Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 3: Revelations

No, no, no, no, no. She can’t be dead. Not Trina.

My mind can’t wrap around the possibility that my only friend in the whole world is dead. How did this happen? I have to find out.

“It could be Trina!” Mary says, coming to the same conclusion, “She didn’t show up for chores this morning and she’s missing. I didn’t think anything of it because the girl always has her head in the clouds and I thought she was just playing hooky, but it might be her.”

I feel a moment of sympathy for Mary; she looks genuinely upset over the idea that Trina could be the dead wolf.

“Ok, Raphael, start asking questions within the pack about Trina and who she spends time with, quietly. I don’t want to stir up a panic. I am going to check out the crime scene and when I get back, we need to meet with the council. Send word for them to be ready to meet this afternoon.”

He turns to the pack member that gave him the news of the body.

“What is the location?”

“Northeast side, about 50 paces from a large fallen cypress tree.”

Derek nods at him, takes one more long look at me, and then turns to leave.

“I’m going with you,” I say to him confidently. He does not look happy with my demand.

“The hell you are. I am the Alpha and I need to handle this. You are still a pup,” he chucks me under the chin and starts to walk away.

“But I could help you! I know her and I know what she looks like, I could help… identify her. And I’m not a pup, I am a grown woman of twenty years old," I reply fiercely.

He looks torn, like he wants to let me come with him, but he doesn’t like that I challenged him in front of his pack.

“Being 8 years your senior, I think I know what is best in this situation. That being said, you may be of help -” Derek starts to say.

Raphael interrupts him, “Derek, don’t let this little maid involve herself in such a serious matter.”

If Derek didn’t like that I challenged him, he really hates that Raphael questioned his authority.

“As I was saying, she will be coming with me so she can give me information about Trina on the way. Getting to the bottom of this is the top priority now. Nobody attacks one of my pack members and gets away with it.”

Raphael can barely hide his scowl at Derek's words, but quickly corrects himself.

“Of course, you are the Alpha, so it’s your decision. I will do what you have commanded and see you at the meeting later," Raphael replies smoothly.

Derek barely acknowledges him, grabs my hand and practically drags me out the door. When we step outside, he straddles a motorcycle and hands me a helmet. I have never ridden on a motorcycle before, but I am not about to show that I am intimidated by it or him. I grab the helmet and hop on behind him. Every inch of my body is molded to his strong lean muscles and I wrap my hands around his waist so I don’t fall off. He kicks the bike into gear and I grab him more tightly, breathing him in deeply.

Damn, he smells good.

Fifteen minutes later we stop near a wooded area and I carefully remove myself from the bike and take off my helmet. As soon as I look up at him, I know I am in trouble. He starts towards me and I back up until I hit something solid, a tree. He is so close I can feel his breath on my face, he places his huge hand next to my head on the tree and he leans in with a look in his eyes that tells me I am trapped.

“Let’s get something straight, sweetheart. I am the Alpha of this pack and I make the decisions. I say who stays and who goes, and I don’t appreciate you challenging my authority,” he talks quietly in my ear but there is a growl behind his words, his threat clear. My body temperature rises at his close proximity but I won’t yield to any wolf, or any man, even if he is the Alpha.

I push against his chest but he doesn’t budge. I start to feel my temper get the better of me and I know I am about to let loose on this arrogant, brute of a man. I poke him in the chest with my finger.

“I will be happy to set you straight about something. You are not my Alpha. I haven’t had one of those since I was a child, and if I had a choice, it certainly wouldn’t be you!”

The moment the words leave my mouth I regret them, knowing I just gave myself away and possibly made a grave mistake. He grabs my finger and wraps his hand around mine in a tight grip.

“What do you mean by that?” he asks.

My mind races with how to answer him, but now I am caught and I will have to feed him the same lies I gave Mary all those years ago. For some reason though, it pains me to not be honest with him, even if my life depends on it.

“I am an orphan wolf, my parents separated from their pack and we lived in a cabin deep in the nearby woods. They got sick and died and I wandered around until Mary, the Beta’s housekeeper, found me and took me in. Please don’t be angry or take it out on her, she did a kind thing. If you want to punish someone, let it be me. And if you want me to leave the pack, I will.” I look him dead in the eyes to let him know I am not afraid, even though I am terrified at the thought of starting over with a new pack, or even worse, being revealed for who I really am.

He looks at me thoughtfully, then a shadow passes over his eyes, he looks worried.

“Does the Beta know?”

“No, I don’t think so. But after the conversation I heard this morning, I don’t think he would be very happy. I don’t know what he will do if he finds out. Maybe it would be better if I just left," I reply.

I really hope he doesn’t agree with me, because I have been saving my earnings from all these years of working and I still don’t quite have enough to hire an army of mercenaries and hunt down the rogue wolves that murdered my family. Now because of my stupid temper, my revenge plan might have suffered a setback.

“No,” he says firmly, then lets go of my hand and puts his own on my cheek. My face tingles where he touches me and I look up at him with wide eyes, desperate to know what he is about to say, or do.

“No. You will not be going anywhere, and we will not be telling Raphael about you. His ideas on the matter of outside wolves don’t align with mine. You have obviously shown your loyalty by working hard for Mary all these years and I am the Alpha, so my decision is final.”

“So you’ve mentioned, several times,” I reply sarcastically. His eyes go dark at my flippant remark.

Great, I thought, I just can’t stop poking the bear, or the wolf, so to speak.

“The things I want to do to that smart mouth of yours, if only there was time. When I don’t have so much to deal with maybe...” His voice trails off and he moves his face next to mine and breathes in deeply.

He caresses my cheek and his body moves even closer. He looks like he is going to eat me alive.

“Lily,” he whispers and I stare up at him, waiting for him to make a move.

“Derek,” I whisper back, and I realize I can’t help myself, I need to touch him.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter