The Alpha's Runaway

Chapter Seven

Henry and I slowed down, letting Lance and Jess pull ahead. By the time we reached the pack house, they had already disappeared upstairs.

Grant rushed toward us, “Lance told me what happened. I just wanted to let you know Mina and Kiera will be punished.”

“Thank you.” Henry said.

“Can I borrow Laura for a sec?” He asked, slipping his hand in mine.

“Go for it.” Henry headed upstairs.

Grant led me to his office, closing the door behind us. I sat on his desk, while he regarded me with an apprehensive expression.

“So, about Ashley…” I began.

“Ashley was something that just happened.” He explained quickly, “I had lost hope of ever finding you and by that point, I had been Alpha for two years. I thought that I needed to start looking for a Luna, even if she wasn’t my mate. I wanted to wait for you, but I thought I needed to think about the pack and what was best for them. I’m sorry. I should have trusted in the Moon goddess.”

“Grant, I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?”

“No. I don’t have a right to be angry about something that happened before you even knew I existed. You have been so understanding of me and my need for boundaries despite the mating bond. I’m jealous because I hate the idea of you with another girl, but logically, I understand. Not everyone finds their mate. You’re right. It’s not just you. You have to worry about your pack.”

Grant closed the space between us, taking my face in his hands and pressing his forehead against mine, “I promise you there is no reason to be jealous. I’m yours, just as you are mine, and I am so lucky you came into my life.”

He kissed me softly.

“There aren’t any other jealous ex-girlfriends that I need to worry about, are there?” I half-joked.

“There’s no one else.” He confirmed before kissing me again, this time deeper.

“Mmm… We should go… The others…” I murmured between kisses.

“Fine.” He sighed, before kissing me one last time.

I giggled, pushing him away and hopping off his desk. We headed toward the kitchen, hand in hand. Charlie, Gwen, Henry, and Jess were already there, sitting at the counter and eating. An older woman, about my mother’s age, smiled warmly before handing us plates of french toast.

“Thank you.”

“Thanks, Emma.”

Grant and I said at the same time.

“You’re welcome.” Emma said pleasantly before turning her attention back to the stove.

There were a few others eating in the dining room, and I caught Mina and Kiera glaring at us, whispering to a pretty redheaded girl. Mina’s face was already turning black and blue where Jess punched her.

I smirked as I saw the bruise then turned away, ignoring them. Instead, I turned my attention to Charlie as he laughed, his eyes shining as he regarded Jess with newfound respect, “I wish I could have seen that. I’ve been dying for someone to put Mina in her place for months.”

“So, I guess you two didn’t get along?” I asked, amused.

“No. She was always very aloof toward me and Gwen. She tried to shut us out, and picked fights with Lance whenever he spent time with us. I was surprised when he stayed with her as long as he did, but it was his first relationship. He was bound to make mistakes.”

“The biggest mistake of all was dating her in the first place.” Lance strolled into the room, grabbing some food before sitting next to Jess, “How’s your arm?” He asked her.

“It’s almost healed.” She rolled up her sleeve and I could see the large cut had turned into an angry red scar. From experience, I knew it would take about fifteen minutes to disappear altogether, as though it never happened.

“That should have taken an hour to heal.” Lance frowned, gingerly touching the scar.

Jess shrugged, “I thought this was normal. All three of us heal this quickly.”

Gwen studied the scar, then looked between me, Jess, and Henry, “Is there anything else you can do that most wolves can’t?”

“We can mindlink each other, even though we’re not part of any pack. It only works within fifteen yards though.” Henry explained.

“They’re faster, stronger, and more resilient than other wolves, too.” Grant added.

“Interesting.” Gwen said, her eyes becoming distant as she focused on the new information, “I wonder why, and if there are other abilities you have but never noticed. I’ll have to see if I can find anything in the archives when we get back.”

“I’ll help.” I volunteered, “I’ve always wanted to know why we could only mindlink within a certain range.”

Charlie and Grant exchanged a look.

“I think we’ve just lost our mates for the foreseeable future.” Charlie commented.

Gwen swatted his arm, “Don’t be so dramatic. I’m not that bad.”

“Gwen, you practically locked yourself in the library one week. You only came out to shower and sleep.”

“That was a year and a half ago!” She protested, “I haven’t done anything like that since.”

“Yeah, because you got pregnant and Charlie would drag you out of the library to make sure you took care of yourself.” Lance chimed in.

“And I’m a mother now. I’m going to take care of my pup.”

“Oh. Nice to know I’ll have to visit the library just to see my son.” Charlie laughed.

“I’m sure it won’t be as bad as last time.” Grant smiled, “This time she’ll arrange for someone to bring them food.”

“You three are so mean.” Jess chided, grinning despite herself.

“They’ve been ganging up on me ever since Charlie and I realized we were mates.” Gwen lamented, “It’s one of the reasons I’m so glad you guys are here. Now I have backup. I’m really not that bad. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with trying to unravel a mystery.”

“Right.” I agreed, “And knowledge is power. Who knows? Maybe this knowledge will help us.”

I popped the last bite of french toast in my mouth before putting my plate in the sink. Turning to Jess and Gwen, I asked, “Ready?”

Both of them nodded, and as they took care of their dishes, I kissed Grant, “See you at training.”

We took one of the larger cars into town, and Gwen drove to an outdoors mall. Jess and I browsed the racks for a few minutes before Gwen appeared at my shoulder with an armful of clothes. She looked at what we’d chosen and frowned.

“Yeah, no.”

“No?” I asked, confused.

“I’m all for dressing for comfort, and I know your clothes have had to be... utilitarian the last couple years, but your mates are the Alpha and Beta of Silver Woods. You represent the pack. You’ll have to meet with other Alphas, Lunas, and Betas, so you need something nice.” She divided the clothes in her arm and handed some to me and the rest to Jess, “Try these on.”

She shooed us to the fitting rooms, and as I changed into the first outfit, I heard Jess’ voice through mindlink.

‘I forgot about the whole ‘meeting other Alphas and Betas’ part of our positions. What are the chances…’ Her frightened voice trailed off.

‘No. It would never happen. He’s all the way across the country. Gwen meant the other packs in the area. If Dad ever met with packs from the west coast, we would have known about it.’ I struggled to keep the fear out of my voice. Logically, we were safe from him. As long as we didn’t slip and let someone figure out our true names, we were safe.

I smoothed the dress Gwen had chosen. It was a casual maroon cap sleeve dress with a loose, flowing skirt.

The second I stepped out of the fitting room, Gwen smiled, “Yes! That’s more like it!”

I heard the other fitting room door open and Jess came out wearing a pair of jeans and a cute icy blue sweater.

We went from store to store and tried on countless outfits for all occasions. While both of our styles were simple, most of my clothes were muted colors, while Jess’ new wardrobe was more vibrant. When Gwen finally decided we had enough clothes, we moved on to shoes. Finally, she stopped outside a phone store, “Grant made me promise to get you guys new phones.” She explained. Within half an hour, Jess and I both had the newest smartphone.

“Okay! I feel like this was a successful shopping trip. Why don’t we grab lunch before heading back.” Gwen suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.” I agreed, realizing how hungry I was. It was past noon.

When we got to the food court, the lines were already long.

“Laura, why don’t you get in line? Viv and I can take the bags to the car. We’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” I nodded, handing over my bags.

The line inched forward, and after a while, I pulled out my new phone and checked the time. Jess and Gwen should have been back by now. The car wasn’t far from here. As I neared the front of the line, I contemplated texting them. I had already ordered for the three of us and was just about to text before I spotted them hurrying toward me.

“Sorry that took so long!” Jess apologized, “I remembered I forgot one of the bags at the last store.”

“No problem. You’re just in time.” I studied her. There was something off about her voice. I glanced at Gwen just in time to see her suppress a smile.

What was that about? I thought.

I didn’t figure it out until we’d gotten back home and I started putting everything away. Among the rest of my clothes, they had hidden lingerie.

‘Really, Jess?’ I immediately mindlinked my sister, exasperated.

‘What? It’s not like you would have gone in there with us. You have a mate. It’s going to happen eventually.’

‘Okay, I am nowhere near ready to take that step with Grant. We just met! I love you, but do me a favor and stay out of my love life.’

‘Love you too, Addie.’ She replied smuggly.

I shook my head at Jess’ response before putting away the rest of the clothes. Grabbing the last few bags, I headed to Henry’s room, knocking on the door.

He let me in, glancing at the bags apprehensively.

“We got you a couple things while we were out.” He opened his mouth to speak and I held up my hand, stopping him, “Don’t worry, they came from our personal account. I figured since we don’t have to pay rent for now and you have a new job training wolves, we could afford it. It was about time you got something new.” I told him, handing him the new clothes and phone.

“This is too much,” Henry shook his head in wonder, “What if something happens and we need the money for an emergency?” He asked pointedly.

“We still have enough in case something happens, but I don’t think we will need it. At least for a while. With your job, we’ll make up for whatever we spent quickly. If we have to leave, we’ll be better off than we have been in a long time.”

Henry remained silent for a moment, staring at the new clothes with a distant expression.

“You think I’m being too emotional. That I’m looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses?” I guessed.

After a moment, he sighed and shook his head, “No, I think you’re right. Grant seems like a good guy. So does Lance, annoying as he is. I don’t think either of them will do anything to hurt you or Je-- Viv. I trust your judgement. I’m just worried. If D-- they find us and we’re forced to move, you and Viv are going to get hurt. Your mates are the Alpha and Beta. It’s not like they can come with us.”

“I know.” I said quietly, “We shouldn’t get too attached. I’m worried about Viv too. You know how she is. Already, she and Lance are so close...”

“Are you going to tell Grant everything? About what we’ve been through?”

“Truthfully? I don’t know. Telling him would put everyone in danger. Him, us, the pack…”

“He deserves the truth. If you trust him enough to stay, you need to trust him with everything.”

“I don’t even know if I do trust him enough to stay… I want to. You have no idea how badly I want to… But I don’t know if it’s possible. I don’t want to get hurt any more than I already have.”

Henry gave me a hug, “I hope everything works out, for your sake. After everything we’ve been through, you deserve to be happy.”