13. Party People

thirteen

Party People

*ELDEN*

I might hate partying, but I love that Flora is having fun. It reminds me that I probably should take her out clubbing more often if that’s something she enjoys doing. Janice seems to enjoy her time too, and the two girls hit it off for real now.

Once we are exhausted from dancing, the girls head upstairs to freshen up in the restroom, Deacon goes to grab us something to drink, while Jace and I go outside, sitting at the dock to catch some fresh air. “I still hate attending this party,” Jace admits. “But with the right group it’s okay.”

I allow my gaze to roam over the lake. A couple of omega she-wolves are arriving, carrying some plates of food into the party house. Music erupts through the area, contrasting the quietness from the pack lands. Emerald Moon is known for its lush forests, hence its name. “Your pack is beautiful,” I tell Jace. “Not as beautiful as Silverlake of course, but still…”

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” he asks with a chuckle, before turning serious again. “The place itself isn’t bad,” he admits. A pause lingers between us. “Do you want to have children?” he asks me. “I mean one day.”

I’m surprised by his sudden question. “Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Just something I’ve been thinking about recently,” he admits.

“My dad is terrible,” I mutter. “I know he doesn’t love me, I don’t even know if he ever liked me. He just had me because he needed an heir. And he treated Mom terribly. I… I never want to be that type of man.”

Jace looks at me in shock. “Are you scared about that?”

“It’s statistically proven that sons from abusive fathers can turn into their fathers,” I say.

“But not you,” Jace emphasizes. “There is no one I know who is more aware of his powers and rank than you are. You treat Flora like a princess. Even before you were a couple you already were the best mate to her. You would never hurt her.”

I gaze at the water. There is no movement in it. It looks peaceful. “I never want to hit my children,” I say quietly. “If I have children, I want them to feel loved and protected, and not be scared of me.”

“Is Caelum still such a piece of shit?”

“He hits me less since Emilia is here,” I say. “I don’t know what to think about her, but at least she keeps him away from me and has him in check. So, there’s that I guess.”

Jace is silent. “Mom never wanted a son,” he says all of a sudden.

“What?” I turn to look at him, surprised by his words.

“You know, her first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. I’ve heard she already had a room full of toys for a girl; clothes, everything. And then when she got pregnant again, it was just me. She thinks it should have been me who is dead, and my sister should be alive.”

“Goddess, Jace, that’s insane,” I blurt out. “Why did you never say anything?” I knew he had a bad relationship with his parents, but I didn’t know that was the reason.

“It’s embarrassing,” he says quietly. “Most alpha couples want an heir, but my parents never really wanted me. Dad doesn’t care about me, he only cares about Mom.”

“Is that the reason they want you to marry within your rank?” I ask.

“They want me to choose a mate that will replace their lost daughter,” he mutters. “The daughter Mom imagines in her mind. That’s so fucked up, isn’t it?”

“It’s more than fucked up!”

“What if I’ll find my mate and she doesn’t fit to their standards?” he asks anxiously. “How high are the chances Mom will approve of any mate that I have… chosen or not? She will only approve of one she will choose.”

I’m stunned, to say the least. At least, my father is just an asshole who beats me to let his frustration out, but most of the time he leaves me alone. This bar is so fucking low that even he looks better than Jace’s parents. “We will find a way,” I tell him. “There is no way I will let you end in unhappiness. If you find your mate, tell Flora and me, and we’ll think of a plan.”

Jace sighs. “If I ever have children, I will love them unconditionally. I won’t care who their mate is, or if they choose their own path. I will have their backs and support them, and love them, even if it’s difficult sometimes. They will never be alone.”

“If I ever have children, I will love them too,” I say. “I will make sure they grow up in a loving and warm home, without having to walk on eggshells around me. I will make sure their mom… Flora gets all the love she needs. And if she, or any of them falls sick, they will get all the treatment they need.”

“Then, we have a plan,” Jace says.

The noise of some glass breaking reaches my ears, and Regis perks up in my mind. What was that? There are more noises to be heard, snickers and then voices. The music is so loud that I can barely make out the other sounds, but with Regis’ help I can focus more. A door is being opened and closed loudly, someone runs towards the forest… and there are more voices. They sound… scared.

“Did you hear that?” I ask Jace.

He stands up abruptly. “Yes.”

A female voice yells for help.

“That’s coming from the forest,” I say.

Before Jace and I can jump into action, Flora dashes outside. “Elden!” she yells.

“What happened?” I ask, running towards her.

Jace follows, his eyes scanning the area behind Flora. “Where is Janice?”

“The college boys,” Flora hurries to explain, panting heavily. “They were with the omegas. Janice and I were in the restrooms, which is why we heard it. Seems like they harassed the omega girls, but the girls didn’t seem to want them around. I don’t know exactly what happened. When Janice and I heard that something was going on, we hurried downstairs, and the girls ran out of the house. The guys followed them. And then Janice ran after them, and Deacon spotted us and started to follow Janice.”

She stops to gasp for air, while Jace pales at her words.

Without waiting for any further information Jace shifts into his lycan, dashing towards the forest. I make sure to shift too, and Flora instantly jumps onto my back, before we follow Jace into the darkness of the forest. It seems like the omegas and college guys shifted too, because there is a distance between us already.

Regis, it seems like they are out of the pack grounds already.

We were pretty close to the borders, he growls.

What’s the direction we are heading to?

A road, he says. Human territory. There is a gas station nearby

The girls are probably running there because they are trying to reach an inhabited area. The easiest in a pack would have been to run to the packhouse, but in our case the pack house is further away than the human territory.

I can feel Flora’s fingers being dug deep into Regis’ fur, holding onto it for balance. Her heart beats faster than usual, but not because she is scared… she rather seems to be angry. She is worried for the omegas, but also for Janice. Fortunately, Deacon followed them.

I have caught up to Jace by now, running side by side with him. I’m faster than he is, but this is his pack and his future pack members. I don’t want to take this moment away from him.

With the gas station in sight, the scents around us get more prominent. Regis can easily detect Janice’s scent now, and Deacon’s but also some unknown ones.

“There, at the backside of the gas station!” Flora exclaims.

So, the girls didn’t reach it in time, but on the plus side, it’s dark and we are away from prying eyes. Regis’ sharp eyes take up what’s going on in the distance. Two of the college boys are taking it up with Deacon, while Janice is standing protectively in front of the omegas. It’s only then, that I notice how young they are, probably around seventeen. Just old enough to shift… and they look terrified.

Those fuckers!

There is another guy though, someone I don’t recognize. He looks a bit older and has tattoos on his arms. Clearly, a wolf, maybe even a lycan. He delivers a punch to one of the assholes right when Jace and I arrive. One of the dudes wants to charge towards Janice, but before he can do so, Flora has jumped off my back, hurried towards him and kicked him in the nuts.

That’s our mate! Regis says proudly.

Jace dashes forward in his wolf form to help Janice, while I make sure to get to Deacon. It’s not a difficult fight. The losers are drunk and no match for a ranked lycan. Deacon and I have tackled the guys when I can already hear Jace yelling at the ones who attacked Janice and the girls.

“ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?” he yells. “Do you even know what you did!? You are an embarrassment for our pack!”

It’s funny how they suddenly turn completely pale, when they realize that it’s their alpha’s son who chased them and who is chewing them out now.

“Only a loser attacks someone who is weaker than them,” Flora huffs towards the group before turning to the girls. She and Janice are making sure to tend to them and reassure them they are safe now.

“Hey dude,” the tattooed guy who helped us, reaches for his bag and hands me some pants. “Aside from your tiny woman there,” he gestures towards Flora. “And me, you are all naked, in human territory.”

“You are right,” I say. “And Jace is still yelling. We need to get away from here.”

“I have a small place close-by. You can go there and change,” he offers.

“You let a bunch of unknown wolves into your place?” I ask.

He grins. “Well, you came here to protect these omegas. Can’t be that bad.”

I’m amused and slightly intrigued. I slowly take in his aura, and my first intuition was correct, he is a lycan. He is rather young, maybe my age, but he is definitely a warrior. Deacon, who has heard our exchange, nods briefly at me before hurrying to Jace and talks to him. The tattooed guy takes off his shirt and jacket, handing it to two of the omegas, while Flora takes off her jacket to give it to the third girl. Then, she rummages in her own bag for some spare clothes. She is always prepared in case I need to shift, and indeed finds two oversized shirts.

“Let’s go,” Jace tells us, pushing two of the guys forward, while Deacon keeps an eye on the other two. “I can’t believe you would be up to such shit and stoop so low,” he hisses.

“What were you even thinking?” I ask them. “You must be aware that this is a major fuck-up!”

“They are just omegas,” one grumbles.

I shake my head, disgusted. My father is an elitist, so are Jace’s parents, but even they would not accept anyone attempting the assault, or rape of a pack member. However, the way they look down on lesser ranks, rubs off on the pack members.

“I’ve linked the guards while we were chasing these idiots,” Jace tells Deacon. “They should be here soon, but you are right, we shouldn’t bring any more attention to us.” He turns to the omega girls, smiling at them. “Are you girls okay? I mean-” he pauses. “As okay as you can be of course. I didn’t mean to ask… to be...”

“Typical alpha, insensitive as fuck,” Deacon teases.

Jace punches him playfully, which makes the tension subside slightly. I notice Janice smiling warmly at Jace. The tattooed guy has his motorbike around the corner. He hands me his address on a sheet of paper before he drives ahead, while Flora and I accompany the girls to his place so that they can change and calm down a little. Jace, Janice and Deacon meanwhile get the fuckers to the border of the pack, to hand them to the guards.

“Would you agree to be a witness?” Jace asks Janice.

“Yes,” she says quietly. “We need to play this smart.”

I know what they mean. They won’t focus on a group of college boys harassing these omegas, but rather on them violating pack law by attacking them here and endangering our cover. Furthermore, while Janice is not a ranked wolf, she is at least a beta, which makes her a credible witness, just like Deacon.

“Take advantage of me being here,” I tell Jace. “I don’t mind.”

“Yeah, I will use the Elden-card,” he mutters. “If you are upset about what happened, my parents will be, too.”

It’s all about saving face.

I know it is because this is exactly how I would deal with the issue if it were Silverlake and I had to present the issue to my dad.

The tattooed guy lives in a tiny two-room apartment on the periphery of the town, and already expects us when we arrive. He ushers us inside, making sure no one sees us, so we can all finally change into actual clothes.

“Do you need help?” Flora asks the girls.

“We are okay,” one of them reassures her, smiling shyly. “Thank you… young luna.”

“I’m not luna, yet,” Flora says. “I’m just a normal girl. And Elden is just a normal guy-” She turns to look at me. “Well, as normal as an alpha’s son can be.”

“This coming from you is hilarious,” I tease.

The girls giggle and disappear into the bathroom, leaving Flora and me with the tattooed guy. “Thank you for your help,” I tell him. “Means a lot.”

“Nah,” he says. “I just passed by, coincidentally, and saw the group of assholes ganging up on the girls. Anyone would have stopped and helped.”

“I don’t think anyone would have done that,” I point out.

“Man, are you always that pessimistic?” he grins.

“Yes, he is,” Flora chirps in, before clinging to my arm. “It’s the alpha gene in him.”

“Yeah, I knew it,” the dude exclaims. “You give off total alpha vibes. Man, when you dashed forward with your lycan I almost pissed my pants. I was scared you would think I was the enemy, too.”

“Are you really living here?” Flora asks.

“Not on a daily basis,” he admits. “I just moved here. I am… was, from a small pack. There was a rogue attack, and my parents fell. Actually, quite some pack members passed.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say. “That had to be hard.”

“It was. Some packs offered to take us, so…well…” he pauses. “Oh, I’m a lycan.”

“I figured,” I say. “You smell like one.”

“You can really tell that?”

“You could tell,” I point out.

“Yes, because your beast is massive,” he grins. “And your aura is too. I would say you are probably royal.”

“Good guess,” I say.

“So, you moved packs?” Flora pushes.

“Yes, I was one of the very few lycans of my old pack, so I got into a lycan pack,” he says. “Just moved there this week. This small apartment here is just for me to stay in when I have work, or when I want to hang out with the boys.”

“Which pack did you move to?” I ask him.

“Silverlake,” he says. “Beautiful place. Just has a weird alpha.”

Flora and I exchange a surprised gaze. Well, Dad’s been at home this week, it makes sense that he added new people to the pack. Samuel probably pushed him to open the doors to the lycans who’d lost their homes.

“Why are you looking so shocked?” he asks. “Oh damn it, don’t tell me-”

“Yes, we are from the same pack,” Flora chuckles.

“Did I just piss off the future alpha?” the guy groans.

“Don’t worry,” I reassure him. “I have much less pleasant words for my father.”

“We haven’t introduced ourselves,” Flora says. “This is Elden, and I’m Flora, his mate.”

“Vincent,” the guy smiles. “Nice to meet you.”