Betrayal - The Matlock Pack: Book Two

Chapter 6_Part 2 - Kadin

Friday 15 January

~*Kadin*~

“Are you even listening, Kadin?”

I slowly opened my eyes, internally sighing. I wasn’t listening, but I knew there would be hell to pay if I admitted it. “Of course I am, Rowan.” I glared at her, daring her to contradict me.

She cowed under my gaze. “Didn’t look like it…” she muttered.

I narrowed my eyes at my best friend, but remained quiet.

“Okay, okay,” Briar said, trying to ease the tension now at the table. “Rowan didn’t mean anything by it.” She took a sip of her drink. “But you have to admit, you’ve not been your typical self the last week or so. What’s going on?” She placed her glass onto the table, but held it by the stem, twisting the glass one way, then the other as she waited for my reaction.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s nothing. Just the typical s**t at home.” They both knew what my family was like, so that should be enough of an explanation for them.

Unfortunately, this time Rowan didn’t want to let things go so easily. I must have pissed her off more than usual.

“Have you heard from Spence?” Rowan swivelled in her seat to look at me when she asked the question. “I still can’t believe Takeshi banished him from the pack.”

I clenched my jaw as I thought about how best to respond. The day after Nat had been beaten, news spread through the pack that Kennedy had replaced Spence as Beta, and Spence was exiled from the Matlock pack lands. No-one knew why it had occurred, but I couldn’t help but be thankful he was finally gone. It was one less barrier between me and my brother. “Nope,” I said, shrugging. “Dad received a couple of calls last week, but if he’s received any this week, he hasn’t let me know about them.” Truthfully, I didn’t want to know about any calls my dad did or didn’t get from my uncle. The past couple of weeks had been so much calmer than what I’d been used to.

“And you still don’t know why he was removed as Beta?” Rowan asked.

I shifted in my seat to look straight at her. “No.” My eyes narrowed again as I wondered why she was pressing the issue. Uncle Spence never told me squat when he was around, nor did Dad. I couldn’t see how things would suddenly change now that he was no longer in Matlock.

“Hm.” Rowan tilted her head to one side and peered at me. I could see the wheels were turning, but she wasn’t elaborating further.

Whatever. If she wanted to know something, she could ask. There was no guarantee that she’d get a response, but I wasn’t going to play stupid games trying to figure out what she wanted.

Picking up my phone, I checked the time. “Are we about done here? I want to finish packing.” Warrior training started on Monday, and they expected us to move into Building Two sometime tomorrow or Sunday. I was just about ready to go, with only a box or two left to pack.

“Oh, shit.” Rowan widened her eyes. “We start on Monday?”

Briar swung her attention between me and Rowan, like she was watching a tennis match. “You guys prepared?”

I nodded, still toying with the glass in front of me. I glanced at Rowan, who now sounded like she was hyper-ventilating.

“Sweet Goddess… You might be ready, but I’m f*****g not.” She grabbed her bag from the floor to grab her purse. “Sorry guys, I have to go. I need to start packing.” She darted out of the booth, leaving me and Briar nonplussed.

“I guess we won’t be hearing from her this weekend,” Briar said, giggling to herself.

“Guess not,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. I tipped my glass back to capture whatever was left in it. “I should probably head back, too. Are you right to get home?” I shuffled my way out of the booth and sat on the end to look her way, one hand pressed to the tabletop.

“Yeah. I saw Owen show up a little while ago. I’ll see if he’s up for some fun.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me in a faux-seductive way.

I chuckled at her antics and waggled my finger at her in playful judgement. “You are such a slut.”

“Hey, his c**k is worth the effort,” she laughed, even though she was covering her chest with one hand in mock outrage. “Just because you’ve never ridden it doesn’t mean the rest of us have to deprive ourselves.”

I shook my head and grinned at her cheekily. “Who says I’ve never tested the Owen waters?”

She gasped. “You haven’t!”

Even though I couldn’t suppress a grin, I pursed my lips, then mimed locking them together and throwing away the key. I shrugged exaggeratedly to really drive my point home.

“Well, if I’m a slut, then so are you!” Briar said, giggling again. She followed me towards the door, before turning towards the sports section of the bar. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”

I nodded. “Call me if you need me.” I hugged her. “Otherwise, go get ‘em, tiger.” I patted her on the arse before I let her go.

“Oh, you know I will,” she said, her voice dropping seductively. She winked at me and headed off to find Owen. The way she was acting, I knew somebody was going to get laid tonight, even if it wasn’t Owen. She was horny as all get out and she wouldn’t stop until she found someone to f**k.

Good luck to her. As long as she was safe, I wasn’t going to judge her. Let her have her fun, especially when we were still free and clear of our fated mates until we turned nineteen.

I headed out the door, wondering if it had been a good idea to imply that I’d f****d Owen. I hadn’t, but he had a reputation as a player. Oh well. What’s done is done. At least if that news spread, I’d know who it came from.

It was only a short walk home from The Gap and it was early enough in the evening that it was still daylight out. I took my time wandering back, as I was in no hurry to see my folks. The sooner I could get my stuff over to Building Two and move in properly, the better, as far as I was concerned.

Dad’s car was missing from the driveway when I turned into the home stretch twenty minutes later. Brilliant, one less person I had to deal with. Assuming Mum and Tate were still home, I opened the front door and called out, “Honey, I’m home!”

“In here!” Tate’s voice rang out from his bedroom down the hall.

Once I got to his room, I leaned on his doorframe, folding my arms across my chest as I watched my brother. He was sitting on his bed, leaning against the bedhead, reading. He tilted his head in my direction while his fingers flew over the pages in front of him. “You’re back early,” he said without breaking his concentration.

“Wasn’t really up for company tonight,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “What are you reading?” I took a couple of steps into his room and plonked myself down in his desk chair.

He followed my movement into his room and held the cover up for me to see once I got settled.

“Lord of the Rings?” I chuckled. “Again??”

He let the book fall into his lap. “It’s a classic for a reason.” He grinned at me while he bookmarked his spot and placed the book on his bedside table. His dark hair flopped over his artificial eyes, a hint of vibrant, emerald green peeking through, so unlike my own. “You should try it one of these days.”

“Reading’s your thing, not mine.” I sat on the edge of the seat, leaned back, and lazily swivelled my seat from side to side. “Where’s Mum and Dad?”

The smile dropped from his face. “They’ve gone to meet up with Uncle Spence.”

I stopped swivelling and frowned slightly. Tate disliked Uncle Spence as much as I did, if not more. “When did they leave?”

He checked his watch. “About half an hour ago. They didn’t say where they were going, but it has to be outside the Matlock boundaries, yeah?”

“I’d assume so,” I chewed the inside of my cheek, thinking. “Uncle Spence wouldn’t be stupid enough to come back into Matlock, would he?”

Tate shrugged. “You spent more time with him than I did. What do you think?”

I sighed. “If he’s desperate enough, he’d do f*****g anything.”

“True,” he laughed, which made me smile. His laugh always made me happy, especially considering how much of a shitty upbringing he had. It was a miracle he was as stable as he was.

Which reminded me. “Have you decided on what you want to do for your birthday tomorrow?”

The laughter and smile fell from his face once again. For the first time since I entered his room, he looked away from me, almost like he was ashamed of something. His shoulders tensed and he started wringing his hands in his lap.

I frowned and leaned forward again with my elbows on my knees, letting my hands drop. “What’s up, Tate?”

“You’re sure Mum and Dad are still out, right? They didn’t come back in when you came home?” His shoulders were up around his ears now.

“Nah, we’re the only ones here. You would have heard them come in if they had.” I got up and moved to sit down next to him on his bed, placing my hand on his knee. “Is everything okay?”

His forehead wrinkled. “You can’t tell anyone,” he whispered. He placed a hand over mine and gripped it like it was his own personal lifeline. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

“I can’t promise that. Not until I know what you’re talking about,” I said quietly. “I can promise you I’ll listen.” I placed my other hand over his and tried to lend him as much support as I could.

A tear fell from the corner of his left eyelid. “I’m scared, Kadin…” His bottom lip trembled as he faced me again.

I leaned forward and wiped the tear from his cheek. “Scared about what?”

“I don’t have a wolf yet.” More tears started falling from the corners of his lids. “I’ve only got a day left. What if I don’t get a wolf?”

Surprised, I sat back a little, but kept hold of his hand as I watched him carefully. “Shae, can you sense Tate’s wolf?”

“We can’t typically get a sense of a person’s wolf until they turn seventeen, Kadin. He’s still got a day.”

I tilted my head to one side and pressed my palm against his cheek, and wiped his tears away with my thumb. “Hey, it’s okay,” I said, even though I didn’t believe it. If Tate didn’t have a wolf, things would get even more difficult for him in this world. Certainly within this pack; definitely with our folks.

He leaned forward and burrowed his head into my shoulder, wrapping his arms around me in a tight bearhug. “It’s not okay! If I don’t get a wolf, they’ll throw me out of the pack!”

I wrapped a hand around the back of his head and held him to me as he wept. “No, Tate. They won’t. Takeshi wouldn’t do that.”

“How do you know? Mum and Dad could convince him. They’ll throw me out and I’ll never see you again.” His grip on me tightened.

I grimaced, considering the truth of his point. I knew Takeshi would never exile Tate from the pack regardless of his wolf state, but Mum and Dad tossing their own son out of the house if he didn’t have a wolf? Entirely expected. “Why didn’t you tell me, Tate?” I thought back over the past year. By rights, Tate should have started hearing his wolf’s voice on his sixteenth birthday. How on earth had he gone an entire year not telling anyone about this? How had we not noticed? How had I not noticed?

“You were in your last year of school. I didn’t want to worry you,” he mumbled into my shoulder. Typical Tate; always trying to protect me as much as I tried to protect him.

I chuckled. “It’s my job to be worried about you, Tatey-tot. You could have told me. I wouldn’t have minded.”

He laughed when I used my old pet-name for him. “You haven’t called me that in years.” He pulled back slightly, sniffling, and using his sleeve to wipe his cheeks.

“I haven’t needed to,” I said calmly as I leaned over to his bedside table to grab the box of tissues. He felt the box and plucked a tissue out once he realised what I’d given him. “How have you been hiding this the entire year?”

He shrugged, still wiping his cheeks. “Wasn’t hard. I don’t think Mum and Dad pay that much attention to me.”

Closing my eyes, I let out a long breath. It hurt that he recognised that fact, even though I couldn’t disagree. “I’m sorry that I didn’t pick up on it either…” I trailed off, feeling incredibly guilty. I should have seen the signs.

“Hey, you were busy with school and stuff. I get it,” he said, forgiving me way too easily. He sighed in resignation. “What do I do, Kadin?” he asked quietly. “This year was already going to be hard enough going into my last year of school, but to do it without a wolf as well?” He focused on me with his brow furrowed.

“You don’t know that,” I said, trying hard to stay positive. “You still have a day. Your wolf could still show.”

Tate started wringing his hands again, his anxiety obviously not gone yet. I doubted he would relax until midnight tomorrow night. “But what if—”

“If you don’t, then we go to Takeshi,” I said, cutting him off. I placed a hand over his to try to calm him down. “We don’t tell our folks, and we go straight to Takeshi. He’ll help.” Now that Uncle Spence was no longer Beta, I had more faith in what Takeshi could do. And f**k it; if he couldn’t help Tate, then I’d leave Matlock and take Tate with me. It was far better for me to be a rogue than be somewhere I couldn’t make sure Tate was being looked after and safe.

His lips clenched together, a heavy frown burrowing into his forehead. “What if he throws me out of the pack?”

“He won’t.”

“But what if he does?”

“Then we leave, and we don’t look back,” I said adamantly. “You’re my brother, Tate. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”