Fighter (Outsider Series) (22 page)

He looked at me seriously. “I just hope it never comes to that.”

I swallowed. What do I say to that? He was so completely serious.

He rubbed his stubbly face and reached for my wrist. He pulled me to him and kissed me. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Remind Nolan, no shifter talk around the guys.”

“I will,” he yelled back at me, already starting down the steps. I heard the garage door open and close and then the security system beep.

I closed the closet door and found both familiars sitting on the bedroom floor looking up at me.

“I know guys,” I said, scratching each dog behind his ears. “I’m worried too.”

nineteen.

Evan whistled as I opened the door. “This is one mighty fine place you got here, she-wolf.”

I laughed and motioned the seven guys inside. “I haven’t had a chance to set up the nets yet
, so ya’ll will have to help me.”

“Of course you haven’t had time,” Evan grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

I paled, catching his meaning. I punched his arm, harder than I should have, and gave the guys a tour of the house, before leading them outside where Caeden had left the boxes of netting.

Even with all the guys helping
, it took about an hour to put together the two nets.

I had yet to explore the backyard
, and found that, just like at Amy’s house, we had a massive pool and even a hot tub. The yard was huge, several acres, so we were able to put the nets at the standard distance.

We divided into teams of four.

Me, Brody, Shane, and Riley versus Evan, Tyler, Kyle, and Cam. Oh, this would be fun.

The late summer sun bore down us while we played. Soon, we were all drenched in sweat but kept on laughing and playing. For a little while, I could pretend to feel human again. I’d never admit to Caeden how good it felt to just be normal.

We laughed and joked, not really playing a game, just having… fun.

Nobody kept score so we each taunted one another with who the winner was. Finally, we colla
psed on the ground, laughing. I was in the middle surrounded by my human pack. I grabbed the hands of the guys beside me, I didn’t know who, and held on tight to this little piece of normalcy.

* * *

“I brought pizza!” Caeden called into the backyard.

We were all still lying on the ground,
looking up at the clear blue sky.

“Pizza?” Tyler asked, sitting up and putting his hands over his eyes to block the sunlight.

“Hurry up, it’s getting cold… Or it will if Nolan hasn’t already eaten all of it,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Come on guys,” I hopped up, wiping grass from my shorts. “I’m starving.”

Caeden had bought six boxes of pizzas, all with various toppings, and had them open on top of the island. He’d also picked up several different two-liter bottles of soda. Instead of sitting, we all just stood around, shoving the cheesy goodness into our mouths,

“So
, Caeden,” Evan said, swallowing a bite of pizza, “where do you get your money?”

Caeden choked on his drink. “Uh-” he struggled for recovery. “Family business.”

“Can I join?” Brody joked.

“Nah, sorry guys,” Caeden and I shared a look. I bet they’d be shocked to know that the family business was shifting from human to animal.

“Damn,” Brody chuckled.

Shane hopped up on
the counter. “We need to do this again before classes start. After that, we won’t have as much time.”

“We really do,” I said. “Maybe
, we can all get together and do dinner sometime.”

Caeden chuckled. “I’m sure my mom would love to have ya’ll over. She still talks about you guys from the party.”

“We’re just very memorable,” Evan put his hand over his chest and winked at me.

“She’s hot,” Riley said softly under his breath.

“Eww dude, that’s my mom,” Caeden gaged.

“Just speaking the truth,” Riley grinned, speaking louder this time.

Caeden grimaced and shook his head before grabbing another slice of pizza.

After we ate lunch
, the guys stayed a little longer and we hung out in the family room. Even Nolan seemed to enjoy the seven guys’ easygoing presence.

When they left, I cornered Nolan and Caeden.

“Did you find out anything?”

“No,” Caeden said and shot Nolan a look.

I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t lie to me.”

Caeden sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s still the same scent.”

“Have any more bodies been discovered?” He wouldn’t answer me. “Caeden,” my words came out colder than ice, “I’m Alpha too. Tell me.”

“Three more,” he answered.

“Four total?”
I asked.

“So far,” he said.

I swallowed, holding back tears. This wasn’t
right
. How could Travis justify killing humans.

“These were in -um- worse shape than the others,” Caeden wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“What do you mean?”

Nolan spoke this time. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Bad?” I asked.

Nolan looked out the window. “They were… unrecognizable. Only identifiable by scent.”

A sob escaped my throat and I put my hand over my mouth.

“What is he
doing
?”

Nolan shrugged and exchanged a look with Caeden. “Nothing good.”

Another sob raked my body. Fear of Travis, fear of what he was doing, and fear for the defenseless humans he was slaughtering flooded my body.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I declared.

Caeden disappeared and a moment later a trashcan was shoved into my hands. He held my hair back as I became violently sick, tears coursing out of the corners of my eyes. He rubbed my neck and murmured words of reassurance, but I was beyond being reassured. I knew what was coming. I didn’t need Nolan or Caeden to tell me.

War.

twenty.

Days passed and I began to wonder…

Who would attack first?

Would Travis make the first move or would we?

Would it matter?

Would we be ready?

Who would live?

Who would die?

I didn’t want to lose any members of my pack. I loved them all, even the ones that I didn’t really
know
. As Alpha, they were my responsibility. If we lose even one person to Travis, I will have failed.

I wasn’t going to sit back and let Caeden keep things from me anymore. I was going to figure things out. I was going to prepare myself, and in turn prepare our pack.

But in order to do that, I had to go to someone who knew how to lead.

My dad.

I slipped out of the bed, the sky still dark, and got dressed as quickly as I could.

I wrote a quick note to Caeden.

I need to do something. I’ll be back soon. If you absolutely need me, call. I’ll be safe. Don’t panic.

Love you,

              Sophie.

I put the note on the bed where he’d be sure to find it. I was sure, that even with the note, he’d call me in a panic.

I glanced quickly at his peaceful, slee
ping, face, before walking out of the bedroom.

I quietly grabbed my keys and turned the security system off so that he wouldn’t hear the beep when I went the door.

I had no doubt that the garage door opening would wake him, but I hoped to have enough of a head start that he wouldn’t be able to find me. I needed to do this, alone.

I sped down the road and away from the house. I checked repeatedly for headlights trailing behind me but none appeared. Breathing a sigh of relief
, I settled into the almost hour-long drive.

I pulled in front of a modest blue siding house. I bounced up the three creaky steps and knocked on the door. A light flicked on and I could hear the soft footsteps of my mom walking down the hall. A moment later the door opened and she stood there in a purple robe and her hair sticking up in every direction.

“Sophie? What are you doing here? It’s six o’ clock in the morning.”

Whoops, I hadn’t really thought about how early I was showing up.

“I need to talk to dad,” I answered her.

“He’s still sleeping,” she said, softly.

“I can wait.”

“I’m already up,” he appeared, coming out of a door that I assumed led to their bedroom.

“I’m really sorry for showing
up this early. I didn’t think,” I apologized.

“It’s fine,” dad said. “What do you need?”
he asked, as my mom led me inside and to the couch. They stared me down, waiting expectantly.

“I want…” Gosh, this was hard. I felt like I was admitting to being a failure. “I want you to help me with Travis. I want you to show me what I need to do. I can’t,” my throat closed up, “I can’t let anyone get hurt because I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Baby girl-” he started in a soft, comforting, tone but I held up a hand.

“Don’t. Please, just don’t,” I said.

“I don’t really know what I can tell you that would be of any help. I wasn’t Alpha for very long,” he reached for my mother’s hand. “Besides, this is something you have to learn on your own. I can’t
tell
you how to be a good Alpha, you have to
learn
.”

“What if someone gets hurt
, while I’m ‘learning,’” I snapped, holding up my fingers in air quotes.

“Sophie, it’s part of the life we lead. When something like this happens
, people can get hurt. You know that first hand,” his eyes lingered on my arm. I placed my hand over the scar, trying to hide it, trying to pretend it didn’t happen.

“That’s exactly why this is so important. People shouldn’t be put through that. He’s k
illing humans.
Humans!
” I cried.

He rubbed his face
and looked at me blearily. “Sophie, I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

I pulled at the roots of my hair. “I just want you to help me. That’s it.”

He sighed and sat back. “That’s not my responsibility. Helping you would be stepping on the Alpha’s toes.” He stared me down. “Caeden may be your husband, but he’s my leader before he’s my son-in-law. I can’t and I won’t step into his boundary. That’s not right.”

“We’re just kids,” my voice came out all choked and high-pitched. “It isn’t fair that we have to be responsible of so much.”

Anger flashed in my dad’s eyes. “Snap out of it, Sophie!” his voice bellowed. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”

“I
do not
feel sorry for myself,” I was deadly calm.

“You sure act like it. You’re a
Beaumont; Soph. Being a leader runs in your veins, you just refuse to embrace it. You don’t need my help. All the answers you’re looking for lie within you.”

The burden I’d been carrying on my shoulders only became heavier and I sagged under the weight.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you more,” my dad said, softly, like he was afraid of frightening me.

I shook my head. “It is what
it is…” I took a deep breath. “It’s just the thought of someone dying because of my inexperience, tears me up inside.”

“Sophie,” my dad leaned over and took my hand. “The fact that you care so much proves that you’re a great leader.”

“I’m so afraid that something bad is going to happen,” I whispered.

“Baby girl,” he said soothingly, “even if something bad happens, it will
never
be your fault.”

I let his words seep into my skin and wished so much that I could believe them.

A pounding on the door tore our attention away.

“What now?” my mom sighed, exasperated. She strode across the room and opened the door.

A very angry Caeden filled the doorway with a wiggling Archie under his arm. I could see the note I had left, scrunched in his hand.

“What the hell were you thinking going off like that and leaving me a note!? Huh? I just about
had a heart attack! Thank the Lord for the built in Sophie detector that is Archie,” he seethed.

“We’ll give you two a moment,”
my mom grabbed my dad’s arm, and they backed out of the room.

Caeden waited for them to leave before giving me the third degree.

His blue eyes were cool and icy as he stared me down, his jaw set in an angry line. “Did you stop to think for one
second
what I would think when I woke up and you were gone?”

“Of course,” I said softly, wrapping my arms around myself. “That’s why I left a note.”