“This is your room," Callum directs me down the corridor to the last room on the right. Cain has taken my rogue to the basement of the house next door, which he explained it is a pack house, and anyone having issues, new to the pack, or just visitors stay there. It makes sense to have a house like that in a pack as big as this one. At the Forest Pack there are two houses being built next to the main house. One is for greeting guests, and the other is for the vampire coven that has moved in and been accepted in the pack because of Harper, our alpha female, mating with a vampire.
"Why aren't I staying with the visitors next door?" I ask.
"Because you aren't a visitor. You are the alpha female of this pack, even if you haven't accepted your mates or the title yet," Callum tells me firmly. His answer feels like there is no way to reply, but I still do.
"I'd make a crap alpha female," I mutter as Callum opens the door. I try to quickly shoulder past him into the room, but he moves quicker than I do and boxes me in against the door frame. His messy hair falls into his face as he looks down at me, the dark swirls in his green eyes seem that much brighter this close.
"You will make a brilliant alpha female, you just don't know it yet. Don't put yourself down, I won't have that," he grumbles, a low rumble making his words deeper and more seductive. I stare up at him for a second, searching his face for anything not to trust and finding nothing. I have a feeling Callum doesn’t hide much from people, and I don’t know why, but I really like that about him.
"I wasn't putting myself down, I was just stating a fact," I finally answer after clearing my throat.
"That you were wrong about," he says, a grin stretching across his kissable lips.
"I'm never wrong, you should learn that now for the future," I reply, trying not to smile.
"You are," he says through a grin.
"Not," I play along, and he laughs as he pulls away from me.
"Fine, but when you admit you are wrong, I want to hear it," he says as I go into the room and look around as I try to wipe the smile from my lips. There's a wooden bed, with white sheets and yellow pillows that match the yellow curtains. There is a wardrobe, a dresser, and a fireplace in here but it’s clear no one lives in this room.
"The bathroom is the door opposite you, and we all have to share as the ensuites in the three master rooms aren't fully fitted yet. We have been having some adjustments to the houses made," he explains.
"Yeah, I was going to ask, are these new builds?"
"Not exactly," he says, walking in and sitting on my bed as I place my bag on the dresser and lean against it. "The middle house was our old house, and we all lived in it despite it being small. When we met you, well, we knew we couldn't keep living in a small house and decided it was time to change. So we could be ready for when you came to us."
"You built the houses for me? Why three? One each?" I ask, and he slides off the bed, walking slowly over to me and stopping directly in front of me.
"We built them for our future, all of ours. We want you, a life with our mate and the happiness it could bring. We have waited far too damn long for you, and I have a feeling you have been waiting even longer than us. Don't we deserve a little happiness after all this time?" he asks, but I know he doesn't want an answer. He leans closer and brushes his lips against my cheek and steps away.
"I don't want to disappoint you," I admit, and he smirks at me, turning around and walking to the door.
"Nothing you could do would disappoint us, trust me," he says, opening the door and pausing. "The Wi-Fi code is gold12. I think Nikoli and your old pack might want a Skype call." With that he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. I just stare at the white door for a while, feeling nervous and jittery, knowing I need to shift and have a run before I can think straight about these bears. Though Callum does have a point, I do need to call the pack and explain everything. I haven't spoken to them in weeks, since we went hunting, and I bet Erik has told them something by now. If he even went back to the pack and didn't chicken out that is. I pull my laptop out of my bag, and walk over to the bed, pushing the pillows back and placing the laptop on a cushion in front of me as I open it. I smile to myself as I put the Wi-Fi code in and try to ignore how sweet it is that they use my name as the code. I open Skype and call Nikoli straight away, waiting as it rings and rings before he answers his phone and holds it up, so I can see his very serious looking face.
"Gold, what is wrong?" Nikoli asks straight away.
"Why does anything have to be wrong?" I question. “Can’t I just call?”
"You don't call, let alone Skype, unless there is a problem," he says, raising an eyebrow and making me feel like a child that just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Nikoli has always been able to do that, and if I'm honest with myself, he has become like a father figure to me over the years. It certainly feels like he is one at times. “Also, the last time you Skyped me was that time in Paris. I don’t even want to talk about what happened then.” I cringe at his words. Paris was a bad hunting mission, one that went very wrong, very quick, and Nikoli had to bring the private jet to rescue me and Erik.
"Are you alone? Can you get Harper?" I ask, and he starts to answer as a door opens in the background, and I hear Harper shout.
"Is that Gold? Why is she calling? Is anything wrong?" she blurts out, and the next second the phone is grabbed off Nikoli, and Harper is staring down the camera at me. I smile at my friend, seeing her worried face turn into a relieved one when she sees I am okay. Harper and I have become close enough over the little time we have known each other to recognise if something is seriously wrong.
"Everything is fine, honestly. I just need to talk to you both," I assure them, clearing my throat to get brave enough to tell them everything. I haven’t felt this nervous to blurt anything out since I told my mother I had fallen in love with a man when I was seventeen. The memory of that mistake still haunts me. Harper nods, moving and sitting on Nikoli's lap so I can see both of them in the camera.
"What is going on?" Harper asks gently. I take a deep breath, reminding myself that this is Harper and Nikoli. My family. They will understand.
"When I went hunting that rogue...well…it turns out he is a potential mate of mine," I explain, and Nikoli's eyes widen as Harper just sits quietly with visible shock on her face.
"Did it hurt to kill him? Did he even recognise you? I'm so sorry, Gold," she says, and I shake my head. Of course she thinks I killed him instead of saving him. She doesn’t understand that he wasn’t really a rogue, and his wolf had not taken him over. I don’t understand how his wolf hasn’t, because we all need to be around a pack to survive. Our wolves need that companionship, or it is a death sentence for us. I only hunt rogues because they are so dangerous to both humans and the existence of our kind. If the humans ever found out about us, I reckon they would hunt and kill us all in fear of what we could become.
"He isn't dead," I say, and there's a tense silence between us all.
"What?" Nikoli asks as he runs his hand through his short hair, clearly shocked and speechless. Which is damn rare for him.
"When I found him, he wasn't gone. He was drunk, but his wolf hadn't taken over like we were told it did. So, I tied him up and put him in my car," I explain. I see Harper’s lips turn up a little, likely at the thought of me tying my mate up when we met.
"Who did she tie up?" Colton's voice comes across the line as I hear a door open and shut.
"Her mate," Harper answers with a laugh.
"Sounds kinky…What kind of chat are you guys having?" Colton asks, and I laugh.
"Head out of the gutter, vamp boy," I reply as Harper turns the camera so I can wave at Colton, who is leaning against the wardrobe in their room. He looks older, more stressed than usual, and his blonde hair needs a haircut.
"Back to being serious, where are you? What did you do with the rogue?" Nikoli asks, and I have to swallow the lump of nervousness in my throat before I answer.
"At the Bearlay pack. I have joined them, and they are giving us both protection," I say quietly. Nikoli doesn’t say anything for a little while, just leans back in his seat, and watches me, thinking.
"You could have come to us, Gold. You are family. I don't want you to be there if you do not want to be," Harper says quietly, breaking the silence. I keep my eyes locked on Nikoli who briefly looks down at Harper and back to me. He completely understands my reasons for not coming to him for help with the rogue. Nikoli knows about the prince watching the pack, and it is likely he hasn’t told Harper, so she doesn’t get stressed.
"We can’t have someone dangerous in the pack while you are pregnant, Harper. Pregnancy is so rare, so special, and we all have to be on guard in case something goes wrong. We do not have the time to watch a dangerous rogue who is being hunted by the royal family," Nikoli says. I try not to sigh as Harper growls at him, sliding off his lap, and taking the phone with her. She gets so angry that she forgets I’m here as she holds the phone down, and I get a upside down picture of Colton who looks ready to break Harper and Nikoli apart. Poor dude.
"I'm pregnant, not dying! I am not letting Gold be stuck with the bears if she doesn't want to be there!" Harper exclaims, growling louder.
"Harper! Harper!" I shout to get her attention, and she lifts the phone, so I can see her face again.
"I want to be here. I've avoided them all for too long, and I want to know if there is a chance for something. A chance to be happy. They are a good pack, with good alphas, and I'm not far from you if you need me," I say, and she nods sadly before tears start streaming down her cheeks. Nikoli takes the phone from her, pulling her to his chest, and I see Colton stroking her back.
"I-I'm sorry. I get a little emotional at the moment, and I'm going to miss the hell out of you," Harper explains, and I smile at her when she finally looks at me as Nikoli kisses the top of her head.
"I will miss you too, but I will be coming back to see you," I tell her, and she shakily nods.
"I need to talk with Gold alone, will you go with Colton to get a drink?" he asks, and she kisses his cheek before turning to me.
"You best not disappear with those bears, or I'm going on a bear hunt. You can tell them that," she says firmly, a determined glare in her eyes.
"I will tell them, now go and rest. Being four months pregnant as a wolf isn't easy," I demand, and she smiles, looking down at her stomach.
"Tell me about it. Thank god I've stopped being sick eight times a day now, but I can't shift anymore, and it makes me feel, well, not good. But yesterday I felt the baby move, and it was amazing,"
"Ask Snow what she did to feel better, she would know best, and congratulations. I imagine that is the best feeling in the world,” I say, and she nods.
"Better when my mates can feel the movements too and I will do that. Snow has been amazing with advice so far," she says with a sad smile. "Is Erik still with you?" she asks, and I try not to let the sigh slip from my lips. I knew he wouldn’t go back to Snow when he damn well should have. I swear, I am going to have to drag my brother by his ear back to his mate at this rate. I understood at the start when he struggled with everything. I even understood when he threw himself into hunting and wouldn’t talk to anyone…but now. Now, he could lose his mate to his best friend, and he won’t even fight for her. I know he loves Snow, and I know he loves Arisa…I just wish he could get past his grief.
"He was meant to come back to see Snow and Arisa. Maybe he is still on his way. I did take the car, and I drove pretty quick to get here," I explain, trying to make my brother sound better than the asshole he is and not wanting to admit how annoyed I am with him. Well, he is mostly an asshole, but there is something good in him. It has just been lost for a long damn time. I know Snow and Arisa are the only way to get that part of him back, but he fights them every step of the way.
"Okay, I will tell Snow," she replies and stares straight into my eyes. "If there is any problem, anything, come to us. You are like a sister to me, and even if you aren't in my pack, we are here for you,” she says firmly, being the protective alpha female she has grown into. I don’t see much of the young woman we saved from a rogue attack anymore. Someone who was lost and didn’t have any family. This Harper, she is the alpha female of the Forest Pack. One look at her, and you know she belongs here.
"Got it," I smile tightly, and she walks out of the camera as Nikoli turns it on himself. I see him smile at Harper and Colton, and hear the sound of the door shutting a few moments later.
"What did the rogue do? How dangerous is he? Have the bears locked him up?" he asks each question like a demand. I know it comes from his need to protect me as I'm still pack to him in his eyes. Nikoli is a good man, I've always known that, and Harper has made him so much better at dealing with his anger and his serious nature.
"I don't know yet. I haven't had time to read his file, but that's my next plan. I don't think he is dangerous to me, or to the bears. I feel like he is good, but I've been wrong in the past, so I am holding off on judgement until I've learnt more about the situation. And yes, Cain has locked him up, and we will talk to him tomorrow," I say, and he nods, rubbing the little stumble on his chin.
"What is his name? I can ask around. I know people that would give me answers without talking," he asks, and I think about it for a second. I should learn his name so Nikoli can look into him. I could even ask a few old friends for some answers.
"He hasn't told me his name yet. But I will text it to you when I've read the file," I say.
"I don't like this. The Royals sent you after a wolf that isn't a rogue at all, and they told you that he was lost," he says, shaking his head.
"I don't like it either. Something is wrong, I can feel it," I admit. This whole thing just doesn’t feel right to me.
"I want to be kept updated, and what Harper said is true. I will come for you if you need us," he promises. "You may be leaving our pack and joining the bears, but you are always part of the Forest Pack, Gold."
"Thank you Nikoli," I choke out, trying to hold back the emotion I'm feeling. I can’t cry in front of Nikoli, it would just make him super uncomfortable.
"Don't thank me. I wish I could have you here where I know you're safe. I trust the bears, but I will call them now and make sure they know where the Forest Pack stands on you," he says, and I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.
"Tell Snow and Arisa I will call them tomorrow if you could," I ask, and he nods.
"Of course, and good luck Gold," he says and pauses. "I've known the both bears and you for a long time. I think they could make you very happy if you gave them a chance."
"Trusting people isn't my strong suit and neither is being happy," I admit.
"I know that, and they will have to earn it. Lucky all bears are stubborn bastards, isn't it?" he says, making me laugh with him. "Bye Gold. Call if you need me."
"Bye," I say, closing the laptop and leaning back against the pillows. I stare at the newly painted ceiling before closing my eyes. Could the bears make me happy?