Page 20 of Red's Beast

“You already know, Lily,” he says as he fades from view.

As soon as I open my eyes again, the first light of dawn appears, so I stretch my body, only to grimace in discomfort immediately.

These dreams are going to be the death of me. It always brings peace that I know won’t be there when I wake.

"You best hurry and get you some of this food. I don't want you to be late,” grandmother says as he bangs on a few pots.

"I'm getting up. Since when do you care if I’m late?”

"Since they found out you're an alpha. He might make it hard on you just because of that." She scrapes some scrambled eggs onto a plate with bacon and sits it on the table. “Come on.”

"I'll be fine. Honestly, I can take them and win. They’re already hard on me, though, so it doesn’t really matter." It’s a lie, butit’s something I say in front of her so she doesn’t know that if I challenged them, I’d lose.

Without my wolf, I can’t win, yet I don’t want her to worry.

"You may win, but you have to have the pack's backing, or it won't go over well. You need to take this time to win their favor and when your wolf deems you ready, then and only then will you challenge that fool and take this pack under your wing. But you must earn their loyalty or it’s all for nothing.”

I want to ask why I’d want to earn their loyalty when they are just as horrible as them. Why save them from something they want and don’t fight back?

I let that thought go before I upset grandmother, though. Once I reach the table, I quickly finish the meal and make my way to the other bedroom, where my extra clothes are.

“Well, I’m on my way,” I say as I emerge minutes later fully dressed. “I’ll see you tonight.”

"Off with you and be careful. Don't forget your basket."

"Love you!”

Once I’m outside, I take the time to put the basket down on her small porch and fix my mother’s cloak around my throat. I lift the basket up and then I realize that I’ve been completely calm while standing outside.

This is not normal.

My gaze moves to the woods, but everything is quiet. I make it to the path before the first twig snaps. With bated breath, I quicken my pace and make it all the way to the village before I stop.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing happened.

"That is weird. The beast didn't chase me."

I jog to my house with the basket in tow. It’s hard to believe that I didn’t hear a single sound this morning except for the initial twig snapping.

I drop everything off inside the house, including the cape, before quickly making my exit. With the door closed behind me, I head toward the alpha house, where I’m sure Nigel is waiting for me.

I arrive at the house without any issues. Corbin isn’t even outside to bother me, like he normally does.

The door is unlocked, which is a little shocking. I let it swing open and peer inside. The only sign of them expecting me is the bucket near the door filled with cleaning supplies.

Upon closer inspection, I notice a small note hanging off the side of the bucket. I lean down to pick up the note, but find that it’s blank. "That's weird. They never leave me a blank note."

"Surprised?" Corbin asks as he appears at the top of the stairs.

He slowly descends them, one by one, but keeps his gaze firmly locked on mine.

“Yes, but I guess they left you with the instructions, right?”

“Maybe,” he says. Once he reaches the last step, he looks directly at me with a grin. “Or I might have convinced my dad to leave you to me.”

"I'm not sure he would do that."

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