I didn’t like this one bit. Gage groaned, “Seriously, do I just prepare for Supernatural war over here? Because Cassie is going to be mad. Ashley is a source for Cayden. There is no way he knows she’s Melanie which means someone lied to him and didn’t read him in.” Yeah, my brother in law was about to be fuming.
Phil answered, “I think you do prepare for war, Gage.” I admitted, “Yes, you do. Do you want to know why? I’ll tell you. It’s because Melanie doesn’t want me to see her with her shirt off.” Gage said, “Now, I’m confused because I got the impression you had sex with your mate.”
Phil commented, “He did. I smelled what happened between you two, cousin.” I hummed, “And she didn’t want her shirt off. Pants she’s fine with. What if she doesn’t want her shirt to come off because she has a scar FROM A BULLET HOLE?!” Oden snarled in my head.
Gage muttered something under his breath. Phil winced, “I mean you or your mom could fix a scar like that.” I retorted, “Of course we can. My point was she shouldn’t have ever been shot!” Phil reasoned, “Again, we don’t know that she was. Maybe she has a weird thing about shirts.” I stared at him and raised an eyebrow.
He continued, “Maybe a bully told her that her tits look weird. She probably didn’t care about said bully, but she seems like someone who DEEPLY cares about what you think. I doubt she wants to hear you say they look weird.”
I raised an eyebrow saying, “I wouldn’t do that and she’s fine with shirts being off. She took my shirt off just fine. If ANYONE told my mate anything bad about her tits, they are so far past dead it’s crazy.” Gage asked, “Who says tits are weird?”
Phil rolled his eyes groaning, “Alexander, obviously the weirdness is about HER shirt, not yours. Gage, I don’t fucking know strange ass people. Nashville wolves probably.” He conceded, “Fine. They are weird so I could believe that.” I growled.
Phil reasoned, “There are two pools here. I haven’t met any girl our age who doesn’t own a bikini. We can be on the lookout for the scar IF it exists. It might not. It’s not like the Supernatural Council would shoot her just for a cover story.” Gage hummed, “Wouldn’t they though?”
I growled, “If it was her cover story, Gage is right; they would. They couldn’t have had a Fairy charm it on her because my uncle, or my mom, would know. Uncle Aiden seems to know everything so I’m sure he knows how I feel about Melanie. He would not let this happen.”
“My mom would call someone a goddamn fucking moron who was suggesting shooting a teenager for a fucking cover story. Then she’d probably have killed them for suggesting something so stupid.” Phil nodded, “I agree. I’m sure a Coven could do something magical.”
I shouted, “What Coven? None that value their life. To do this to a Beta’s daughter, of one of OUR allies, is to come against us all. That’s suicide if we don’t know about it. You add in the fact that said woman is MY mate, and it gets SO much worse for them.”
Gage chimed in, “It is bad. Even if you don’t factor you into the equation. Alpha wolves are notoriously protective of their Beta and Gamma’s pups. All pups actually but especially their own and their ranked wolves pups.”
I pointed out, “I do not share my older brother’s affinity for calm. He gets all the pieces before he reacts. I have enough pieces to be pissed off enough to react.” Phil shrugged saying, “We are full of conspiracy theories here. What if none of the people involved are aware that we don’t know? Everyone’s assuming that someone knows something when in fact we all know nothing.”
Gage snorted, “If someone shot her without her Alpha or dad present, then they know we don’t know. There is absolutely no way ANYONE thinks a wolf was cool with that. Any wolf, let alone a Beta, agreeing to let his pup get shot without them three would never happen. Being extremely sexist this is a Beta’s DAUGHTER at that. It would never happen.”
I ground out, “I dislike this feeling. Intensely. If someone has hurt her….” I trailed off as I remembered the deal with Ashley on her eighteenth birthday. Gage groaned, “There it is.” I snarled, “Oh my god! THAT PRICK THAT WANTS TO MARK HER! SHE MINE!” Oden snarled, “Kill him.” I was going to.
Phil winced, “I was hoping that revelation would not hit you today. Possibly ever but definitely not today.” Gage snorted, “You’re living in pipe dream land, Phil. It was going to hit him and you’re just lucky it wasn’t last night.”
I began to pace while Oden roared in my head. I turned around pointing at my cousin, “You know his name.” Gage commented, “So do I.” Phil acknowledged, “I do. He will be VERY dead VERY soon. Ironically, I do know he got the crap beat out of him after Melanie/Ashley’s car accident. Rumor is it wasn’t a wolf that did the beating.”
I knew who did it. I declared, “Cayden. She’s a source for him and he likes her. Probably because she’s his DAMN sister in law.” Phil nodded, “I would imagine so. Which he doesn’t know and will piss him off. I don’t think there’s any danger of that kid you hate dying before we can kill him.”
Gage said, “While agree, he’s a kid not a man I dunno about that. He’s clearly stupid but he has lived this long. So, the odds do seem to be in our favor.” Oden snarled, “I’ll tear him to pieces.” Phil hummed, “Yup, I don’t think anyone we know will doubt that in any way, shape or form.”
We heard our mates on the steps. Phil whispered, “The girls are coming down now, Oden. Can you give Alexander back control? Since ya know, we are all pretending we don’t know Ashley is Melanie and Samantha is Sierra. God, the need for answers is so very strong.”
Gage snorted, “I was jealous you were there at first, but now I have headache over here. Have fun being the boots on the ground, Phil. Later guys.” He hung up. Phil muttered, “Unfuckingfair. He gets to go hide from everyone but I have my mate and he doesn’t. Ultimately, I’m the winner here.”
Oden gave me back control and my eyes locked with Melanie’s. She was mine. Some prick bastard tried to forcibly mark what was mine. He was dead. He might not know it yet, but that motherfucker was beyond dead. I’d keep him in the Hackura realm for several years. He’d be my personal toy to play with.
My eyes slid to her marking spot where he’d tried to mark her. He’d tried to bite her where only my mark belongs. One day my mark would be there NOT HIS. Oden growled, “If’ he’d marked her We would’ve killed him. His mark would’ve faded, and then OURS would be on her neck.” That was true I’d have killed him, and she’d still have been mine.
The second he died I would’ve known that she was my fated. Oden was right though, his mark would’ve faded. HOW DARE HE try to force her to do anything! She was mine and I should’ve been protecting her. Fuck the popping rules, fuck the McAlister’s, and fuck Red Run. Oden admitted, “I like this new attitude.”
Well, I should’ve been by her side. I kissed her with every ounce of passion I had in me. We needed to go, but I needed to claim her. I needed to let her know how damn sorry I was that I wasn't there all this time. She’d been alone and suffering. I would not let this go until they all were found.
They would all be found, and they would die at my hands. Alpha Davis was done too. He was a shitty Alpha anyway. I linked Phil, “I’m confirming what I know because I’m in a practical fugue state at this point. We were saying the guy that tried to mark her is still alive, right?” Phil answered, “Yes.”
Alpha Edward Davis was definitely done then. Any Alpha worth their title would’ve killed the prick. So would any ranked wolf. The Black Path ranked wolves were ALL on my list. The fake aunt for the cover story was also dead.
Heck, anyone who wasn’t her friend in that stupid fucking pack was dead. The future leadership and I were having a chat too. I wouldn’t even care if they were her friends. You kill that sick son a bitch who tries to forcibly mark your friend. They HAD to know that. Oden agreed, “These are all great plans, and I approve.” Good.
I popped us to a mountain I liked. Phil linked me, “We will hit the gym later because you NEED it.” I nodded. He questioned, “Are you going to link me back?” I answered, “And say what?” Phil shrugged, “I know that face. It’s you’re ‘I’m plotting someone’s death’ face. Maybe tell me whose.”
I snorted, “You are short changing me, cousin. I am plotting MULTIPLE people’s deaths.” Phil advised, “Talk to your mate and take several deep breaths before you continue to do that.” I would and then still be plotting those deaths. He went through a portal leaving us here.
