Past Sins

Chapter 13: Valerie

I stalked out of the office and down the hall to my room. I threw open the door and slammed it shut once I was inside. If I don’t get myself under control I'll have to replace every single door in this pack house.  I couldn’t seem to get my anger under control though. How dare they make a decision about MY life without talking to me?! The most insulting part is they sat there thinking I would just take it, like that whole discussion would just go well. Like I would stand up and say, “Dear brother, you’re right! It’s much too dangerous for me to head back home with you all. Thank you for making the decision to seclude me from my pack and ditch me with people I barely know without consulting me. You’re much too kind.”  I didn’t realize we were living in the olden days where women just did as they were told without question. They have another thing coming if they think i’m going to stand idly by and accept this. I’ll be DAMNED if I just roll over and take this. I understand the risk I'm asking them to take just for me to be able to go home but it should be my choice. David has always accepted my choice and all of sudden now they don’t matter. A voice rang in my head distracting me from wearing a hole in the floor. “Hey.” Blake said cautiously. “What?!” I snapped back a lot harsher than I meant to and he deserved. “So they told you huh?” Blake snapped back. His annoyance came through loud and clear but so did something else. He knew! That was what was wrong with him last night! The bastard knew and he didn’t tell me. So much for our 5th grade pinky promise not to keep anything from each other! “Thanks for the heads up, jackass! I was blindsided.” I grumbled. It took a while for him to answer so I must have really pissed him off. “I was sworn to secrecy and you know it.” he said.  I sighed, completely frustrated. He was right- if he knew anything about it my brother would have had him keep it secret. Otherwise Blake would have told me the second he found out. It’s not fair to direct my anger at him since his alpha gave him an order and he had no choice but to obey. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just really mad right now.” I admitted. “I know that’s why I'm hoping you’ll let me cheer you up.” he exclaimed. As much as I wanted to sit and brood about this I knew going out was just what I needed. A chance to get out of my head and out of this house before I take my anger out on any more doors. I don’t think having to replace half their doors is the kind of impression I need to leave with these people, considering I'll be here for a while. “Sure. What did you have in mind?” I said not trying to hide my curiosity. “Nothing much. Just a few rounds of shots at the bar with our old friend Don Julio.” Normally I would gag at the mere mention of tequila but not tonight- tonight I was going to get to know old Don Julio on a personal level. Tonight I needed the distraction and nothing distracts your mind like tequila- at least the werewolf brand of tequila. Drinking as a werewolf is sometimes pointless unless it’s super strong alcohol or you drink quite a bit. Our body heat burns it off so quickly it takes about 7 or 8 glasses to get tipsy and that's the hard knock stuff. The good thing about drinking on pack territories is werewolf brand alcohol is all they carry. It’s much stronger than anything we’d get in a human town. Since I'm underage I'd normally say no to going to a bar but this isn’t Silver Fang. So no one will question my age because I don’t know anyone past the people I met at the party and running around the pack house. The men in my life seem to think that making decisions for me instead of with me is okay. So I guess I'll make this decision for myself. Going out for drinks and dancing with my oldest friend is what I need.   “I’ll meet you in front of the pack house in 30” I responded. “Awesome!” he said enthusiastically. I quickly got undressed and took a shower making sure to shave my legs before jumping out. I only had 15 minutes to get dressed but that’s all I needed. I knew the exact outfit I wanted to wear out. I blow dried my hair and quickly passed a straightener through it. After my hair came my makeup and I decided that since I'd be getting completely s**t faced tonight it was probably best to do a minimal amount. I don’t want to have to fight to get it all off later while drunk so concealer, mascara, eyeliner, and ruby red lipstick. I threw on black leather pants, a red top, and a black choker necklace. After a quick look in the mirror I made my way out the door stopping to put on some perfume Laura gave me for my birthday. Masking my scent with that soaww when David, dad, and matteo discovered I was gone they wouldn’t be able to follow my scent to find me. I ran down the stairs and out the front door just as Blake pulled up in one of our SUV’s. He rolled down the window and whistled, “Damn girl! Do you have any idea what that outfit does to a man?” he said, pretending to whip drool off his mouth. Laughing I hopped in the front seat and buckled up. “I’m sure you’ll tell me either way.” He smirked and started up the car and headed further into town towards a flashing neon sign that said MoonStone Bar. The parking lot was packed in front of the bar so we parked around the back. 

When we got to the door the bouncer didn’t question us about our age and let us go right in. Dance Dance by Panic at the Disco was blaring throughout the bar and people were all over the place, packed in like sardines. Across the room I spotted the bar and made my way over- Blake turned and went towards the pool tables. Weaving through the crowd of people wasn’t as hard as expected. Most of them moved out of the way as if being repelled by me like the opposite end of a magnet. Okay? First the door and now people moving away from me like I have the plague. What’s going on? Whatever, the mission right now is getting some alcohol in my system to burn off the anger that’s been festering in the blackest pits of my soul. I leaned against the bar and stuck my hand out to flag down the bartender. She was moving so fast all you could see were the purple streaks of her hair going from one side of the bar to the next as she took orders and handed people their drinks. Poor girl was the only one working the bar on a Friday night- I made a mental note to ask about job openings. I know I don’t have to work but since I don’t know how long I'll be stuck here I may as well find something to fill my time with. The bartender finally made her way over to me. “Hey sweetheart. What can I get ya?” she practically screamed over the music. “Hi. Could I get four shots of Don Julio?”  I asked. Maya, the bartender from what I could read on her half rubbed off name tag, looked at me up and down then smiled. “Let’s be clear about something-I can tell you’re not old enough to be drinking BUT i’ll play along since I can also tell you seem to be having a shitty night.” she said. I was a little shocked. That was really cool of her- back home they would have stamped my hand saying I couldn’t drink or sent me on my way. “Thank you. You have no idea.” I responded. She made our shots and slid them across the bar to me, “I’ll open you a tab but don’t you dare go getting blackout drunk on me. I will plead the fifth about willingly giving you alcohol.” she said and winked, then went to take another drink order. I reached in my clutch and put $20 in the tip jar for her. Holding our shots I turned to look for Blake- he was over by the pool tables finishing up a game. I walked over carefully so I didn’t spill our shots, the last thing I needed was to end the night covered in tequila. At the table Blake was finishing up his game- I handed him the tequila shot tossing back my own. “Really needed a night out huh?”  he laughed, tossing back his own shot. “You have no idea. Tonight’s mission: get drunk and forget about the fact that my opinion apparently doesn’t hold any weight.” I grumbled and tossed back both of the shots just as Blake was reaching for another. Eyes wide he chuckled and said, “Well I guess I'll go get my own shots.”