Chapter 18 - Jack

A few days after my birthday, I take Lena for a casual date at Shelley's. We hang out at the bar for a bit and have a couple of cocktails before heading over to the pool tables. Lena has no idea how to play, so we just smack the balls around, drinking beer and eating snacks.

When Bailey and Gina show up, the girls immediately sit down together and catch up. It would warm my heart if I didn't see a serious look lurking in Bailey's eyes.

Before I can even say hi, Bailey waves me over to the bar, away from the girls. We sit down at the corner of the bar, and he orders us straight whiskey. My concern is growing—Bailey only drinks strong stuff when he's really stressed.

"What's going on?" I ask, shoving aside social niceties. It's very clear to me that Bailey has something to tell me that goes beyond minor pack disputes.

Bae sighs and throws back his drink, immediately ordering another. My concern raises a few notches.

"I went to Decker with everything you told me, and I found out a few things," Bailey says. He keeps his voice down and glances around the bar. The place isn't too crowded, but he obviously wants to keep this information quiet.

"Should we go out the back?"

He shakes his head. "No. We'll have to have a meeting about this, eventually. I'll start making calls tonight. I just wanted to come to you with this info first."

"Jesus," I mutter. "This sounds like it's going to be heavy."

Bailey nods. "Decker tried to skirt around it, but I put him on the spot. He told me Peter has been nothing but trouble his whole life. He completely threw away his family's money—they were quite well off, initially."

"Of course, they were of the founding wolves. I always wondered about that."

Bae nods. "They had a very nice setup, apparently. Extended family moved away years ago, it was just Pete and his parents in a big house out of town. They were well-respected, and elders on the council."

"So, what happened?"

"Pete started getting into trouble in high school. He started fights, engaged in vandalism, that kind of thing. He had a real problem with authority from the very beginning."

Bae sighs, taking a sip of his drink. I'm just a little relieved that he didn't sink this one quite so fast.

"His parents tried to cover for him, but he got kicked out of school. They tried everything they could to get him back on the straight and narrow. Apparently, he met Lena's Mom—Susie Kane—and had a brief period of good behavior. During that time, he was an exemplary pack member and contributed a lot to the community."

I have a hard time believing this about Peter, but I keep my mouth shut.

Bae fiddles with his glass, looking deeply into the amber liquid.

"Then what happened?" I ask. I'm getting afraid to find out.

"Around the time he married Susie, there was a money dispute with his parents. They paid for the wedding but told him he'd have to buy his own house. They wanted him to work for it. Things got ugly, and he tried to take them to court for his inheritance."

Bae sighs as if the weight of the world sits on his chest.

I wonder if Lena knows any of this.

"While the court battle was going on, he started getting money from somewhere and put a deposit on a house. Then he got busted. Theft, drugs, you name it. Susie almost left him, apparently, but she was already pregnant."

"Jesus!"

Bailey nods. "Pete tried to get help from the pack. He convinced Decker that he was a good wolf, he deserved to be an elder, and he could come good again. His parents were at a loss. They wanted to help him but didn't know if bailing him out was the right thing to do."

"I don't like where any of this is going. I can't see how he possibly got out of all of this. What happened next?"

Bae looks up, and his eyes are fierce, shimmering with the power of his wolf. "His parents died. It's all very suspicious—the family home burned down. Peter immediately tried to claim the insurance. It looks really bad, Jack."

"Jesus fucking Christ! Do you think he did it?"

Bae shakes his head. "I don't know. The insurance company didn't pay out. The fire was deliberately lit. Pete wasn't arrested for it, there was no evidence. Around that time, Susie had Sam. From what I've heard, she was trying to leave him, but he wouldn't let her."

I grab my whiskey glass, down the whole thing, and signal for another. The bartender pours one for me and hurries away.

I don't blame him. I'm not having a great time sitting here hearing this.

Bae sighs. "Okay. So, he also met Kelly around this time. He barely paid off his debts to the criminals he'd been working for. He and Susie had to move to the crappy little shack they live in now. It was pretty common knowledge that he was cheating by this point."

Bailey pauses, staring at his whiskey again.

"Oh, God," I mutter. "Don't fucking tell me. Susie died next."

Bailey nods. "You got it. Tragic car accident. Same as the house fire—no evidence. Nobody got done for it. It was accepted that she spun out on black ice. She didn't have immediate family in town, so I'm not sure about her story. All I know is the kids were left alone with him and Kelly moved in."

"How?" I ask, astonished.

Bae frowns. "They cleaned up their act a little bit. If they kept the kids, Kelly got a carer's pension or something. If they looked like they were putting in an effort, they could stay in the pack. Pete had nowhere else to go. Everything went really quiet for a while, and Decker tentatively assumed everything was getting better."

"Until the guns," I say softly.

"Until the guns." Bailey nods. "Pete had a big ring running, guns, drugs, fuck knows what else. Decker busted him, was ready to kick him out of the pack. Peter begged for another chance. He used the kids as leverage. Decker kept it quiet from me, said he handled it, but let Pete stay."

"So, now what?" I ask, taking a long sip of my drink. "We just wait for him to fuck up again? What happens after that?"

Bailey stares right at me. "It gets worse."

"How can it get any fucking worse?"

"When I spoke to Decker and told him what you told me, he lost his shit. Said he'd given Pete too many chances. He went and kicked him out of the pack immediately."

"Jesus fucking Christ," I put my hands on my temples, shaking my head. Then I look up at Bailey, and read the look on his face.

"Oh, no," I say softly. "What else?"

Bae's face twists. He slams down the whiskey, shaking his head.

"They are on their way here, to beg me to take them in."

I stare at Bae, feeling the world rushing away from me. My head is pounding, and I can't think.

"As my beta, what would you advise me to do?"

"You know what I'd tell you to do," I mutter. "But you can't. Lena knows all about her father—I don't think she cares about what happens to him. But she wants to protect her brother. He doesn't have long left until he graduates, and she's sure he can get out of this town if he just gets a chance."

Bae looks at me, conflict in his eyes. He shakes his head, just slightly.

"Bae, come on," I grab his arm, and he looks away. "Sam is an innocent kid. We can't let anything happen to him."

Lena would never forgive me.

"I don't know…" Bae turns away from me, finishing his drink.

"I tell you what," I say, drumming my fingers on the table as I think faster than I ever have in my life. "How about you put all the responsibility on me?"

"What?" Bae almost yells. "What are you talking about?"

"Take them in," I say, practically begging. "I'll take full responsibility. If they fuck up, I'll wear it all. I'll step down as beta—even if it means getting kicked out of the pack."

Bailey stares at me, emotions storming across his face. Before he can answer, Lena's voice splits the air.

"Jack?" she cries from behind me. I spin around quickly, seeing her fury and knowing I am completely and utterly cooked.

"Lena, I'm sorry—"

"No!" she yells. "There is no ‘I'm sorry' that fixes everything here. How dare you make decisions like this without me? I thought we were equals. That you'd share everything with me!"

"Lena, I do! I was going to tell you—"

"When? When my father showed up at the door? When Sam moved in with us? When Bailey called a meeting? It sounded to me like you made the decision all by yourself, and you don't give a damn what I think."

"Of course I care what you think!" Now my voice is rising, and I can see Bae getting anxious. I know he wants to take this out the back—the rest of the bar is starting to notice, and not everyone in here is part of the pack.

Even if they are, he's not ready to reveal all of this. Not yet.

Lena crosses her arms, her lip trembling as her eyes glitter with tears. Gina comes up behind her and wraps an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

"They are my family, Jack," Lena whispers. "They are my problem. And you are supposed to be my family, too. How could you risk yourself, your position in the pack—our position—without talking to me first?"

I know exactly what she's saying, and I feel bad for it. I really do. I made the decision without thinking, and I did it for her. I did what I thought she would want without even asking her. I know exactly what I've done wrong, and she has every right to feel this way.

"Lena, I'm sorry—"

"I know, I know you are," she says, sniffing. "But I just can't believe you would do this. After everything we've shared, everything we've done—"

She looks up, her eyes boring straight into mine. I want to see fury, accusation, and anger, but all I can see is hurt, and it breaks my heart.

"How about we take this out the back," Bae says. "We can talk about this—I'll make some calls and get the elders together. No decision will be made yet, okay, Lena? You're involved in this. Jack was just putting ideas out there, and I certainly hadn't agreed with him yet."

Lena nods, wrapping her arms around herself and leaning against Gina.

"I think that's a great idea," Gina says, rubbing Lena's arm. "Why don't we—"

There is a sudden commotion at the door. I hear a flurry of harsh voices—someone rudely telling someone else to get out of the way, followed by a woman's cruel laughter.

Oh, Jesus, no.

I look over at Lena. Her eyes are fixed on the doorway, wide with fear. I can see her trembling.

The double doors to the bar smack open, hard enough to rattle the glass in the frames. Standing there as if he owns the place and everything in it is Peter Andres, with a wide, satisfied smile stretched across his face.