2. Deacon

Nine Years Ago

After that first day, the new girl, Grace from a pack down in Alabama, started appearing in all of my classes. News spread quickly that her dad was displaced as Second in his old pack when his former Alpha was challenged for his seat and lost. The new Alpha chose a new Second and removed those loyal to the previous leader from all status positions.

This reorganization happened often in more rural packs where Alphas changed frequently due to old customs and rules. Our pack last had a leadership change when my father took over before I was born, though his ascension had more to do with the blackmail he had on the previous Alpha than his claim to the title.

Much to my surprise, Grace did survive the first day. Not only that, but she survived the first week and into the first month without so much as an issue and, as far as I could tell, without making a single friend. She spoke only when called upon in class, and kept to herself at lunch and in the open study hall when most of us hung out more than studying.

I watched her, trying to get a read on her, hoping to figure out her game. Everyone had a game they were playing; it was just a matter of figuring out hers. She was polite, kind when approached, but never friendly. She asked nothing from anyone and spent a good portion of her free time with her nose in a book.

She seemed almost normal.

It bugged me that I couldn't figure her out, couldn't see what angle she was playing. In my world, everyone was trying to put themselves closer to power. There was no way she was any different.

After three weeks, I'd had enough of waiting her out. At lunch, I sat down at the otherwise empty table where she ate her sandwich, intent on getting answers.

"What's your plan?" I asked, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. It was the question I had spent every day twirling around in my mind. I came up with scenario after scenario about what she was trying to accomplish.

"I'm sorry, I don't follow," she responded, not looking up from her book.

"What are you trying to do here? What"s your plan?" I repeated.

"The only thing I'm trying to do here is eat my lunch and finish the chapter of my Nancy Drew book. The real question you should ask yourself is why you care what I'm doing."

Her matter-of-fact tone was neither rude nor inviting, making me even more mad because she was right.

"I don't care, but it makes no sense. You're starting over and not even trying to be part of the pack. Don't you want friends?" I asked, curiosity bleeding into my tone.

"And what makes you, Deacon Marlo, think I haven't got any friends?" At this statement, she looked up, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Well, because you're always alone."

"I'm never alone. As long as I have a book, I'm always with friends," she stated like it was the most normal thing in the world, and it took everything in me not to burst out laughing in her face.

OK, so she doesn't have a plan. She's just nuts.

"Imaginary friends do not count," I whispered, trying to get her to see that she sounded a little crazy.

"If you must know, I don't need to make friends here. I have friends in Alabama, and I"m out of here as soon as I get enough money. So no, I have no intention of making friends here because I will be leaving soon."

The way she stuck out her jaw in defiance lit a fire in me, and I knew she and I were the same. Just waiting to get away from the lives our parents forced upon us. For the first time, I saw her, not as some country bumpkin, but as a kid living her life without any control over what happened to her.

"Now, how in the world is a nine-year-old girl going to make it all the way back to Texas?" I asked, curious again.

"I'm almost ten, and I've been saving my allowance since we arrived. If I counted right, I should be able to afford a bus ticket by the end of the school year."

"Won't your parents notice you're missing?"

"Maybe after a while. But they have my little brother to worry about, and it's not like Dad can go back." Sadness crept into her voice as she finished, and I hated how it made me feel.

"Well, maybe, while you"re here, you should at least pretend you have friends. Otherwise, they may catch onto your plan before you have the chance to leave."

"You offering to be my friend, Deacon?"

"For pretend, sure. I love a good long game, and who knows, maybe I'll tag along. It"s not like they need me here. They're prepping my brother, Luca, to take over. I'm just in the way." I said with a shrug.

Understanding filled her expression mixed with a little sadness before she nodded, her decision made. Mischief flows from her as her mind spins showing her weighing the proposition. Then she smiles, lighting her whole face and making her eyes crinkle at the sides.

"Then I guess I'll see you around, buddy."

In the weeks following our lunch conversation, we didn't talk, didn't hang out, didn't change our routine in any way, but everything was different. Her half-smiles when I'd catch her eye kept our secret alive. That secret felt more important than us, like talking about it again might tarnish it somehow.

The next time we spoke was the night I Awakened. The ceremony was understated, not having the flash of most Alpha-born wolves to not overshadow my brother. The pack council oversaw the tradition.

The robe they put me in did little to combat the cold weather storming outside. After the ritual, I knew I would be expected to shift, forced to if I couldn't make the transition on my own. The robe served as a temporary covering to prevent more clothing from being destroyed, but my chattering teeth made me wish they had splurged on a thicker material.

As I entered the pack sanctuary, I noted the soft candlelight, dark robe-clad members, and the altar in the center of the room. It took everything in me not to laugh at the cheesy cult-like setup.

Guess I'm drinking the Kool-Aid today…

I held back a smile and cleared my throat to throw away the laugh lodged there, schooling my face. The last thing I needed was for my father to be angry right before he bit into my shoulder.

My feet stopped at the foot of the ostentatious altar, and my eyes lifted to the face of my Alpha and father. If I didn't know him better, I would assume it was pride he wore in his expression, but I'd seen that shining out every time Luca completed a task. This expression was a mix of disdain and indifference.

"Kneel." His voice echoed off the walls as he stretched his arm to indicate where I should drop. Slowly, I lowered myself to the spot he pointed out.

"You come before us, one of the chosen. Destined by The Fates to walk this Earth as both man and beast. Today, you have the choice to embrace that future or deny your birthright. This choice cannot be changed, and once spoken, is final. What is your choice?" The question rang in the air as I considered the options.

Awakened or dead.

Hmmm... whatever will I choose…

"I choose to follow the path The Fates have set before me," I said, grateful when my voice came out clear and I remembered the words to repeat.

"As is your birthright, the council bears witness to your Awakening." My father walked behind me, pulled the robe off my left shoulder, and, without pause, bit down.

Pain exploded behind my eyes, and heat filled my body like acid flowing in my veins. The venom entered my blood like lava, reforming the cells as it tore through every fiber within me. Darkness crowded my senses, and I felt myself fall to the floor. I was unsure when he released me, but I knew he did nothing to stop the fall.

When the fire inside me finally dulled, I calmed my breathing, pulled myself back to kneeling, and opened my eyes. A gasp rang out in the silence.

Every council member stood precisely where they were a moment ago, but their faces show expressions of confusion or shock. My gaze darted to my father, who had returned to the altar before me.

Where the others may have been surprised or confused, he was angry. His jaw clenched, and the vein above his brow was pulsing.

What the fuck happened?

As we stared at each other, my eyes asked the question, but he showed only deep hatred. I tensed each of my muscles, adjusting to the soreness. The feel of them was foreign, yet they responded ready. I used my patience to my advantage, waiting out the following instructions while feeling my wolf come alive under my skin.

"Welcome to the Northern Nevada Pack, Deacon Marlo. Pack Member 412. Initiated by Giovanni Marlo, Alpha." The voice came from a council member on my left, but my eyes remained locked on my Alpha. Part of me wanted to look away, the feeling slid over my skin like fear at a haunted house, but I held his stare.

Giovanni: Submit

The mind-link command surprised me, but what surprised me more was my wolf, who pulled his hackles up and responded before I could stop him.

Deacon: Never

***

Present

"Are you planning on staring at the sky all day, or are you stuck like that?" The sweet sound of her country drawl pulls me from the memory, and I blink her into focus, a smile forming on my face without a thought.

At seventeen, Grace is no longer all knees and elbows. Her petite athletic frame has filled in with curves that leave my mouth watering and my cock coming to attention at every opportunity. She's the only girl I'd ever been with and the only one I will ever need.

She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. It shines out of her in the big easy smiles that reach all the way to the creases next to her eyes, and it bounces around in my rib cage with every full-bodied laugh that rolls out of her, causing her one dimple to lock in on her face as her cheeks get all rosy. Her freckles have multiplied with her time in the sun, and occasionally, she wears her signature pigtails, though her hair now falls the entire length of her back.

"Just thinking about how we met. Do you remember?" I ask, knowing we've had this conversation a dozen times, and still, I love to hear her version of things. She always insisted I planned to run off, and I had to remind her she was, in fact, the one with somewhere to run to. She nods, looking at me as if she's reliving that memory herself, and steps into my embrace.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her body to mine, planting a soft kiss on her lips as I breathe in her coffee and cinnamon scent. Her hands loop around my neck, and she deepens the kiss, leaning into me. I tease her lips with my tongue until she parts them, allowing me entry, and she whimpers as I dive in greedily, taking everything she will give me. My fingers dig into her hips, and it takes everything in me not to strip her out of her uniform right here in the parking lot and bend her over my bike.

She pulls back, her breathing heavy, eyes dazed, and a smile curling from ear to ear.

"I missed you. How come you didn't come by last night?" she asks, fixing her uniform back to a modest coverage.

"I got sent out with the recon team to try and find the rogue they keep scenting in the area," I answer before thinking.

Shit!

The clench in her jaw confirms her reaction, and I know she won't be happy that I was sent on another mission, so I continue before she can start a fight.

"It wasn't a big deal, Tails. I was with the team. We train for these things. They had my back." I push confidence into my voice, hoping to reassure her even though the words taste like ash because they're complete bullshit.

My Alpha has been steadily increasing my enforcer training and sending me out on more and more excursions with less and less support. If I was betting, I'd say he was trying to get me killed. It would solve his little problem before he has to face it. Last night had gone a bit sideways, but thankfully, I had avoided any serious injury as we pushed the hunting pack from one of the smaller Utah territories out of the boundary they had crossed.

Grace purses her lips, and her body language has turned rigid.

She's mad at me.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Luca showed up in my room before you got off shift, and I didn't have time." I explore her eyes, pleading silently with her to understand that all of this is temporary and that in a year, I'd be leaving to avoid an Alpha battle, and she would come with me, leaving this place in the rearview. She deflates, tucking herself into my chest.

"I know you don't get to say no to him, but I hate that it feels like I'm going to lose you," she pulls back so she can look me in the eye. "You aren't immortal, and I don't know how I would survive if anything happened to you."

Tears rim her eyes, threatening to fall, as she gnaws on her bottom lip. My heart clenches, and the protective instincts in me flare up.

I hate it when she cries.

"It's not much longer. I leave for the retreat in under a month, and when I return, we can go anywhere. Soon, it will be just you and me, Tails." With my declaration, I place a kiss on her forehead, my unspoken message that I will always be with her.

"Always," she whispers back.

But always is a long time, and The Fates have a twisted sense of humor.