Chapter 13 - Lena

After the big incident with Jack, I find it difficult to go to work with him. I stay home for a few days, not wanting to go out to the diner or the warehouse. I tidy the house and organize my things, spending quite a bit of time in the kitchen trying to learn how to cook.

Idly wiping down the counter and trying to read a recipe online, I can't keep my thoughts focused on what I'm doing. All I can think about is Jack and how it felt to be with him.

It's extremely difficult to process my feelings. Especially now that he turns me on ten times more than he did before.

I never knew he was such a master with his tongue…

I'd read about things like this, and heard other girls talk about it, but I didn't really know. I never realized that a man could actually make me come with just his tongue.

I'd never even really come before!

The feeling completely overwhelmed me, shattered my view of sex and everything I thought I knew about it. Hearing Jack's eager, happy moans and seeing his enthusiasm only made me come even harder.

It's been days, and this is still all I can think about. I'm afraid if I go to work with him, I'll throw myself at him, straddling his face at every opportunity.

And I don't think he'd mind one bit.

I toss the cleaning rag into the sink and try to focus on the recipe again. Father and Kelly made me cook a lot of the time, and I cooked for Sam, but it was always very simple fare: meat and vegetables or basic pasta sauce. I'd like to do better than that for Jack. I also have no idea, but would love to learn.

The idea of connecting with Gina or Carla has occurred to me, but I can't come to either of them with these feelings. They are his family—it would be weird to share my sexual feelings with them and ask their advice.

I've never had a really good, trustworthy girlfriend I could chat to about this. Maybe I should call Gina. Try to talk to her while keeping the details out of it.

I'm summoning my courage to do just that when there is a loud knock on the door. I almost jump out of my skin—no one comes this far up the road. We're too far out of town for random door knockers.

I hurry to open it, thinking it has to be someone from the pack or Jack's family. When I open the door, the first thing I see is Father's flinty blue eyes and harsh sneer. I stare at him for a moment, blinking stupidly as my chest gets tighter and tighter.

"Well, aren't you going to let us in?" Father snaps. My stomach has turned to ice, and I can barely breathe, let alone speak. I manage to nod and step to the side.

Father walks by me, with Kelly and Sam close behind. I give my baby brother a big hug, squeezing him tightly. I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks, and my worry for him has been wearing on me a little more each day.

"Good to see you!" I whisper into his shoulder. "Have you been okay?"

"Yeah," he nods, pulling back. "Not bad. I've been worried about you, though."

"I—"

"Lena!" Father barks. "I'm standing right here. How dare you turn your back on me. You haven't even said hello to your stepmother and me, or offered us refreshments, and we came all this way just to see you."

"I'm sorry, Father." My voice is soft and whispery as fear grabs me around the throat. "You're absolutely right. Please come through to the kitchen."

I lead the way down the hall, and I can't help noticing the way Father and Kelly look at everything. Both of them start to smile at each other, nodding as they pass the living room with its big, comfy couch and entertainment setup. They do the same thing, looking at paintings and furnishings. When we reach the kitchen, Kelly lets out a little whoop.

"Look at this place! It's fancy, for sure. Who knew a rat like Jack had so much money?"

"I'm surprised, too," Sam says. "After everything you told me, I was expecting a crappy little hut, especially after we found out the address was so far out of town."

I want to tell Sam that he's wrong. That Father had to be lying about Jack and his pack being such bad people. But I can't say anything with Father here.

"You done good, girl," Father says, nodding. "It's a sweet setup, for sure."

He keeps looking around as everyone sits down at the table and I put on some tea. I don't like the way they are appraising Jack's stuff. I'm getting more uncomfortable by the second.

Just when I think things can't get any worse, I hear Jack's truck in the driveway.

He's home early. Fuck!

"Lena?" he calls as he comes through the front door. "Do we have guests?"

"Yes, we're in the kitchen," I call back, starting to shake so badly, I know I can't pour tea without burning myself.

Jack appears in the doorway, and there is a deep, almost ominous silence. Jack and Father glare at each other, and the tension in the room sings like a guitar string about to snap. Kelly settles back in her chair, smirking. Sam looks around the room, shifting his gaze between Father and Jack.

"How about some tea?" I say too brightly. I still don't know how I'm going to pour it with such shaking hands, but I have to do something before the air in the room combusts just from repressed rage.

What is going on with them?

"Yes, Lena," my father replies. "Pour the tea. It wouldn't kill you to offer us some food, either."

"I didn't know you were coming," I say, softly. I can see Jack frowning, but I have no clue what he's so upset about.

Everyone's upset with me because I'm such a horrible burden!

I'm fighting tears as I bring out cups and put the teapot down on the table. I find a couple of packs of biscuits and put those out as well. Jack sits down at the end of the table, his face a blank mask.

"Thank you for visiting," he says coolly. "I assume you just wanted to check in on your daughter. As you can see, she's doing well."

"Yes, she is." Father grins. "I can see that. You've done a decent job, Jack."

I can almost hear the decent for a guy like you qualifier at the end of the sentence and bite my lip.

"I appreciate you saying so," Jack answers. The air between them is still too hot, even though they appear to be getting along.

"It's really nice to see you going to so much effort, Jack," Father says. "You know, after… everything."

I see tension streak through Jack's body. His hand clenches briefly on the mug, and he looks away.

I have to assume that Father had some basis for what he told me about Jack's pack, so Jack really does have a reason to make it up to them. Without knowing the details, I'm guessing wildly, but I'll do anything at this point to placate Father.

"Yes, Father. It's wonderful, isn't it? Jack's really trying his best to take care of me, so there's nothing you need to worry about."

Jack looks up, his gaze so sharp, it could cut. For a moment, he stares at Father with unadulterated fury before he covers it again.

Jesus. What did Jack do?

I can tell by Father's face that he isn't done. Even though I'm afraid of what he'll do to me, I hurry over and put my hand on Father's shoulder.

"Can I talk to you, please?" I ask.

Father grins, and Kelly laughs softly. Everything is a joke to them. I'm pretty sure they don't care about any social niceties at all.

"Of course," Father says, allowing me to lead him into the living room.

"Father, I know you don't like Jack—"

"Listen, Lena," Father cuts me off, his tone harsh. "You don't know what's going on here. I have a good reason not to like Jack. But I'd like to put that aside for now. I can see he's doing well for you, and I need you to do something for me."

"What's that?" I ask, my voice getting strangled in my throat.

"Mention to Alpha Bailey that we're a good, hardworking family and we'd make a great addition to his pack."

"What?" I ask, not understanding.

"Just pass on the truth," Father laughs. "No embellishing! Put in a good word for us, and I'll make sure Sam is nice and comfy at home, okay?"

My blood chills at Father's threat. I don't know what his goal is here, but he obviously wants it badly if he is using Sam as a weapon again.

When we head back to the kitchen, Kelly is standing up and gesturing for Sam to do the same.

"Ah, you're back, honey," she says to my father. "I don't want to overstay our welcome, so I thought we'd head off soon."

"Not a problem with me," Father answers lightly. "I've had my words with Lena. I'm sure she'll do what's best for all of us."

"I'll see you out," Jack says, almost warmly. He leads the way, and Kelly and Father follow closely towards the front door.

"Hey," I whisper, grabbing Sam's arm. "Do you know what Father's up to? Why does he care so much about what Bailey thinks?"

Sam shakes his head. "I know, right? He always said this pack was trash and he wants nothing to do with it. I think he's still got some issues with Decker, though. I don't know for sure, but I think there has been some conflict with the other elders, and Father might want to move here."

My chest feels so tight, I think my heart is about to burst. The idea of Father and Kelly being here is nightmarish—but it would also allow me to take care of my brother.

"What happened?" I ask, shaking his arm a little. "Are you alright?"

"Sure," he answers, giving me a smile. "You don't need to worry about me, not with everything you've got going on here. I know dealing with the issues in this pack must be a challenge."

"But Sam—"

"Hey, Sam!" Father's voice drowns mine out. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, Father," he calls back, turning away from me to head up the hall. I follow him out to the porch and see that Kelly and Father are already waiting by the truck. Sam stops to give me a big hug, then hurries out to join them.

I watch them pull away, feeling shaky and sick. Jack glares down the driveway, as if he's daring them to return.

"Jack," I say softly. "What happened? What is the deal between you and my father?"

Jack sighs, the fight going out of him. "I think you should come inside and sit down."

More alarmed than ever, I follow him back to the kitchen, where he pours us some tea before sitting down. He takes a few seconds to clear his thoughts, but obviously, he's been wanting to get this off his chest for a long time.

"Lena, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before, but I was trying to protect you. Bailey also warned me to be quiet about this."

"What?" My voice comes out as a tiny squeak.

"About a year ago, when we were having the peace meetings, I went to your place to look for you. Instead, I found your Father… loading crates of illegal guns into his truck."

"What?" I shriek, shocked.

He really has been doing something illegal!

"I'm sorry," Jack says, sighing. "But it's the truth. I confronted him. He denied it—right there in front of the evidence. I got mad and punched him. He fought back. It got a bit messy."

I shake my head, unable to answer. So much is starting to make sense.

"I left before too much damage could be done. I told Bailey straight away. He said he took it up with Decker, but I don't have any information on that."

Jack pauses and looks at me, his crystal blue eyes intense and focused.

"Bailey ordered me to stay away from the family—from you," he says. "I didn't think I could do it, so I went looking for you at the party, but then I realized I'd be pulling you into the conflict as well as disobeying my alpha… I… I'm sorry." He shrugs, looking away. "I don't know what else to say, Lena, except that I'm so, so sorry."

I can't seem to draw in a deep enough breath. My skin feels cold even as my blood runs hot. This information has shocked me to the core, and I don't know which part of it bothers me more.

That Father's a dirty rat and always has been? That Bailey is essentially the reason Jack stayed away from me?

Or that Jack let this keep us apart and chose not to tell me?