I decided to ignore everyone and instead take a book from my bag. We still have another three days of constant driving before we reach Oak Fur, and as much as I would love to run in wolf form, I know sitting here is for the best.
[How is everyone holding up?] Amelia’s voice flickers through the link, making me smile.
[Good so far. I think we all miss running, though,] I answer, feeling the itch to shift creep in again.
[Well, we’ll be closer to Oak Fur in two days. Everyone can stretch their legs then. My friend just called me and said that Oak Fur’s patrols have weakened since his last check,] she replies.
Shocked to hear another person will join our battle, I ask Amelia for more information on this friend, but she doesn’t budge. She tells me that when we arrive at Oak Fur’s borders in three days, I’ll meet this mysterious wolf who has been watching Ramos for us.
The link goes quiet after this check-in, and I sigh, placing my book on my lap with the urge to read now gone.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas asks, placing a kiss on top of my head.
“Amelia has someone else we don’t know about helping us,” I answer, feeling a little uneasy.
“I know. He’s the one who reported about the party,” Lucas answers with a shrug.
“Wait, you knew?” Turning to face him, I see Lucas staring at me with guilt in his eyes. I can tell from the bond that he did, in fact, know about this “friend” but kept it from me.
“Amelia told me about him because he’s also helping Council Representative Amos gather information. Since it seemed more like a Council operation, I thought the less you knew, the better to keep your stress levels down,” he explains.
I took a moment to digest his words before agreeing that he did the right thing. From the sounds of it, this friend is working withAmos, not us. He probably only called Amelia at Amos’ request to help us with our upcoming fight.
“So you’re not mad?” Lucas asks as I snuggle closer to him.
“No. Thank you for telling me everything now, though,” I answer, smiling when I feel his fingers playing with my hair.
“You don’t have to thank me, Kaylee. If you ask me a question, I’ll always answer it honestly,” he whispers, kissing my head again. “Now rest up. We need to be ready for the battle ahead.”
64
Amelia
My leg bounces in anxiety as we approach Oak Fur. So many awful memories from fifty-six years living in that hell hole have begun resurfacing, memories that I wished would have stayed gone forever. I was an only pup until I turned twelve and had trained to take over the pack in case my mother couldn’t have more children. Then everything had changed.
The pack had thought that my mother was unable to conceive after having me due to her and my father being middle-aged by werewolf standards, but then Ramos was born. I went from being the heir of my pack to nothing but a she-wolf who would provide strong pups one day—spares in case Ramos couldn’t produce a pup himself.
My father ridiculed me when I said I wanted to continue my alpha training when Ramos turned five. I was seventeen when that happened, a year away from being considered an adult andable to sense my mate. My father told me that being an alpha was the male’s job, that if I were to mate anyone, I would either be a beta she-wolf helping the Luna take care of the pack in a maternal way or become a Luna myself. I would never amount to anything else.
And so I trained.
I would sneak into the training room under the packhouse and practice alone. I would work out and beat a punching bag until my knuckles were bruised and bloodied. My mother caught me once late at night when preparing for a banquet. She had come down to make sure the equipment was in proper shape and walked in on me practicing. At first, I thought she would yell at me, but she and Beta Lori surprised me by joining me in the ring and teaching me proper form.
From that night on, my mother and Beta Lori would meet me every night in the basement training room and teach me everything they knew.
“Penny for your thoughts?” David whispers, his lips next to my ear. I jump, not expecting my mate’s closeness in the small van, and blush when I spy his amused expression.
“S-sorry,” I mutter, turning to look at the farmland outside the window.
“It’s fine, love,” David says with a small chuckle, taking my hand in his and pressing a soft kiss to the back of it. “I was just worried about you.”
I sigh, leaning against David as I continue to watch outside. The vans were moving faster than expected, and we would be back in Oak Fur soon.
“I’m sorry for worrying you, hun,” I start, closing my eyes and trying to shake the images of beatings and scoldings I received from my father, all because he blatantly favored Ramos. “It’s just some memories of the past coming back to haunt me.”
David sighs in understanding and unclicks my seatbelt. Without warning, I’m lifted onto his lap, the omegas driving us pretending not to notice our interaction.
“What brought the past up this time?” David asks, his voice low and gentle. This is why I love him and never want to lose him.
