Chapter 6 - Facing the music.

As I made my way into the pack house, I was still thinking about Ezra and what he might be doing when a strong hand gripped my wrist. I screamed out in pain and all eyes turned to us. Carlo glared at me and dragged me into his office, slamming the door shut behind us.

“You know, when I send out warriors to kill a rogue that you reported, and I tell you to stay here. I MEAN YOU SHOULD STAY HERE!” He growled so loudly that the windows shuddered and I was convinced that his sound-proof office meant absolutely nothing when he made so much noise.

“I went for a run. I couldn’t stay in my room after I saw the rogue.” I was trying my best not to tell him the truth about where I was, but sticking as close to the truth as possible so he would believe me. He frowned, studying me for a moment. “Tell me something, if you have adrenaline pumping through your veins, can you sit still?” I glared at him with my hands firmly planted on my hips in the hopes that he would be distracted enough to change the damn subject.

“Why were you put on this damn earth?” It didn’t sound as though he was asking me.

“I don’t know.” But I still answered and he glared at me before walking around his table and taking a seat.

“The warriors couldn’t find the rogue. They found his camp but it looks like he has left. They tracked him all the way into town.” I nodded pretending to listen, but I was a little worried that he might know that I was going after the rogue. It didn’t seem as though he knew anything, but with Carlo you never really knew. He could keep a secret right up to the moment he needed to use it against you. He was truly vile and I couldn’t believe why his parents never saw it or did anything about it.

I turned to leave and his loud growl stopped me. Dammit!

Carlo

The border patrol let me know as soon as she returned and I was waiting for her as soon as she walked into the house. I couldn’t let her get away with whatever game she had been playing all morning! She was making me look like a fool! Was she intentionally doing it because I rejected her or was Blanca just that damn stupid?

I couldn’t think that she would have gone after the rogue again after reporting him, but I saw it with my own eyes. I saw her in town, and now I had to decide what the hell I was going to do about it. It might have been completely innocent. Knowing her, she probably felt guilty and rushed after the rogue to warn him, but why the hell did she tell us about him in the first place?

All this trouble because some human gave her a bracelet on her birthday and some damn rogue stole it! I wasn’t so much angry because she went after the rogue as much as the fact that she didn’t damn well follow my orders!

“I saw you in town.” I growled and her hand slipped from the door, but she didn’t turn to look at me. She was the weirdest girl I had ever met in my entire damn life! Why did the moon goddess hate me so much that she paired me up with this freak? She was beautiful, but she was still a freak! “What were you doing there?”

“Why don’t you just get to the point, Carlo? You gave me an order and I didn’t follow it. Just give me my punishment so I can get out of here.” She turned around and her eyes squinted as she crossed her arms over her chest. That was the worst thing she could do because suddenly my attention was drawn to her very beautiful assets!

“You can speak to Mrs. Smith. It seems she has some toilets that need a good scrub.” I grinned. While I was waiting for her, I couldn’t think of the perfect punishment, so I asked the old woman in charge of the omegas what she did when people didn’t follow her orders.

She very happily informed me that the toilets hadn’t been scrubbed properly in a couple of days and she needed someone to do that. It was the one job she kept out specifically as punishment for young omegas who needed to learn their place in life, and I felt it was the perfect job for an insolent woman who didn’t follow my damn orders! Sadly, Blanca’s eyes didn’t even widen and telling her wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.

Blanca

I stood blinking at Carlo until he dismissed me. It was bad enough that I would be scrubbing toilets as my punishment. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing the utter disgust on my damn face! Thankfully, he didn’t ask me what I was doing in town again before dismissing me. It didn’t seem as though he knew I had gone after Ezra.

Now all I had to do was hope and pray that Ezra got out of town before the warriors found him! I found Mrs. Smith and grabbed what I needed to get my punishment over with. It took me all damn afternoon, and when I was done, I thought I was done.

“I will see you again tomorrow after school.” She smiled as I put the bucket and brush away. I was confused. Had I been demoted to omega and nobody told me? Did that idiot do this on purpose?! No, my parents wouldn’t have allowed that. Not after he rejected me.

“Why would I come back tomorrow?” I crossed my arms and kind of challenged the old woman. Her smile quickly disappeared, since my birth rank was higher than hers. It didn’t matter how old she was, I was stronger.

“Because Alpha said you would be cleaning toilets for the next month. Everyday right after school.” She crossed her arms and I rolled my eyes before leaving. Seriously! An entire month! All because I didn’t stay like a good damn dog! I made my way upstairs and when I met my parents on our floor, I didn’t even tell them. I knew they would run straight to Carlo’s parents and that would just make things far worse than they already were.

I just wanted to get my punishment over and done with and move on with my life. I was sure that Ezra wouldn’t stick around, which meant, once my damn punishment was over, I would be free to go back into town with Lilith. Maybe I should see the punishment as a blessing instead of a punishment. It forced me to stay away from the rogue that intrigued me so damn much.

I sat down at my desk and pulled out my books. Exams were around the corner and I needed to make sure I got the best grades possible. I really wanted to go to university and I really wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. I mean, if I could spend the afternoon cleaning toilets, so could any other damn ranked wolf in this place.

I didn’t go downstairs for dinner because I had to catch up on homework and I was relieved when mom brought me some dinner later. I finally got to bed just after midnight and I was so tired that it felt as though I could sleep for a week. Unfortunately, my dreams were filled with images of a gorgeous, yet dangerous smile. My insides were doing all sorts of funny flip-flops and all I could do was giggle!

I woke with a start at the sound of my alarm and realized I had already pressed the snooze button twice! If I didn’t hurry, I was going to be late and I really couldn’t afford more trouble. I rushed downstairs and made it just in time to grab a piece of toast and rush out of the door. Of course, the entire pack knew by now that I had been cleaning toilets and I rolled my eyes as I slipped behind the steering wheel of my car and heard my mother through the pack link.

“What is this I hear about you being punished?” She sounded slightly panicked and I pulled out of the driveway just in time to see her rushing out the front door.

“I’m going to be late, mom. I’ll tell you when I get back.” I looked into the rearview mirror, seeing her nod and drove away. Having a mind link was such a nice thing. You actually didn’t need to see anybody. They could just speak to you through the mind link and you never ever had to see people! Pulling into the school parking lot, I checked the time and rushed into the building.

I made it just in time for class and plopped down beside Lilith who was looking a little panicked since I was never late.