"..." he looks troubled for a moment but then he starts talking amusingly "You're a good ally, I know it since you made it possible for my 5 warriors to come back alive in a seemingly impossible situation but... as an enemy? You're scary" he says while snickering "I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship".
I tilt my head and frown. I'm practically coaxing him into joining a war, why does he look so happy being around me? Well, as long as they all agree I'm good with it.
"Do you have a cellphone?" I ask calmly and he nods, handing me the device. I save my number "Send me a message tomorrow morning, I will save your number and give you instructions through here" time to fuck them all up.
"Is this really ok? What if our pack gets hurt?" I hear the woman's worried voice.
"I will not let anyone in this pack die, I promise" I say with determined eyes.
She frowns, I know she doesn't believe me but before she says anything Aidan starts talking again "I trust her, Linda". He just met me, why are these people so trusting? it happened the same with Jos...
Thinking about her hurts but I understand why she couldn't help me, she told me they couldn't fight Nick's orders, I just... I wanted to believe in her, I wanted her to be one of my people, not Nick's. I shake my head; I still think of her as a friend. I just know that I can't trust her anymore.
"4 days" I add, and they look confused. "We have 4 days before they attack, join them before that" I instruct.
The number four means more than the day the Red River Pack plans to attack.
4 days... 4 days for Blacky to return.
"I'll go join them tomorrow" Aidan smirks and I tilt my head.
"Don't you need to ask your pack first?" I ask curiously.
"No, they trust me, and I trust them. They know I would never put them in unnecessary danger, besides" he looks at me with confidence "you will not let us die, right?".
I smile warmly "I will not".
I spend the next hour meeting the members of the pack, they're all amazing and kind people. We're interrupted by a tall muscular man with a scar that goes from his left eye to his jaw.
He's looking at me with caution. I don't think he likes to see me here. "Why is the mate of the Blue Lake's Alpha here? Aidan, this is dangerous, I helped you take her, but I thought she was going to be a prisoner" I recognize him now, he's the huge dark brown wolf that came with Aidan.
"Nice to meet you Beta Will" I say calmly, and he flinches.
He looks at Aidan and frowns in annoyance "did you tell her about me?" Aidan smirks and shakes his head "Have we met before?" he asks.
"You're the wolf that attacked the warrior that was trying to warn Nick" I say calmly.
"She's human... right?" he asks slightly concerned and Aidan nods. "Then how the fuck did she recognize me or how did she know my name?".
Aidan pats his shoulder "don't think about it too much, you have to let go of common sense when you talk to her".
I frown at his words. I think I have relatively good common sense. I'm not that bad... right?
"And? Why is she here Aidan?" I'm surprised Aidan allows him to speak that way, I thought all Alphas were going to be like Nick, but Aidan doesn't look angry, I smile. He treats his beta as a friend and takes notice of his words. I understand why they follow him, why the rogues made him king.
Will has ghosts around him too, not as many as Aidan used to have but still a lot. One of them is a little boy, he's grabbing Will's pants as if scared of losing him.
"Are you going to hurt my papa?" the little boy says anxiously.
"No" I reply calmly. His little shy face is looking up at me, he's hiding behind his leg now. I smile at the gesture.
"Will you help us?" he says shyly, and I look at him surprised. What do they need help with?
"The bad packs always try to hunt us! It's not fair" he starts crying while stomping his foot on the floor.
I frown "I can't help you, but I will protect them when I can" I sigh tiredly. This is growing far too much. I was not planning this much but I guess I can stretch the people I have to fucked up a little more.
"Who are you talking to?" Will looks at me with a scolding gaze.
"Your son" I reply casually and the scold change to hate "Not the 6-months-old son alive in your tent with your wife but the one holding your pants" I like being able to say this casually, to simply reply without caring to keep a secret. I've never felt so free.
He grabs me by the neck, am I being choked again? Seriously? I sigh, he's not holding tightly at all, this is just to threaten me I suppose. "How did you know?" his voice was low but full of anger "Who the fuck told you?".
"Another son?" I hear Aidan ask confused. Ah... so this boy is from before he was a rogue.
"What happened to you?" I ask the boy, not caring about the situation in front of me.
"The bad alpha from the pack we used to be part of wanted to... he said he wanted my mommy! I didn't like it, so I tried to stop him! He was hurting her! She didn't like him touching her, so I tried to stop him and... I died... my papa left the pack with my mommy after killing the bad alpha and now we're here!" he's saying it with the childish innocence only toddlers can give but the things he said were really heavy. No wonder Will is cautious of me, he doesn't want to lose any more loved ones.
I feel my body being shaken "Answer me dammit! Did they send you here? is this a huge plan to attack us!?".
"Will STOP! Do you think I would bring someone that can harm us? She's like us! Someone that was hurt by the official pack's way of doing things! She's a rogue, like us! She's one of our pack members! She's one of us!".
I wonder... what is this warm feeling in my chest? ... he said I was one of them... I've never been part of a group that accepts me exactly how I am. They all know... every single one of the people I've been meeting was told what I could do, what I was planning to do, and yet they accepted me. They didn't treat me like a monster or freak, they accepted me as one of their own.
Tears start running down my face... why am I crying? I'm not even sad... but the tears don't stop. I can't even cover my face because Will is still holding me by the neck.
"Will!" Aidan shouts with urgency once he notices my tears. Will let go of me but I just stay there, frozen in place while crying like a little child.
"Hey... c'mere honey" Linda says while hugging me... I don't like to be touched but she's so warm and calming. "It's alright if you're one of us that means I'm your Luna, that means I'll protect you" she says while patting my head "I will protect your heart too". I smile with trembling lips and blushing cheeks.
It's the first time... the first time after Sean's death that someone tries to protect my heart... I hug her back; I feel at peace. I think I finally found my place. They're my people now.
I hear Will sigh "What the hell is going on?".
"It's a long story" Aidan replies while laughing. He told him everything while I kept crying and hugging Linda.