12. Remy

Chapter twelve

Remy

Remy looked around her surroundings to figure out exactly where she was in the kingdom. It had been a while since she had driven around it, and she rarely did it herself before she had been sent to Reject Island. If she left her territory for anything, she was usually accompanied by another wolf from the top hierarchy, seeing as she was the heir to the pack. It got annoying, but she understood it. But because of this, she had trouble remembering where everything was.

She noticed they were not far away from the Silver Ridge Pack. Within the pack bonds, she could feel Chase nearby and pulled on it to alert him that she would be coming. It would be the best place to hunker down and figure out their next move. Chase pulled on the bond to let her know he got the signal, and she turned down the road toward his territory, following the directions the bond was giving her. Now, it is easier to understand what people mean by being able to find their mate when they need to. It was more of the bond pulling them; the mate could follow it just from this sense calling out to them. Remy found herself comforted by the fact that Chase was pulling it on the other end.

It was a long, winding road that led to his pack homes. There were mountains surrounding her on both sides, creating a small, secluded valley for them to drive to, and then the valley meandered to the right and drove on a path up the mountains. Remy did not like driving to begin with. The fact that she had to maneuver the car on a tight road going up a mountain added to her “I-never-want-to-do-this-again” list. Her heart was already racing after fleeing from the Redwood Pack, and now it picked up more every time she looked over and noticed the long drop-down if she made the wrong move.

The pack house was on top of the mountain. The mountain peak leveled off, leaving it completely flat with some trees and bushes on top to hide the pack house from prying eyes. It looked almost as big as her pack house, but they did not have a second one, so it made sense for them to have this big of a house. Remy didn’t expect to see it so well-groomed. The colors complemented the green and browns of the area around it, and several stories stood there. The architecture here was more modern than her family’s home, almost as if it had been built within the past few years.

Chase was standing on the porch that wrapped around the entire house. Lykos did not seem pleased with her coming to this territory, but Remy calmed him down by saying that she met Chase at her party, and they were pretty friendly. Lykos seemed to have taken that explanation well and got out of the car. Her father and Bryan needed to change into fresh clothes due to the tattered ones hanging off of their bodies. Chase quickly called out to someone inside his house, and a young woman came outside to stand beside him on the porch. Remy found herself growling at this person until she realized that Chase was giving her orders to fix up three rooms near his floor for them. The girl was barely eighteen, and Remy could feel no power coming from her. This meant she was an Omega and helped around the pack house. Chase lifted an eyebrow at her and gave a reassuring zap through the bond to let her know there was nothing between them, putting her jealous rage to rest before it had a chance to fester. The girl was a petite blonde and slightly shorter than Remy. She wouldn’t meet Remy’s eyes and bowed her head before ducking into the house to conduct her Alpha’s orders.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Chase asked her.

"We were visiting another pack, and they decided to go Old Ways on us. We managed to get out by the skin of our teeth, but now we need somewhere to lay low."

"My pack’s territory is yours, so I am at your service."

Remy glanced at him and peered over her shoulder. Her father and Bryan were still by the car, but that did not mean they couldn’t hear them. Lycan’s hearing was too enhanced, and they needed to watch what they said while her father was around.

"I won’t blow it while we’re here. Whatever you need, I’m here for you." His voice was low, but she could feel his genuine concern. "And for them."

He really does care.

Remy gave him a curt nod and waited for her father to come to the door.

"Alpha Chase, it is a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise, Alpha Lykos. Remy said you were visiting another pack, and they decided to attack?"

Lykos nodded. " It seems the old ways are clawing back into our world."

Chase rolled his eyes. "Not like we don’t have enough problems as it is. Well, like I told Remy, my pack’s territory is yours. Whatever you need, just let me know." Chase looked at them and frowned. "I’m going to take a crack at it here and assume you will need some food, a hot shower, and a bed for the night?"

Lykos exaggeratedly put his finger on his nose and said, "Right on the nose, Alpha Chase. I like the way you think."

Lycos and Bryan made their way up to the rooms, following the petite blonde to whom Chase had given orders. While they were getting their showers and changing into clean clothes, Remy followed Chase into the kitchen. She was surprised to see him pulling ingredients from the fridge and cabinets and placing them on the counter. He caught her looking at him and gave her a wicked smile.

"What? Did you think I would tell an omega to do all the dirty work?"

"Little bit. Isn’t that what alphas normally do?"

"Not me. I don’t mind doing the cooking. My mother shared it with me, and I always enjoyed doing it. It also helps me feel a little bit more connected to the pack. It helps me care for them and soothe the alpha inside me."

It was rare to find an alpha like Chase. Many of them took the alpha role to the level of believing it meant royalty. Royalty meant everything was done for them; they didn’t need to lift a finger. Those Alphas thought themselves extremely macho but were incapable of caring for themselves for the basic day-to-day. Her parents were remarkably similar to Chase. If they had the time, they would do some chores to take the load off the Omegas and give them a much-needed day off. Any time a different pack visited, it would cause some alarm to them that they would fraternize with their subordinates or stoop below the levels they thought alphas should stay. They shrugged it off and said a pack was built on a solid foundation. That foundation runs the Alpha and the Luna. If they were unwilling to pitch in to lighten the load, the pack wouldn’t all be happy. The submissives were part of the pack as well. That meant they needed time to take care of themselves, too.

Chase was preparing steak sandwiches. He pulled some eggs from the carton, broke them open, and separated the yolks from the whites. He added some spices and even garlic. Remy looked at him, confused, and he laughed.

"I’m making a garlic aioli."

"That sounds fancier than it needs to be. Throw those steaks on the grill or stove for ten seconds on each side, then put them on a plate. We are Lycans. We just need the meat and would like it to bleed."

"Not here, you don’t. We spice up our food. You’ll love it. My garlic aioli will blow your socks off."

Among other things, I’m sure.

Chase then told stories of how he learned many culinary skills from his mother. They shared a love of cooking, and he brought those skills to this pack after he took over. Remy sat on top of the counter and watched him work while he talked. She tried to offer to help, but he shrugged her off and said that he enjoyed the kitchen too much to allow somebody else to work in it. Perhaps, one day, he would teach her some things, but right now, he just wanted to ensure he had enough food to help her father and Bryan switch back and forth from their Lycan forms. Going through that process took a lot of energy from the person. They would need the energy back for the magic well inside of them. Food is a great way to help energy restore itself.

Lykos and Bryan came down soon after Chase assembled roughly ten steak sandwiches. After Lycos took the first bite, his eyes widened, and he looked at Chase.

"What is on this?" Lykos asked. A mouthful of bread and meat muffled his voice.

Chase laughed. "My homemade garlic aioli sauce. It was one of my mother’s specialties and something we have thought about packaging and selling through your stores."

Lykos forced himself to chew and swallow so he could speak again. "Well damn, please do. I could use this sauce on some of the cooking back home."

Remy looked at her father. "You said you like our cook’s cooking."

"I do! Our cook is lovely, but surely even he would admit this would make a great addition to some of the dishes."

Remy shook her head at him, and Chase laughed. Chase sat across from Remy and allowed Lykos to sit at the head of the table. Bryan sat across from Lykos. They thought this was weird, but Chase insisted they feel comfortable and at home there. He did not want them to feel any more threatened today if he could help it. He was also an Alpha. He understood that the Lycans inside of them would need to feel safe, or they would be on edge until they were. If that were the case, they could blow up on anyone who looked at them the wrong way at any second.

However, this allowed Chase to play footsie with her under the table under her father’s nose.

Remy shot him a curt and sneering look, and Chase looked back at her and winked. He knew exactly what he was doing and was enthusiastic about teasing her. She wanted to yell at him but couldn’t do so with her father sitting there. Chase won this round, but he didn’t fight fair.

Damn him.

"So, tell me what happened, if you don’t mind," Chase inquired, leaning forward to show that he was listening intently.

"Dimitri wants part of my land," Lykos started. "Due to most of the packs starting to fight amongst themselves over the territory lines, I thought it would be good to offer him a choice, a way out of this madness. One of those choices was part of my land so he could grow more of his trees for lumber. He did not like the amount offered, said it wasn’t enough, so I offered to allow some of his people to work for us so he could have people bringing home a paycheck. He considered this an insult and decided to fight us for the affront. I don’t know what got into him. Dimitri is known to have a short fuse, but nothing like this kind of brutality. He is usually a reasonable man, if not terribly blunt. If he didn’t like something, he would just state that he did not like it and then have a discussion about it. This time, he was willing to break hospitality laws and attack us instead of discussing it civilly."

Remy already knew why Dimitri reacted the way he did. The corrupting influence of the dark dimension was certainly coming into play here. However, her father did not know that she had already told Chase about the dark dimension. She understood he was likely trying to keep that close to the chest so as not to cause panic. Chase was another Alpha, but he was someone Lykos had not had many conversations with since he was newer to his role than other Alphas, so it wouldn’t be wise to rock the boat any more than it already had been, especially with her father and Bryan coming down from an agitated state.

"I don’t quite understand it either. I was hoping the people would settle down soon. I even thought it had something to do with the full moons lately. Maybe younger Lycans have grown into their beasts but haven’t gained that much control yet, but that doesn’t seem to be the case," Chase added.

"We thought the same thing," Bryan told him. "But it isn’t that. We watched and waited for the full moon to pass to see if things calmed down. Unfortunately, I fear it might be something darker. I have known a lot of these men for years. I have traveled with Lykos to every pack over the last decade. I know everyone likes him. I never thought any of them would be like this."

"Agreed. I don’t know what is going on," Chase said.

"How is your pack fairing amid this madness? Are you having as much trouble as the others?"

Chase shook his head. "No, none of mine are experiencing anything like that. I am having compliance like normal. No one is arguing with one another. I hope that remains the case."

Lykos looked at Remy. "I wonder why he is so different?"

Remy thought about it. She didn’t know the differences between Chase’s pack and the others. Was he more loyal to them? Did they appreciate him being so grounded? Could he alone be the reason why everyone in this territory is so lax? An Alpha’s negative emotions can trickle down to the rest of the pack if he is not careful. If he holds in rage long enough, it could make the rest of the pack feel that way, too. From what she could see, Chase wasn’t the kind of person to be like that. Mischievous and daring, sure, but he was not hot-tempered and willing to fight with everyone just because he wasn’t getting his way.

"Maybe it is the temperament of the Alpha? With things going on right now, it’s the pack following the Alpha, isn’t it?"

Lykos made a noise, "Not really. It’s pack members fighting amongst themselves and packs fighting with other packs. It’s less of a coordinated rage and more of a disconnected madness."

Remy growled in frustration. "I really don’t know then."

The Dark Dimension was affecting everyone on the island, too. Every species eventually had someone lose control. It was mostly just those with animal counterparts.

But what was the common denominator? Who was not affected?

Remy couldn’t figure out who was being affected more than the others. What was the common thread among those who were and weren’t?

I wonder if Kaida ever figured that out.

"Can you tell me some things about your pack? How many people do you have now? Are they all mated? Are they all happy kinds of people?"

Chase looked at her with his head tilted to the side. She wondered if that’s how his Lycan looked when he did that. "I have about forty Lycans under me now. Many of them mated. Probably more than half, but no to them all being mated. We do not have anything but laid-back Lycans here. I honestly don’t think a single pack has what we have."

Lykos made a face. "I would say the same. I have a little more than you do as for members, but most of ours are mated as well. Could that be a factor?"

Remy wished she could tell him that Kaida was mated when the Dark Dimension took control over her, which meant the dimension couldn’t be the reason behind these changes if she were taken over, either. So, what else could it be?

Remy sighed. "I don’t know. I guess people are just not happy with how things are anymore."

The men grunted. Remy hated it when men did that, especially in sync.

Lykos sighed. "If that is the case, we can’t help things along here. We’ll just have to fight these people until we figure out the root cause. The Lycan kingdom will be drenched in blood if it is just about pack territories."

Remy hated that her father was right. He knew better than anyone here that the kingdom’s future would now change. If it was the Dark Dimension, she wasn’t sure how to combat it. She didn’t have the magic or power the way Kaida did. Kaida was fighting a war within her own kingdom, unable to come to help her. Until that was settled, she was on her own.

Lykos and Bryan retired to their rooms. After they were fed, they needed rest to recharge the wells of their magic so they could shift again. Their tour of the packs wasn’t over, and if any of them followed Redwood’s example of handling the dispute, they needed all the energy they could get.

Goddess help us if that’s the case.