forgiveness. I know how a wolf can get when his mate is hurt. I hope you realize that I only did what I did to get Amara to pull it together. Our Goddess has a plan for her and we’re going to need her for what’s coming.”
“What’s coming?” I asked, tilting my head. Sam chuckled softly, turning away. I blew out an annoyed breath and made my way out of the room. I walked into a living room type area and blew out a breath, not excited for what was to come. Luke was standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed and scowling at me.
“I know, man. I messed up,” I started. Luke scoffed.
“No - you didn’t mess up. You fucked up, Dean. Royally - excuse my pun,” Luke replied. He started pacing the length of the room. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
I took a deep breath, hating that my wolf was already wanting to go after Luke again for the way he was talking to us. I sat on the edge of the couch and lowered my head, planting both hands behind my neck. I took several deep breaths, trying to get my wolf under control. “Dean, what is going on? You’re the Beta of the Wolf Hollow pack. You know the stakes - you understand the politics behind all of this. Why would you do something like this?”
I closed my eyes, hating that I had to explain myself, but knowing I wouldn’t be getting out of here without one. Luke deserved one too. He was a good friend to Jason and I, he’d only ever been supportive. I groaned as the realization of just how much of a mess I’d made of everything hit me. I sat up, looking Luke straight in the eye. “I really did fuck up.”
“I’ll say,” Sam said as she walked into the room. Luke’s eyes immediately lit up, but his mouth tightened and the glow faded. I watched his face soften slightly when he looked at Sam. I didn’t know the whole story, but even having the bits that I had now, I was impressed with how Luke handled the whole thing.
“Dean, answer my question,” Luke demanded, threading a bit of his Alpha will into the command. I could feel the pressure to answer the question, but I was able to resist somewhat. He wasn’t my Alpha and while I wasn’t an Alpha either, I was still a strong Beta. It wasn’t easy to resist his command and since I was planning on telling him anyway, I didn’t bother dealing with it.
“My wolf has claimed Amara as his mate.”
Sam snorted, rolling her eyes. “No shit, Sherlock. Of course your wolf claimed her as your mate. What we’re asking is why you’re acting like an asshole. You have better control over your wolf than that.”
I shook my head. “No, I really don’t. It feels like I’m in grade school again.” I got up off the couch and moved behind it. I paced the length of the room a few times, grabbing my hair and trying to calm myself down. I watched Luke and Sam share a meaningful glance before they both moved to sit on the couch. Sam leaned over the back, resting her arms on the back and laying her head on her hand. Luke sat on the couch arm, resting his forearms on his knees and staring at me. It took me a few more laps before I could calm down enough to explain more.
“When I was in grade school, I had a really hard time with my wolf. He was always super aggressive and was ready for a fight at any time. I got into a lot of trouble until Jason and I met. It was like he grounded me somehow. I was able to keep him safe and appease my wolf. It’s worked really well for years. I’ve been able to hone my control and get better at keeping my wolf in line so that his aggression was put to good use, but ever since I met Amara, I feel like everything is out of balance. She makes me be off balance. We’re here to figure out what she is so I can find out how to get her out from under my skin,” I explained, finishing with a snarl.
17
Sam
I glanced over at Luke as Dean finished explaining how he was basically losing his mind over a girl. I waited a beat for Dean to explain more or tell us he was just joking, but when he remained as solid as a stone, I had to laugh. He threw his hands up and turned away from me, obviously annoyed at my reaction. Luke looked exasperated with the whole situation. He sent me one of those‘did you have to laugh’expressions and I gave him a smug look back. Of course, I had to laugh. They didn’t understand - none of them really understood what was going to happen and it was all just too precious to watch them flail about, trying to keep the sense of control they craved so much.
“Sorry, Dean, I didn’t mean to piss you off. It’s just funny that you think there’s something you can do about the whole situation,” I shrugged. Dean turned back around, frowning like he was trying to figure out if I was lying to him. I knew the wolves had a highly adept sense of smell and I wasn’t about to sit in a room with two of the most powerful wolves in these lands and try to pull a fast one on them.
How stupid did he think I was?
“Look, I just don’t understand what I’m supposed to be doing right now, okay? I feel like I’m losing my fucking mind!” Dean snarled, grabbing at his head and starting to pace again. I sighed, shaking my head.
“You’re not losing your mind. You’re just not accepting what is right in front of you,” I replied.
