Chapter Eight Liam

T he moment the door to Cory's room closed behind me, what little resolve I had left shattered. I leaned against the wall, trying desperately to catch my breath. How had everything gone so wrong? I thought the moment I showed myself he'd be overjoyed, we'd fall into one another's arms, and then we'd live happily ever after.

But the exact opposite had happened. And then, out of nowhere, he accused me of trying to have him killed.

I didn't know how to even begin processing that. Clearly someone had told him something to that effect because I'd never come after him myself with harmful intentions. In fact, after my father had caught us that night, I never saw him again until yesterday. So why did he think I wanted to hurt him?

Then it hit me. The answer was obvious.

My father.

If there was one person in the entire world that knew how to manipulate, damage, and straight up hurt people, it was him. On more than one occasion he and his crew had silenced members of the pack that spoke out against him. They either left the pack, were kicked out, or were just plain never seen again. I always thought they'd just run away in the night. But now I wasn't so sure.

Obviously, my father had threatened Cory. But how far did he take that threat? Was it just words? Did he chase Cory out of pack territory? Or had Cory barely escaped with his own life?

I didn't know the answer, but there was once thing I was certain of. Somehow, in the midst of it all, my father had just enough time to convince Cory that whatever was happening to him was my fault. That I was the one that wanted him dead.

And nothing could be further from the truth.

But how was I going to convince Cory of that? For the past two years he'd been living with the idea that I was the one that betrayed him. That wasn't something he was just going to get over in a day or two. If anything, it was going to take a lot of hard work to convince him I wasn't a raging piece of shit. And I didn't know where to even start.

I had to figure it out though. But right now, I needed something else to think about. There were so many emotions swirling through my brain and filling my chest that I could barely breathe. The pain was unbelievable, and I knew I had to distract myself. I wasn't leaving Shifter Grove, and I wasn't giving up on Cory. But I did need to forget about the entire situation for even just a few minutes. My heart couldn't handle it at the moment.

Pushing myself off the wall, I headed down the hall and stepped into the elevator. As the doors began to close, I heard another door slam in the direction I'd come from. I thought it might be Cory, but I couldn't bring myself to check. It was already hard enough to keep my tears at bay.

When I reached the ground floor, I stepped out and found the lobby completely empty except for one man. He was sitting behind the desk with his nose buried in a book and his long dark hair pulled up in a messy man-bun. However, as soon as I began to head for the door, he looked up and gave me a warm smile.

"Hey there, stranger," he said. "I didn't see you come in! Anything I can help you with?"

"I… I don't think so," I replied, feeling suddenly nervous.

I recognized the man of course, he was the hotel owner. I didn't know his name, but he seemed friendly enough. He put his book down and got up from his chair.

"Were you just visiting someone or looking for a room?"

"I…" I faltered. "I was brought here."

The man's eyes widened as he finally realized who I was. "You're the stray!"

Stray was a term for dogs. I was a werewolf. Still, I didn't want to argue with a complete stranger.

"Y-Yeah."

"I'm surprised you shifted back so fast! From how starved you looked, I figured it would take a few days before we saw you in human form again." He gave me a good once over. "Well, you still look half-starved. No offense."

I nodded.

"And I see Corry let you borrow some clothes."

I'd forgotten about that as I glanced down at the t-shirt that was so small it had become more of a crop-top for me. "Uh… yeah."

"Well, let's find you something that actually fits," he grinned. "Unless you prefer to wear crop-tops all the time?"

"Not really."

He glanced down at my feet. "And we'll get you some shoes of course."

"I don't have any money," I said, feeling like this was moving a little quickly considering how destitute I was. "I don't even have a phone or an ID. I left everything behind when I ran away."

"You don't need money to get help here," the man replied. He stepped around the desk and walked up to me, holding out his hand. "My name is Sam. I run this hotel for rogues."

"Liam," I replied, shaking his hand. "Is it really a hotel if nobody pays?"

He gave me a smirk. "You're sharp. I like that. And some people do pay. Believe it or not, I've had several humans stay here on vacation. This place gets pretty full during the summer months." He glanced out the window at the trees lining the street that were gold from the autumn chill. "But tourist season is over now, so I've got plenty of room. Besides, everyone that stays here gets a job suited to them, either in the hotel itself or outside of it. Their help means I can get supplies, food, and repairs to keep the place running and pass onto other rogues. It's kinda like a little community."

"Like a pack."

Sam paused, lifting an eyebrow. "Yeah. Kinda like a pack." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "And, like a pack, we all look out for one another. Everyone here is like a family. Some find stability, some move onto other towns, and some find everything they've ever wanted right here in Shifter Grove."

"That's quite a sales pitch."

"Not much to sell when you're staying here for free," he chuckled, nudging me with his elbow. "Come on. I'll show you to your room. I already got one set up for you last night. I figured you'd probably be staying with us until you got back on your feet."

"You really don't have to do that…"

"Liam," he smiled. "This is what I do. What I love . There are wolves like you and me that have to leave home in a rush for whatever reason. Our kind has a tendency not to be very accepting of those that are different." He patted me on the back, leading me toward a door on the far side of the room. "I don't know your reasons for leaving and honestly, it doesn't matter. You are welcome here as long as you abide by three simple rules."

"Rules?" All I could think of was my father and his ridiculous rules. "I don't really like rules."

"Well, these are pretty simple, I promise."

I sighed. "Alright."

"No prostitution, no drugs, and no fights. I have to keep on the right side of the law in this town if I'm gonna help people like you, so please respect that, and you can stay as long as you need to." He said it like he'd recited that line a thousand times. "I think that still leaves you quite a bit of freedom, right?"

"No prostitutes?" I asked, furrowing my brows in confusion. "Isn't this town a bit small for that?"

"I'm not talking about you hiring one," Sam laughed. "You don't have any money. But that doesn't mean you might not try to become one to make some quick cash." Before I could retort he held up his hands in mock defeat. "I don't judge. I get it. Life is hard sometimes and sex isn't the worst thing to get paid for. But I just can't have you bringing in whoever at all hours and drawing the attention of the local police."

"I don't–"

"Now if you want to start an OnlyFans… well, that's fine. Just don't host a gangbang in your room, please."

I honestly couldn't believe some of the things coming out of his mouth. The last thing on my mind right now was sex. I only wanted Cory anyway and after this morning it looked like I was going to be celibate for some time to say the very least.

"Don't worry," I said at last. "I won't do that."

"Thank you. I appreciate that. It's not much for house rules, but it keeps the place running and that's all I care about." Sam stopped in front of one of the numbered rooms, holding a card up to the electric lock on the door. "This'll be your room while you're with us."

He pushed open the door and gestured for me to step inside. I did as I was bidden, although I was still feeling a bit anxious about being in the same hotel as Cory. Still, the moment I saw the soft bed, the fresh sheets, and a bathroom all to myself, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's not much," Sam said, stepping in behind me. "But it'll get the job done while you get back on your feet and figure out what you want to do with your life now."

"It's perfect," I muttered, truly thankful I'd found such a place. Of course, I was used to a bit more opulence being the Alpha's son. But at least here I could be myself and that was worth more than anything. "Thank you for this."

"Don't mention it," Sam smiled, flipping the lights on as he went. "You can come to the front desk and get fresh towels any time. The rooms are turned over every few days, so if you come in and the bed is made, don't worry about it. All my wolves are very respectful. Clothes you have to wash yourself, but we've got a couple extra machines for that." He turned to face me. " Which reminds me, you need some things."

I glanced down at the crop-top of a shirt I was wearing, the tight shorts, and my bare feet. "Yeah. I guess I do."

"Socks, underwear, and shoes will be brand new," he nodded. "But everything else is gonna be secondhand I'm afraid."

I shook my head. "I don't mind."

"What's your size?" He turned his head from side to side, looking me up and down. "I'm gonna guess a large on both the socks and the underwear."

"Boxers if you can."

Sam lifted an eyebrow.

"I… don't like tight things around my…" I nodded toward my groin. "You know."

"You like to dangle free. I get it." He glanced at my feet. "Shoe size is a ten?"

"Eleven. Wide if you can."

"Eleven wide it is." He handed me my key card to the room and stepped toward the door. "I'm gonna get those things for you and then we can go through the clothing pile and find some things for you. I get a lot of donations here. Why don't you hop in the shower, get cleaned up, and by the time you're done I'll be back with a meal for you and some basics." He put his hand on the doorknob but stopped. "I also do one meal a day here for my residents. However, since you're new and you look like you're about to die of starvation, I'll do three a day for the first month, okay? I want to make sure you get your strength back."

I couldn't help but smile. This man was literally saving my life in more ways than one.

"Thank you, Sam. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"More than happy to do it," he nodded with a smile. "On one condition of course."

"Anything. You name it."

"Once you get settled, I want to hear your story."

"My… My story?"

"I want to know where you came from, how you got here, and most of all..." He lifted a hand, pointing at my face. "I want to know the story behind that scar."

I felt suddenly embarrassed and on the spot. "It… It's not a good story."

"I didn't think it was." He pulled open the door and stepped out. "But that's how a family is built. We share our happiness and our pain so we can all help one another get through this life."

With that, he pulled the door closed and left me alone with only my thoughts and my freshly broken heart.