The Spare: A Life of Secrets

Chapter 2- Lucas

-Lucas-

Allison followed me back to the pack, though slowly. She’s not in good shape, and I’m worried about her. I lead her to the stable and into a stall before I shift back.

“This is just until you shift back and have control of your wolf,” I tell her, kneeling and holding out my hand to her. “We have pups here. These rules are to make sure everyone is safe. Someday, you’ll be in there and will appreciate it.”

She brushes her brown head against my hand, and I swear that she understands me. But her eyes are still so fearful, and it kills me. I wasn’t supposed to have a mate. I wasn’t ever supposed to feel these… things.

“I’m not going to leave, alright,” I tell her softly, gently petting the coarse fur between her ears. “I’ll be right outside.”

True to my word, I stand and lock her into the stall before I sit down on the ground outside the door. This is ridiculous. I am ridiculous. I’m completely naked, sitting outside a f*****g stall, because my mate is stuck in wolf form and seemed scared. I’m everything that I said I wouldn’t be.

“It’s taken care of,” David tells me, walking in to toss my clothes and shoes to me. I let them fall to the ground, staring down at them. “What’s going on, Lucas? We don’t take wolves this far gone.”

I shrug, looking up to meet his eyes. “I think she’ll be fine.”

He sighs, looking at the wolf in the stall behind me. “I’m trying hard not to question you, but this doesn’t make sense. I know we need shewolves here to make sure the pack survives and thrives, but this seems like a lot. We have ways to bring them here now. This is a lot of unnecessary work for a random shewolf who’s stuck. There’s nothing special about her.”

“There is,” I snap defensively. s**t. I’m giving myself away. I never do that. I am a man who is a vault full of secrets. I have never let the mask slip until now.

David tilts his head questioningly. He’s always been one of the smarter guys I’ve known. There’s no way that he’s missed this. He walks up to me, looking past me at the shewolf. At Allison. At my mate.

“Are you sure?” he asks me. “The boys weren’t exactly old. I assume she is very young.”

I nod, turning to look at her again as she lies curled up on some hay. Her dark eyes lift to meet mine, and my heart thuds. “I’m sure. I don’t think she can feel it.”

He nods, reaching over to clap my shoulder. “Go clean up and rest. I’ll stay out here until you’re ready to switch over. I assume you want this kept quiet for the time being.”

“Yes.”

I don’t want anyone to know for so many reasons. What if I can’t bring her out of her wolf form? What if she’s as young as we both think she is? What if she rejects me? She should. We’ve formed a pack out here, but it’s not entirely safe. Someday, Peter will figure out that we’re out here. My brother would go straight for my mate in an effort to hurt me.

I go inside and shower before lying down for a few hours. I barely sleep, though, so consumed with thoughts of the shewolf that’s stumbled into my life. I want to know everything about her, but I also want to reject her and send her away for her safety.

There’s nowhere safe for her to go, though. I’m not sure she can feel the mate bond. If she can’t, she’d figure it out if I were to reject her. She’d have to spend her whole life hiding from my brother.

I go back down to the barn to find David sitting on the ground, his back leaned against the stall door. He nods in greeting as I join him.

“She hasn’t even moved. She must have been exhausted.”

I nod. “She probably is. It seemed like they’d been in the rogue land for quite some time. She’s finally somewhere safe.”

“I’m sure she can feel the bond,” David tells me. “She likely just doesn’t know what it is. But she will.”

“Peter will kill her.”

“We won’t let him get near her,” David says, conviction pouring from him. He hasn’t trusted my brother since he started killing kids. “I won’t let him near my Luna. None of us will.”

His Luna. The words hit me. I’ve spent the evening worried about the fact that being mated to me would make her a princess. And it will. She’ll certainly be a target for my brother. But David is correct, because I’m no longer Prince Lucas. I’ve turned myself into Alpha Lucas, and she is destined to be my Luna. I don’t know that this will make her any safer.

“Go to bed,” I instruct my friend.

We both stand, but as Lucas leaves, I open the door to the stall and enter it. The little wolf lifts her head, her eyes softening at the sight of me. She’s stuck in her wolf form, but she’s not aggressive. This is good. There’s a chance I can bring her back. There’s a chance I can properly have my mate. I just have to make it work.

I sit on the ground beside her. She moves over just enough that her back touches my outstretched leg. I gently place my hand on her side, and she lifts her head to see it, but she lies back down, allowing me to touch her. My heart beats faster at the contact with my mate. She’s in there. She needs me to help her.

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“Alpha Lucas,” Freddie says, bowing his head to me. “They’re all doing well. The shewolf you brought hasn’t shifted back, though. And she’s not eating much. I even tried giving her raw meat.”

She’s not eating much? That’s concerning. She’s clearly already not in the best shape. She needs food to help her heal. “I’ll take care of it.”

He heads off, leaving me alone in the barn with our rehabilitating wolves. There’s only one that I truly care about, though, and I go straight to her. I enter her stall and find a bowl of food that is nearly untouched. It appears to be perfectly good raw chicken, but she hasn't eaten it.

She sits up, looking up at me. She doesn’t seem scared of me at all. I give her a smile before kneeling and reaching out to her. She pulls her head back, but eventually sniffs and leans into it, letting my hand run against the top of her head.

“Hello, Allison,” I tell her, scratching behind an ear. “I suppose that’s not YOUR name, though. That’s your human’s name. You have to let her out.”

The wolf stares at me as if she understands. I nearly feel hopeful, but nothing happens. She doesn’t shift, nor does she eat. She doesn’t move at all.

I sigh and reach behind me, sticking my bare hand into the raw meat. I bring a fistful forward and present it to her. She sniffs and licks it, but her ears lower.

“You need to eat,” I tell her softly. “I’m trying to help you grow stronger.”

She leans her head forward and takes a small bite of the food. It’s not nearly enough, but it’s a start. I get the bowl and sit down, waiting for the wolf to join me. It takes some time, but she eventually does, sitting down beside my outstretched legs. I slowly hand-feed her small bites of the chicken, though she’s clearly unhappy about it. Maybe she doesn’t like chicken and wants beef. Perhaps she needs some wild game. Honestly, I know deep down that she wants to hunt.

I smell David and look up to find him watching us through the barred window on the door. He smiles, and he’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut before he walks off, leaving us alone again.

“He’s nosey,” I tell her, my lips tugging up on the side. “He means well, though. That’s David. You’ll like him. He was one of my brother’s best friends, but our father cast him out as a rogue. Peter didn’t even try to stop him, so when I found him in the woods, I brought him into my pack here. Most of the wolves here were banished from the kingdom, even me. We’ve created our own family here, one that we want you to join, but you have to let your human forward.”

The wolf looks at me, clearly listening to my every word. But she doesn’t shift. I sigh, leaning my head back against the wall. It’s getting late, and most everyone should be inside now. If we were to leave, no one would know.

“I’m going to take you outside, alright? You can’t run away, though.”

Her ears perk up, and it makes me smile. She does understand me, and she’s so happy. I open the door to the stall and step out, kicking off my shoes and then tugging off my socks. The little wolf comes to the door, but she sits, waiting patiently. I remove my clothes and hang them on a bar before turning and shifting.

I lead her into the woods, sniffing for any sign of something she may want to eat. I don’t even know what she likes, but I must find something, so she’ll get stronger. But she runs past me, darting off into the woods at a speed that is shocking for a wolf so small and worn down. I take off after her, hoping I can reach her before she’s gone from me. She isn’t leaving me, though.

When I catch up to her, I find that she’s caught a rabbit and is happily eating it. My heart calms at the realization she didn’t leave. She has exceptional hunting skills. Even though she’s small and clearly starved, she’s fast. She’s going to be so strong when I get her healthy.

She stands, taking her rabbit in her mouth, and brings it over, dropping it in front of me. Oh, my little wolf, my mate. I shouldn’t take a thing from her, not when she’s so malnourished. But she brought her prized kill to me, to share with me. So, I lean down and take slow, small bites to show that I appreciate it, but not to take anything from her that she needs.