The Alpha's Runaway

Chapter Fifteen

The others were in the middle of training by the time we got home. Leaving their groups to spar, Henry and Charlie pulled Jess away from her partner and they hurried toward us.

“What happened? I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow?” Henry asked.

“Harvest Moon was attacked while we were there. The other Alphas and I decided it would be best to return to our own territories and continue planning how to deal with the rogues over the phone.” Grant answered.

“Are you guys okay?” Jess worried, looking us over for injuries.

“We’re fine.” I reassured her, “Meet us in Grant’s office after training. We’ll fill you in on everything.”

Jess, Henry, and Charlie nodded before going back to their groups. Gwen left to pick up Will from her parents house, and Lance went straight to his room. Grant and I dropped our bags in our rooms before walking back down to his office. He sat behind the desk and pulled me into his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head against his.

“Are you alright?” He asked quietly.

“I’m fine. Just mentally and emotionally exhausted.”

“Me too.” He sighed, “I’m sorry about your father.”

“Don’t be. It's the past. Nothing can be done or said that can change it. I don’t really like talking about it.”

“You can though. If you ever need to. You can tell me anything.”

“I know.” After a few minutes of silence, I asked, “What about your parents?”

“What about them?”

“I haven’t seen them since I’ve been here.”

He shrugged, “They don’t live here at the packhouse. They have their own place within our territory. They know about you and want to meet you, but I asked them to give us some space and let us get to know each other first. When you’re ready, you can meet them.”

I nodded. After a few moments, he asked, “Earlier, you said you couldn’t spare Jess, Henry, and Quinn from pain. Who are they?”

I remained silent for a moment, “Let’s wait for the others. It’s not just my story to tell. Plus, Lance, Charlie, and Gwen should know. If the others agree, we’ll tell you everything.”

He nodded, then pulled me closer. I settled back against him and didn’t move until the others started arriving.

When Jess and Lance walked into the office, I took the seat next to Grant. Henry arrived next, and finally, Charlie and Gwen came carrying Will.

“So I’m assuming all of this means you found something while you were away.” Henry said as Charlie shut the door.

I nodded, “The three of us are Triskelion wolves. It means that we’re stronger, faster, have accelerated healing, and greater endurance than normal Alpha-born wolves. Our powers are stronger whenever we are within fifty feet of each other, the same range for us to mindlink without being part of a pack. When part of the pack, the other wolves abilities are enhanced as well. We each embody a specific attribute as well, and amplify that attribute within the pack.”

Gwen took over, “We think Cam represents power, Laura represents intellect, and Viv represents love.”

“So, long story short, you three are not just the ridiculously overpowered, but once you officially join, the pack will be stronger as well?” Lance asked.

“Stronger, smarter, and with a greater capacity for love, yes.” Gwen responded.

“Cool.” Charlie grinned.

I glanced at Henry and Jess. 'Dad came up when I was talking to the others last night. They know he was abusive. They just don’t know the full extent. And I accidentally let slip your real names to Grant earlier today, but he doesn’t know it’s you.'

'And here I thought I’d be the one to mess up.' Jess replied, amused.

'Does this mean you want to tell them?' Henry asked.

'Only if you two are ready.' I said.

'I’m ready.'

'Go for it.'

“There’s more.” I said aloud, then looked at Gwen, Charlie, Lance, and Grant, “Last night, I told you that our dad was an abusive drunk. What you don’t know was that it got so bad, we ran away. He’s who we’ve been running from. He spent the last two years searching for us.”

“So, he’s after you because you left him without an heir?” Grant guessed.

“No.” Jess shook her head, “We have an older brother, Quinton. He was the one who came up with the plan. He told us three years before we turned eighteen, but when we shifted and it came time to run…” Jess looked at me and Henry for help, unable to say the words even after all this time.

“Quinn stayed behind to protect us.” Henry finished, “He thought that if he stayed to take over the pack when Dad retired, then he wouldn’t try to find us. I guess he didn’t take into account the fact that our dad is a complete sociopath.

“We moved from place to place every few months, but he kept finding us. Then, after a year, we met a rogue who happened to work for the police. He trained us while we were there and was able to get us completely new identities when Dad got too close.”

“Wait,” Charlie held up his hand, “So Laura, Cameron, and Vivian are not your real names?”

“Legally, they are.” I said, “They’re just not the names we were born with or the ones we use to refer to each other in private.”

“What are your names?”

“Jessica… Jess.”

“Henry.”

“Addie. Addison Payne.”

Gwen paled, “Payne? As in the Hidden Grove pack? The oldest pack in the US?”

Jess nodded.

“I’ve read about the Hidden Grove pack. The Alphas are supposed to be ruthless”

“Why do you think we ran?” Henry asked.

“We haven’t heard anything from our old pack or our dad in the last year, but we still moved frequently just in case. And then we came here and met you guys.” I finished.

“And yet with all this baggage and secrecy, you’re telling us this now, a month after we met you?” Lance raised an eyebrow.

My eyes met Grant’s, “‘Don’t hold back.’ Maybe it’s the mating bonds, but we know we can trust you. We just couldn’t join your pack and potentially put you in danger without telling you the whole story.”

“Do you think you’re still in danger?” Gwen asked.

“No.” Henry shook his head, “Like Addie said, we haven’t heard from them since we changed our names, but there’s always that ‘what if’ in the back of our minds.”

Charlie exhaled, “So you three have been living with this for the last two years?” His eyes were full of sympathy.

We nodded.

“Our decision still stands.” Grant said, “You belong here with us. You always have.”

The others nodded in agreement. It felt like a weight lifted off my chest. I hadn’t realized how heavy the burden of the last few years was.

“We should at least make an appearance at dinner.” Lance sighed, looking at the clock, “We don’t want the rest of the pack to think something is wrong.”

As I stood to follow the others out of the office, Grant took my hand and pulled me back into his lap. When I looked at him, his eyes were almost pitch black. The sheer rage nearly took my breath away.

“He is never going to touch you again. I will tear his throat out myself if I have to.” He vowed.

He buried his face in my neck, and I shivered when his nose brushed against the spot where he would mark me. He stayed there for a minute, breathing in my scent and slowly started to relax. When he had calmed down and his eyes returned to normal, I asked, “Do you mind if we just have food sent to your room? I really don’t want to be around others right now.”

He nodded and his eyes became distant as he mindlinked someone. When they came into focus again, I stood and took his hand, walking up the stairs to his room.

“You ran away.” He said quietly after the food arrived.

I nodded, “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Every instinct in me screamed at the thought of abandoning my mother and the pack, but Quinn convinced us that it was the only way we could be safe.”

“Lau-- Addie, I have to ask. If your father ever discovers you’re here, will you run again?”

I took a deep breath, “Honestly? I don’t know. I do know that I wouldn’t just disappear. I don’t want to leave you. Just the thought that it might happen makes me feel like I can’t breathe. I can’t imagine being without you. But I also wouldn’t want to put you or your pack in danger because of my past. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone. It’s why I never wanted a mate. I knew the possibility would always be hanging over my head. I didn’t want to deal with the heartbreak.”

“It wasn’t an accident, then? That I caught your scent and couldn’t find you for a month.”

“I don’t know what to call it. I didn’t actively seek you out like you did, but I also didn’t run like I should have.”

“Were you going to reject me that first day?”

“I thought about it. I always swore I would, but the moment I saw you, I couldn’t. Meeting you was like coming up for fresh air. I don’t know how I survived without you by my side all these years and I don’t want to think about what will happen if we’re forced apart.”

He nodded, his gaze distant. After a few minutes, he asked, “Can you tell me about Quinton?”

“He was… my best friend.” I said slowly, organizing my thoughts, “It always felt like it was me and Quinn, and then Jess and Henry. I used to be more like Jess: full of hope and trust. He protected me and encouraged me to be more optimistic. It was his plan to run away. We always thought he would come with us, but looking back, he never actually said that. I once asked him what would happen to the pack once we left and he told me not to worry and he would take care of it. I should have known then he would stay behind. I just-- I wish we weren’t Alpha-born. Even if it meant not having these powers. At least then, we’d have Quinn. He could have gotten away.”

If only we had known about our powers. I thought.

I set down my food and the realization hit me.

“What?” Grant asked.

“We didn’t know about our powers when we left.”

“Okay?”

“Grant, we didn’t know we were stronger than him. We didn’t know we could protect ourselves from our father.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“We don’t have to be afraid. We can go back. We can protect Quinn.”