3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

I collected what little I had in the apartment and shoved everything, including the note from my mother in my backpack. She’d given me a week, but I didn’t plan on staying where I wasn’t welcome. The Last Resort Lodge and Grill kept rooms open for traveling wolves and I had enough cash for one night.

After that—well, I’d figure it out before I checked out.

I tossed the apartment key on the front porch of my childhood home and hoofed it back to Lucas’ house.

Dr. Bennett’s car was parked out front. Worry gnawed at my gut. Apart from childbirth, medical care was straight forward. Doctor’s visits, if the need arose, were short and to the point. We healed and were hard to kill.

It didn’t bode well for Lucas that the doctor was still there.

I felt awful for doubting him. Lucas was hurt and I was worried about not receiving a status update. I should have known he hadn’t texted or called, because he couldn’t, not because he was blowing me off.

Not even twelve hours in Cedar Grove and all my old insecurities were back. I found it telling that the Williams family was as much at the center of them as my own.

I wanted to see Lucas for myself, to make sure he wasn’t dying, and that Dr. Bennett gave him the best possible care. Though in order to do that I had to get past his father.

And that scared the hell out of me.

After a deep breath, I steeled my spine, and marched up the front steps. Benjamin Williams and I had business to discuss. I just hoped he’d let me see his son first. The door opened before I brought the brass knocker down on the plate.

“Well, if it isn’t Caroline Redford. I was hoping you’d pay us a visit.” Mr. Williams stepped backward as he opened the door, allowing me room to enter the foyer. “You took off last night without so much as saying hello.”

“Mr. Williams.” I nodded a greeting as I stepped inside.

“I’ve known you your entire life, Caroline. I don’t think you’ve ever called me Mr. Williams.” He closed the door behind me and ushered me into the living room.

The Williams cabin had a similar open floor plan to my parents’ home. The only divider on the first floor was an L-shaped counter with bar stool seating in the kitchen. Oversized windows with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and a vaulted ceiling added to the cabin’s airy design.

“I just came by to—”

“I know why you’re here, Lina. Pull up a chair.” Benjamin sat on the couch and motioned to the recliner opposite him. “Dr. Bennett’s with him right now.”

“If it’s a bad time, I can come back later.” Overcome with a sudden urge to bolt, I cast a backward glance toward the door.

I knew a conversation with the new alpha was unavoidable, but when I played the scenario out in my head Lucas had been at my side. The idea of talking with Benjamin Williams alone sent my flight reflexes into overdrive.

If it went half as well as the reunion with my family, it would still be an unmitigated disaster.

“Doc’s just redressing his wound. He shouldn’t be too much longer.” Benjamin’s eyes narrowed as he studied me from the couch while I lingered near the foyer and the front door. “You have some place else you need to be?”

My gaze drifted up to the rooms above—more specifically Lucas’ bedroom.

“No. I’m exactly where I need to be.”

“Good.” One corner of Benjamin’s mouth upturned in a half smile. “From the way you’re white knuckling the straps of your backpack, I was worried you might be taking off again.”

“I was on my way to the Last Resort, but hadn’t heard from Lucas. I decided to check in on him first.” I shrugged off my pack and set it on the floor.

“You talked with your mother; I take it?” He shook his head and chuckled. “That woman could have been alpha if she had the heart to challenge for it.”

“I guess it’s a good thing she doesn’t.” I plopped down in the recliner with a sigh. “I might not be here if she did.”

“Can I offer you something?” Benjamin pointed to the makings of a continental breakfast, complete with a pitcher of orange juice, on the coffee table.

“No thanks.” The copious amount of coffee I drank and the half-eaten granola bar I’d polished off on the way over churned in my stomach.

“Marianne wasn’t in favor of bringing you home, that’s for sure.” It was Benjamin’s turn to sigh. “She wants you marked as a disperser.”

“Disperser?” I winced at the official term for a rogue.

“You turned your back on the pack, Lina.” Benjamin laced his fingers together and rested his hands in his lap. “You knew what that meant, and you did it anyway.”

“Not without reason.” My hands curled into fists, nails digging into my palms, as I tried to reign in my temper.

Arguing with the alpha while his son recovered from injuries sustained while bringing me home was not a good idea.

“Easy, Lina. I’m on your side.” Benjamin raised his hands in a placating gesture— an unexpected response for an alpha sitting opposite of a wolf with her hackles raised. “You weren’t the only one who felt betrayed by your father’s decision. Eliza and I all but ordered the invitations before he set the challenge.”

My eyes widened at his admission.

“That being said, you deserted your pack and the alliance, Caroline. There have to be repercussions.” Benjamin spared a glance up to the lofted bedrooms before settling back on me. “Before we get to that, why don’t you tell me what happened in Hell’s Hollow?”

“I assumed Lucas told you.” My stomach twisted into a triple knot with worry over Lucas. Had his condition deteriorated to the point he hadn’t even talked with his father? But also, over the repercussions the alpha mentioned.

“He did. I’d like to hear you tell it as well.” Benjamin adjusted the throw pillows and settled into the couch like a child at story time rather than an all-powerful alpha wolf.

I recounted the events that unfolded from when Lucas had found me waiting tables at the bar right up to the moment I dropped him off. It took less time than I thought.

Of course, I skipped the part where I shifted out in the open and left Gabe out altogether.

“That sounds about right.” Benjamin’s eyes narrowed as he stroked his beard. “Apart from one minor detail.”

My heart skipped several beats. Lucas told him about the shift.

“You never mentioned Gabe.” Benjamin arched a quizzical brow, as if daring me to deny any knowledge of the rogue wolf.

“Damn.” I closed my eyes and dropped my head in my hands. “We promised him we’d leave him out of it. He’s helping us. I can’t believe Lucas just threw him to the wolves like that.”

“You’ve got a pretty low opinion of my boy.” Benjamin held up his hand, staving off my protest. “Lucas was talking to his father, not the alpha, when he told me what happened in those hills.”

“My father was never able to separate the two.” I shrugged. “You’re just going to overlook it?”

“For now.” Benjamin matched my shrug with one of his own. “Personally, I think it was a smart move on your part enlisting the help of someone outside the pack and the alliance.”

“Well, aren’t you just full of surprises.” There wasn’t an ounce of sarcasm in my voice.

Benjamin Williams wasn’t trying to fill my father’s shoes as alpha. He was his own wolf. I respected that.

“That makes two of us.” He smiled, but it faded before it reached his eyes. “And now for the unpleasantries.”

I sat up straight and folded my hands in my lap, bracing for impact. Nothing could have prepared me for what he said next.

“I’m reinstating the challenge.” He was so matter of fact about ripping away any choice I had in my future.

“I thought you said you were on my side?” A dangerous mix of anger and fear churned within me, stirring my wolf.

How did I not see this coming?

“I am, Lina.” He reached for my hands, but I jerked them back out of reach. “How am I supposed to explain your return to the Southeastern Territory pack or the alliance, for that matter?”

“You’re the alpha.” I hopped up out of my seat like my ass was on fire and paced the narrow path between the coffee table and the recliner. “Like above all the other alphas, Benjamin. I’m sure you could have come up with something.”

“My position is only temporary. There’s only so much I can do to deflect.” He got up from the couch and moved to block my path. “You want to catch your father’s killer?”

“Of course, I do. Would I have come back here otherwise?” My voice rose with each word until it reached a shout.

“He might very well be among the contenders. The challenge is going to be your best shot.” Benjamin grabbed my arms and gave me a gentle shake. “Think about it, Lina. How else are you going to flush them out?”

“I was planning on sizing them up for handcuffs, not a wedding ring.” My wolf begged to be let free.

Alpha, beta, omega, it didn’t matter. She saw a threat and she wanted to eliminate it. I tamped down my anger and reigned her in before we made one of the biggest mistakes of our lives—second only to thinking we could return to Cedar Grove without having to deal with the challenge.

When the red haze of rage lifted and I could think again, I softened my tone and asked Benjamin for more time to come up with a cover story.

“What other reason could there possibly be that would bring you home? Apart from the truth, because we both know that can’t happen. Not yet.” Benjamin had the decency to wait a reasonable amount of time for me to come up with an answer. When I didn’t have one, he continued. “Only one reason makes sense, Lina. You know it as well as I do.”

“That I couldn’t make it on my own and came crawling back.” I shook my head. “Anyone who knows me, will know that’s bullshit. Why would I accept the challenge now?”

“Because it’s your only way back into the pack. Accept the alliance’s terms or be branded a disperser.” Benjamin’s expression soured. He didn’t enjoy delivering the news any more than I enjoyed hearing it.

“What if they win?” I asked, unable to hide the fear and disgust in my voice.

“They won’t.” Lucas’ voice wafted down from the second floor.

Dr. Bennett made his way down the stairs and pulled me into a crushing hug. With a nod to Benjamin, he took a cigar from a wooden box on the coffee table and stepped outside. He was one of a handful of people on pack land who knew the truth. I wanted to discuss my father’s autopsy with him, compare his notes on the silver used in his death with the silver used in the bear trap.

That conversation would have to wait. Lucas was awake.

“Go easy on him, Lina.” Benjamin took a cigar for himself and joined the doctor on the porch.

I took the stairs two at a time. The meaning of Benjamin’s words didn’t hit me until my feet hit the second floor.

Being mad at Lucas while he wore nothing more than a pair of boxers was a difficult task, but I managed.

“You knew?” I asked, leveling him with my best death stare.

Lucas pushed himself up the mattress, his eight pack abs on display as he rested against the headboard. My wolf stirred for different reasons and for the first time in a long time we were not on the same page. I wanted to murder him. She wanted something altogether different.

“It’s nice to see you too, Lina. I’m feeling much better. Thanks for asking.” Lucas held my gaze for as long as he could, but he caved under the full brunt of my ire. “Not until we got back.”

“Lucas Benjamin Williams.” I pulled a move from my mother’s playbook with the hope of forcing the truth out of him.

“Wow, full name. One visit with your mom and you’re already starting to act like her.” He caught my wince at the comparison and apologized. “Sorry. That was a low blow and uncalled for.”

“You swear you didn’t know before last night?” I needed him, and knowing just how much terrified me. I couldn’t bear it if he betrayed me, but I needed to know the truth.

“Lina, you don’t seriously think I—”

“Swear to me, Lucas.”

“I swear.” His lips mashed into a thin line as he adjusted the pillows propping up his injured leg. “He waited until Dr. Bennett pushed a sedative through the IV.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t try to slip something in the refreshments he offered.” I crossed the room and pulled out the roller chair at his desk.

“I’d be surprised if he didn’t.” Lucas patted the empty space on the bed beside him. “You don’t have to sit all the way over there. I won’t bite.”

Lucas teased, but his words brought back memories of our first and only night together. His teeth had grazed my skin with the promise of more—of the mark a wolf gave their chosen mate.

A promise he never kept.

“How’s the leg?” I asked, opting for the chair instead of the bed.

“Better.” He donned a half smile. The disappointment in my choice of seating arrangements settled into his eyes. “Dr. Bennett pushed enough fluids through to flush out the silver nitrate. Wound’s already closed. I should be back on my feet in a few hours.”

“You sure?” I challenged. “Because it looked like it still hurt when you fixed the pillow.”

“You caught that, huh?” Lucas chuckled. “I just need to shift. Dr. Bennett wanted me to wait until all the silver was out of my system. I’m going for a run, well more like a walk, later. You should come. You look like you need to burn off some energy.”

“Yeah, sure.” I rested a hand on my knee to settle my bouncing leg. I’d been on edge since we arrived in Cedar Grove.

With good reason.

“So, you’re going to stay at the lodge, huh?” Lucas asked, prodding for more information.

“My what big ears you have.” I thought he was out of it for most of my conversation with his father—apparently not.

“The better to hear you with my dear.” Lucas winked. “That bad?”

“Worse.”

Unfortunately for us, I knew the worst was yet to come.