Mated to the Pack (2 page)

“I’m afraid they do,” Michael argued. “And
our rival pack is… rather cruel. They would have done horrible
things to you.”

“Wait a minute,” Allison said flatly. “You
seriously expect me to believe you all are werewolves?”

Her eyes flitted over to Logan. For some
reason, she trusted him. His eyes were kind and gentle, and she
felt certain he wouldn’t lie to her.

“Logan?” she begged.

“It’s true,” he told her, hanging his head
as if in shame.

She scoffed.

“No,” she said. “It isn’t possible. It just
isn’t!”

“I know this is difficult to believe,”
Michael told her. “But I assure you, it’s true.”

“So how long do you intend to keep me here?”
she demanded to know.

“Indefinitely,” Michael said bluntly.

“What does that mean? Forever?” she
gasped.

“Potentially,” he replied. “We must be able
to ensure your safety.”

The air rushed out of her lungs as though
she’d been punched in the gut. Her mind reeled, and tears welled in
her eyes, stinging them and blurring her vision.

“Why?” she asked pitifully. “What did I do
to deserve this?”

“Hey, don’t cry,” Logan said gently, sitting
on the bed beside her and putting his arm around her shoulders.

Allison buried her face in the bare skin at
the base of his neck and burst into tears. He wrapped both arms
around her and squeezed tightly. She noticed how warm his body was,
despite wearing nothing but shorts. She’d been shivering before,
though it barely registered due to her anxiety. But the intense
heat of Logan’s body had calmed her chills and her emotions.

Logan tilted her head up with one finger.
Mascara had clumped her lashes together, and it was running down
her face in streaks. She sniffled. His crystal blue eyes were
intense, but gentle.

“I’m sorry, Allison,” he said gently.

For a moment, she got lost in those eyes.
His brow was furrowed with worry, and his eyes darted back and
forth, searching hers.

“You’re really not going to hurt me?” she
asked him.

“Never,” he promised her.

She sighed and nodded. “Alright, I trust
you.”

“Good,” he grinned. “Now, can I get you
something to eat or drink?”

She thought for a moment, and she remembered
that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. It had been just before
lunch when she discovered Kyle’s indiscretions, and she hadn’t been
able to eat for the rest of the day.

“I
am
hungry,” she admitted.

“I’ll be right back!” Logan said with a
pleased grin.

Logan disappeared, and she turned her eyes
toward Michael, and then toward Luke, who had so far been
silent.

“So you’re Logan’s brother?” she asked
Luke.

He nodded and said, “Yep, last time I
checked.”

“Are you as nice as he is?” she asked him
seriously.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Not by a
long shot!”

“Yeah, I got that vibe from you,” Allison
said, her mouth scrunching up in the corner.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand,” Luke said
quickly. “I won’t hurt you. I’m just not the goody-two-shoes my
little brother is.”

Allison raised her eyebrow curiously at
Luke. She was about to say something else when Logan rushed into
the room carrying a tray. He placed the tray over Allison’s lap.
The tray held a muffin, a bowl of fruit salad, a pack of potato
chips, and a can of diet cola.

“All we had was diet,” Logan said. “I hope
that’s okay with you.”

“Diet is fine,” Allison said, smiling
weakly. “Thank you.”

Logan grinned again.

Allison picked up the muffin and took a
small bite from it. It was soft and still warm from the oven, and
flecked with bits of fruit and nuts.

“Wow, it’s delicious,” she said.

Logan beamed. “I made it!” he said. “While
you were asleep.”

Michael pulled a chair over near the bed and
sat down. The look on his face was serious, almost grave. She
continued to eat, but she eyed him nervously.

“There’s something we need to discuss,”
Michael said. “I don’t want to scare you, but this is quite
serious.”

Allison swallowed a bite of muffin, which
had suddenly become quiet dry and flavorless. It stuck in her
throat, and she took a large swig of diet cola.

“Alright, what is it?” she asked.

“Werewolves have a code of conduct of sorts,
a set of laws we live by – or at least, most of us live by,”
Michael began. “Our rival pack chooses not to live by our laws,
which is why we had to save you from them.”

He continued, “Their pack is savage. They
take what they want, and they don’t care who gets hurt. We, on the
other hand, live a life of honor. There are… certain elements we
can’t control… but we do our best to ensure no one ever gets
hurt.”

Allison’s gaze was transfixed. Michael
leaned forward, locking his shocking golden eyes with her blue
ones.

“I want you to understand that we never
meant for any of this to happen,” Michael said. “I can’t tell you
how important it is for us that you know this.”

“What are you saying, Michael?” Allison
asked.

“Because we rescued you, pack law states you
must become our pack’s mate,” he said in a very matter-of-fact way,
as though he’d just told her the sky was blue, or her shirt was on
backwards.

“Mate… like… sexually?” she asked, her eyes
growing wider.

“Precisely,” he said.

“And if I refuse?” she asked.

“You cannot,” he stated.

“But what if I do?” she pressed him.

“Then we will
take
you,” he said.

Her eyes traveled to Logan, who shifted his
eyes to something across the room. He refused to look at her.

“I thought you didn’t want to hurt me,” she
said, turning her eyes back to Michael. “You said that, right?”

“We
don’t
wish to hurt you, Allison,”
Michael told her. “That is why you must comply when the time
comes.”

“So I have no choice,” Allison said flatly.
“That’s what you’re saying. If I don’t submit, you’ll force
me.”

“Yes,” Michael said bluntly.

Allison’s mouth fell open. She sat gaping at
Michael, shocked at how nonchalant he was about the matter.

“You must know that this is not what we
want,” Michael said. “But unfortunately, pack law will not allow us
to do otherwise.”

“What
exactly
does this law state?”
Allison demanded.

“Anytime a pack rescues a member of the
opposite sex from mortal danger caused by a rogue pack, the pack
must take the rescued individual into the pack for protection,”
Michael said. “Since you are not a werewolf, you cannot be accepted
into the pack in the traditional sense. However, pack law states
that a pack, in the absence of appropriate werewolf mates, may take
a human as a mate. Thus, the only way we can take you into our pack
is by making you our mate.”

“Why not just let me go?” Allison asked.

“Because you have seen us,” he answered.
“Pack law states that once a human has learned our secret, they
must either join the pack or be killed.”

“Killed?” she gasped. “So that’s the only
other option?”

“I’m afraid so,” he said, his voice showing
some sign of emotion for the first time in the discussion.

“This is not happening,” she muttered. “This
can’t be happening. This is all just a bad dream. I have to wake
up.”

She took the fork from her tray and jabbed
herself sharply in the arm. She sucked air in sharply through her
teeth, and the fork clattered onto the tray.

“I’m afraid this is
not
a dream,”
Michael said.

“So you said I had to comply ‘when the time
comes’… what does that mean?” she wanted to know.

“A wolf pack goes into heat every so often,”
Michael explained. “The timing is unpredictable, and our reaction
is… uncontrollable.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we go into heat, if there is a female
nearby, we cannot be stopped,” he said.

It took a moment for what he said to sink
in. She felt a knot growing in the pit of her stomach.

“So… you really meant it when you said if I
didn’t comply, you’d take me,” she said softly.

“I’m afraid so,” he agreed. “It is not
something we can control.”

“Then why not just let me go?”

“As I said, it simply isn’t possible. Our
code is quite strict. We could not let you go even if we wanted
to,” he told her.

“But no one will ever have to know,” she
said. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“It’s not that simple. Those of us who abide
by our laws cannot go against them even if we want to. We are
physically unable to,” Michael said.

“What… you mean like… you’re under mind
control or something?” she asked.

“Yes, something like that,” he agreed.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she mumbled,
her face turning a sickly shade of green.

“I do apologize for this,” Michael said.
“Unfortunately, it was either this, or allow the other pack to have
you. And I am quite certain you’d have chosen to come with us if
you knew what they were like. They would not have been gentle with
you, nor would they have complied with pack laws. You would
probably be dead right now, or at least in a great deal of
pain.”

Michael’s voice was dull and resonating
inside Allison’s head. Her stomach lurched, and she tried not to
vomit. The color drained from her face.

“Michael?” Logan interjected cautiously.

Michael turned to face Logan without a
word.

“Maybe we should let her get some sleep,”
Logan suggested. “She looks really exhausted.”

“Perhaps that would be best,” Michael
agreed. He turned back to Allison and said, “Please, get some rest.
We will discuss this tomorrow.”

Allison nodded weakly. Logan took the tray
away. He shot her an apologetic glance, but his eyes quickly
shifted away from her gaze. He headed out of the room, and Luke
followed him. She lied down and pulled the blankets over her.
Michael remained in his chair.

“You’re not leaving?” she asked.

“I must stay… for your protection,” he
said.

“I see.”

She closed her eyes, and tried not to think
of the events that had transpired. She thought of Kyle, and almost
wished, for just a moment, that she were back with him. At least
living with a cheating bastard was better than being forced into a
sexual relationship with a pack of werewolves, wasn’t it?

Before long, she somehow managed to fall
asleep.

Evil, reflective eyes stared at her in the
darkness. A resounding, guttural growl erupted, sending chills
through her body. Her heart began to thump rapidly in her chest,
and she could feel her pulse pounding in her head.

Lips curled savagely, revealing rows of
sharp teeth that glinted menacingly in the moonlight. A flash of
fur and teeth lunged at her.

“No!” she cried, shielding her face with her
arms.

She gasped, shooting up in bed. Beads of
sweat trickled down her face and neck, and her heart thudded
harshly.

“Hey!” Logan said, quickly moving from the
nearby chair to sit on the bed beside her. “It’s alright! You’re
safe.”

His arms folded around her protectively, and
she dissolved into them a trembling wreck. The dream had been so
real.

“Where’s Michael?” she asked.

“Sleeping,” Logan said. “It’s my shift.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry, I can protect you just as well
as he can,” he puffed up defiantly.

“No, I… I didn’t mean anything by it,”
Allison said quickly. “I was just wondering.”

Logan relaxed a little.

“Michael and Luke think I can’t do things
because I’m so young,” Logan confessed. “I may be young, but I’m
not weak.”

“How old are you, anyway?” she asked.

“Nineteen,” he answered. “Luke is
twenty-three and Michael is twenty-seven. They think they’re so
much better than me because they’re older.”

“I don’t think that,” Allison said, managing
a weak smile.

Logan puffed up again and grinned.

“My sister thinks the same way,” Allison
told him. “She’s always thought she was better than me because she
was older. You know, smarter, more successful, all that.”

“You have a sister?” Logan asked.

“Yeah. Her name is Andrea,” Allison said.
“I’m twenty-one, and she’s twenty-nine. She’s married, has two
kids, college degree, nice job… I’m single with a cheating bastard
boyfriend, no kids, and I work as a waitress.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Logan said.
“It’s who you are as a person that matters.”

“Well, everyone thinks Andrea is perfect,”
Allison lamented. “In fact, I doubt anyone will even notice I’m
gone for a while.”

“I’m sorry,” Logan said gently.

“It’s alright, I’m used to it,” Allison
lied. “I was bullied a lot in school because I’m not skinny and
beautiful like everyone else.”