The Alpha's Runaway

Chapter Six

-Jess-

I groaned as Lance’s alarm clock went off, raising my head slightly to look at the time. 5:30 AM. Lance laughed softly as he turned off the alarm, then wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled close to him, resting my head on his chest.

“Good morning.” He whispered, kissing the top of my head.

“Good morning.” I sighed tiredly.

“Are you training with me this morning, or with the others tonight?”

“Tonight. I want to sketch the packhouse at sunrise. I’ll train this evening and spar with Laura or Cameron. After that, I’ll start training in the mornings.”

“Okay. The sun doesn’t rise until 7. You have another hour to sleep.”

“I’m already up.” I said, pushing myself into a sitting position.

Lance sat up, pressing his lips to mine. His hands slid into my hair, deepening the kiss.

I pushed him away, slightly breathless, “You have to get ready for training.”

He groaned, flopping back onto the bed, “Fine.”

As soon as we were ready, I grabbed my sketchbook and we headed down to the training field. The ground was wet from last night’s rain, so I laid my jacket down before sitting on it with my back against a tree. I opened the book to a blank page. Watching as Lance started training, I waited until he shifted to start drawing. By the time I finished sketching Lance’s wolf, the sky lightened enough for me to see the manor clearly. I captured the lines and angles of the building, then the trees in the background. Finally, the sun crept over the horizon, bathing the entire compound in golden light. I was in the middle of shading when a shadow fell over the page. I looked up, smiling as I saw Lance looking down at me, “Hi.”

“Hey.” He sat down next to me, glancing at the page, “It looks good.”

“It’s not done yet.” I dismissed, “It’ll look better when I finish.”

“Can’t wait. I’m going to go shower, and I’ll come grab you for breakfast.”

“Okay.” I kissed him, watching him walk away before going back to my sketch.

After a few minutes, another two shadows stood over me. I glanced up to see two girls.

“Hi!” The nearest of the two greeted, smiling. She had wavy blonde hair, green eyes. She was about 5’8”, three inches taller than me, “You’re Vivian, right? The new Luna’s sister?”

“Yeah. How did you know?” I asked as I stood.

“One of our friends was at training last night. She saw you and your siblings. I’m Mina. This is Kiera. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” I smiled politely.

Kiera had straight, jet black hair, brown eyes, and a petite build.

“Are you an artist?” Kiera asked, glancing at my sketchbook, “Can I see?”

“Yeah, sure. Do you draw?” I handed her the book.

“Not this well.” She flipped through a few pages before moving to hand the book over to Mina.

Mina reached out her hand but made no attempt to grab it, letting it fall into the mud.

“Oops.” Mina said unapologetically, with a smug smile, “My bad.”

Anger and confusion coursed through me. Carys, my wolf, growled fiercely in my mind. What was her problem? “Why? What could you possibly gain from ruining my sketchbook?” I ground out, glaring at Mina.

“Consider it a warning. Stay away from Lance, and tell your sister to stay away from Grant. You don’t belong here, so just run on back to wherever you came from.”

“Seriously?” I let out a humorless laugh, “What is this? Some teen drama? You think Lance and Grant belong to you two so you lash out at whoever you see as a threat? Grow up! This isn’t high school and you’re not some little miss popular queen bee. They don’t belong to you, okay? They’re people, not objects. Lance and Grant are perfectly capable of deciding who they want to be with.” I could sense Addie and Henry’s rage as soon as they came close enough.

'Stay back. Let me handle this.' I ordered, scooping up my precious sketchbook.

“Do yourself a favor and leave me and my sister alone. You have no freaking idea who you’re messing with.”

Mina clenched her jaw and her eyes darkened. The next thing I knew, my head whipped to the side, my cheek stung, and I saw red.

-Addie-

I woke up to faint light coming in through the window. It took me a moment to remember where I was. I rolled over, checking the alarm clock. It was 6:30. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up.

As much as I wanted to sleep in, I needed to talk to Jess and Henry. A lot happened yesterday. I needed to make sure they were okay. I climbed out of bed and started getting ready. I chose work out clothes, deciding to see if they wanted to go for a run. I heard Grant moving around in his room as I woke Henry first. I then headed to Lance and Jess’s room. I knocked, then peeked my head inside when I heard no answer. I knew Lance was at training and Jess would sleep in if she could. Their room was empty. By the time I got back to Henry’s room, he was ready and it was already 7.

“Where’s Jess?” He asked quietly.

I shook my head, glancing down the hallway at Grant’s door.

‘Grant’s awake. Only use our real names through mindlink. You never know who’s listening.’ I shot Henry a quick mindlink before answering aloud, “Viv isn’t in her room. I assume she went to training with Lance.”

Henry nodded, “Okay. Let’s go.”

We headed down the stairs, reaching the first floor just in time to see Lance walk through the door.

“Hey! Where’s Viv?” I asked.

“Good morning! She’s outside, finishing a drawing. I told her I’d come get her before breakfast. Where are you two headed?”

“We were just going to see if she wanted to go on a run.” I glanced out the open door just in time to see two girls drop Viv’s sketchbook. I exchanged looks with Henry, knowing he saw it too.

“Oh, hell no.” I growled, pushing past Lance and heading toward my sister.

“What is going on?” He asked, confused, before catching sight of those two girls. His eyes widened and he frowned, “That’s not good.”

He and Henry followed quickly behind me. I could see Jess say something to the girls with a look of disdain.

'Stay back. Let me handle this.' She snapped through the mindlink as soon as we came into range, glancing at us as she picked up her book. She said something softly to the girls, when suddenly, the closest one slapped her.

Lance growled fiercely and moved forward before Henry and I stopped him.

“What are you doing?” He ground out, glaring at me.

“Trust me. Viv doesn’t want or need your help.” I answered.

“This’ll be fun.” Henry said, smiling wryly at the same time.

Lance looked back just in time to see Jess drive her fist into the closest girl’s face. When the other girl moved to strike her, Jess dodged her blow and punched her in the stomach, then swept her legs out from under her.

“Next time you decide to pick a fight, make sure your target can’t kick your ass.” Jess said before turning to walk toward us.

The first girl’s eyes darkened, and I had just enough time to shout a warning before she lunged, shifting midair.

Jess whirled around and shifted, tackling the girl’s wolf. The wolf managed to claw at her front leg before Jess pinned her to the ground. My sister’s eyes flickered from their usual hazel to pitch black as she and her wolf battled for control. She growled fiercely, her Alpha-born aura radiating from her. Even though we weren’t from this pack, Jess’s aura still affected them. The second girl’s wolf whimpered before she backed away, shifting back into her human form.

“Coward.” Jess hissed at the girl, shifting back into her human form, “What kind of person attacks another when their back is turned?”

Not waiting for an answer, Jess grabbed her notebook again and I tossed her my hoodie. She shrugged it on quickly before brushing past us and heading toward the house.

“Are you okay?” Lance worried, “Let me look at your arm.”

“I’m fine.” Jess waved him off angrily, “It’ll heal within the next half hour.”

“Why did they attack you?” Henry asked with barely concealed rage.

“They want me and Laura to stay away from Lance and Grant. How cliche is that? Honestly.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes, then turned toward Lance, “Who were those girls?”

He winced before answering sheepishly, “Mina is my ex-girlfriend. The other was her friend, Kiera. They also happen to be close with Grant’s ex-girlfriend, Ashley.”

“You and Grant have been with other girls?” I asked, surprise and jealousy washing over me.

“Yeah. About a year ago, we lost hope of finding our mates. It was five years since we first turned and we hadn’t found you yet. So, we started dating Mina and Ashley. Mina and I were only together for three months. Grant was with Ashley for five. I promise, Viv, whatever was between us is over and has been for months. The way I felt about her was nothing compared to what I feel for you. I am so sorry.”

After a long moment, Jess met his pleading eyes and her harsh gaze softened, “Don’t apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Surprise flooded his expression, “You’re not mad?”

“Oh no, I’m furious. The thought of you with her makes me want to tear her throat out. But, I know that anger is misplaced. Up until yesterday, I thought I would never find my mate and I was terrified about what would happen if I did. I know what it’s like to lose hope in love. I can’t fault you for something that happened before we met.”

Lance stared at Jess in wonder, then kissed her softly, “You are kind of amazing.”

She smiled softly, “Yeah, I know. Come on. You need to shower, and I need to see if I can salvage anything.” She waved her sketchbook.