Chapter 2
1668 Words
The next day at school, I go up to Ava. Ava did not notice me at first. She is too busy texting someone. I tapped her on the shoulder.
"A little birdy told me you are going to be staying with me," I whispered next to her ear.
"Where did you hear that?" Ava asked.
"My brother's friend told me last night. He mentioned that your brother was going to have you stay with my family for a while. So, your brother could look for a house or something," I said.
"Of course," Ava replied with sarcasm.
"The room is already finished being set up. Do you know when you are coming? Because I got infirm brother," I told her.
"I still need to pack. So maybe tomorrow after school. My brother doesn't get off work until 5 pm. I will let you know tomorrow," Ava said.
"But I will need to warn you the pack doesn't take too kindly to outsiders much," I informed.
"What do you mean?" Ava asked.
"They just don't. They will likely avoid you. I just thought it would let you know," I mentioned.
"Were they like that with Chloe and Lucius when they stayed there?" Ava questioned.
"Yes, they were," I replied.
The conversation ended. It was time to drag my butt to homeroom. I never realized how humans dealt with such boring structures in schedules. I elbowed Ava and whispered, "How did you deal with such boring mundane tasks living among humans?"
"I did not know I was a werewolf until two years ago. I just dealt with it," Ava shrugged and went back to reading the textbook.
"How did you find out?" I whispered, asked.
"I heard my adoptive parents discuss something one night when I was in the hospital for an extremely high fever. I don't know if it was a fever dream at first, but the change happened that night. My adoptive parents turned out to be werewolf hunters. I don't want to talk about it anymore," Ava explained and closed the conversation.
I looked over at Ava worriedly about the possibility her parents were still active in the werewolf-hunting industry. I could tell the subject caused her pain and had to be more to the story that she was letting on. Ava was quiet for the rest of the morning. Maybe I did cross a boundary. We went to our lockers to drop off our stuff.
"Ava. I am sorry if I crossed a line this morning," I apologize.
Ava turned to face me and said," You didn't. It was something I normally don't talk about with new people. If you want to know more about me. You can ask. I will be straight with you."
We walked to lunch together and sat at our table. When we sat down, I pulled my face towards her and whispered, "What kind of things could I ask you since we are going to be living together for a while?"
"Well, you could ask about why I moved to Montana last year. You could ask why my brother never brought to Ian in the first place," Ava said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
I looked at her and questioned, "Why did you move here? Why did your brother hide you from my pack?"
"I killed a council member and was on the run. My wolf was also spellbound. I can't shift," Ava said.
"Get out," I said flabbergasted. "You can't shift."
"No, I can't," Ava replied, shrugging her shoulders.
Before I was going to ask another question. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned, "Can I help you?"
"Maybe," Eli replied.
Eli pulled a seat next to me and sat with his hand on the table facing me. I was getting annoyed and hated when I was interrupted. I glared at him.
"So, what were you ladies talking about?" Eli asked.
"Nothing that concerns you," Ava retorted, beating me to the punch.
"What she said," I mimicked.
Eli laughed at us. He turned serious for a second, "I heard the word council and got curious is all."
Ava moved towards me and asked, "Is he a werewolf?"
"Yes," I replied.
"My question is why are you here?" I asked.
"Maybe I just wanted to see how your first day was all. I know Ava was new as well. I thought I was welcoming yesterday. Not get on your bad side," Eli mentions.
Now, I felt like a rightful cow towards him. Eli sat near Ava and faced me. I apologize, "I am sorry. Just did expect you to remember us from yesterday. Does Carson know about me attending this school?"
"My cousin does, but I told him not to harass you," Eli replied.
"Well, at least he won't for now," I said nonchalantly.
"Who is Carson?" Ava asked out of curiosity.
"You want me to explain, or should you?" Eli questioned.
"Maybe you should," I offered.
"He is my cousin and does not get along with Taylor's brother. My cousin wants to make a deal with her brother with her hand in marriage. Her brother, Ian, is not for it. Due to this issue, it has been causing a rift between our packs," Eli mentions.
"Are you going to agree to this?" Ava asked.
"I don't know, but it might be the only way," I replied.
"What about your parents? Would they want you to agree to such an arrangement?" Ava asked.
"My parents are dead," I said, suddenly feeling sad all of sudden.
"I am sorry. I didn't know," Ava apologizes.
"If they were still alive, they probably wouldn't agree to it. Or unless they made that arrangement years ago when I was younger. It's something to ask my brother later. Otherwise, it might be the only way to settle the rift between them. It would have to be on my terms, not there's," I told them.
"I will agree with that statement," Ava nodded in agreement.
"I let my cousin know this," Eli agreed to my offer as well.
The bell rang to signal the end of lunch. We all gathered our things and went to our classes. Eli grabbed my arm and turned me towards him.
"Another part of the agreement was that your brother gives up his role as Alpha. He would have to leave Billings too," Eli mentions.
"Would they have to challenge either if my brother doesn't agree to it?" I asked Eli.
"Maybe. That is why we need to have a meeting to make an arrangement that we all can agree on," Eli said.
The late bell signal is again. I rushed to my next class. Luckily, the teacher was not in the room and quickly rushed towards my seat. The teacher came in soon after. The teacher went over the usual and then let us do whatever. Perks of having study hall, I guess. I forgot the teacher's name and went about my business. I always used study hall to get homework done anyway. There's not much else to do. This time, I was distracted by the conversation at lunch. Could I get my brother and Carson to meet to discuss my arrangement for the pack treaty?
I was so lost in my thoughts that the bell rang to signal the rest of the day. Shoving my stuff in my bag, I did not bother with going to my locker. I ran towards the parking lot. Ian looked at me with concern once I entered the truck.
"What's the rush there, tiger?" Ian asked with amusement.
"I would like to discuss those arrangements for me to marry Carson," I explain.
"What? Why do you want to discuss them now? You have time, Taylor, to think about it," Ian assured me.
"Well, Carson's cousin brought it to me at lunch today. I think Carson wants to make arrangements earlier than planned. To be honest, I want to have a meeting about it first and do things my way. Not by some centuries-old tradition," I replied.
"Okay. We will discuss this matter at a later date. Ava is coming tonight. Be welcome towards her," Ian ordered.
"Fine," I said.
Ian parked the car in the driveway. I ran from the truck and slammed it shut. I was so angry I shifted into my wolf. My wolf took me towards the pack boundary. Luckily, no one was around when I shifted back. A twig cracked beside me. Marcus's black wolf sat beside me. He shifted into his human form.
"Do I want to know why you ran off suddenly?" Marcus asked.
"I'm scared of a century-old tradition of marrying an alpha that I hate. Okay?" I said, throwing my arms up in frustration.
"I can understand," Marcus replied with sympathy.
"No. You don't understand. Because you are a guy. You get to make your own decisions. All my decisions were taken from me due to me being a woman. I hate it so much. There needs to be change," I ranted.
"Okay," Marcus comments.
"Is that all you are going to say?" I retorted.
Marcus shut up soon after I said that to him. I guess he did not want to anger me further. He got up, took my hand, and dragged me back to the pack house. I did not speak to either my brother or Marcus until Ava showed up. Andy stayed clear of me. That would show them.
Ava came through the hall towards the office and stopped outside. She stood in the doorway and commented, "Alright, did I do something or not? Because I feel the tension in the air."
"No, you didn't," I said.
Ian stood up from behind the desk.
"Hi, Ava. I am Ian. I am a friend of your brother's," Ian replied.
"That's Marcus," I gestured towards the bay windows.
I swear my brother was transfixed meeting my new friend. It was not long until I heard the one unexpected word.
"Mate," Ian said.
- Writer
