Chapter Four (Kylan)

The next day, everyone was busy taking on one of Alek's chores or gathering a group to go out hunting and while I was told by Zaid and Scythe to participate, the last thing I wanted to do was leave Alek alone in the house, but I had no choice. Arguing with an alpha was suicide.

I stood in the doorway of Alek's bedroom, silent as a ghost so I wouldn't wake him up. He slept on his back, and he was sweating, which meant he'd gotten a fever and where the hell was Thalia? She was supposed to be in here making sure he was all right. I wanted to go in there and do something, to help, but Thalia would pick up on my scent and come after me again. And Alek didn't want us to fight, at least not with him around because I knew he was having trouble picking sides. No, he hated picking sides.

His wife or his mate.

I sighed wearily, pushing off the doorframe and heading down the stairs. I ran into Holly on the way and asked her to check in on Alek before I went to meet the guys outside for the hunting party. Lars, Scythe, Cal, Rylan, Raven, and Aidan were in this group. Most of us had healed from yesterday's accident, and while it was still dangerous to go outside with a bear out there, we didn't have a choice. We needed food, especially with Alek wounded and his son, Ty, still sick.

"All righty," Scythe announced, grabbing our attention, "So, the last thing I want to do is repeat yesterday's incident with Alek. We need to be incredibly careful. We're going to hunt on the opposite side of the territory today and hopefully steer clear of the bear. If you so much as hear a twig snap, you tell the rest of us and we'll take off. Do you understand?" Everyone nodded grimly. Scythe seemed satisfied with that and nodded before we all shifted.

I actually welcomed the discomfort of the transformation, the way my bones cracked and ground together, skin stretching and pulling until I was on all fours as a wolf. Scythe walked ahead of us as we trotted behind him and into the woods.

Hey, Kylan, I'm sorry about Alek. Aidan said, making me blink and look at him. He was staring at me with sympathy and normally I would've told him to leave me alone, but oddly enough, his sympathy made me feel a little better.

Thanks... Me too. I admitted quietly. Aidan bumped his nose against my shoulder before he trotted up ahead to catch up to Cal so they were walking side by side. It was hard to focus on hunting with everything else that was going on inside my head. I could barely keep up with the others and Scythe kept snapping at me with his teeth as a warning, but even that didn't kick me into gear. We only ended up with a deer that Lars had to carry back for us as the rest of us trotted behind him.

Kylan, what's the matter with you? Scythe demanded in irritation as we headed back to the house. I growled low in my throat as a response.

What do you think? I asked sarcastically. Scythe grunted and caught up with me, walking beside me as we neared the backyard where the others were waiting to take the deer inside to prepare it for dinner tonight. Scythe didn't answer me, though, and just shook his head before we changed back into humans once we reached the house.

"You're coming out with me tonight," Scythe informed me as we went through the back of the house to avoid running into the children and ladies, "We're gonna talk."

"I'm not a pup, Scythe," I told him dryly, "I can cope on my own."

"No. No, you can't. You look like you're about to explode." Scythe told me dryly. I paused at that, frowning as I glanced at him out the corner of my eye, but I didn't want to comment on it, so I just shook my head and went to my room to change into a pair of torn jeans and a black t-shirt. I came back downstairs, already picking up on the scent of dinner being prepared. I nibbled my lip, watching everyone moving to prepare the table, care for the pups, and work on dinner and while I knew that my place was there amongst my family, my thoughts kept wandering back to Alek.

He was in so much pain. I wanted to be there to soothe him, to take care of him, to make sure he was all right. It was Thalia's job, but she was too busy barking orders at Aidan, who had very obviously just about had it with her attitude.

"Shut up," Aidan barked, always the tempermental brat, "I can do what I want with my pups and I want them to come to my room where they're safe." Thalia scoffed at that, putting her fists on her hips.

"You barely know how to take care of yourself. Why the Goddess let you of all people have pups is beyond me. Cal would have been a much better father, even with Rylan." She returned, making Aidan's cheeks redden in anger. Cal, who happened to be nearby, turned to frown at Thalia.

"Trust me, I wouldn't be a very good dad. And I think Aidan's doing a great job," He insisted firmly, "He spends more time with his pups than anyone else does. He's personally taking care of them and not making other people do it." Thalia shot him a scathing glare.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." She told him coldly. Cal shrugged, somehow managing to stay as calm as usual.

"Too bad. You got it. You should be lucky I don't charge you for it," He responded, making Thalia narrow her eyes before Cal shot her an equally dangerous stare, his expression emotionless now, "And if I were you, I'd drop your eyes. You're a beta, and I'll take that stare as a challenge and drop you to the omega so hard, you won't know what hit you." Thalia curled her lip, shot Aidan one last glare, then stormed off to the basement. Aidan stuck his tongue out after her, then caught sight of me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Jeez, Ky," He told me loudly, "How are you even related to her?" Sometimes I wondered the same thing, but Thalia had always had an awful temper. The scary part was that so did our father... and so did I. It wasn't something I was proud of and trying to keep it in check was taxing.

"I pretend she's adopted." I told Aidan calmly, watching him grin as a response before the sound of his pup, Skye, yipping and wailing for attention made him sigh wearily before stalking off to the living room. I watched him leave, then headed to the kitchen, only to see Scythe standing right there, obviously waiting for me. He caught me by the arm and wheeled me back before I could escape him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Scythe asked pointedly.

"I wasn't quite sure yet." I admitted, shrugging his hold off. Scythe sighed, shaking his head, pausing to step out of the way as Zaid walked by with a pan of warm, delicious smelling rolls. Scythe reached for one, but Zaid whacked him in the chest for it, making his husband wince and rub his pecs.

"Jeez, isn't that considered domestic violence?" Scythe asked me. I couldn't resist smirking at that as Zaid folded his arms over his chest and gave us both the same dirty look his adoptive mother gave people when they were annoying him.

"How about you two do something useful other than gossiping?" He asked, making Scythe shrug.

"Like what?" He asked, then wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Zaid's cheeks burned and he pointed out the door.

"We ran out of seasonings. Fetch." He ordered. Scythe grinned at that and gave Zaid an affectionate peck on the nose before he went out the door and I followed close behind him. I didn't want to be alone with Scythe, because he was the type to try and start deep conversations, but Zaid was the alpha and even if I didn't want to do something, it was an order I had to follow through with. We climbed into one of the trucks instead of using the bikes that still needed washing.

I distinctly remembered Thalia complaining about that earlier today and it was almost like you could hear how angry she was that Alek was hurt and couldn't take over her duties. If anything, she was waiting until Alek healed before the bikes were ready to be used again.

"So, how's Ty?" Scythe asked casually, making me frown. Ty, the sickly pup that belonged to Thalia and Alek. One that Alek very rarely had the chance to be with, especially now that he was ill and Thalia insisted it was Alek's fault for not having properly taken care of him the one time they were together. Thinking about it made me grind my teeth together so hard, I was surprised they didn't shatter.

"Fine," I said at last, keeping my cool, "His fever's gone down and he's sleeping a lot. They're hoping he'll be fully recovered by the end of the week."

"That's good," Scythe replied casually, "He's a fighter."

"Yeah."

Some silence followed as Scythe pulled out of the driveway and shot toward town, tires crunching and throwing up gravel before squealing onto the main road that went through town. Scythe seemed to be thinking of things to say, but I honestly didn't feel like talking. I was going to say something stupid again, I just knew it. Especially after yesterday with Zaid.

Talk about embarrassing.

Thankfully, Scythe had given up on conversation as we pulled into the grocery store parking lot and climbed out of the truck. We headed inside and I instantly picked up on the scent of something foreign. I narrowed my eyes and Scythe lifted his chin, taking on a rather regal and powerful stance that emitted a deadly aura, warning that whoever was the source of the scent that we weren't someone to mess around with.

After the incident with the Firefly and Amethyst pack, we were incredibly cautious around other wolf packs and anyone who invaded our territory was chased out without a moment's hesitation. We didn't have time to risk our family for a treaty or accident.

I nodded to the cashiers, who smiled as we walked by. We went down the aisle with the seasonings and the scent became faint for a moment because of the strength of the seasonings before it came back full power. Scythe kept calm and cool as he grabbed a couple of small bottles, tossing them into the basket he'd snatched at the counter. I glanced up and down the aisle, sniffing for a moment before the scent of pepper and cumin shot up my nose and I sneezed.

"Gross," Scythe grunted, making me scowl at him, "You really suck at trying to look intimidating."

"I really don't like the smell of cumin. It smells like death."

"I thought it smelled nice."

"You think farts smell nice."

"I do not," Scythe sniffed defensively as he gave me a pointed glare, "You're the one who hangs out at the barn all the time." I opened my mouth to defend myself, then caught onto Scythe's attempt to lure me into a conversation about Alek. I wagged my finger at him and took a step back.

"Oh no. Not falling for it. Let's just grab our shit and leave." I told him angrily. Scythe opened his mouth to speak, but he seemed to catch sight of something behind me because his eyes widened for a split second before narrowing. I turned to see two people come into the aisle, only to pull up short when they saw us.

Both male and definitely the source of the scent that overrode the seasonings. The first one was younger and petite. His hair was deep dark red and cut to the nape of his neck, bangs framing his face and brushed across his forehead. His eyes were a deep hazel color and he had a beauty mark on his left cheekbone. Something about him was a little feminine. His attire was a pair of cargo pants and a black t-shirt that fell off one shoulder.

The other man was much taller, at least by a foot or so, with rippling muscles under a skintight black v-neck and jeans that hugged long, muscular legs. He was older, though, in his mid-fifties, but without a strand of grey in his black hair, matching a pair of eerie black eyes.

"So you're the one I smelled." The bigger man commented at last, breaking the awkward silence and momentary attempt to size each other up. Scythe narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"You're in our territory. Who are you and what do you want?" He asked instantly. The petite man raised an eyebrow, clutching their shopping basket with one hand and placing the other on his hip.

"It's kinda rude not to introduce yourself first. And so hostile too." He added. The older man shot him a warning glare that instantly made the younger man back down and even withdraw a step. Scythe eyed them closely as the older man glanced at us.

"My name is Garek. This is my mate, Ladarius. We're not here to cause any harm, we just need someplace to rest for the night." He answered. Scythe didn't seem too convinced. The last time we ran into someone who seemed innocent enough turned out to be a psychotic killer that just about killed Zaid, and a few family friends.

"Where's your pack?" Scythe asked. Ladarius visibly stiffened at the mention of their pack, but Garek kept a calm fascade as he very boldly locked eyes with Scythe.

"Gone. We're rogue." He returned. Scythe didn't seem to like the sound of that.

"I don't see any reason to trust you." He stated.

"We're not asking for trust," Garek replied, "We're asking to sleep here for one night. We haven't slept in four nights." That sounded a little suspicious. Two wolves abandoning their pack, for what, why, and what reason was it for them not to get enough sleep? In fact, the more I looked at them, the more it showed. Dark circles under their exhausted eyes, bodies ready to keel over.

"Scythe," I said quietly, making him glance at me, "Look at them. They're drained. Even if they did want to attack us, they couldn't do anything to hurt us." Scythe still didn't look convinced as he looked back at both the wolves. Garek seemed calm, but I could tell Ladarius was getting impatient.

What kind of names were those anyway? Who'd ever heard of such names? But then, I'd been told my name wasn't too popular either.

"Where are you from?" Scythe asked. He wasn't going to let up until he was positive these two were safe, or at least not deemed a threat. Ladarius looked exasperated by the third degree, but Garek gave him a look that warned him to argue. For being mates, they sure didn't look like they got along and I found it difficult to be angry with Ladarius. Even though he was obviously a fiesty little brat, his features were much too delicate to stay angry with.

"Canada, actually." Garek admitted.

"What are two Canadian wolves doing in the Southern US?" Scythe pressed. Garek's lips turned down into a frown.

"I told you. We're rogue. We don't want to be anywhere near our pack." He responded.

"Why?" Scythe asked.

"That's really none of your business." Ladarius spoke heatedly. Garek glared at him now, making Ladarius swallow hard.

"Stop talking," He ordered his mate, "This is what got us in trouble back home. If you can just keep your big mouth shut for more than five minutes, that would be great." Ladarius said nothing to that, but I could see he was both hurt and angry with Garek's display. Garek turned back to Scythe, who watched Ladarius dangerously.

"You better keep your omega's mouth shut." Scythe told Garek, who frowned. It took me a moment, but now that I looked at the two, Scythe was right. Ladarius was an omega, which explained why he was so submissive to Garek, which could only mean Garek was...

"You're an alpha." I stated, making Garek glance at me before looking at Scythe.

"Yes," He confessed, "But things were complicated. Our pack was at war and I was struggling to deal with the fact that I was mated. There were too many things going on at once and when I told my pack I was mated to our omega, it didn't go over too well. Let's just say that I didn't want him to be killed, so I took him with me."

"You abandoned your pack." Scythe deadpanned. It was a pretty big deal, especially if an alpha left his pack. He was the leader, the one everyone depended on, the one with the most power and intelligence to protect such a large group. But Garek had left them in order to protect his mate, a mate he seemed to blame for the whole fiasco. I almost felt sorry for Ladarius if he wasn't glaring at me like I had done something wrong.

"And that's personal problem," Garek responded calmly, "We're just passing through on our way to Louisiana. I have a sister pack there who would be willing to let us stay there. We just need a break. We traveled five days straight without sleep." Scythe studied them both for a long time and I expected him to tell them both to shove off before he ripped them to pieces, but to my surprised and probably relief, Scythe sighed.

"Fine. You can stay one night, but one night only. We don't need any other troubles coming our way." He told them. Garek looked relieved.

"Thank you. If we any money left to repay you for your kindness, we would, but we haven't eaten in a week." He admitted. Now Scythe looked guilty and I could tell he was debating whether to offer them dinner or not. I knew our pack would definitely have something to say about that, but Scythe was our alpha and his word was law.

"We're about to eat dinner," Scythe said at last with a frown, "And I normally don't do this, because we have bad luck with visitors... But you're welcome to join us. Just know that if you do something even remotely suspicious, we'll have to kill you to protect our pups." Garek nodded respectfully.

"Of course. I completely understand. And thank you, we appreciate it." He agreed. Ladarius instantly frowned and I could see that he wanted to protest, but I think he was more scared of Garek's reaction than ours. It was a little sad, I realized. To be scared of your own mate. Just how bad was Garek's temper? That worried me.

Scythe finished our last minute shopping and we led Garek and Ladarius with us to our truck.

"Did you drive here?" Scythe asked as he unlocked his truck and stacked the groceries inside at my feet as I got in on the passenger side. Garek shook his head.

"We had no vehicles available to us." He answered. Scythe raised an eyebrow at that, but invited them in with us anyway.

"Are you telling me you walked from Canada to Alabama?" He asked for confirmation. Garek nodded and Ladarius seemed to have had it with remaining silent.

"And it's so much harder than it sounds," He blurted, ignoring Garek's glare at him, "There are way too many hunters out this time of year. We were almost shot at a few times on our way through Michigan."

"Well, you don't need to worry here," Scythe assured them as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main street, "We don't allow hunting in this area. The only hunting is done by the wolf packs and our resident bear."

"You have a bear?" Ladarius asked, perplexed.

"She owns the hotel there," Scythe said, gesturing out the window to the cute cozy looking hotel, "But she won't be a bother. She's preparing to close up for the winter." Garek nodded at that, but the look he gave Ladarius dared him to speak more. Ladarius just looked away from him and met my eyes. He stared at me intently and it actually weirded me out just a little bit. Did he not like me or had I done something to offend him? Why did it matter? I was beta and he was an omega.

I could rub his face in the dirt and no one would tell me to stop.

Of course, I wasn't that nasty.

We pulled into the long winding driveway that led to our huge plantation house that was just big enough for us to have our rooms and extra left over for visitors, usually being Kasper and Gavin or Kyler and Remi. We climbed out and Scythe made sure to walk into the house ahead of time to let everyone know we had visitors. Meanwhile, we stayed behind by the truck to wait for the go ahead, because if we just barged in there, no doubt half our pack would tear these two to shreds.

Not that it would matter because Garek was having a field day with Ladarius the moment Scythe had left us alone, because apparently he didn't care about my opinion on their relationship.

"Didn't I tell you to just shut your mouth? Seriously, you're going to get us killed the more you talk and you're really starting to piss me off." Garek snapped at Ladarius, who flinched for a second, then tried to defend himself.

"I wasn't saying anything rude or stupid. I was just having a casual conversation," He replied angrily, then paused to gather up the rest of his courage before he went on, "And you know what? For your information, we're not in a pack anymore. That means I'm not your omega and you're not my alpha anymore." I felt my eyebrows go up at that. This wasn't going to go well. Garek's eyes seemed to darken menacingly. Well, there went all his cool alpha attitude, right out the window.

Along with Ladarius' previous bravado.

If they were in wolf form, Ladarius' tail would be between his legs and his ears back as Garek took a step toward him and grabbed his arm roughly enough to make me wince and rub my own arm. How could Ladarius let him manhandle him like that?

Of course, I realized as I watched Garek easily intimidate Ladarius with no more than a death glare.

Ladarius must have been born an omega. Once an omega, always an omega. They were submissive and timid by nature. And it didn't help that Garek was an alpha, probably by nature judging from his personality. He was used to power, to having authority over people. When someone stood up to him, he didn't like it. Especially a lowly omega like Ladarius.

"Hey," I said suddenly, making Garek frown and glance at me, "He was just stating a fact. You don't need to get mad at him for talking."

"I don't believe I asked your opinion." Garek returned. My temper flared up and while part of me knew I had to fight it and remain calm, this punk wasn't part of our pack and I was still pissy about Alek, so to hell with control.

"Watch it," I warned dangerously, making Garek let go of Ladarius to face me, "I ain't one of your omegas. I'm a beta, by choice. That doesn't mean I can't be an alpha." Garek studied me intensely, sizing me up and probably wondering if I was challenging him, but I wouldn't waste my time.

He wasn't part of a pack and the only property he owned was technically Ladarius and he wouldn't be worth anything to me. Not to mention, the two were mates. Somehow. The Goddess was cruel, I began to learn bitterly. She couldn't just pair two childhood friends in a nice family life.

Ohh nooo. She had to pair an omega and an alpha. She had to pair me, a beta, with my pack's previous omega, now my sister's husband and the father of my nieces and nephews.

Pain lacerated my heart the more I thought about it. I gave up my staring contest with Garek because he did have a point. I shouldn't stick my nose in their business. I just wanted to take my anger out on something else.

Scythe eventually came back outside to give us the go ahead. We all came back inside and into the dining room as the rest of our pack came to join us. Scythe busied himself by introducing our pack to Ladarius and Garek. I held the door open for Lars and Holly, then paused to see Thalia helping Alek down the stairs to the dining room. I clenched the door handle so tight in my fist that I waited for the old bronze metal to collapse.

"Are you doing okay?" Thalia asked, but she didn't sound concerned. If anything, she sounded irritated and I could tell Alek did not want to be here. He wanted to hide in his room longer and lay in bed. He was pale and looked incredibly tired, like he might collapse any moment. He wore a loose, baggy black long sleeved shirt and jeans that hugged a fine sweet ass that I'd seen, and bitten into, a few times in the past.

Thalia looked up to help him through the door when she saw me. She stiffened and I saw her grip tighten on Alek's side. He gasped in pain and Thalia instantly recoiled her hand, almost dropping Alek before she managed to catch him by the arm.

"Sweetheart, are you all right?" She asked. Sweetheart, I wanted to sneer. Since when did she give him a pleasant nickname? Alek didn't seem to notice. He was two steps away from collapsing from exhaustion. Our species could heal fairly quickly, but Alek had been attacked by a bear. An attack that would normally kill a human and left us temporarily incapacitated. He was weak and needed to stay in bed. The fact that he made it down the stairs without breaking something stunned me. He needed dinner in bed, not to climb down stairs and sit at a table with the rest of the pack.

"Fine." Alek managed past clenched teeth, but he was still breathing hard in pain.

"He's not fine," I spoke up, making them look at me; Thalia in rage and Alek in surprise, as he hadn't noticed me earlier, "He needs to stay in bed, Thalia. Don't be stupid. You should have left him in bed and given him dinner there." I kept my voice as calm as I could, despite the urge to grab my sister by her hair and slam her into a wall.

Ugh, I was a terrible person.

"Don't tell me how to take care of my husband." Thalia sneered, putting emphasis on the word husband, probably in hopes of provoking me and while it worked, I didn't let her know as I gave her a cold, dead stare.

"Or lack thereof," I answered stoically, making Thalia curl her lip in repungence, "I'll carry him back to his room and you can get him a tray to eat there. He'll pass out in his food... in front of the guests." I added the last part on purpose, watching the quick glint on Thalia's eyes.

"Guests?" She asked.

"I take it you missed Scythe's announcement," I replied, watching her narrow her eyes in irritation, "Yes. Ladarius and Garek. They're joining us tonight for dinner before they head home tomorrow morning." Thalia hesitated and I could see her debating what to do before she finally lifted her chin in defiance.

"Fine. Carry him back. I'll get him his tray. And if you drop him or kiss him, I'll break your face." She threatened, resulting in me making a "heh" sound. Thalia rolled her eyes at me and steadied Alek long enough for me to come over and sweep him right off his feet and into my arms. My heart ached to see him so weak and fragile. He may be Thalia's bitch half the time, but Alek wasn't weak.

I waited until Thalia left before I began to carry Alek upstairs. I savored the moment of having him in my arms, his labored breathes and sweaty hair sticking to his forehead, those gorgeous eyes staring up at me half-lidded.

"Sorry." Alek breathed through the pain. I shook my head at him as I carried him into his bed room.

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." I answered. Alek glared at me, which meant I should know what he was talking about. I don't remember him needing to apologize, but knowing Alek, it was probably about what happened at the hospital yesterday. I stiffened for a moment, standing in place, before I recovered and placed him back on the bed as gently as possible. He sighed, sounding relieved to be back in bed.

"Are you in pain? Did you take the medication?" I asked, reaching to the bottle on his nightstand. Alek just shook his head and I sighed, taking the glass of water to the bathroom and filling it up in the sink before bringing it back and handing it to him so he could take his pill. I held his head up long enough for him to take a couple huge gulps along with the pill before I laid his head back against the pillow.

"Kylan." Alek said softly. His voice tore through me, as to what sounded like a regular man's tenor voice, to me, Alek's voice was like the most beautiful melody I'd ever heard. I turned to face him, looking down at him as he stared up at me tiredly. Pain went through me to see him like this. I slowly sat on the bed and took his hand in mine. I expected him to pull away, but thankfully, he let me hold his hand. He even let me stroke each of his delicate fingers before I pressed our palms together, fingers linked.

"Alek," I murmured, watching him study my face sleepily, "I love you." His eyes flickered and it was like he realized what we were doing. He managed to twist his hand away from mine and tuck it under the blanket, shame crossing his face. I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to be angry at him. He would've let me hold him, touch him, love him all I wanted if it wasn't for Thalia.

"Alek--"

"T-Thanks for carrying me," Alek cut me off quietly, closing his eyes and turning his head away in dismissal, "Talk to you later." I clenched my fists.

"Alek, talk to me now." I insisted. Alek didn't answer. I was about to snap at him when the door opened and Thalia came in with a tray of stew, rolls, a small glass bowl of coleslaw, and a tall glass of juice. She gave me a scathing glare that I returned full force before I finally got up and made my way to the door. Thalia brushed at me, holding her head up high and smirkin at me momentarily in triumph before she sat on the bed by Alek, chattering sweet nothings that were meant to comfort him, but even I saw the way his shoulders slumped in miserable defeat.

This wasn't over, I thought angrily as I slammed the bedroom door shut so hard, I almost splintered the wood.

It was far from over.