Hidden Creek

Chapter Thirteen

Haven

“Oh my god.” Nik’s eyes widened as he took in the trees. “They’re so tall.” He chuckled. “It’s beautiful here.”

“It’s my favorite place.” I smiled absentmindedly. “Want to go for a swim?” 

“I don’t have a bathing suit...” He trailed off as shock masked his face.

I raised an eyebrow at him and smiled coyly. “And you think I do?” I stripped down to my underwear and dove into the water. Nik’s eyes were locked on me as I broke through the surface of the water. “Are you coming?” 

“Absolutely.” 

He pulled off his shirt, but before he could undo his belt, a deep voice groaned. “I don’t need to see that shit.” Bammiuk...

“What are you doing here?” I growled.

“Looking for you, Alpha.” Bammiuk turned his angry eyes from Nik to wink at me.

“Alpha?” Nik murmured.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled myself up on the bank and tossed my shirt back on. “What do you want?” 

“There’s business you need to take care of.” The smug smile never left his face.

“It can wait.” 

“No, it can’t.” He narrowed his eyes.

Nik stepped forward and raised a hand. “Who is this guy?”

“My exboyfriend.” I said at the same time Bammiuk replied, “The love of her life.”

“Okay. What business do you think is important enough to interrupt her date for?” Nik asked.

“Wait, this is a date?” A surge of adrenaline shot through my veins at the idea. 

A deep blush flushed his cheeks. “I thought it was.”

“Yeah, super cute.” Bammiuk hissed. “Seriously, Alo is in your office and she wants to talk.”

“Do you guys work together or something?” Nik asked as he pulled his shirt back on.

“Or something.” I shrugged, pulling up my pants. “Fine. She gets five minutes. Nik, I’ll meet you back at my bike.” He nodded once before following the trail back to the access road. “What does she want?” I asked once Nik was out of earshot.

Bammiuk shrugged. “No idea.” 

“Fine. I’ll see you back at the house.” I stalked back to my bike, trying to tamp out the frustration that was bubbling inside of me. He’s just trying to get a rise out of you. Don’t let him get under your skin. “Sorry about him. He can be a real b***h sometimes.”

“But you two... Used to date...” He trailed off, his gaze fixed to the toe of his boot as he raked it through the dirt.

“Yeah.” I slid onto my bike. “For kind of a while, but it got complicated. We broke up. Now, we only interact when it involves business.”

“So, there’s nothing there anymore?” A small smile turned up one side of his mouth as he took a step closer.

“Nothing at all. Not for a long time.”

“Good.” He bent down and pressed his lips to mine. Mint exploded over my senses, and it was all I could smell or taste. “Wow.” Nik whispered as he pulled back. 

Holy shit... “We should probably head to my place so that I can deal with whatever was so important Bammiuk trekked all the way out here.” He nodded and hopped on behind me. Dirt and rocks kicked up behind us as we sped off.

***

Davidee

Haven and Bammiuk walked by me, tension radiating between them in waves. I shrugged and hummed to myself. “Are you coming or not?” Haven called after me. Sighing, I turned and followed along behind them. 

“What are we doing?” I asked as I stepped into the office behind Bammiuk.

“Alo wants to talk to Haven.” Bammiuk stated.

“Alo?” I looked to Haven, eyebrows raised.

She shrugged and collapsed into her desk chair. “Some Psi we rescued from Georgia.”

There was a knock on the door before fiery red hair swung through the opening. Big green eyes full of terror bounced between the three of us. “Hi, I’m Alo Holt.”

“What can I do for you, Alo?” Haven asked.

I tried to imagine myself in Alo’s shoes as I examined Haven. She leaned elegantly in her executive chair, fingers steepled in front of her, and her long black hair framing her face. “I-I noticed new wolves.” She stuttered. “With our numbers growing, it only makes sense for our ranked numbers to grow as well.” 

“What are you proposing?” I kept my voice even, trying not to make her any more afraid than she already was.

“I think I would make a good Delta.” She nodded once. 

Haven’s eyes glazed over a little as she mind linked me. Thoughts?

I don’t know. She’s obviously terrified but is keeping a level head. With some training, I think she could be a good fit. 

Haven nodded, and her eyes cleared. “Okay, Alo. We’ll have Goo start your training. If you can complete it to his satisfaction, you’ll officially be a Delta.” 

She smiled wide, her entire face lighting up. “Fantastic. I’ll do whatever it takes.” 

“I’m sure you will.” Haven chuckled. “You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, Alpha.” Her smile never leaving her face, she quickly left the room.

Bammiuk growled low in his throat. “Are we really adding ranks?” 

“What about it?” Haven smirked.

“I think it’s a good idea.” I shrugged. “If we’re going to be recruiting new wolves, it only makes sense to promote our current pack members.”

He scoffed and leaned back against Haven’s desk. “Yeah? And what about when the Psi start fighting each other for ranked positions? Or when they decide a promotion to Delta isn’t good enough and they go after Davidee for Beta? How about when they decide they want to challenge you for Alpha, Haven? You’re dating a f*****g human. You think that’s going to go over well with the pack?”

“You did it?” I chuckled. “You actually went on a date with Nik?” 

Haven rolled her eyes and looked up to the ceiling. “I’m technically still on it. Speaking of, I should get back to it.”

She was halfway to the door when Bammiuk grabbed her arm. “Don’t.” He whispered.

“Don’t what? You made your choice.” She yanked her arm from his grip and slammed the door behind her.

Bammiuk sighed and sat heavily in one of the plush chairs in front of Haven’s desk. “Is she doing this just to get back at me?” 

“No.” I scoffed. “She’s trying to be happy again.”

“Why him? Some filthy human?” He hissed.

I rolled my eyes, fighting back a laugh. “Humans can be turned, Bammiuk. Pretty easily, as Haven has demonstrated recently. As for your first question, she chose him because she thinks a mate bond may be present.”

“That’s ridiculous. There are two absolutes in this world. We can’t rescind rejections, and we can’t be mated to humans.”

“What f*****g rock have you and Ven been living under? The human thing isn’t common knowledge, but it’s fairly well known that you can overwrite a rejection with a blood tie.”

“Wait... Mate bonds can be present with humans?” He scoffed. “That’s f*****g ridiculous. Since when?”

“Always. It’s not a full fledged mating the way it is with two wolves, but the signs are there. If the mate bond is strong enough to make Ven want to mark Nik, he’d turn as soon as she did.” I shrugged. “They’d be a fully mated Alpha pairing.”

“What kind of blood tie is necessary to override the rejection?” He asked in a hoarse whisper.

“The marriage kind. It’s relatively simple. Obviously, you both have to agree to it, but instead of a normal hand binding... You bind yourselves in blood.” Please don’t try to convince Haven to marry you, please don’t try...

“So... If I could get Haven to agree... She could be my mate again?” 

“Theoretically, yes. Bammiuk, I don’t think that’s going to be too easy to accomplish, you know? She kind of hates you for smashing her heart into tiny little pieces. And then stomping on the shards with every girl you’ve rubbed in her face since then.”

“You say that like there have been a lot.” He chuckled.

“There have been at least five and that’s a lot to her. She hasn’t been with anyone but you.” This is a complete betrayal of my sister’s confidence. I need to shut the hell up. “Anyway, that’s all of our time for today. I have s**t to take care of. Leave my sister alone, Bammiuk. I would hate to have to smash that pretty face of yours into the concrete.” I slammed the door behind me, wishing I had just kept my mouth shut and let Bammiuk think his rejection was final.