Wolven Rising: Untold Stories

GR-14: Answer to Me

Alana

I woke up tired and unrefreshed. But it didn't matter. Who could have slept, after a night like last night? I buried my head in my pillow and giggled. He likes me. He likes me!

My celebration was cut short by my older brother barging into my room. "Ugh, don't you know how to knock?" I grumbled. He ignored me and sat on the end of my bed, making the mattress sink down. I poked my foot out from under my comforter and kicked at his back. "Get off!"

"What's the deal with Shasta?" Mason cut right to the chase.

"What do you mean, 'what's the deal,' there's no deal," I said, refusing to answer.

"I don't like it," he muttered.

I sat up. "What don't you like?"

"Nothing, I just...don't like it."

"Tell me, I said, crossing my arms. "Do you think Shasta is a bad person?"

"...No," Mason said petulantly.

"Do you think I don't deserve to make new friends?"

"Bug, you know that's not what I'm saying," Mason said, glaring at me in frustration.

"Then what are you saying?" I said, equally frustrated.

"Are you dating him?"

"No!" I exclaimed.

He sighed with relief. "Good."

I scowled at him. "Good? Why is that good? So what if I was dating him? He's a good person, isn't he? You just said he was."

"Alana, calm down," Mason said, holding up his hands. "Geez, what's gotten into you?"

'Alana, this is not like you.' My mom's words echoed in my head, so similar to what my brother just said. "Ugh, just go away," I said, flopping back down and burying my face in my pillow.

"Alana, bug, come on," Mason said, jostling my shoulder. "I'm sorry, okay? I guess you just caught me off guard."

I said nothing, keeping my face tucked away. What's gotten into you?

"You're different, you know."

I turned my head so I could peek at my brother. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're different," he repeated. "You're standing up for yourself more. Coming out of your shell a little. Doing more of what you want to do instead of just performing for mom."

"You think I...perform for mom?" I asked uncertainly. I knew I tried to live up to the Beta family legacy, but was I really putting on a show?

"Yeah bug, I do," Mason said gently. "You think nobody notices how hard you work around here, but they do. And I can tell that, while you love helping the pack, not everything you do feels comfortable for you. But you put on a happy face anyway. That's why I was always bothering you to put yourself out there in a different way, Alana. Not to force you to do things you don't want to do, but to maybe help you find something that you truly enjoy. All any of us want is for you to be happy, bug. I wish you could see that."

I hid my face in my hands. "Ugh. What's going on with me, Mason? I feel like no matter what I do, I'm letting somebody down this week."

He pulled me back into a sitting position and put his arm around me. "Hey, you're not letting anybody down. Taking us by surprise?" He said teasingly, jostling me a little. "Maybe. But you're such an inherently good person, you could never let anybody down."

I pushed the fleeting image of my mom's disappointed expression out of my mind. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything, bug."

"I do like Shasta. But nothing official has happened between us or anything. You don't have to worry about that."

"Ah." Mason cleared his throat. "Well, to be honest, after last night I suspected something was going on."

I looked at him incredulously. "Suspected? Who busted their way in here this morning, again?"

He chuckled. "Alright, you got me. But I guess I was more worried that he was making advances. Advances that I weren't sure were welcome."

I groaned. "Of all the overprotective big brothers. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I could be the one making advances?"

His face blanched. "What? You haven't, have you? You can't date!"

"Why not?" I challenged. "You can't talk. You had several girlfriends before you were eighteen, if I recall correctly."

"It's not the same," Mason insisted. "You're my baby sister. Plus, both me and the girls I was with were under eighteen. Shasta is old enough to find his mate, Alana. Even here in Harvest Moon, where wolves occasionally take a chosen mate, it's usually only after they've searched for their true mate for awhile, or lost their mate."

I sighed deeply. "I know. And we're not dating. I guess I...have a crush, is all."

"Does..." Mason swallowed. "Does he also have a crush?"

"Goddess, I can't believe I'm telling my big brother this, but...yes, I'm pretty sure he does," I confessed, thinking yet again about Shasta's admission last night. 'I guess what I'm trying to say is...I like you.'

Mason closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "This is making my head hurt."

"You think your head hurts," I muttered. I'd been thinking in circles around Shasta for days now.

"So, let me get this straight," Mason started. "You like Shasta, he likes you. He's eighteen, you're still a few months out. What's your plan?"

"I don't know," I said. "I mean, part of me wants to date him, but...what if I turned eighteen, and he's not my mate? Or what if he finds his mate soon and leaves me? I don't think I could go through that. Plus, I want to save all of my firsts for my true mate, just like I hope he will have saved his for me."

"Okay," Mason said, sounding slightly relieved. "It sounds like you're playing the waiting game then, huh?"

I nodded.

"Well, I may not be thrilled about...whatever it is that's going on between you and Shasta, but if it's even a little bit responsible for you being happier and more yourself, then I...guess I'm okay with it," Mason said, obviously struggling to keep in some of his more protective nature, which probably wanted to beat the crap out of a certain visiting wolf right now.

I giggled a little. "Spoken like a true big brother."

"But no dating, right?" He followed up quickly. "That's what you said. I'm not sure I could take it. I don't even think I'll be able to take you finding your mate when you're old enough, baby sister."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I guess so. It's not like it would be easy to date anyway, with them likely leaving after the Gathering."

"Leaving?" Mason asked sharply.

"Well, yeah," I said slowly. "You didn't think they'd stay here forever, did you? Whether they become an official pack or not, they have their people and businesses up on Mount Haven. It's their home. They'll have to go back, at least for a little while."

Mason whimpered, and I looked up to see his face puckered like he'd just eaten a sour lemon. "Oh, Mason," I said, hugging him from the side. "I'm sorry. I was so wrapped up in myself I didn't stop to think about what them leaving would mean for you and Harlie."

"No, no, I'm the one who came in here asking all kinds of questions, you have nothing to be sorry for," Mason said morosely. "I guess I didn't stop to think about what was going to happen after the Gathering was over."

"So...you and Harlie didn't talk about it?" I asked slowly.

He sighed. "She never seems to want to. I mean, she warmed up to me pretty quickly after we first met, but anytime anything serious comes up, she just shuts down. I honestly have no idea if she's planning to stay here with me or not. She's supposed to be their Gamma. If they become an official recognized pack, what does that mean for us? We can't just abandon our titles and responsibilities."

"No, you can't," I murmured. I couldn't imagine a world where Mason wouldn't be our Beta. I had known my whole life that he was going to take over for our dad. He and Rowan were best friends, practically brothers. There was no way he could leave it all behind to follow Harlie. But from what I could tell from what I knew of her, she was an incredibly stubborn force when she wanted to be. I didn't see her abandoning her post, either.

"You'll figure it out," I said reassuringly, hugging him again. "We all will."

"What a mess, huh?" Mason said, resting his cheek on top of my head. "Who would have thought that this year's Gathering would be this eventful?"

"Not me," I replied wholeheartedly. Not me.

---

Shasta

I paced back and forth in my room. Today was the day. I wouldn't let another day go by without telling Alana the truth. Now that I knew she had feelings for me, I couldn't let it go any further without laying everything out for her. For real this time. Hopefully, if she decided she wasn't okay with it, she could go on with her life without having invested too much of her time and energy in someone like me.

Go do it now before you chicken out again, Hunter grumbled. He was beyond sick of my dramatic inner monologue, and honestly so was I. Deciding to take his words to heart, I strode to the door and yanked it open, determined to find Alana right that very second.

Only Mason was standing at my door.

"Uh, hello," I said awkwardly. I had wondered if this might happen, after last night. Dreaded it, actually. His scrutinizing gaze as he stood with his parents while Alana pulled me out the door did not go unnoticed. I subtly braced myself to get punched in the face.

"Hey," Mason said, kicking the floor with the toe of his shoe. "Got a minute?"

"...Suuuure," I said, still completely in the dark as to whether he was here to kick my ass or talk about the weather.

"Are you guys going to be leaving at the end of the week?" He asked suddenly, startling me. Of all the things I was expecting him to say, that was not one of them.

"Uh, I'm not positive," I said, scratching behind my ear. "We might stay a few more days, depending."

"But you are going back up north after the Gathering?" Mason pressed.

"Well, yeah," I said. "We live there, pack or no pack."

"Yeah, but isn't it different now? Your Alpha and Gamma have ranked members from another pack as mates," Mason said, sounding desperate. "What about Rowan? What about me? What about my sister?"

"What about your sister?" I asked stupidly.

Mason slammed me up against the wall, my head thwacking the drywall with a dull thud. "What the f**k do you mean, 'what about my sister?' Are you just f*****g with her, huh? Are you?" His forearm pressed into my throat, cutting off my air supply.

"No...God...nrgh," I gurgled, unable to form any coherent words or thoughts while my windpipe was being crushed so thoroughly.

"I thought you were okay, Shasta," Mason growled, pushing harder. "But clearly you don't give a s**t about how you treat people. My sister is the best person I know, and Goddess knows she's miles out of your league. How dare you!?"

I worked my fingers around his arm and pulled, but he had me at a disadvantage, and I was only able to draw in the smallest of breaths before he was suffocating me again. Black spots started winking at the edges of my vision. If he didn't let up soon, I was going to pass out.

Hating what I was about to do, but fully committed to my own survival, I extended my claws and ripped the flesh on Mason's forearm, forcing him to release me. "What the f**k!" He yelled, clutching his arm, which was already starting to heal.

I doubled over wheezing, unable to speak. Luckily, he didn't come at me again. When I finally regained a small semblance of composure, he was still there, glaring at me, arms crossed with blood starting to dry over the half-healed scratches I gave him.

"Look," I said, still panting a little. "I know your sister's far too good for me. But I have no idea what you mean by 'f*****g with her.' I haven't messed around with her, I swear!"

Mason eyed me speculatively. "Yeah?"

I nodded vigorously. "I would never, I promise."

"Do you like my sister?"

My mouth gaped open, then I clamped it shut again. "Uhhh..."

Mason stepped forward and squared off with me, face to face. "Anybody who has any hope in hell of being worthy of my sister had better be able to man up and admit they have feelings for her," he growled.

"I—" my throat closed up and I ended up hacking repeatedly. "I..."

"Tch. Just what I thought," Mason snorted in disgust and stepped back. "Until you figure your s**t out, I don't want you anywhere near my sister, got it? She's not your toy to play with when you feel like it."

My eyes bugged out, but I couldn't contradict him. He was right that I should stay away from her. Except she was definitely not a toy. She was beautiful, inside and out, and I wanted to devote all my time to her. Of course I liked her! I wanted to scream it out loud, but I couldn't. What good would it do, anyway? She wasn't eighteen. There was no way to know if she was officially mine. And if she wasn't...

Mason, fed up with my imbecility, was already walking away. Maybe I could salvage this situation a little. He did start out by asking if we were going back to Mount Haven. I had a feeling Harlie was avoiding the issue. She was like that when it came to personal feelings, even if she had no problem being up in everyone else's business.

"Mason?"

He turned with a rigid expression. "What?"

"About Harlie," I began. "She's tough on the outside, but she has trouble letting people in. If she hasn't talked to you about us going back, it's probably because she doesn't want to think about being apart from you."

"Oh...kay," he said slowly, eyes narrowed. "But that doesn't answer my question about what's going to happen after the Gathering."

"I'm not sure, either," I admitted. "Kendria has been a little all over the place this week. She still wants to see our original mission through to the end, though, no matter the outcome. I know that much. But...that doesn't mean we'd just go back to Mount Haven permanently. There's no way. She wouldn't do that to her mate, or to you and Harlie."

Mason gave me a scrutinizing look yet again. "I see."

"But," I added. "We do have to go back. We have people there. Wolves who need us. Businesses we need to maintain."

Mason frowned. "You want to know something?"

"What?"

"I liked you at first. I really did. But you're making it a little too easy for me to hate you right now."

"Well, I hope like wins out over hate in the end," I joked lamely.

"Look. I'm going to do my best to give you the benefit of the doubt," Mason said. "For my sister—who swears you didn't touch her, right?"

I nodded vigorously. "Right."

"—and for Harlie," he finished. "Just know," he said, giving me the stink eye. "If you ever hurt my sister, you will have to answer to me."

I bent my head once in acknowledgement. "Got it."

How was I going to tell her now?