Keeping promises

Chapter 8:Second Chance

“Sometimes good-bye is a second chance.”

(Second chance - Shinedown)

“Happy birthday!” I smiled at Rose and Mia as Mia handed me a medium sized box with golden wrapping paper. I unwrapped the gift and nearly cried when I saw the picture in the wooden frame. Over the summer Will, Dawson, Mia, Rose and I went on a week long trip to the Adirondacks. We ended up chartering a boat to take us around Blue Mountain lake. They dropped us off at an island beach for the day. Rose had brought a disposable camera and before we left the boat driver had taken a picture of us as the sun began to set.

Will was on the far left with his right arm around my shoulder, Rose was on my right, posing with Mia. Dawson had decided to give Mia bunny ears and stick his tongue out. That trip had been life altering. I had realized how close I had become with all of them, even Will. He may have been a pain in the ass most of the time, but he was honest and fiercely loyal. Even though he graduated a year prior he still hung around when he wasn’t working out in the city. He found a temporary job to keep the bills paid once he turned 18, after he graduated he was promoted to corporate level and had to move out to the city. It was over a two hour drive to get to work so he ended up renting in the city. Dawson moved into Mia’s family’s house and paid rent so he could continue going to our school.

It had been two years since Alpha Jacob had disowned Christian and sent him away. I still hadn’t shifted for the first time. Even though life was peaceful and Ember seemed ready, something in my gut was telling me to wait. Rose hadn’t shifted either, she said something just didn’t sit right with her. We couldn’t put our finger on it, but with the advice from my aunt Paige we decided to trust our gut and wait.

Even with my assailants gone I still kept training the packs women in self defense. Brooke originally only wanted to learn the basics, but decided to push on. After the meeting she and I had a long talk about Christian. I apologized for not telling her about what he had done, she told me not to worry because after the revelation she had realized that I was watching out for her in my own way.

She understood why I specifically invited her to join the classes and why I asked her if he had hurt her that day in the cafeteria. She told me that before his father had taken him out of school he had asked her if they could talk later. He said he had some things he wanted to get off of his chest, he just didn’t feel comfortable telling her in front of a million people. She had agreed and he told her to meet him in the woods in front of the school with the promise to walk her home.

We both came to the same conclusion, if she had met him in the woods that day he would have r***d her too. I brought her to see my aunt Paige and we told her everything.

I left Brooke in her capable hands and ran into Will, he was sitting in her waiting room. His icy blue eyes flicked to mine and I could see the anger they were filled with. I walked over and sat two seats away from him, he watched me walk over and sit down.

“Got anything you want to say?” He asked, he sounded angry, but I could tell he was more unsure than anything.

“If you could pick any subject in school to get rid of, what would it be?” I looked over at him, his eyes were brimming with confusion, which turned to amusement. He chuckled before he leaned back in his seat, and let out a tense breath.

“Probably English,” he responded. “I’m not great at writing or reading comprehension.”

“I’d get rid of math, it’s too complicated for no reason.” I told him. “My mom is an accountant and my dad is a welder, neither of them have used the pythagorean theorem since eighth grade.” Will thought about it for a second.

“Good point.” We talked for a while, Brooke came out of my aunt’s office, and Will was called in. I saw the anger return to his eyes as he got up.

“I’ll think about your argument and get back to you tomorrow.” I told him as I walked toward Brooke, he nodded at me tensely with a tight lipped smile before he walked into Paige’s office.

“I haven’t seen him before.” Brooke had said as we left.

“He’s Dawson’s roommate.”

“Who?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.

“He’s new this year.” I told her with a small eye roll. “He usually hangs out with Mia and Ryan.”

“Oh.” She responded as we walked out to the parking lot. Her dad waved at us and we headed in his direction.

“Thanks for taking care of her, Finn.” He said as he opened the passenger door for Brooke. “Do you need a ride home?”

“Thank you for the offer but my dad is coming to pick me up.” He nodded and waved good-bye as he got into the driver’s seat. I turned around and walked back into the building, going back to the hard plastic chairs. I sat on the floor and used the seats as tables as I began doing my homework. I was so engrossed in trying to figure out the stupid math equation that I didn’t hear him walk up behind me.

“I can see why you chose Math.” I nearly jumped out of my skin, which made Will laugh loudly. I grabbed my chest and threw my pencil at him.

“You scared the soul out of me!” I fake yelled while I smacked the toe of his shoe. “I was trying to focus.” His eyes glimmered with amusement, as he looked down at me.

“You’re doing that equation all wrong, that’s why you’re struggling.” I huffed at him and turned back to my paper.

“I’m telling you, math has got to go.” I grumbled as I erased my work seeing as it was wrong. “Pencil.” I said holding out my hand, Will picked it up and handed it to me with a sigh.

“I’m not your errand boy, “ he said as he placed it in my hand. I shot him a glare and he tried to hide the smile that threatened to appear.

“If it weren't for you I wouldn’t have lost it.” He nodded and turned to leave, I could see his shoulders move slightly and his head shake as he chuckled softly.

I went back to my homework and struggled with the rest of the equations. “The least he could do was tell me how to solve it but nooOoooO he just had to point it out and walk away.” I mumbled to myself as I put it away.

“Finn, would you join me?” I looked at Paige and nodded, I slipped my remaining homework back in my bag and headed into her office, she closed the door behind me, then went to her chair while I sat across from her. “What do you know about Will?” She asked cautiously.

“He’s two years older than me, lives with a classmate of mine, and doesn’t like English.” I said easily. “And that’s all I’ll know until he decides he wants to say anything more, if he wants to.”

“Okay.” She said with a smile. I could tell she wanted to tell me something, but I also knew it was because I was her niece, if I had been anybody else she wouldn’t intervene.

“I love you aunt Paige, and if I feel like Will presents as dangerous I will let you know, but he seems okay.”

Will was okay, in fact, we became quite good friends. He may have had a slight anger problem, but he was overall a decent person. I learned that his anger stemmed from a protective instinct, it was obviously clear after some random guy tried hitting on Tanner while we were out at the mall as a group. They guy was old and greasy, Tanner hid behind me while Will flew into a rage and began tearing the guy a new one, telling him that the only people who hit on minors in public while looking so greasy were dirty bottom feeders who should go back to the sewer where they came from.

Apparently they guy owned a bar somewhere and thought he was the next big thing and he had someone call the cops. Will was still going off on him when the cops arrived a few minutes later, I guess they had been called for something else and had just finished up when the dispatch had gone through about us. The cops asked what happened and Will told them the fat pizza faced douche tried hitting on a minor, he pointed to Tanner so the cops could see.

The guy tried saying Tanner looked mature for her age, in front of the cops and Will socked the guy right in his mouth. Will was detained, but no charges were pressed seeing as the officers agreed that the guy had it coming to him with the way he was talking about Tanner.

I smiled as I looked upon the photograph. Will had recently been contacted by someone who knew his sister, the one he thought was dead. It turned out she was being held captive in the cells of their old pack. He asked the person who she knew who he was, she replied saying Robyn was the only other person she had ever come across with eyes that shade of blue.

He left that night, he told his employer that he had a family emergency and he had to leave for a while. He told them he wasn’t sure when he would be able to return, so they offered him a deal. They would terminate him for now, however once he was able to return they would hire him on the spot. He agreed, then he came into our pack lands and said good-bye. He left three days before I turned 18. I realized that at some point, I had fallen for him. Maybe it was his protective side, or it was his laugh. Perhaps it was just the little moments that didn’t mean a thing until you put them together.

“He should be back soon.” Dawson said, looking over my shoulder. I knew what he was saying was logical, but my heart was telling me something different.

“Finn!” I looked up at Ryan as he entered the backyard of the packhouse. Alpha Jacob had insisted on hosting my 18th birthday party seeing I missed my last mile stone completely. I had thanked him and accepted, I knew Luna Laura was depressed and needed something to focus on. I waved Ryan over as Brooke joined us, we all laughed and danced to the mixtapes Tanner and Luna Laura had worked on together. The sun was getting ready to sink from the sky when a loud snarl halted the party. Everyone looked toward the forest, three wolves emerged, a large dark brown wolf with sienna highlights, a slightly smaller dusty tan wolf, and a dull dirt road red wolf. Alpha Jacob growled and walked toward them, his alpha aura rolling off of him in waves. The closest wolves to him submitted, I felt Ember stir, it was clear something was very wrong. The largest wolf, the brown one issued a challenge, i felt my stomach twist as my instincts told me to leave, get out.

“Rose.” I said quietly, she looked toward me, her eyes narrowed. We nodded at each other and began getting our group together. We hastily left the yard as Alpha Jacob shifted into his wolf. Many families began leaving, as to keep their pups safe, we just blended in with them. Once we were clear of the fight I turned toward everyone.

“We need to leave.” I said evenly. “Take what you can carry.” Everyone nodded and headed in their own directions. My family rushed to our home and we all packed a single bag, my mom mind-linked Paige who was also filling a single bag. I carefully placed the picture frame in the suitcase and zipped it up. I looked at my almost full closet and shivered, then I ran through the house to the driveway. I tossed my bag in the back as Paige walked over with her bag. Rose and Tanner came out followed by my parents. Mia and her family, and Dawson pulled up in their car quickly, followed by Brooke and then Ryan’s families.

“Do not sever ties with this pack unless you feel something happen to Alpha Jacob. If he is triumphant we will return, if he isn’t we need to find somewhere else to go.”

“Why?” Brooke’s dad asked.

“I’ve said it a million times before. Christian will never be my alpha.” I heard Ryan suck in a hissing breath.

“How did you know?” His mother asked.

“I felt it in my gut.” I told her honestly.

“As did I.” Rose said, “something about him always gave me the heebies, and I got that feeling from the brown wolf.”

“No more dallying, we have to go.” My family loaded into the station wagon and led the others north, toward the city where Will had once resided. Right after we crossed the border my dad and mom both cried out, the car swerved slightly as they did.

“Leave the pack.”

“I, Fay Dalton, hereby reject Christian as my Alpha and denounce Fallen-woods as my pack.”

“I, Donna Dalton, hereby reject Christian as my Alpha and denounce Fallen-woods as my pack.”

“I, Paige O’hara hereby reject Christian as my Alpha and denounce Fallen-woods as my pack.”

They all spoke at the same time, luckily Tanner hadn’t shifted when she turned 15, she said she wanted to wait until I shifted, that it was only right. Seeing as none of us had wolves, we weren’t technically tied to the pack, so we didn’t have to break the bond. We drove for two hours, only stopping because Brooke’s father was low on gas.

“What’s the plan?” Jeremy, Mia’s father asked after all the cars were filled with gas and snacks were purchased.

“We need to get as far away as we can tonight.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “Christian won’t let us go easily.” Tomorrow we need to close all of our bank accounts and get rid of any credit cards. Christian will try and track us with any information the pack has. Once we are cleared we’ll find a place to set up and we’ll make our own pack.”

“We don’t have an alpha.” Brooke said tearfully, she began sobbing and her dad held her to his side. “I felt Alpha Jacob die.” I nodded and took a long slow breath. “We’ll hammer out the details later, for now we need to find someplace safe.”

We all got back in our vehicles and drove for another hour, we would have gone further but the town we stopped in was the last one that had my parent’s bank. All of the shifted wolves masked their scents while us unshifted doused ourselves in essential oils. We found a campground that was still open, luckily, it was their last weekend before closing for the winter. That night our parents took turns patrolling and keeping watch for anyone coming to drag us back.

“Finn.” I looked at Brooke as she tried to figure something out. “Who was that red wolf?” I sighed and tried to think.

“I honestly don't know.” I said trying to think of who it could be. “What color was Marion’s wolf?” I asked, thinking back to the principle Alpha Jacob dismissed.

“She looked like an average grey wolf.” My mother said, “there was never anything remarkable about her.”

“I can’t think of anyone else who would hold a grudge against Fallen-woods.” I said lightly.

“Neither can I.” My dad said as he laid down, it was getting late and he had just come off of his guarding shift. I yawned and laid down next to him, curling up against his right while my mom held Tanner on his left.

When morning finally arrived everyone loaded themselves into their vehicles and we drove into town. My mother and Father had the same bank as Brooke and Mia’s parents. Dawson found a branch from his bank while Ryan’s family found theirs. Instead of getting cash, checks were written for the amount of money that was in the accounts. I wasn’t rich by any account, but I had saved up from birthdays and my job as a trainer. I had about four thousand dollars, which that bank did give me in cash. Rose had about twenty-five hundred saved up which she also got in cash.

After getting the money we hit the road, driving for two days. We ended up in some small town an hour or so away from Burlington Vermont. We found an old logging road and followed it into the woods, we stopped once it was clear we were alone. We began setting up a camp, making durable shelters that would last for a few days at least. The temperature dropped to about 30 degrees that night. Tanner, Rose and I curled up together while everyone else shifted into their wolf form. As the sun rose into the sky we decided to go to Burlington and see what we could purchase for land in the area.

It took a while but we found a large 120 acre lot that used to be farm land. The old farmer had passed away leaving it in a state of ruin. Most of the junk had been cleared, but the old farm house needed to be destroyed due to black mold and asbestos. The barn was still usable, but it needed a lot of work as well. With all of the savings the adults had we were able to purchase the land outright. We drove out to the old farm and parked in front of the old barn. The old red paint was still holding up even though the elements had been hammering it for years.

We went inside the barn and decided it would be best to begin from scratch, the windows were all broken and the inside smelled like damp and moldy hay. The cement floor was cracked with large chips coming off as we walked around. I noticed that the support beams were worn and clearly starting to go. We left the barn and drove out to the small town twenty minutes away instead of driving all the way back to Burlington. We went to the library and called a demo crew to come out and take down the old buildings. It was going to cost us a bit, but it was necessary. Everyone applied for jobs while we were out, we needed some type of income so we could keep making repairs and building up our home.

My dad, Jeremy, Dawson, Brooke, Mia, Rose, myself and Katrina, Brooke’s mom were all hired on the spot. We stopped at the local hardware store, where Dawson and my dad were hired, and purchased some tarps, fence posts, rope, zip ties and a few other basic tools. We went back to our new land and set up another shelter, this one more permanent than the others. We all fell asleep listening to coyotes yipping in the distance and the wind swirling through the trees.

(Are you ready?) I heard Ember’s soft voice echo through my mind. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, searching myself for the answer.

(Yes) I answered, I smiled as I watched our tiny pack work together to build something. We decided a garage like structure would work for the winter, it would keep us warm while we waited for spring to arrive. I finished my cup of water and walked over to the half-built structure we had been working on for a week. The people who weren’t working were tasked with continuing to build while we were at work, and when we had a day off we would help. Jeremy had drawn up the plans while my dad and Dawson brought home the supplies.

“I know it's been a rough couple of weeks, what do you say we take a break?” I asked, my dad looked at me from behind a beam with an eyebrow raised.

“We don’t have much time sweetheart.” He said cautiously.

“I know,” I said back with a small smile. “However we need to mark this territory.” His eyes sparkled and he set down his tools, everyone else followed with smiles just as big.

“I think letting the dogs out would be fine.” Dawson said, looking over at Mia, who smiled before she turned to Rose.

“Are you ready?” Rose nodded with excitement, I looked at Tanner who also grinned from ear to ear.

“Let’s do this.” I said happily. We all walked to the tree line and hid behind some shrubs as we began disrobing. I felt my body begin to tremble and one by one my bones began snapping, I could hear Tanner and Rose crying out, but I couldn’t focus on them as Ember finally emerged. I heard gasps as I tried standing on my shaky new legs. I finally stood and looked at everyone, all of their eyes were on me. There was a small golden tan wolf standing with my parents and a copper red wolf was standing with Mia’s brunette and Dawson’s butterscotch wolves.

I lifted my muzzle toward the sky and let myself howl, howls rang out from around me as our little pack created a symphony. I yipped lightly and felt Ember take the reins, after finally being freed from her invisible cage she was able to run, and run she did. A new warm feeling permeated my mind and soon a little click sounded. We reached a small reservoir and I took in my reflection for the first time. I felt my eyes widen as I took myself in, a dark black coat with the same amber colored irises that I have in my human form.

I looked at my father’s dark grey wolf, standing beside my mother’s golden tan, just larger than Tanner’s wolf. After we all got drinks we ran back toward the winter house we were building, once we reached the hedge I looked upon the work in progress, a proud feeling stirring in my chest.

(Look at what we’ve already accomplished.) I said to myself in my mind.

(Finn?) I turned and looked at Dawson, the echo of his voice still ringing in my head.

(OH MY GOD!) Rose’s shrill screech made everyone wince, but that was what made it clear. Our little family was now an actual pack. And I was the Alpha.