Mated to the Pack (6 page)

In that moment… that lonely, agonizing
moment… Allison suddenly realized that she should truly feel
grateful to the pack. Now she might never get the opportunity.

The time crawled by like sap dripping slowly
down the trunk of a tree. Allison gnawed her fingernails down to
nubs while nausea washed over her in waves. Finally, she rushed to
the toilet and vomited.

As she kneeled before the toilet with the
cold tile against her knees, she heard the screech of metal. She
wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and scrambled to her
feet and out the bathroom door. Michael appeared in the doorway as
the heavy metal door swung open, and Luke and Logan entered
immediately after him. Allison sank to her knees and burst into
tears, hiding her face in her hands.

Michael joked, “Sorry to disappoint you, but
we’re back!”

Allison growled and shouted, “Don’t you
dare
joke right now!”

The smile quickly faded from Michael’s face,
and his expression softened. “Hey… I’m sorry,” he said gently.
“Wow, you’re really upset, huh?”

Michael kneeled beside her and put his arm
around her shoulders. She pushed him away, but when his arms closed
around her, she buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked. “It’s
alright. We’re alright.”

“I thought I would never see any of you
again!” she sobbed, her voice muffled. “I thought I’d never get to
tell you…”

“Tell us what?” Luke asked, standing above
her.

Allison took a long, deep breath and
sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Then she looked up at
Luke, then over at Logan, and finally to Michael.

“I wanted to tell you that I appreciate what
you’re doing for me, and I understand,” she blurted out. “I’ve been
so angry, but I realized it’s not you all I’m angry with, it’s just
the situation. And when I thought I might never see you again… I…
I…”

“Shh,” Michael said gently, his arms
squeezing her tighter. “You don’t have to worry about that. We’re
not going anywhere.”

“I’m sorry,” Allison said, her voice
breaking as she was on the verge of bursting into tears again.
“Michael, I’m so sorry I’ve been so mean.”

Michael’s eyes were softer than she’d ever
seen. His face lost its rough edges, and he looked upon her with
genuine concern.

“Allison, stop,” he said, his voice almost a
whisper. “You don’t have to apologize. I should apologize. All of
this is my fault.”

Allison shook her head slightly. “What do
you mean?”

“All of this,” he said, his head hanging in
shame. “It’s all my fault. The other pack, the way I’ve treated
you, it was all me.”

“I don’t understand,” Allison said.

“Please don’t make me explain,” Michael
groaned. “Just know that none of this is your fault, and you don’t
have anything to apologize for.”

She sighed, but relented. “I’m just glad
you’re all okay.”

“Let’s go upstairs,” Luke suggested.

“All of us?” Allison asked cautiously, her
eyes shifting to Michael.

“All of us,” Michael said, smiling
faintly.

Allison beamed with joy. She didn’t want to
spend one more moment in that stuffy safe room. Michael heaved
himself to his feet and pulled her along with him.

“Oh, wait,” Allison said. “Is there any way
I can… freshen up?”

“Oh, damn,” Michael said. “I totally forgot
about that. Of course. We have hygiene stuff in the cupboard over
there, and I could send Logan after some clothes for you.”

Allison fumbled around in the cupboard and
located a toothbrush still in the package, some toothpaste, soap,
shampoo and conditioner.

“Have any towels?” she asked.

“Just bring that stuff with you,” Michael
said. “You can use the bathroom upstairs in your room. It’s much
nicer.”

“Room? I have a room?”

Michael chuckled heartily. “You do now!” he
said. “Come on, let me show you.”

Allison followed him up the creaking stairs
to the kitchen, then through an archway into a rundown foyer. They
ascended another staircase to a hallway of doors. Michael opened a
door and walked inside, flicking a light switch as he entered.

“It’s not much,” he said apologetically,
“but it’s all we have.”

Allison’s eyes scanned the musty, gray room.
The furniture was all covered in a thick layer of dust, including
the bed, and the rug was dingy and ragged. Allison smiled.

“It’s just fine,” she said.

“It’s not, but we’ll fix it up for you,”
Logan offered.

“That’s not necessary,” Allison said as
cheerfully as she could manage. “It’s fine, really.”

“The bathroom is through that door,” Michael
said, pointing across the room. “Logan will get you some
towels.”

Michael turned to leave, but then he paused
and turned back to face her.

“Oh, and Allison?” he paused to make sure he
had her full attention. “Not that we don’t trust you, but my room
is right across the hall, and Logan and Luke are on either side of
me. Don’t even think of trying to leave.”

His lips curled upward, but it was more a
warning grin than an actual smile.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Allison said
gently, and Michael nodded.

Logan handed Allison a bundle of towels, and
she took everything into the bathroom.

“Logan, go into town and get her some
clothes,” she heard Michael order as she closed the bathroom door
behind her.

After taking a shower and brushing her
teeth, Allison found a large pile clean clothes waiting on her bed,
which had been stripped of its sheets and remade with clean linens.
It was astonishing how quickly Logan had gone into town and come
back with brand new clothes for her. Even more surprising, they
were all the right size.

She chose a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and
put the rest away in her dresser before heading downstairs to find
the others. The stairs creaked loudly as she headed down them, and
she followed the sound of voices into a large room with rows of
dusty books standing on shelves. As she approached, the voices went
silent.

“What’s going on?” she asked, and three
pairs of eyes turned toward her.

“We’ve been discussing Victor,” Michael
answered.

“I see,” Allison said. “And?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Michael said
grimly, “but the others agree that you should know. I went to see
Victor. It was a peaceful meeting, but he refused to relent. He
says his pack saw you first, and they don’t intend to stop until
they get you back.”

“Why’d he let you go?” Allison wondered.

“Victor and I… have a history,” Michael
answered. “He owed me a favor. Letting me out alive made us
even.”

Allison slid weakly into a chair. Then she
asked, “Is this going to go on forever?”

“They will not stop until they get you back
or they are all dead,” Michael confirmed.

Allison’s heart jumped, and her whole body
began to tremble. Her head began to swim, and her stomach lurched.
Clasping her hand firmly over her mouth, she sprang from her chair
and rushed down the hall. She bathroom door banged sharply against
the wall, and she collapsed to her knees in front of the toilet,
retching violently into it.

She heard the sound of a clearing throat
behind her, and she turned her eyes meekly toward it. Logan peered
down at her with pity in his eyes.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

She nodded and rolled some toilet paper off
the roll, swiping it harshly across her lips. She flushed the
toilet and pulled herself into a standing position on wobbly knees.
Her trembling hands turned on the faucet and rinsed her mouth, and
then splashed her face. She fumbled with her eyes closed for a
towel.

She felt softness in her hand, and her
fingers instinctively closed around it. Wiping her face, she said,
“Thanks, Logan.”

“You’re welcome,” Michael’s voice
responded.

She pulled the towel away from her face and
looked into the mirror above the sink, and Michael now stood where
Logan had been moments earlier.

“You alright?” he asked her.

“I’m fine, I guess,” she said, turning
around and hanging the towel on the bar on the wall beside the
door.

“We’re not going to let anything happen to
you,” he said. “You have my word.”

“What if something happens that you can’t
stop?” she challenged him.

“Then it would mean we are all dead,” he
said in a matter-of-fact way.

She shuddered, wrapping her arms around
herself. Michael raised an eyebrow at her and the corner of his lip
twitched, and then curled into a lopsided grin.

“Why, Allison!” he teased. “If I didn’t know
any better, I’d think you were worried about me!”

Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms
defiantly in front of her. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, and
with a roll of her eyes, she muttered, “Don’t flatter
yourself.”

He chuckled and said knowingly, “I don’t
have to. I’ve got you all figured out.”

He crossed his own arms and leaned against
the doorframe, his head cocked sideways.

“You’re really full of yourself,” she
commented.

“Am I?” he challenged. “Or is it just that
you know I’m right.”

Her eyes flashed fire and she snorted. “Go
ahead and fight Victor and the whole pack for all I care,” she
said, thrusting her nose haughtily upward. “I’d barely even realize
you were gone.”

Bemused, Michael smirked and said,
“Liar.”

She slammed her shoulder squarely against
his, pushing past him through the narrow opening he left in the
doorway.

“Hey!” he called after her.

With her nose still high in the air, she
breezed down the hallway to join the others in the library. She
plopped heavily into a chair and crossed her legs, swinging one leg
wildly and crossing her arms.

Logan glanced at Michael, who shrugged. Then
he looked at Allison who shot him a look that told him to not even
bother asking.

“Ohhhhh-kay…” Logan said. “So, what are the
plans?”

Michael retreated into a dark corner and
leaned against the wall. Only a shaft of blue-gray moonlight coming
from a nearby window illuminated him.

“For now, nothing,” Michael said. “It’s up
to them to make the first move.”

“I say we fight!” Logan argued, pounding his
fist into his palm. “We should surprise them! Take them out while
we can!”

“No!” Michael snapped. “It’s too dangerous.
They could be planning an ambush. Anything could happen.”

“But, if we take the fight to them…” Logan
started to say.

“I said no!” Michael snarled, his voice
almost otherworldly in its viciousness.

Logan immediately closed his mouth, and his
shoulders slouched forward in defeat. Then he looked over at Luke
and said, “What do you think?”

“I think Michael’s right,” Luke admitted.
“It’s too dangerous to go after them on their own turf. We’d be at
a disadvantage. Plus, they could be just waiting for us to leave
her unguarded.”

Logan frowned at his brother, but then he
sighed heavily and groaned, “Fine, I see your point.”

“Then we stay here and see what they do,”
Michael said, ending the matter.

“Who’s hungry?” Logan asked as cheerfully as
he could manage.

“Me!” Allison gasped, her stomach suddenly
gnawing painfully. “Wow, I didn’t realize how hungry I am until you
said something.”

“I think we’re actually running low on
food,” Luke commented.

“Why didn’t you pick any up while you were
in town earlier?” Michael growled.

“Sorry, I didn’t know we were that low,”
Logan admitted sheepishly.

Michael snarled and said, “Get going, and
hurry back!”

“Wait!” Allison said quickly. “Isn’t it a
bit dangerous to send Logan out alone in the middle of the night
with all this going on?”

Michael paused, and then asked Luke,
“Exactly how much food do we have?”

Luke shrugged, “I think we have a loaf of
bread and a couple of apples.”

“That’ll do for tonight,” Allison
interjected.

“Agreed,” Michael said. “You and Logan will
go into town in the morning at first light. For now, Allison, you
should get some sleep.”

“Um, she should eat first,” Logan reminded
him.

“I’ll just take an apple for tonight,”
Allison said.

“Logan…” Michael started to say.

“Got it,” Logan said and jogged out of the
room. Moments later, he returned with an apple washed and nestled
carefully in a paper towel.

“Thank you, Logan,” she said politely. “Good
night, everyone.”

“Night,” said Luke and Logan. Michael merely
nodded from the shadows.

Allison ascended the creaking stairs,
sinking her teeth into the crisp, juicy flesh of the apple. Juice
dribbled down her chin, and she licked it carefully away. Her head
was filled with visions of fur flying and sharp teeth bared. The
thought of the pack being hurt because of her…