18. Remy

Chapter eighteen

Remy

It turned out Myles was in a cooperative mood. He sent some of his pack members in two cars to help them. One of the cars was a truck that had more than four to help with the cleanup. The car they brought along was for them to borrow to finish their tour of packs. Neither Myles nor his Beta Asher was there. Remy assumed it was due to what happened, and he didn’t want to confront her again.

Good. With the mood I’m in, I would have punched him.

The pack member, who seemed to be Myles’s third, handed the keys over to Lykos. "Boss says to tell you to just move on to the next pack, and we got this covered. He said you guys are losing daylight because of this, and it would be best if you just kept going."

Lykos took the keys. "We made a mess. We could help with this."

The blond third, whose eyes were moss green, scanned the area. "Nah, we got this. We’ve dealt with worse."

Lykos offered it again, and Remy knew it was so it didn’t seem like they would just take the gift and run. Now that there was an alliance, they needed to prove they wouldn’t take advantage of them. The third, whose name was Josh, still shrugged him off. Lykos relented and walked to the new four-door sedan they would be traveling in. The car’s color was gray, and it had shiny chrome wheels. It looked a little sportier than the one they drove here but still had enough space for them all.

"Let’s hope another pack doesn’t attack us and we owe them a new car," Lykos told her and Bryan as he slid into the driver’s seat.

Bryan grunted. He was still a little moody from the shifting back and forth. "With our luck, it’ll be a whole damn pack next and we do end up dead."

Remy kicked his seat. "Don’t speak that shit into existence. The last thing we need is for that to come true."

Lykos put the car into gear and drove away from sight. Remy looked back and noticed the pack members taking over, directing traffic, and moving the bodies out of the way. It was disheartening to witness them having to move their bodies. Those deaths were unnecessary to her. This shouldn’t have been happening in the kingdom. There were more civilized ways to dispute territory lines. It had to be the Dark Dimension influencing her people to make them this insane. Lycans were hot-tempered, sure, but they were better than this. It didn’t need to be this way, yet it seemed to be the new norm over the last week.

Maybe I should call Kaida.

So, she can blast her magic at our people and probably kill them in the process? We are not dragons.

I know. But what else can we do?

What are we doing now in trying for peace? Only using deadly force when necessary.

Remy sighed. She didn’t want deadly force, period. She tried to find the person who rejected her and unlock her memories. The memory of cedar coming off these Lycans reminded her they could have been from the pack of the one who rejected her. Remy wondered if her father would know what pack would have the same scent across the cedar board. However, she didn’t want him to know she was going out to look for the man who rejected her. He had told her in passing that it wouldn’t be a good idea. If he rejected her and then left her for dead, it was a sign that he was bad news. She understood that, but she needed to know. She needed to confront him about why and avenge the fact that he left her for dead. This man needed to know he had made a huge mistake when rejecting her.

Lykos mentioned they were heading toward the Lithic Mountains, and the pack that resided there was a ruthless bunch. Due to their brutal nature, he wanted this pack to be the last on the agenda, so it would be the last stop before home if they were ambushed. Remy frowned at her father for even wanting this to be on their list to visit. If they were ruthless, and he was going to extend an alliance, it would be a good partner in the raging war that seemed to be brewing inside the kingdom. However, if they decided that taking over the pack would be better, their ruthlessness would be their demise.

As they traveled on the mountainside road, trees were on either side of the car. It reminded her of Chase’s pack climbing a mountain to get to their territory. This was only different because the pack’s home was at the bottom of the hill. When winter came, this pack was known to be snowed in from the snow coming down the mountain. Remy never wanted to visit here because of it. A little snow was great. A mountain’s worth? Not so much.

Remy kept her eyes peeled for any other Lycans trying to ambush them. She scanned every inch of the wood on either side of the car and didn’t notice any Lycans running in the background. The woods were flat enough to give Remy some relief that it would be challenging to ambush them here. However, she wasn’t going to take any chances. After the ambush earlier today, there was a pit at the bottom of her stomach as she traveled in the car. It seemed like every time they traveled, they had to fight for their lives. It was a pattern that she wished would end. If she planned to be an alpha someday, she would need to travel around the kingdom like this. Meetings were often held all over the kingdom. Most of the time, no alpha was required. Lately, with all of the attacks that have been happening, she could see many meetings in the future. She did not want a panic attack in the car. That was counterproductive, in her opinion, but the recent altercations had her on edge.

When pulling up to the pack house, Remy stopped to admire the home’s appearance. It was similar to her pack house with a log cabin except that it was primarily gray stone with some wooden aspects. It felt very welcoming with the orange glow of the lights since darkness was upon them. There were at least five floors, giving them exciting architecture for the home. There was even a double-decker garage off to the side. Remy tried to remember her teachings about this package and what they provided to the kingdom. Her memory failed her, and it was too late to ask her father about it after he had put the car into the park.

"Remember, we need to keep our senses alert. It seems like the only pack that did not attack us was the one Remy was mated to. Since the pattern is that we have run into a fight every time we visit a pack, we need to keep an eye out while we are here. Keep your responses diplomatic. Do your best not to engage in negative comments. We need food and rest if we are to survive."

Lykos was right. The snacks named Bonnet were not enough food to replenish the well for them to continue shifting if they needed to fight. They would survive inside this pack if they could keep things diplomatic to get food and rest. Remy hoped it would not come back down to another fight, but, like her father, she was on edge. So far, the statistics were against them. They had had to fight for their lives more often than not during their journey. To survive, they needed to be on their best behavior.

A shaven-headed man with dark stubble on his head and beard stood on the stone porch. He was quite muscular, like most Lycans, but had more than a standard one. As they approached, the menacing scowl on his face twisted Remy’s into the same expression. She hated when people seemed like assholes the moment they were introduced. His steel gray eyes were assessing all three of them. When they landed on Remy, there was a flicker of familiarity there. She scanned his body as they approached, and a flash of white was behind her eyes. The scents of bergamot and cedar filtered into her nose as they stood at the bottom of the stairs.

This man was the one who rejected her.

The white flashes continued as she stared at this man. They were coming as strobe lights. It felt like a knife was piercing her forehead. Remy winced at the pain and shut her eyes before leaning onto her father’s shoulder. The sound of her heartbeat thrummed in her ears as a pain inside of her chest formed. The severed bond between her and this man ached as she stood in his presence. As the flashes died down, the memory formed inside of her mind.

He had been passing through her territory. Remy was inside the Parrot’s Nest restaurant, where her friend Hazel was a host. She wanted to visit her and sat off to the side where guests couldn’t see her, so she talked in between customers. They were giggling about the recent update about in-pack drama of their nemesis, who had been turned down by her long-term crush when he walked into the restaurant. His tall form towered over Hazel, who stood shorter than Remy. He wore the same menacing glare and practically growled that he needed a table for six. Hazel, who wasn’t high on the dominance scale, squeaked out a response before pulling six menus and leading them to the table. Remy felt the pull in her chest, and her eyes found his. There was a yanking to pull her toward him, and she didn’t fight it. His hand was on the host stand, and Remy reached out to touch it.

There has to be a reason for this pull, Remy thought to herself. I need to know if he is my mate.

Without hesitation, Remy touched his hand. The sizzling of the bond sparked to life, and this towering man glared down at her with his steel gray eyes. She smiled at him, waiting for him to be as excited as she was about finding her mate. This was a blessing from the Goddess! Her birthday wasn’t that long ago; luck would have it she had found her mate already. He grabbed her hand and yanked her out the door. Remy didn’t fight it as he pulled her toward the cars.

"Who are you?" he asked her once they were out of earshot of anyone inside the restaurant.

"Remy Howell, Alpha Lykos and Tala’s daughter of the Great Plains pack."

He frowned. "How old are you?"

"I just turned eighteen two months ago."

"You just came of age to take a mate?"

Remy nodded. "What pack are you from? I don’t recognize you."

"I am Alpha Levi of the Lithic Mountain Pack."

Of course, an Alpha would mate her. She was an Alpha herself. It hurt her heart to know that she would have to transfer packs, but that was how things went. Her mate was the Alpha of another territory. She would need to help him run that pack once bonded and she was his Luna. Things would need to be ironed out, and an alliance would need to form between the two packs, but she had heard her father mention it. It would be a terrific way to ally if she didn’t find her mate. The Goddess must have figured it best for her to be with another Alpha from a different pack.

For a minute, they weren’t saying anything. He just stared at her. His gray eyes assessed her as if she were an enemy. There was no bad blood between the Great Plains and the Lithic Mountains, so she wasn’t sure why he would have that thought about her. The bond between them was thrumming with life. She felt the urge to touch him again, and he moved away from her touch. Remy frowned at him.

"What’s your problem?"

"You smell off. What are you?"

She wasn’t aware that her ability had a smell to it. No one had ever mentioned that to her before, and everyone in her pack knew her ability. She would have known by now if a different scent were associated with it. Then, the thought that the power that came off her could make him see she was different. It was easy to spot that she was more dominant than most female Lycans. Maybe that was why he noticed.

"I am a Meta Wolf."

His eyes flashed to the luminous color of his Lycan and returned to normal. Levi knew what her ability was and how that gave her more power. Remy beamed at him as he stared into her eyes. From his body language, he wasn’t impressed by her reveal. There was a noticeable shift in his straightening, and his chip lifted slightly. The muscles in his jaw tightened for a fraction of a second.

"You need to come with me," he demanded.

It felt like whiplash to blink and still be standing in front of the man she had been searching for. If she opened her mouth right now and demanded him to explain why he rejected her, the alliance her father wanted would be denied. She balled her fists as she took a deep breath. Right now, she needed to be diplomatic.

Lykos leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You okay?"

"I will be," She whispered back.

"Too long in the car?"

Remy gave him a tight smile, "Sure."

Lykos looked at Levi and nodded. "If we could go inside and discuss the matters at hand, that would be great. We’ve had a long journey and encountered some trouble a few times along the way. Could we rest for the night and discuss matters in the morning?"

Levi looked at Remy with a disapproving stare. She could feel him judging her for needing a rest as if she were expected to run constantly without argument. Anyone knew every Lycan would need food and rest to fill the well back up so they could continue shifting to protect themselves. Even in war, a leader would call back their people when they were fatigued to replace them with others with more of the magic in their well to continue the fight. Remy suppressed the growl creeping into her throat at his stare. With his height compared to hers, it felt like he was towering over her. Remy straightened herself and allowed her beast to peek out through her eyes at him. He was not going to try to intimidate her. Levi seemed to be under the impression she still didn’t remember him. Otherwise, he would have mentioned seeing her again. He would have been compelled to do so since Lycans are social animals and need to feel connected with the community around him.

"Certainly. I have three rooms prepared for you." Levi’s eyes did not leave hers.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

Levi bowed his head, turned on his heel, and led the way into the home. Remy noticed Lykos put himself between her and Levi. He must have seen the tension and didn’t want her near him. They followed Levi through the home. It was a mixture of creams, browns, and greens with a hint of orange. Remy noticed a lot of the decor revolved around stone, including the tables and the fireplace in the shared living space. When they reached their rooms on the second floor, Remy rolled her eyes. Putting them on this floor meant Levi thought of them as lower on his priorities. This was usually where the Lycans lower on the dominance scale were housed to protect the more critical people. Levi showed Bryan his room first, then Lykos, and left Remy for last. The rooms were next to each other, so Lykos didn’t go inside his but remained in the hall. Levi looked at Lykos first before stalking down the hall to the stairway so he could go to his room on the top floor.

Lykos looked at her. "I don’t like how he looked at you."

Remy huffed out a laugh. "Me either."

Through the pack bonds, she could feel her father becoming uneasy about them not being in the same room. He opened his door and motioned for her to get inside. Remy didn’t hesitate and made her way in. A tussle of thoughts ran through her head as she debated telling her father what she knew about Levi. It could turn into a battle if he learned he was the fated mate who rejected her. However, if she kept it to herself, she couldn’t be sure she could keep herself, and her anger, in check.

We do not know enough information to lead an attack today. We only know that he is our mate who rejected us. We still cannot remember why.

We still know that he rejected us. I try not to keep secrets from my family. I think he should know that he is my original mate.

That will curb his way of thinking tomorrow within the discussion of the territory lines.

But do we want to have an alliance with someone like him?

No, I do not think so. He will betray us the first moment he gets. That is not someone that you would want to have an alliance with.

Remy put down her bags and turned toward her father. He looked up at her with a questioning look on his face.

"What’s the matter?"

"I need to tell you something without you losing control of your Lycan."

Lykos frowned. " I assume I’m not going to like this information you’re about to tell me."

"Not at all, but you need to know."

Remy dived into everything she saw in the flashback of when she and Levi met. She included everything she knew about his scent being the one she could remember when the memory of being rejected popped into her mind. She still did not understand why he rejected her, but she did know it was him who did.

"You mean to tell me that this man learned you were his fated mate and rejected you? He is an alpha. He should know more than anyone that receiving a rejected mate should be cherished. It would bring him more power over his pack." There was a ground to his voice that had not been there before.

"That’s why I wanted you to know. I think you needed this information before joining an alliance with him."

"I do not believe I want an alliance anymore. However, I cannot change the course of the conversation for tomorrow. I know he will sense I came here under false pretenses if I do not bring up an alliance."

The only thing she could do was agree. Lykos did not share his new strategy with Remy. Instead, they both got ready for bed and crawled under the sheets. The bedroom was king-sized, so they could sleep on opposite ends of the bed. Knowing that the conversation with Levi could go wrong tomorrow, Remy had difficulty falling asleep.

I wish I were in Chase’s bed instead.