The Alpha's Runaway

Chapter Three

I pulled away from Grant and picked up the duffel bag before opening my closet door. It was empty, except for some hangers.

“I thought about getting you something when I first caught your scent but I didn’t know what you liked. Gwen suggested I leave it alone until you get here.” Grant said, “She can take you and Viv shopping tomorrow before you meet the pack.”

“Sounds fun, but I can’t exactly afford that.”

“Who said you’re paying?”

I turned to face him, “We just met earlier today. I can’t have you paying for anything.”

“It’s my job to provide for you.” He said matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes, “You know this mate thing goes both ways, right? I can’t exactly return the favor.”

“It’s not a favor and we don’t need to constantly one-up each other. It’s a relationship. Let me do this for you. Your job can be keeping me sane, helping manage the pack, and stopping me from getting a big head.”

I raised an eyebrow, amused, “Do you really need someone to tell you when you’re being arrogant? That’s not really a trait I associate with you so far.”

“See, it’s already working! I desperately need you to do this for me. Lance and Charlie are terrible at it. They just make it worse.”

I laughed reluctantly, shaking my head, “You’re absurd.”

It took about three seconds for me to put my clothes in the drawers and hang up my hoodie. Shutting the closet door, I sat next to Grant on the couch. His arm settled around my shoulder, and I looked up to see him regarding me with an amused expression.

“What?” I asked..

“Promise you won’t get mad?” He answered with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“That depends.” I couldn’t help smiling.

“Sometimes you talk like an old lady.”

It took a second for his words to register. Then, my mouth opened in surprise and I laughed, “That is so rude! Just… What?”

He laughed before explaining quickly, “I just mean that you use bigger words than most people. It’s not a bad thing, I actually really like that about you.”

“So, I speak like an old lady because I have a larger vocabulary?”

“Yeah, see, right there. Notice how you and I phrased that differently? If I didn’t already know you, I’d think you were pretentious.”

I giggled, “Pretentious? Wow, okay. Nice to know my mate thinks I’m pretentious.”

“I didn’t say I thought that. I said I would think that if I didn’t already know you.” He laughed.

“And who said you know me?”

“I know enough.” He leaned in and kissed me gently.

Just then, I felt a sense of unease coming from Henry. I glanced toward the door.

“What is it?” Grant asked, studying my change in demeanor.

“Cameron is uneasy.”

I opened the door to find Jess standing in the doorframe of Henry’s room, “Will you just relax, and come with me? Stop being so… you.”

“Yeah, insulting me is the way to go. Keep it up. I’m sure it’ll work eventually.” Henry said sarcastically.

“Oh, shut up and come out here.”

“You know, maybe I’m tired. What if I just want to take a nap?”

“From what? You barely did anything today!”

“I had work.”

“Yeah, and you were planning on training as soon as I got home, like we do every night, so there’s no way you’re tired just because of work.”

“Maybe I didn’t sleep well last night! Did you ever think of that?”

“BS! I could hear your snoring from my room, through both closed doors!”

“Will you just--Ugh!” He cut himself off.

Jess smiled, knowing it meant she won, “Come on, let’s go.”

“And here I thought you’d need my help getting Cameron out of his room.” I said.

Jess rolled her eyes, “Please. Like you would have been any help. We both know if it weren’t for Grant, you two would have ganged up on me.” She teased, “But since you’re here, you can join us!”

“Where are we going?”

“Exploring! This house is massive!”

“It’s not really exploring if I live here. It’s more of a tour.” Grant chuckled.

“Technicality.” Jess dismissed.

Grinning, Grant led us downstairs, pausing on the second floor landing, “We have a handful of pack members who live on this floor, but it’s mostly empty. The other rooms are for guests.”

We continued down the stairs and entered the foyer and turned left, “We have a few more rooms for pack members here, my office, Laura’s office, a game room, and the library.”

He pushed open the door at the end of the hall, and I gasped. Countless books lined the wall and several tables sat in the center of the room. Along the back wall, next to a floor to ceiling window, there was a couch and a few comfortable chairs. Sunlight streamed in through the window, and from it, I could see the woods. Gwen sat at one of the tables with stacks of books surrounding her. She was so engrossed in whatever she was reading, she didn’t notice us.

With an amused smile, Grant took my hand and tugged me from the room, following Jess and Henry as we retraced our steps. Cutting across the foyer, Grant took the lead once more. We passed through a large living room, dining room, then kitchen. Beyond that was another living room, and a door leading to the backyard. Opening it, Grant ushered us back outside. The patio was huge, and scattered with deck furniture. Beyond that, I could see a stone path leading to a large pool, then a playground. A few pups ran around, playing. There was another path leading to the right of the pool before disappearing into rose bowers.

“That’s basically it.” Grant shrugged, as if it were nothing special.

“It’s amazing!” Jess grinned, “You’ve seen where we live. This is a palace in comparison.”

As we walked back inside, we heard the front door slam against the wall as it opened. Henry and I flinched, while Jess froze. Her eyes grew wide with realization and she hurried toward the sound. When we reached the living room closest to the foyer, she stopped, staring at a man standing across the room.

He was Grant’s age, with a similar build and Henry’s height. He had light brown hair and green eyes that stared at Jess intensely.

“Well, you know how to make a dramatic entrance.” Grant said lightly, “This is Lance, my Beta. Lance, this is Laura, Cameron, and--”

“Mate.” He growled, staring at Jess.

“Hi.” She greeted breathlessly.

“No way.” Henry glanced between the two, then back at me. ‘Grant’s Beta is Jess’s mate? Seriously?! We don’t need anything else tying us to this place!’ He mindlinked me, frustrated.

‘I know.’ I responded, mentally sighing, ‘This is just going to make it harder if we decide to leave.’

As if coming out of a trance, Lance crossed the room and pulled Jess into his arms and kissed her soundly. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Henry cleared his throat, causing Jess to pull away slightly. Lance growled, then glared at him.

“Can you not make out with my sister in front of me? It’s bad enough I have to deal with those two.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to point at me and Grant.

“We’re not that bad, are we?” I whispered to my mate, casting him a sideways glance.

“Not that I know of.” He whispered back.

Lance released Jess, taking her hand in his. He ignored Henry, instead looking at Grant, “Sorry, Alpha.”

“Trust me, I get it.” Grant smiled, looking down at me.

“What’s your name, love?” Lance asked Jess.

“J-- Vivian. Viv for short.” She stopped herself from giving her real name.

'Careful!' Henry and I scolded simultaneously.

I could feel Grant’s curious gaze on me. He hadn’t missed the slip. After a moment, he spoke, “Perfect timing, Lance. I just finished giving them the tour. How was the patrol?”

The question finally took Lance’s attention away from Jess, “All is quiet so far, but I’ve heard rumors of rogue attacks from the surrounding packs.”

Grant nodded, “We’ll have to meet with the other Alphas and determine if it’s anything to be concerned about.”

Lance nodded before turning his attention to me, “Luna.” He greeted formally.

“Please, call me Laura.”

“Laura, then.” His gaze drifted to Henry, and he smirked, “Brother-in-law.”

Henry scowled, “Last I checked, you and Viv aren’t married.”

“We’re mates. For wolves, that’s as good as married.”

“Not until she’s marked. Let me make one thing clear. If you-- If either of you hurts my sisters,” He looked between Grant and Lance, “I will take you down.” With one last glare, Henry stalked out of the room, heading back upstairs.

“What’s his problem?” Lance asked, watching him walk away.

“He’s just… trying to adjust. A lot has changed in the last twenty-four hours.” Jess tried to explain.

“That, and he’s your typical overprotective brother, especially when it comes to Vivian.” I added, Especially after Dad. I thought.

“Yeah, well, overprotective mate trumps overprotective brother.” Lance said evenly.

I pursed my lips, exchanging looks with Jess. Neither of our mates seemed to notice. Grant and I headed back to my room, leaving Jess and Lance alone. As we passed Henry’s room, I sent him a mindlink. ‘It’ll be okay. No matter what happens, everything will work out.’

‘Since when are you so hopeful? You’re not exactly in the greatest position to decide what’s best right now. Your emotions have been all over the place since you caught Grant’s scent. If they had met before you two, you’d react the same way I am. Having ties to this place is dangerous for everyone involved! You know this!’

‘Henry…’

‘Leave me alone, Addison.’

I winced when he used my full name. Henry only used it when he wanted to be left alone. “He’s angry.” I told Grant in response to his questioning gaze.

“It’ll blow over.” Grant reassured me, “If I had a sister, I probably wouldn’t be thrilled about a guy making out with her in front of me either. For what it’s worth, Lance is one of the good ones. I trust him with my life.”

I nodded, then sighed. Grant pulled me into his arms and I rested my head against his chest. I knew I shouldn’t, but the contact made me feel safe, something I hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. Was Henry right? Was I not thinking clearly when it came to our safety?

Please let everything work itself out. Just for once, let something go right.