Chapter 22 The Heir

Sara sat on the bare carpet in the living room of her bare apartment just two hours later.

She had walked back to the wheelers with the Alpha and Luna. Gabriel and Victoria stayed behind to deal with the deer. At the wheelers Sara looked at the Luna for instructions on shifting back to her human form. How do I shift?

Think about your human body. The Luna's voice was soothing in Sara's mind. Fingers, toes, arms skin.

Sara shifted and pulled on her clothes with out a thought about her nudity or theirs as they shifted a few feet away.

They had invited her to stay in their guest room for the night but Sara had shaken her head. "I've slept on worse than a clean carpet. I want to stay there." She said referring to her apartment. She smiled but the effect didn't reach her eyes.

Despite what they said she felt like she had done something wrong. She didn't like them being in her head. She didn't like the memory of the deers last heart beat on her tongue. She wanted to run back to her Hide. She hated the feel of the constant pull of the invisible hook and line connected to her stomach. She could still feel and hear the snap of bone as che closed her jaws on the rabbit. 

She couldn't do this. She wasn't meant to be part of a pack, of this world. She was better on her own. She shook her head.

"I'm going home." She said out loud. The words echoed slightly.

Evodine whined softly in her head. We should stay. Mate is here.

"I don't need a mate." Sara said. She pushed up from the floor. She pulled the single key from her pocket.

We must stay. I want mate. I want the pack.

"You want?" Sara demanded harshly. "I don't care what you want. I wanted to stay at home but because of you they locked me away. I wanted Gloria but you hated her. I wanted the city but I couldn't stay because they would have found me and locked me up again!" She yelled as she stomped into the kitchen. She threw the key on the counter and left the apartment. "I don't want to be here. And I won't stay. I'm going home."

She made her way to the elevator and pushed the down button harder then she needed too. When it didn't open immediately she pushed it again, again and again. Finally it dinged and the doors slid open.

Sara, you find mate attractive. Why are you leaving? You are acting like a child. We should stay here. We'll be safe. They will not lock us away. Mate is here. Mate wants us. Sara ignored Evodine's mental commentary. She pushed the G button hoping it would speed up the trip down. Finally the doors slid open. She nodded as Benjamin said her name.

"Do you need help with the websites? I get off in half an hour." He said.

"I'm fine." She lied not daring to look at him. She suspected he would call her on the lie if he saw her face. She continued walking and pushed her way through the outside doors.

The invisible line tied to her belly button tugged her but she gritted her teeth and turned the other way.

Sara, stop.

Leave me alone. Just shut up. Shut up.

The pull of the string shifted direction but she ignored it. She felt an overwhelming urge to run but kept her pace at a walk. She didn't want to draw any attention.

"Going somewhere?" The deep voice almost made her stumble. Her breath did catch in her throat.

"Home." She said definitely.

"It's the other way." He told her.

"My real home." She said.

He moved beside her and she could feel his body heat. She could smell him. It was like all her scenes were amped up. She could hear his steady heartbeat. The tug in her stomach vibrated with his nearness.

"You were going to leave without saying goodbye?" He accused.

"I don't owe you anything." She denied shaking her head.

"True." He admitted. "But I owe you. You saved my life."

"You don't owe me." Her feet slapped on the pavement and she increased her pace.

"You're my mate, Sara." He said softly into the night air.

"I don't want a mate." Her heart thudded against her ribcage calling her a liar.

"Does your wolf?"

Sara laughed harshly. "I don't care what she wants." For so many reasons, she added silently. Evodine whimpered softly in her head. Sara felt a stab of remorse but pushed it aside.

"Is it me that you don't want or any mate?" He asked. Sara thought she detected a note of pain in his voice but dismissed it as her imagination.

"Any mate. I'm better alone."

"You're a wolf, Sara. We're meant to be in packs. It's instinct. You even settled down on a mountain right next to a pack, true they were wolf born but they were wolves." He paused and she felt his eyes on her. She feared he saw more in the moon's light then she wanted him too.

"I never asked for any of this." She said defensive. She couldn't go through it all again. 

"It's understandable that you're scared. I wont say I understand what you feel because I don't. This has always been part of my life. But we are here for you. We will help you come to terms with your new self. We won't abandon you like they did."

Sara jerked to a stop and faced him. Her eyes flashed rage.

"They didn't abandon me!" She yelled at him. "They died!" Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs. "They didn't dump me because they didn't want me. They died. You have - have no right!" Her body shook with anger.

Even Evodine who was almost completely enthusiastic about Sebastian was upset with him. She hadn't appreciated Gloria as much as she should have but Sara's adopted parents had done nothing wrong. They hadn't understood her but they had always loved her and treated her with that love. They would never have abandoned her.

"That isn't what I meant. You were a child. Children see things differently than adults do." He sighed loudly. "Let me start over. What I'm trying to say is that all the pack are here for you.

"I don't need you, any of you." She hissed at him.

"I never explained why I was in the woods that day looking for you." He said.

Sara blinked thrown off by the sudden subject change. It took her only a second or two to catch up. "You were looking for me because someone hired you. I figured that out already, you said plenty." She said coldly but looked away from him. Her anger was draining even though she tried to hold on to it in self preservation.

"The lawyer. He hired me to find Casper and Gloria Allen's heir."

Sara noted the tone before she registered the words. He spoke as if he were revealing secrets. Then it hit her. Heir. That meant her dad and Gloria left valuables to someone. Right?

Her? She had to be the heir. Did that mean... The house... Dad left her the house? And the cars? She didn't know how to drive but she could sell the cars. She could pay back the Alpha and Luna.

"Sara?" Sebastian called her from her thoughts.

"I'm the heir?" She asked and touched her chest. He nodded. "The house is mine?"

"If you come to the lawyer and sign paperwork. They'll have to fingerprint you to prove you're Sara Allen but," he smiled.

"They'll lock me up and take the house." She told him, her enthusiasm waining.

"They don't want to do that. We won't let them even if they did. You're part of this pack, Sara. We know you're not crazy. We'll protect you."

"I don't know how to be part of a pack."

"We'll teach you." He searched her eyes and Evodine hummed softly in her head. "I'll help you." He promised softly. But there was much more than those three words embedded in the tone.

Sara's heart tripped. "I don't want people in my head."

"Only the Alpha and Luna can do that and they value everyone's privacy. They wouldn't do it if they don't believe it's necessary."

Stay. Evodine mentally whispered. Sara wasn't sure but she felt Evodine's longing for Sebastian, the pack, a place to belong, a home, and family. She closed her eyes as her nose burned with unshed emotions.

"Okay." Sara said. She swollowed. "If you promise not to let them lock me up." She whispered. Her fear still deeply ingrained in her mind.

"Promise."

She nodded looking down at the cracked asphalt. There a tiny flower grew, small, defiant and flourishing.

Thank you, Sara. Evodine said. But Sara felt the truth. Evodine wanted Sebastian. She wanted the pack. She didn't care about anything else.