11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

“What’s happening?” Amelia asked. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a butter knife.

“Shit, is this actually happening?” Saul jumped up and moved to the window.

“You won’t see anything outside,” Theron told him.

The rest of the pack looked nervous, and the ones Amelia thought were the closest to Rome looked like they wanted to kill someone. Rome was the only one sitting calmly and finishing his breakfast.

She took a page out of Rome’s book and sat down. She was eating French toast, and it was too good to waste.

“Sit.” Rome’s alpha voice got immediate attention. Everyone sat and stopped talking. “That soft bell means someone notified a hunter that an omega has presented herself to the world.”

“A hunter?” Amelia’s fingers clutched the end of the cherry wood table. She’d never heard the term, but the word hunter was self-evident.

“The story of how omegas came into existence is long. When we have time, I will tell you all about it. Right now, what you need to know is that the goddess Luna created and blessed omegas. There is another goddess. She watches over the black night. She opposed you being born and created hunters that would kill every child born an omega. They seek them out and kill them at birth. We don’t receive a warning they are out to kill unless they are coming for our mates.” His eyes met hers, willing her to understand what he was saying.

“Someone is coming to kill me?” She ignored the mate part. There would be time to digest that later. “I need to run.” Her heart was pounding in fear, but her wolf refused to run and hide. She belonged here with her mate.

“No. Avoiding the hunter alone is highly improbable. Even if you managed to avoid him, your whole life would consist of running until you grew too tired to care if you lived or died.”

“What am I going to do?”

“Stay here and allow me to protect you.”

“If this man is a hunter, someone who kills newborns without remorse, why won’t he kill you and every member of your pack?” She thought of the newborn Rome was holding last night. There was no way she would risk her life.

“I can keep you safe. We can keep you safe. If the pack is in danger, then you and I will leave and draw the hunter off. After I’ve killed him, we’ll come back.”

“You’re going to kill him?” She didn’t know how to take what he said. It was simple with no embellishments. “He’s a person.” Didn’t he understand that killing was wrong? They were wolves, but the prey was the deer in the fields and other animal life. The kind that didn’t shift and have emotions.

“We could make him a wolf,” one of the young shifters at the table said. She hadn’t caught his name.

“No. The man kills children. He snatches them out of their mother’s arms and puts a knife through their hearts. Then he will drain their blood and might kill the mother just for the fun of it. He dies.” The color blanched out of all the faces of the outer pack. The ones who had lived for centuries nodded.

“How could he?” Amelia felt sick. This man was going to try to do the same thing to her. She thought of going about her day and someone casually stabbing her through her heart. “I’ll be…”

She ran to the bathroom and threw up everything she ate for breakfast. It felt like she jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

Rome came into the bathroom and started rubbing her back. He handed her a glass of water to rinse out her mouth and pulled a new toothbrush out so she could brush her teeth.

“Everyone wants me dead,” she said after she finished brushing her teeth.

“Not everyone.” He took her into his arms and held her close. “I know it’s too soon to say, and you don’t know me. You’re my mate, and I’m never going to let anything happen to you. I’ve been waiting for you for centuries. Another long story for a night when everything is calm.” She nodded her head against his chest. She’d never felt this safe since she was old enough not to run into her father’s arms.

“But your pack?” She was worried about them. Each one she met had treated her nicely and extended hands of friendship.

“Amelia, we’re wolves. Our secret could be out and the town or the government could rise up to kill us. We know this. Just being born a wolf meant you live in danger every day. We’re cautious when we go to town. We’re constantly checking to make sure no one is pointing us out or following us in stores or even down the street or in their cars. It’s the life we live. Not one of us would give it up.”

She nodded reluctantly, agreeing with him. She lived a sheltered life, but she knew from going to town with her father that she needed to be careful about what she said and how she acted. It never dawned on her that the humans would kill her because she was so focused on her pack and them wanting her dead.

“Let’s go back and speak to the others.” She nodded and stepped back, a little shaky, but she would get through this.

They walked into the dining room to find the entire pack in there. She couldn’t move enough to make it back to the table.

“I’ll meet everyone outside in half an hour,” Rome announced. They would meet at the fighting pit. There was enough space for everyone to sit. It was their outside meeting spot when the weather was nice. Saul pulled the enforcers to the side and told them to let all the pack know what was happening.

“Your pack loves and respects you,” Amelia said when they were alone with Saul and Theron.

“I love and respect them too, and I treat them like my family. My outer pack is as important to me as my inner pack.” She could see the distinction between who was outer and inner, but he was going to have to explain that with all the other questions building.

“Why aren’t we running?” She still wanted to run. It felt like it was in her blood, the need to keep moving, but her wolf kept saying no. She agreed with Rome. They couldn’t run forever, and the hunter would keep coming until he met his end. His end, humph, they were talking about killing him. Then she thought of the newborns suckling at their mother’s breasts and killed in front of her. Rome didn’t mention the fathers, but they hadn’t opened the door for the hunters. No, the hunters killed them first before killing the child and the mother. Why would she want to live when they had taken away her world?

“That bell tells us a hunter is searching for you. He isn’t close. When he is, I’ll know, and we’ll take care of him then.”

There was nothing she could do other than think about the clothes she needed. “I guess that trip to the store is off?”

“We’ll go after the meeting. We’re taking my truck, not your car. I know this is high-handed, but your life is on the line. Please don’t drive your car or go anywhere without me or one of my brothers.”

She opened her mouth and closed it. Was it just a week ago she wanted someone who’d be willing to protect her and now her wolf in black fur was in front of her? He was her mate. Maybe if she said it a thousand times, it would sink in.

It turned out hunters were good for making the heat inside of her subside.

The fighting pit was actually a pit. It was barren of grass, nothing but dirt in the middle. Rigged around the pit were long concrete benches, each higher than the one below it. There was enough room for the pack to sit and still have room for more members. Rome’s pack was somewhere between one hundred and one fifty. That was much bigger than her father’s pack of fifty wolves.

Rome was standing in the center of the pit with the wolves he called his inner pack. There were twelve altogether, if she included Rome. They all had the same dark tan skin and black hair cut to various lengths and styles. She paused a minute to wonder if they were physical brothers. They were obviously of the same ethnicity and looked alike. She’d have to ask him later.

“You all heard the bell.” His voice was loud enough to carry to the last row. “It means that the hunters are searching. There may be one or several. They live to be unpredictable. The person they are searching for is Amelia, my mate.”

What a way to break the news about having a mate with them. She heard several females gasp and did her best to crane her head to see them. She knew that a disappointed female could cause trouble. There was one female in the back being comforted by a friend. She wanted to roll her eyes. It wasn’t that serious. You didn’t get the guy. Move on.

“Our pack will protect my mate, the same way she will protect the pack. You’ll not only be protecting her, you’ll be protecting yourselves by being wary of any unfamiliar faces you encounter. If you don’t know them, avoid them until I have settled this. If you see someone new, report it at once to the enforcers or my brothers. Until the pack and my mate are out of danger. No one will leave pack grounds by themselves.” He stopped to stare at a group of teens.

“Teen wolves, did you hear, listen, and understand what I said?” They were playing around and pointing at various people as they whispered.

They straightened up and went silent. “Yes, alpha.” The voices were staggered, and it took minutes for them to work out what he said.

“Let me say it for the ones that weren’t listening.” If they were wolves, their ears would have flattened, and they would have lowered their eyes the same way they were doing now.

“No one is to leave the pack lands without taking someone with them. Before you leave, you’re to tell an enforcer or one of my brothers where you’re going and the time you anticipate coming back. I want to know who is going with you, so make sure you tell them that as well. Questions?” She looked at the pack while Rome waited. “Ask them now.”

One young wolf raised his hand. He looked timid.

“Darren.”

“Are you sure she’s your mate? I mean, she is bringing the hunter down on us.” He ducked his head.

“Darren, are you sure Sheila is your mate?” Darren’s head flew up as he tried, not successfully, to meet the alpha’s eyes.

“Yes, Alpha,” he finally stuttered.

“You asked me to change her when she was ready. To allow you to bring a former human onto our lands into our pack. We both know the risk. What did I say to you?”

“When Luna blesses you with a mate, it is sacred.” Darren’s voice got stronger. “You said you would do anything to bring us together as long as she agreed. That meant telling her first what I was. It would put the pack at risk because she could decide to cry wolf.” Part of the pack chuckled at that.

“Forgive me, Alpha. I wasn’t thinking.” His eyes and shoulders slumped.

“There’s nothing to forgive. I’m proud of the courage you showed. You’re not the only one to wonder, but you were brave enough to ask. Any other questions?” He took his time looking at his pack, meeting their eyes. No one else came forward. “You’re all dismissed. Go about your day but remember the new rules.”

Amelia watched as the pack left. She wished she could trust them, but she knew that there could be a rotten apple buried at the bottom of the pack.