The mall isn't too crowded as we make our way around the store. Mary's walking at my side with Brandon following close behind. I glance back to see him looking around as he carries a few of the bags filled with things we've already purchased. I turn back around and smile at my surroundings. I don't really want to buy a lot of things and since I already got what I came here for, I'm just enjoying being out of the house. After yesterday and this morning, it'll be good to get my mind off things for a while. Mason assured me that I could spend as much as I wanted but spending his money just doesn't sit right with me. I know what's his is mine, and what's mine is his, but I have everything I could want.
"Do you want to go in there?" Mary asks, pointing at Forever 21. I shrug my shoulders and nod as I follow her into the store. I glance back at Brandon yet again as he follows us into the store with a brief smile spreading across his features. His eyes scan around the large room as he follows closely behind. The alertness in his eyes is impossible to miss. I wonder if this is how he always is when he's having to shop with Mary or if he's this serious because he's here with me. I glance at Mary to see her not minding his careful watching as she looks around the store.
I've never been in here before, but it looks nice. As I glance around I see that there are a lot of clothes, not really anything I would wear myself, but it seems to fit Mary's style well. "I'm going to go find some pants, do you want to come with me?" she asks, catching my attention.
"No, you go ahead. I'm going to go look at the accessories while you look at the pants." She nods her head and starts heading off in a different direction but stops to look back at me and Brandon with a sheepish look.
I follow her eyes behind me to see Brandon scowling at the two of us. "What?" I ask as I raise my eyebrows at him. I glance around thinking maybe someone is in the store that shouldn't be, but besides the humans walking around I see multiple other pack members watching us. I fight my eye roll as I look at all the extra people Mason sent to the mall with us. I knew when he was allowing us to come here today, he would send some extra guards to help out, but not this many. I look back at Brandon and wait for him to explain why he stopped his mate from shopping.
"I'm supposed to be watching you, but Mary doesn't do well on her own in places like these." Mary's cheeks tint pink at his words as she quickly ducks her head to hide behind her hair again. I glare at Brandon. She was finally relaxing around me and now here he goes embarrassing her. Her light brown eyes find Brandon's as she looks at him with pleading eyes. She may be embarrassed but I can clearly see that he's right, she doesn't want to be left alone in this store. I glance around the store again to see the other pack members watching us and looking around the store.
"I'll be fine, Brandon. Go with Mary," I say as I start to head off towards my destination. Brandon reaches out and grabs my wrist before I can walk off. I raise my eyebrows at him, and he sighs before glancing over at his mate again. He stands there looking between the two of us for a few minutes before looking back at me.
"Mason isn't going to be happy with me leaving you alone in here. I'm supposed to be watching you, Alaina, not letting you wander off on your own. I could get into some serious trouble and so could you." I roll my eyes at him before waving him off towards Mary.
"Do you really think I haven't noticed all the pack members in this store?" I ask as I gesture around the store. I watch his lips thin as he pushes them together, no doubt hoping I hadn't noticed extra bodies following us around all day. "I will be fine for a couple of minutes. I have people watching my back while you take care of Mary. It'll be fine."
I smile at him before moving back toward the accessories. "Alaina, do not leave this store! And if Mason gets mad you better take the fall for this," he calls after me. I wave to him over my shoulder but don't turn around. I fight my smile as I see the humans glance at us in complete confusion. Oh, what they would do if they really knew there was a whole other world out there.
I start looking around at all the necklaces that they have. There aren't a lot of people over here, just a few that seem to be working and the stray pack members that followed me. As I walk down the aisle, a small gold necklace catches my eye. I look down at it with adoration as I run my finger along the thin chain. It's a small golden wolf sitting down with its head thrown back in a howl. It's beautiful. I pick it up and decide that I want to buy it, so I start making my way toward the cashier.
'Why is it that I give you a guard, and then you send that guard away to not do his job?' Mason's voice rings out in my head. He's mad that I'm not with Brandon, but he's overreacting. I can take care of myself. I'm fine on my own… not that I'm even really on my own.
'He's with his extremely shy mate who didn't want to be alone. Mason, seriously I can take care of myself. Plus, I have pack members all around me right now,' I reply back as I hand the lady the credit card Mason left for me this morning. He left a note saying he didn't want me to have to ask for money since it was my money now too, so he got me my own card.
'Alaina, I just want you safe. I don't like that you're wandering around by yourself without Brandon with you. I don't care if there are other pack members there watching you–"
'Did you think I wouldn't notice the extra guards today?' I ask, cutting him off. 'I knew you'd send some others since you weren't here, but I didn't expect this many, sweetie.' I can feel his agitation through the bond, but he stays quiet for a few minutes. I smile and thank the lady as she hands me the small bag with my necklace in it.
'Just please go find Brandon and stay with him. If I'm not with you then you need to stay with the person I left you with.' I roll my eyes and shake my head. This is a fight that will never be solved. I want to make things easier for him but taking guards away from their normal jobs to follow me around is not going to help anyone or make anything easier. 'I really don't want to have to add more people to your protection detail, Alaina.'
The threat in his voice is evident. I don't want more people following me around and watching everything I do. Brandon alone is more than I want, but at least we get along. Both he and Mary are only a year older than me and even if Mary is still skittish and makes my wolf slightly uneasy, I can see a friendship blossoming. I don't think that would be possible with multiple other guards.
As I walk toward Brandon, I pull the necklace out of the back and slide it over my head. The wolf hangs loosely just above my breast. I hold it with my fingers as I smile softly. After a few seconds, I focus back on Mason. 'Don't do that. I'm going to find Brandon now. I was just buying myself a necklace.' I smile as I feel his tug on our bond. 'I miss you,' I say, hoping to lighten his mood. I know he's just trying to keep me safe, but I don't want him to worry about me.
'I miss you, too, Red. Where are you anyway?'
'We're in Forever 21 as of right now. Mary wanted to look at some pants or something. When will you be done? I want to see you.' It's been a few hours since I saw him last and I'm already missing him. Since he marked me, I want him around constantly.
'I don't know how much longer I'll be today.' He pauses and I can tell something is wrong. I can feel his hesitation and I can't help but worry about what he's about to say. I stop moving and prepare for the next ball to drop. 'Alaina, I got another call from Blue Bloods today. Except for this time, it wasn't Dylan calling… it was your father.' I close my eyes as fear shoots through my body. What could my father have to say? Surely he wants me to pay for what I did to him. No one can disrespect the Beta of a pack without consequences, daughter or not. Why can't they just leave me alone and let me live my life here? I'm out of their hair now and I'm not going to cause them any more problems. They just won't give up. 'Hey,' Mason's voice breaks through the panic, 'calm down. I can feel you stressing through the bond. It's okay, Alaina. I won't let him touch you. You know that.' I close my eyes and try to focus on his voice but as I look down at my hands, I see them shaking. No matter how much I try, I can't get them to stop.
'I really need you right now, Mason. Can you please come?' I ask softly. I'm scared to know what my father wants, and I want nothing more than to be wrapped up in my mate's arms. I hate admitting that I can't handle a situation, but I'm too close to this one to be able to figure out what I need to do right now. I can feel people moving in around me and when I look up I can see some of the pack members moving to surround me. They can feel my unease. I smile softly at them… at least I think I do.
'I can't right now, Red. I have to finish up things here and get things in order after that phone call. Just keep shopping with Brandon and Mary and I'll try to get there as fast as I can.' I nod my head but quickly realize he can't see me.
'Okay. Please, just hurry up. I just need you with me right now. I want you to hold me.'
'You were in my arms less than twelve hours ago, Alaina. But I'm glad that I bring you comfort like that. I'll hurry, I promise.' A smile breaks through the panic.
'I love you.'
'I love you, too, Red.'
I feel him leave the link as I stand there taking a few deep breaths. After I've managed to regain my composure, I look around at the guards surrounding me. "Thank you," I whisper before moving towards Brandon. I find him standing outside the dressing room with his arms crossed over his chest staring off into space. When I get close enough to him, I can see his eyes are glazed over as if he's in deep thought. He's speaking through his mindlink with someone.
When he comes out of it, I can't help but slightly glare at him. "Why did you tell Mason that I wasn't by your side?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips.
"Because I'm not going to let him find out that his mate, who is under my watch when he is busy with pack business, is wandering around a store on her own from someone else, causing me more trouble than you already do." His words do nothing to weaken my glare toward him. I don't need him reporting everything I do back to Mason. "I've been informed that if I let you out of my sight again, there will be hell to pay," he chuckles as if he isn't really threatened by Mason's threat. It's an odd reaction considering the threat came from his Alpha. My wolf growls lowly at his blatant disrespect towards our Alpha.
"You don't seem too worried about that. Do you plan on keeping me on a leash now, or are you just not intimidated by your Alpha?" His face drops immediately at the tone in my voice. He looks at me as if I've offended him with my words.
"I'm intimidated by both of you actually. The power rolling off you both is so strong, and when you two are together it only intensifies. I don't plan on keeping you on a leash, and I most definitely take his threat seriously. What I do expect is that you're going to stay by me from now on… because if you don't, Mason will just replace me with someone much stricter to watch you when he can't. We both know that's not what you want to happen. I take everything both of you say seriously. I was just hoping that maybe you would be able to talk the Alpha out of punishing me too badly if you're caught away from my side when he's not around again."
I don't want Mason to add any more people to my protection detail – as he likes to call it – and I get along with Brandon. I don't want him to be replaced with some emotionless guy who won't even listen to me at all. It's normally the third in command that guards the Luna of the pack, but I haven't even met that pack member yet.
"Fair point, Brandon." He smirks and notices my hands are still slightly shaking from early. I notice his glance and quickly wrap my hands around each other to stop the shaking. "Something happened, but I can't talk about it right now," I whisper. He nods and glances towards the opening of the dressing room. "Did Mary find some pants to try on?"
"Yeah, she found some clothes she liked and wanted to try them on before I bought them for her." He smiles just at the thought of his mate. I can't help but think back to what my wolf said earlier about not trusting her. Maybe I can get some information out of him.
"So, was Mary from Green Woods? Or did she move here when you found each other?" I ask. He glances down at me quizzically before looking away. He hesitates before speaking again, which unsettles my wolf.
"No, she wasn't from here," he starts softly. "She was actually a Rogue when I found her. She was traveling with a group, just trying to make her way across some territories, when they trespassed onto our land. Thankfully, I was there with the Alpha and Beta when we got the call that there were Rogues." He closes his eyes as if remembering that day. "We got there, and I instantly knew she was my mate when she looked up at me. She was on her knees like the rest of them. They were about to kill her," he mumbles. I can see the pain in his eyes from the thought of her being killed. Losing your mate is the worst thing a wolf can go through, and to have to show up just as said mate was about to be killed… I can't even imagine how awful that would be.
"I'm sorry, Brandon." He shakes his head before continuing.
"Mason was about to give the go-ahead to kill all of them, but I stopped him. He was about to punish me for stepping out of line, but when I explained that she was my mate he stopped and told me to go get her. She was so jittery back then. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't been with Mason that day. She would be dead, and I would never have been able to even meet her." I can see the pain in his eyes as he recalls the day. I reach out and place my hand on his arm and give him a small smile.
"I don't know what I would have done if I had never been able to meet Mason. Back at my old pack, if I would have stayed there instead of leaving as I did… I don't know what they would have done to me." I shiver at the thought of them locking me up in the cells underneath the pack house or even killing me. Brandon smiles softly at me, understanding where I'm coming from. "So, why was she a Rogue?" I ask, directing the conversation back towards Mary and away from my dark past. The less I have to talk about that, the better… especially right now.
"Well…" he hesitates as if he doesn't know if he wants to tell me or not. I feel bad for pushing him for answers, but my wolf doesn't get uncomfortable around people for just no reason. "She wasn't a Rogue for long, thank God because – don't tell her I said this – but she wouldn't have lasted long with how soft-natured she is. It turns out that there were a bunch of Rogues who attacked her pack, and she was one of the many who were blamed for it because they were supposed to be on watch that night. A lot of people died because of it. So, they banished her from the pack and that's how she ended up with me. She did what she did to survive. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body."
His words shock me. Meeting Mary and seeing how gentle and soft-spoken she is I never would have expected her to have gone through so much. My wolf is still cautious of her, which keeps bringing up the question in my head of what got her distracted when she was supposed to be on watch. That's one of the most important jobs a wolf can have in a pack. Being on watch means you are the line of defense that protects and warns the pack of anything out of the ordinary. It's not something to get distracted from.
"Brandon, what was she doing that took her focus off her job that night? I mean, I know it's boring, we've all been there, but it's such an important job," I ask as I cross my arms across my chest and lean against the other side of the entryway to the dressing room.
I can see something flash behind his eyes as he listens to my question. He glares at me slightly and shakes his head. I'm not sure if the glare is supposed to be aimed at me or at whatever happened back then. He opens his mouth to answer, but before he can say anything his head snaps to the side quickly and a look of sadness instantly covers his face. I follow his eyes to where Mary is standing, those light brown eyes wide. How long has she been standing there? I push off the side of the entryway, my own eyes matching hers.
"Mary…" Brandon whispers but she quickly looks away. She makes her way out of the room with the clothes she tried on in hand without saying a word. She glances over at me quickly, but her eyes never meet mine. "I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have said anything," he whispers when she is beside him. She shakes her head and glances at me again. My wolf growls lowly but I push her back. Mary doesn't want to talk about this in front of me and I'm completely okay with that. It isn't my business what happened in her past, I just wanted to know what set my wolf off. I feel awful when I see the look that crosses over her face as she no doubt starts to think about that night. It doesn't matter what she did then. She's here now.
"I want to buy these," she says looking up at Brandon. He smiles weakly and takes them from her hands. They move to head towards the register and I quietly make my way after them. I stand off to the side while Mary and Brandon purchased the clothes for her. I glance over at her, trying to figure out a way to make it okay that I was prying. Her eyes are fixed on Brandon as he moves forward in line. I can see a small smile playing on her lips as she watches. Even when she's upset with him for talking to me about her past, she still finds it in herself to smile at her mate. I let out a small breath when I realize that she isn't too mad at him. I can deal with her being mad at me, I was butting into things that aren't my business, but I don't want her mad at Brandon.
"Mary," I say, drawing her attention towards me, "I'm sorry for trying to pry. I shouldn't have asked Brandon about you like that, it wasn't my place. If I want to know something, I should have just asked you and I promise to do that from now on," I explain as I send her a small smile in hope that she'll forgive me. She already doesn't trust me from what I overheard this morning, so I really don't need to give her another thing to be upset with me about. My chest lightens just a bit as she smiles softly at me, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
"It's okay, Luna," she speaks quietly. I try to hide my flinch at her using my title instead of my name. "I just don't like people prying into my life before I met Brandon. This is my life now and I want it to stay that way." She sighs and looks down at the ground. "I just want my past to stay in the past, where it belongs." I nod at her in complete understanding and look back towards Brandon to see him smiling at the lady as he grabs the bag full of clothes.
"Okay, ladies, where to next?" he asks as he wraps his arm around his mate. I look at Mary who just keeps her eyes on the floor. She doesn't want to be here anymore, at least not with me. A pang of guilt surges through me knowing that I'm most likely the reason for that. Brandon sighs softly as his arms tighten around Mary's shoulders. This is my fault, so the least I can do is find a way to get her out of it.
"I'm actually kind of tired. Do you mind if we head back to the house?" I ask glancing between the two of them. Mary glances up at me with almost a thankful expression and shakes her head no. "Okay, then," I say before I start making my way towards the entrance of the mall.
Brandon and Mary are beside me, Brandon walking in the middle because he claims he can watch the both of us better from there. All of a sudden an all too familiar smell hits my nose. I stop in my tracks and look around confused. There are a few humans here and a bunch of people from the pack. Some of them are just here shopping, others I can see are watching no doubt sent here by Mason because of me. I glance around the faces surrounding me, trying to find where the smell is coming from… but it seems to be everywhere. I turn in circles scanning everywhere as fear creeps into me.
Something isn't right and I don't like it at all. I shouldn't be smelling that scent. I shouldn't be smelling this scent for the rest of my life. Brandon notices that I've stopped and quickly turns Mary back around to get back to my side. The worried expression on his face doesn't register as I keep scanning the crowd searching for the face I know belongs to that scent. My breathing picks up and I can hear nothing more than my heartbeat drumming in my ears as I spin in circles.
This can't be happening.
Not now.
Not here.
"What is it?" Brandon asks, glancing around as he reaches out to grab my shoulders to stop my spinning. Reading my face, he quickly moves Mary and me behind him as he scans the crowd. Mary huddles closer to her mate as she stares at me, unsure of what's going on. I look back down at my hands to see them shaking again. My wolf whimpers as the smell seems to get stronger.
"Do you smell that?" I whimper, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves. Brandon's shoulders lift slightly as he takes a deep breath and stiffens. He smells it too, only he doesn't know who it belongs to. To him, it's just another Rogue on the territory. "That's not a Rogue…" My wolf is scratching to be let out so we won't be out in the open, but I know I can't do that due to the humans in the mall. Our worlds must stay separate from each other. To protect everyone.
"It's another pack's smell. I don't know which one, but I do know they shouldn't be here," he says before his eyes glaze over as he starts communicating through the pack link. I watch as many of the wolves around us start looking around and heading towards us, eyes intense and alert. Mason should know what's going on. Everyone here thinks this is just another Rogue, but it's so much more than that. My focus waivers as I try to connect through our link, my breathing becoming erratic.
'Mason?' I call hoping to get an answer. Pack members are now circling around us as they continue to search for the intruder. I can see a few of the humans staring as they walk by, but I can't bring myself to care what they think at the moment. I just want my mate. He'll understand. He'll make this better.
'Alaina, Branon already told me what's going on. Stay with him I'm on my way now,' he says back before he blocks the link. I relax slightly with the knowledge that he's on his way, but the fact that someone from that pack is here scares me. Someone snuck onto the land and got this close before anyone realized it. And what scares me the most is who it is that's here now.
A growl sounds from one of my pack member's chest to the right of me. Quickly looking in that direction, I find I can't see anything. I try to look around the numerous bodies standing in my line of sight, but my height is a huge disadvantage here because I can't see shit. I just need to look at her face. I want to be certain that I'm not going crazy, that she's really here. I don't know why she would be here, she has no reason to come, but for whatever reason, she deserves to look me in the eye and see the damage she's caused. Just as someone moves to where I'd be able to see through, Mason's scent surrounds me. I focus on trying to see and let his scent surround me. My nerves calm slightly, but not entirely.
"Let me through," he orders my protectors. A path quickly parts and in no time I'm engulfed in Mason's arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my nose against his skin as he lifts me off the ground. "Are you okay?" he asks as he pulls away to look at me. My wolf calms almost immediately as we gaze upon our gorgeous mate.
"I'm fine. Brandon got everyone to surround us when I noticed the scent," I explain as I smile gratefully at Brandon who has not left my side. He nods his head in acknowledgment but keeps his eyes focused on the trespasser. Mary stays close to his side, eyes on the intruder as well. Mason nods at him briefly before turning back to me.
"Do you recognize the scent?" he asks almost knowingly because I'm sure he recognizes it too. Being Alpha, he had to travel to all the packs either himself or he did with his father. Each pack has its own scent mixed in with the wolves' individual scents. The same goes for Rogues, that's how pack wolves know when someone doesn't belong. I nod my head slowly looking into his amber eyes. "It's Blue Bloods, isn't it?" I nod in confirmation. He growls lowly and glances to where it's coming from. "Stay here," he says as he turns to head away from me, but I don't want to be away from him. I grab onto his shirt tightly and do my best to stay by his side. "Alaina…" he sighs as he looks back at me with stern eyes. His eyes quickly soften when he looks at me though.
"Please, I don't want to be away from you right now. I know who it is, and I want to face them with you. I have to face what caused all of this. I have to face who Alpha Dylan sent to drag me back. I just have to, Mason." I can see it in his eyes that I've won this battle. He sighs and wraps his arm around my waist as he pulls me along with him through the crowd. The scent grows stronger the closer we get. My mind knows who's standing there, but my heart isn't ready to accept it yet. She can't be here… not after what I did and what was said. The only reason she would be here is to either punish me herself or worse, try to take me back to where my punishment would be worse than anything imaginable. "Mason," I whisper just before we break through the crowd. He glances down at me before pulling me closer to him. He can feel the nerves through the bond, there's no way he can't. I fist the back of his shirt as he moves us forward.
Just as we step out of the circle, tears spring to my eyes. A shuddering breath escapes past my lips. She's really here. It's really her standing in front of me. I never thought I would see her again. She's covered in mud and her clothes are ripped… but that isn't what hurts me to look at. Her face is swollen from someone hitting it. Both of her eyes are black and almost swollen shut, her lip is split in two different places and her cheeks are swollen and bruised. Tears stain her cheeks as she looks at me.
She looks awful.
I don't know how she made it all this way like this.
My mouth is dry, and my voice cracks as I barely whisper, "Mom…"