Page 26 of Pack to the Wall

“I knowsoftisn’t your thing, but perhaps she can teach you a little while you teach her? If this all works out, we may not need to be on guard all the time anymore. But all that aside, she needs someone to protect her from the old betas and I know you’re the toughest bitch we have.”

Rita puffed up a little at that compliment, then slowly let out a breath, not responding right away, instead nodding toward the stairs.

We went up, then out the side door of the house. She clearly didn’t want anyone else to hear what she had to say.

“You really think this soft human woman will last longer than a week?” she asked. She’d always been forthright, to the point.

She has to, I thought, but that answer wouldn’t suffice for Rita. Instead, I asked, “Has mom told you about… what happened to me? Why I supported the new alpha so quickly?”

Rita shook her head.

Good. My mom was smart, shrewd, and careful. She wouldn’t speak of me being fated where any wolf could overhear. Our hearing was exceptional after all.

“I’m fated for her, Rita,” I said, voice hushed. “And in case you don’t know what that means — because I didn’t — the short version is, if she dies, I’ll probably go insane. So, do I think she can win? No, probably not, not yet anyway. Does shehave towin? Yes.”

Rita let out a low whistle. “Fuck.”

She turned away, hand combing through her short hair as she took this in. After several deep breaths and long sighs, she turned back to me.

“I’m no good with kids,” she said. “I mean, there were never any good candidates for me to mate in our pack, but even if there had been, I don’t know if I would have mated with anyone. I don’t want that sort of attachment. I’ve never wanted kids, and?—”

“Izzy is sixteen. She’s young yes, but old enough to know what’s going on. She’ll need to grow up fast and learn how to be a tough young woman. You were able to best father one time in five at her age. Teach her that. Teach her how to survive and be a wolf.”

“But she’s not a wolf!” Rita hissed. “Unless you want me to turn her?”

“No,” I said adamantly.

“Then what can I do? She’s soft and weak. There isn’t anything I can teach her that will help her survive if Tank or Brick go after her.”

I knew that.

I sighed. “Then… just keep an eye on her for a week. After that, hopefully this will all be resolved one way or another.”

“And if your woman loses and you go mad, and this kid is pulled into the pack, what then?”

I didn’t want to think about that, but Rita was right, we needed to plan for everything.

“Then…” I’d have to talk to Jane to confirm anything, but… “Do whatever you’d do if she were your sister.”

Rita huffed out a breath, then slowly drew another one. “You know that would probably kill me.” I could see it in her eyes, the prospect of defying our father and the calculation of her chances of surviving.

“You’re tough,” was all I said.

She tilted her head, running her tongue around her teeth inside her mouth. Then she huffed a sigh. “Fine, I’ll do this for you.” She quickly caught my eye. “Foryou, brother, not the new alpha. I still don’t know how I feel about her. The fact that she’s somehow fated to you makes me very wary of her. And I still don’t think she’ll survive the week.”

“Thank you, Rita. Go get your things. You’ll be staying in Izzy’s room. Now, I need to talk to Brutus.”

“I’ll find him and send him along,” she said, then left.

My brother found me a few minutes later. He looked bored. I took after our mom, tall and lean. He took after our father, shorter and stocky. His unkempt sandy-brown hair was longer than mine, past his shoulders, grey-blue eyes blinking sleepily. Since he much preferred being a wolf, he’d never much cared for his human appearance. His teeth were jagged, his beard patchy and half-grown in.

“Bro,” he said with a sniff, and I got the distinct impression Rita had roused him from a nap.

“How would you like to be a wolf full time?” I asked.

That sparked some life into his steely eyes. He smiled, showing all his uneven teeth. Some might think he looked scary, but I knew better. He was a hard man, yes, but really, he just wanted to be a wolf and forget the cares of this human world. “Hell yeah, I would!”

“The only catch is… you have to protect our new alpha’s son, Milo, at all costs, even from our father. Can you do that?”

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