Page 59 of Wolf Forgotten

"A lot of the pack have regular jobs nearby or run their own small businesses from home. I inherited most of my money, but I also worked until about four years ago when my father stepped down as alpha." What he didn't tell her was the alpha of the Arbor pack before it split in two was best friends with his father and left him every cent since he had no family. "We are a pretty wealthy pack thanks to my father's investments of our assets too."

"And where is your father?" She leaned over her steaming plate and inhaled. I had never known anything other than having a good sense of smell. My inner scientist wanted to investigate why she had only just now shifted, but I needed to approach it with caution so I wouldn't overwhelm her.

"Him, my mom, and Eli's dad have been traveling around to the other packs for over a year." He took a bite of his toast and gave me a nod in appreciation. "A lot of older pack members like to travel around together. We usually get our fair share of visitors in the fall."

Ivy turned her attention to me after a couple bites of food. "Why aren't you eating yet?"

"In case you or Cole are still hungry, you can have my plate." Saying it out loud to someone was ridiculous, but it was that way for a reason.

An omega's duty was to take care of the pack, and that meant making sure those that did the protecting were taken care of first. My wolf sometimes pushed back when Sara was around because she reminded him he could easily best her, but he had become used to being last.

"And what happens if you eat all your food and then the other wolves are still hungry?" She sure had a ton of questions.

"Ivy... this is just the way it is. He doesn't have to act like this when it's just us, but he does anyway." Cole shrugged and went back to eating his food.

"They can run me out of the pack." At least, that's what was rumored to happen. The humans in us would probably abhor the idea, but our wolves ran by a different code that we couldn't always control.

Ivy put her fork down. "Well then, I'm not going to eat anymore until you catch up."

Cole grumbled and continued eating, watching me closely. He was probably wondering why he hadn't thought of that. I couldn't have my mate go hungry, so I picked up my fork and dug in, Ivy following my lead. It was nice to eat right along with people for once.

"Since I'm not doing anything today, I was thinking I could borrow a car and go shopping," Ivy said, hope in her voice as she put down her fork.

"Absolutely not." Cole stood and grabbed all of our plates. Dishes were one thing I didn't protest him doing.

"Why not? I won't go to Arbor Falls. You really can't think I'm going to sit around here and do nothing day after day." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "You know what? I'll just call an Uber."

Cole set the plates down with a clang and plucked the phone from her hands. I sucked in a breath, already sensing the tension increasing in the room. Ivy was fire and Cole was ice.

"Maybe I can-"

"It's not safe. Or did you forget that less than a week ago someone tried to kill me? A threat to me is a threat to the entire pack, which now includes you." I hoped Cole didn't snap her phone in half with the way he was gripping it. He was pretty level-headed, but with Ivy, he forgot she wasn't one that could be controlled with an iron fist.

"Maybe they wouldn't have tried to kill us if you weren't such a jerk," she muttered.

Oh, shit.

"What was that?" Cole looked ready to bend her over his lap and give her a spanking. My dick twitched at the thought.

Ivy stood and pushed in her chair. "I'm going to go check on our wolf friend. Let me have my phone."

"You won't. He shifted and is asleep in Eli's room." Cole put her phone in her hand, picked up the dishes, and went to put them in the sink. "You know what. You can go shopping. Sara and Manny can go with you. It will be safer shopping than here with an unhinged male."

"I'm a grown ass woman. You really think werewolf assassins are going to come for me during the day with a bunch of people around?" She threw her hands up. "I don't need chaperones."

"You never know. You never expected to shift into a wolf, did you?" Cole walked into the living room and opened a cabinet in the entertainment center where he kept a small safe. He entered his code, grabbed some money, then handed it to Ivy.

She counted it. "You sure do like throwing money at me, Cole Delaney. One might start to think I'm your bitch." She laughed. "That's probably a little too accurate."

* * *

Once Ivy was gone,Cole left to meet with the betas, and I went to check on Xander. I hadn't told Cole about finding out his name or that I hadn't found him in the database. The database was fairly recent and not all packs wanted to put their information online.

There was the possibility that Xander had left his pack on his own or they had kicked him out. I refused to think it could be a trap to take over our pack, something more nefarious, like he had lost his mind and was going to go on a killing spree.

Opening the door to my bedroom, I found him in the same place I'd left him. I turned and carefully shut the door, keeping the doorknob turned, trying not to make any sounds as the door shut.

Suddenly, I was shoved against the door, heat at my back as a forearm came to press against the back of my neck. "Who the fuck are you and where am I?" His rough voice washed over me like a warm blanket, and I shivered.

---