AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Keith,” I called out as I made my way back to the forest. My friend quickly jogged to my side, the effects of my aura still in play. “Watch my dad and that new guy he has. Send me a report of any move they make. Get as close to the pack’s territory as you can to mind-link me. I’ll meet you from there.”
“Yes, Xander,” Keith said. I looked at my friend’s stiff demeanor before giving him a friendly pat. “Calm down, Man, I’m not going to bite your head off. Just watch the old man. He’s butting into parts of the plan where he doesn’t belong and it’s going to cause this process to take a lot longer than it should.”
Keith nodded as his shoulders relaxed a bit. “I got your back, Xander.”
I paused to pull on my clothes and looked back at Keith thoughtfully. “Hey, be honest with me, will ya?”
“Sure, Man, what’s up?”
“If we could do this all peacefully, without any of the killing and backstabbing. Would you be okay with that?”
“What do you mean?” Keith asked with a frown.
“I mean, if I could bring you all back into the pack without having to kill the Rigel family, would you be open to living under their bloodline? I mean, it wasn’t you who chose to leave. Your parents did.”
Keith thought for a minute before eventually offering a nod. “Yeah. I don’t even understand why we left. So, what if this guy came in and killed the people who killed his parents? It happens all the time in our world. I know that my dad had made some claims that a witch as a luna would make the pack weak, but seriously, dude Ginger and I went a few towns over, and the Rigel pack is famous for being one of the strongest packs around. Other alphas call them for advice. It’s insane.”
“Why do you stick around then?” I asked, curious to know what kept him from going and joining the Rigel pack on his own. “Why continue to follow my dad if you don’t agree with him?”
“Dude, seriously? You don’t know by now?” he asked. I gave him a confused look that only earned a chuckle from my friend. “Dude, I don’t follow your dad. I don’t think anyone really does anymore. It’s you. Everyone sees you as the leader. After all,” He patted my back hard. “It’s you who is the next alpha. Not your dad.”
I patted his back in return with a laugh. “All right, well, you know, I’m glad to have you around. Your loyalty means more to me than you will ever know. Just don’t lose faith in me, all right?”
“Never.”
I turned and gave a wave to the others before ducking back into the tree line. Judging by the sun in the sky, I had about an hour to make it back to the packhouse before Liberty woke up to find me gone, again. The last thing I wanted was to raise her walls back up just as she finally let me sleep in the bed with her, despite the mountain of pillows between us. At least I was near her, with bonus points for not having any of my limbs dangling over the edges.
I pushed myself to run faster than I have ever run before in my life, at least in human form. I had a few more packs on my back from emptying the rest of my room. I didn’t want to risk puncturing holes with my teeth if I shifted and carried them in my mouth. Just as I burst through the tree line at the rear of the packhouse, I just about collided with Brady, who stepped back a millisecond before our collision.
“Well, well, well,” Brady chuckled as he looked me up and down. “I take it my sister doesn’t know that you are gone.”
His laughter made me frown.
“I’ll take that as a yes. And judging by the speed you’re moving; you’re hoping to get there before she wakes up and finds you gone. Again.”
“I’m that obvious, huh?”
“Nah,” Brady laughed. “You’re just too late. Lib wakes up earlier on Mondays. Especially when we are dispatching scouts to investigate mysterious trespassers.”
“Shit.” I looked to the packhouse with fear, understanding that I had royally fucked up.
“Don’t worry,” Brady said, with a firm pat to my back. “I’ve got you covered. I told her that I saw you just before dawn going for a walk. When she asked where you were heading, I told her that you told me you had a few personal items still hidden in the forest waiting for the day she gave you more space in the bedroom.”
“How?”
“Visions my friend. Visions. Now let’s go. She won’t believe me until I bring you back with said items. Oh look, you have a bag, perfect.” He laughed while he pushed me toward the packhouse. “There’s no need to be scared,” he reassured me. “You want her to bite you, remember?”
Chapter Twelve
Liberty
He did it again. The moment I let him in my bed, he disappeared before I had even woken up. I was pissed. I stormed out of my bedroom, ready to rip him limb from limb, when Brady bumped into me.
He gave me some bullshit claim of seeing Xander earlier, being told that he had more items to bring to the packhouse now that I had finally let him get off the couch and back in bed. It took all I had not to take my aggravation out on Brady then and there. He was promising to go and collect my mate himself since he claimed to know exactly where he had had gone off to.
I didn’t believe him. It was clear that Brady had taken a liking to my mate. More so than I even had. If not for the clear sign of our mate bond, I would have thought that Xander was my brother’s mate rather than mine.
I gave him ten minutes to find Xander before I stormed outside and circled the house. I walked along the entire perimeter of the packhouse before circling back around to the front door. I spotted them. Both were laughing together while Xander carried a heavy-looking bag over his shoulder. It floored me to see it; I wondered if maybe Brady hadn’t just been covering for his long-lost friend.
