I jolted awake, startled out of my sleep by some unknown source. The room was pitch-black, and I touched the face of my watch to check the time. As exhausted as I had been, I’d slept for six straight hours. Sitting up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stretched. I hadn’t thought about the day my mama delivered me to the Elders in quite some time and had no idea why I’d dreamed of it today. It could be a coincidence, considering why I ultimately left, but I didn’t believe in coincidences.
The screen of my phone lit up on the nightstand, and I reached over to see that I had several missed calls. Most of them were from Brix—I deleted those notifications without hesitation—but surprisingly, two were from my mama. She hadn’t called me in years. There hadn’t been any need to. Seeing her name on my phone could only mean one thing: the Elders noticed that I was missing and had gone to her in search of me. Under different circumstances, she might have been a viable source of information but ever since the day she dropped me on their doorstep, communication between the two of us had been strained. The Elders orchestrated it that way, so to imagine them going to her all these years later was laughable.
Shaking my head, I swiped away the last of the notifications and typed out a brief text to Lenora, letting her know that I was awake from my extended nap. She responded instantly to let me know she was on her way and would reach me in half an hour. After digging my charger out of my duffel, I plugged up my phone and shuffled into the bathroom to take a shower. Once I was clean, moisturized, and dressed, I felt more like myself and less like a traveling zombie. The mess I’d left behind was still at the forefront of my mind, but the rumbling in my stomach that had nothing to do with the animal inside of me caused me to focus on more pressing issues. I needed to eat something—and soon.
Soon, there was a knock on the door, and I grabbed my phone and the keys to my Jeep, shoving them both in the front pocket of my jeans before opening the door and stepping out of the apartment before Lenny could come inside.
“Dang, girl, I couldn’t come in?” The grin on her face let me know she was teasing.
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m hungry and need something more filling than the cold cuts I found in the refrigerator.”
She laughed. “Okay.”
I followed her down the stairs and to the parking lot where she stopped suddenly and turned to me. “Hey, I want you to come have dinner at my house with me and my pack, but do you mind driving? I have to run a pack errand after dinner and don’t want to hold you hostage.”
“I don’t mind; I actually prefer to drive. It’s the best way to learn the area faster.”
“Great! I’m in the blue car parked next to you. Just follow me.”
Jumping in my Jeep, I did just that, following behind her while driving on a smooth, paved road and admiring the many businesses and crops of houses that dotted the area. There were other cars on the road and buildings were illuminated, but one thing I realized that I didn’t see was power lines. Nor did I see the large, metal transformers at the intersections like I was used to seeing back in Houston.
We turned onto a long, dirt road that ran alongside a wooden fence and led us to a colossal, one-story, ranch-style home. Following Lenny’s lead, I parked under a massive oak tree to the right of the house. I jumped down from my Jeep and looked up at the house, suddenly feeling a pang of longing in my chest. Although it was more than twice the size, Lenny’s home reminded me of the quaint two-bedroom house that me and my mama had lived in until I turned sixteen. Two rocking chairs sat in front of a picture window with a small table in between them that held a vase of fresh, colorful flowers.
When we approached the front door, I noticed a glass on the table that still had beads of condensation around the bottom half, indicating it was only recently abandoned. I flared my nostrils, and the pleasant scent of meat and spices caused a loud rumble to emerge from my stomach. Lenny looked back at me with wide eyes, and we both burst out laughing.
“I told you I was hungry.”
She reached for the door. “Well, come on. It smells like Ma is finished with dinner.”
I heard a sound that prompted my wolf to sit up and scrutinize the area, and just as Lenny grasped the handle on the door, a foot appeared from around the corner. A second later, the man attached to that foot came into view, and my heart exploded in my chest.
His skin glistened with a thin sheen of sweat, giving him the appearance of bittersweet chocolate that was just starting to melt after being left out in the sun a moment too long. His head was covered in an inch of black coils as if he was overdue for an appointment with his barber, and the bottom half of his face was hidden by a full beard that extended past his chin to cover his neck. The gray, short-sleeved shirt he wore was sweat-drenched and stretched across his frame to easily display his corded arms, muscled chest, and narrow waist that disappeared into denim jeans which did nothing to conceal his thick, swollen thighs or the obvious muscle nestled in between those thighs.
“Oh!” Lenny exclaimed, turning from the door and walking over to the enthralling man.
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to me, unaware how the sight of him was sending my wolf into a frenzy. Eyes so dark they were nearly black were trained on me, and my mind was fried. I was mesmerized by him. The closer he came, the deeper I inhaled until I was holding his scent in place of my breath. There was grass, and sun, and magic dancing underneath the tanginess of his sweaty musk, and it called to my wolf. She had turned, lowered her chest to the ground, and lifted her tail in the air, begging to be mounted. The slut.
“Langston, this is Janine. Janine, this is my brother, Langston. He is the alpha of our pack.”
I had started to offer my hand for a handshake, but the moment the word “alpha” passed Lenny’s lips, my training snapped into place, and I lowered my eyes to his worn, brown boots as I clasped my hands behind my back.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Alpha.” My words hit the air and were met with silence.
I looked up at Lenny to see her giving me a wide, confused look and chanced a glance at her brother to see something similar, visible on his chiseled features. Our eyes met and I immediately dropped my gaze to the center of his chest before swinging it back to Lenny.
“Um…” For the first time since I’d met her, she seemed at a loss for words. I would have been amused if I didn’t feel so embarrassed for being the cause of this phenomenon. Suddenly, the only thing I wanted to do at that moment was hop in my Jeep and speed on down the road. Those cold cuts didn’t sound so bad right about now.
The chocolate-dipped, panty-melting vision before me cleared his throat. “Please, it’s just Langston.”
That seemed to snap Lenny into action. “Yeah, girl. Don’t get into the habit of calling him Alpha. His head is already big enough,” she laughed. He did not.
Involuntarily, my eyes dropped to his crotch before I could catch myself, and my oculars had to be playing tricks on me because I could swear I saw the denim move where that muscle sat trapped against his right thigh.
Yeah, I needed to leave.
“Miss?”
Though he hadn’t said my name, I gathered that he was addressing me, which meant I could give him my eyes. I took a calming breath before I met his virtually onyx irises.
“Yes, Alpha?” Old habits were hard to break.
His brows narrowed momentarily then rose as if he was unaffected. If I hadn’t been absorbing every inch of his face, I would have missed it.
“I know that Lenny brought you here for dinner, but an unfortunate matter has just come to my attention, and I regretfully must call this visit to an end.”
I truly was starving; I should have been disappointed to miss out on the enticing smells coming from inside of the house, but all I felt was relief. Sweet, gratifying relief. I nodded and Lenny’s disappointed face came into my outlying vision.
“I understand.” I turned to Lenny and gave her a small smile that morphed into surprised laughter when she launched at me with a hug. Easily, I slid my arms around her waist and hugged her in return. For too long, I had been without the constant touching that my wolf required to feel connected to her pack, and I relished in all that Lenny offered to me.
She pulled back and widened her eyes as she spoke. “We will share a meal together soon. Tomorrow? Breakfast before hitting up the Career Center?”
Dipping my chin twice, I pulled my keys from my pocket and stepped off the concrete slab that was the front porch. “Sounds good. See you then.” Inclining my head, I acknowledged her brother. “Alpha.”
“Just Langston is fine. Really.”
The rich, melodious timbre of his voice only added to his attractiveness, and I turned swiftly toward the tree in the yard and made my way to my Jeep. I was on the road in seconds and didn’t look back despite how much my wolf howled for a parting glimpse of the Alpha.
♥♥♥♥
I stood on the porch, watching the yellow Jeep disappear down the road and rubbed at my chest as my wolf proceeded to knock against it like he was trying to escape and follow the woman wherever she was headed. I was torn between wanting to do the same and being shocked that he was even showing an interest in anything other than wallowing in misery.
The moment she came into view I was captivated. From the healthy glow of her bronze skin to the lush nest of black coils on her head, her oval-shaped face to her ample yet toned curves, I’d been unable to look away. My reaction made turning her away even more important.
Lenny came to stand next to me, and I felt my sister’s disappointment as if it was my own.
“I’m sorry, Len—”
“No, no it’s fine,” she interrupted. “I caught her scent.” Then she turned to me, nearly tall enough to look me in the eye. “I didn’t even notice it until you showed up. You made the right call.”
I released the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, more satisfied with her answer than I should have been. Until I realized she was still staring at me. That familiar sense of dread cropped up.
“What?”
“You do you know could put an end to this madness whenever you want?”
I groaned, running a hand down my face. Here we go again. I turned and headed for the door, holding it open for Lenny to enter before me and pulling it closed behind me.
“Don’t start with that shit tonight, Lenny, please.”
“Uh-unh; you know I never miss an opportunity to tell you how selfish you’re being. I ain’t about to start now. You know good and damn well that you and only you can keep the pack from going insane with want. Seriously, Langston, look me in the eyes and tell me that it’s not crazy that we had to send her away.” She folded her arms across her chest and waited.
I sighed. “I can’t tell you that. But…I also can’t tell you what you want to hear.” Feeling every bit of exhaustion from my hours out in the pasture, I shook my head.
“You won’t even try—”
“Why is it every time I turn a corner, I hear you two arguing?”
We both looked up to see Ma standing in the doorway with a frown on her face. Abandoning the retort I’d been forming, I walked over to her and enveloped her in a hug before pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“Sorry, Mama, she started it.” I tried to quickly leave the room and escape the scolding that was sure to come for arguing with my sister, but she grabbed my arm with a strength that you wouldn’t think she had if you didn’t know she had a wolf inside of her.
Lenny rolled her eyes. “Oh really, Langston? I started it?”
“Lenora, what is going on with you two? You haven’t fought this way since you were five and your brother started shifting before you. This is more than simple sibling pettiness. There is tension in the air, and I don’t like it. Have a seat, both of you.”
Lenny plopped down into a plush armchair with a huge sigh, but I continued to stand. “Ma, I just came in from work. I need to take a shower.”
Her narrowed eyes swung from my sister to me, and I hastily perched on the arm of the sofa.
Lenny spoke up. “I’m worried about him, Mama. He’s fighting being the alpha, and it’s not healthy for any of us.” I frowned, feeling pressure in my chest as my wolf slunk away to assume his best impression of a lifeless rubber ball.
Ma nodded sagely, no doubt already coming to that conclusion on her own, just by witnessing my actions. “I did hear a woman come and go not too long ago. Didn’t catch why.” She gave me a shrewd look, but I averted my gaze, refusing to answer the unspoken question.
Once again, Lenny opened her big mouth. “She’s ovulating! He sent her away because despite how hard he’s trying not to give in to it, the Alpha in him knew that her presence would cause a problem amongst the unmated members of our pack when everyone came in for dinner tonight.”
That damn girl thought she knew everything. “Lenny, man, you don’t know—”
“Ah. I see.”
My eyes bounced over to my mother. What did she see?
I opened my mouth to ask a question I probably didn’t want the answer to, but Lenny was on a role. “Mama, this is driving me crazy! I’m tired of being alone, and I’m ready to start a family. I want babies, and I know you are ready for some grandbabies.”
I groaned. “Not everyone is rushing to get mated, Lenny!”
She glared at me. “Not everyone is running from love and affection either, Langston!”
“That is enough!”
We both fell silent as Ma yelled out. She pointed at me.
“You know good and well that your actions have been concerning. Don’t treat her poorly for caring about you. It is what we do. We love one another and we want the best for them. Don’t punish her for that.”
“Yeah!” Lenny cosigned, causing me to glare at her. Ma swiveled her head in Lenny’s direction.
“Oh, you think you’re off the hook? Little girl, don’t try to use me as an excuse in your argument; I am old enough to speak for myself. Of course, I would love to hear the sound of a baby’s laughter in this big, old house. But I also know that trying to push your brother will do more harm than good. Listen to me, Lenora May; your time will come, but you must exercise patience. Your brother is on a journey that is changing not just him but our entire pack. What he needs is not your ire, but your support as his twin and as his omega. No one is going to understand what he is doing right now but remember; it is not up to us to understand but to trust. I trust him wholly. Do you?”
She patted my cheek and squeezed Lenny’s hand before leaving us in the living room to mull over her words.