Chapter 17

Chief frowned hard out the window.  Physically forcing himself to keep from hunting down Alise, he was struggling to formulate a plan of action…and he was stalling.  Having Alise in the house and trying to ignore his wolf’s pull to her was like trying to ignore oxygen.  It was impossible.  Still, he needed to come up with a game plan.  Hiding from the Walkers at the BlackBird compound was no longer a necessity, so what then?  Where did he and Alise go?  He contemplated giving her up, simply walking away, but his wolf would never let that happen now.  No, Beast had grown attached already and while Chief was strong enough for a lot of things, forcing Beast to do things he didn’t want wasn’t one of them.

Blinking out at the towering pines that swayed in the strong winds, Chief thought on what exactly it was that he would be willing to give up for Alise.  Dell believing the stricken was real was one thing, but Mama telling Chief that it was changed things considerably.  The elder held knowledge and power rarely seen in shifter world.  If Mama said it was real…it was. 

Thinking hard, Chief considered that Alise might not want to go back to the wilds of British Columbia with him, which was fine.  His time in solitude was done.  He had a mate now.  A mate that needed special consideration, especially after the way he’d been treating her.

We’ll go someplace together.  Try and figure things out.  

The sound of footsteps had Chief turning to face the entryway.  Dell and Chloe entered the den followed by Alise.  Eyes on Alise, he fought the urge to cross to her, even fisting his hands to keep from doing so. 

“Please,” Dell gestured to one of the oversized leather sofas that sat facing each other in front of a large hearth.  “Have a seat.”

Alise merely glanced at Chief, and even from across the room he could scent her sadness.  She’d been hurt by his actions earlier and even more so by his words, but none of it could be helped because her facing off against the Skin Walkers wasn’t an option.  He’d done what he’d done what he had to do to protect her, whether she saw it that way or not.

He watched as Alise cautiously skirted one of the couches and took a seat as far as she could from him.  She refused to make eye contact with him, and it had his hackles rising.

“We’ve explained some things to Alise,” Chloe stated.

Instantly, annoyance bunched Chief’s brows.  “That wasn’t your place.”

Dell took a step forward, but Chloe’s hand on his chest halted him.

With a mocking twist to her lips, Chloe explained, “This is our territory.  And a stricken wolf shifter and his mate within the confines of that territory is our business.”

“They think our stricken is real,” Alise muttered staring down at her hands.

“I’m coming to see it that way,” Chief agreed thinking his admission would earn him a direct look from Alise, and then wishing for one when she refused to acquiesce. 

“We have a plan.”  Alise’s declaration had ice flooding his veins.  He was supposed to the one coming up with a plan.

Finally lifting her head, Alise looked right at him, and even though her eyes were void of all emotion, she couldn’t mask the scents wafting from her.  There was sadness tinged with…embarrassment?  His nostrils flared as he inhaled again.  No.  That wasn’t embarrassment.  It was humiliation.   Alise was mortified, and he couldn’t place the source of her shame.  Not until she spoke again.

“We’re stricken, but you don’t want me.”  Dropping her eyes back to her hands, Alise forged on.  “Dell and Chloe explained the mate mark.”

Chief’s narrowed eyes cut to Dell and Chloe before shooting back to Alise.

“If you give me one, and I give you one.  It should be enough for us to…to be able to go our separate ways and struggle through until the stricken can pass.”

No!  Fuck no!  Brows spearing down, Chief took a step toward Alise, but she shot up out of her seat, holding up a hand. 

“Don’t.  I don’t want to discuss this.  I don’t want to even talk about it.  Let’s just do it and get it over with so that we can be rid of each other.”

Rid of each other?  A pang of sorrow shot through him and had his wolf whining for him to do something.  He wondered if the hollowness slowly filling him was how Alise felt this whole time because of the way he’d treated her for being human.

“I’m a human,” Alise continued, confirming his suspicion.  “And you hate humans, so it makes no sense for us to waste any more time.  I think we should just…”

No, no, no.  It wasn’t ending this way.  Not this soon!  Not like this! 

“My mother was human,” Chief blurted out. 

Alise’s mouth rounded in shock, but he forged on before he lost the courage to do so. 

“My mother was a human, Alise.  She was a human who didn’t want a shifter child.  A human who went into town one day and left me with my father when I was just weeks old.  A human who never came back.”

Hating the pity he saw in Alise’s eyes, he forged on, wanting and needing to get it all out at once.  “My father raised me until I was a teenager, but on my fifteenth birthday, he took me to a section of the forest I’d never been in, told me to find my own territory.  He said his job was done just before he shifted and walked away.  I grew up alone, and I blamed her.  I blamed her for walking out, and I blamed her for my dad abandoning me when he did because I never missed the way he looked at me sometimes like he was seeing a ghost.”  Heart constricting with the memories, Chief had to swallow hard at the emotion threatening to close his throat.  “He saw her in me, and he hated it.  I was a reminder of what he couldn’t keep.  And she knew there’d be a wolf in me and she hated that too.  I blamed her for all of it because if she didn’t run then maybe she’d have grown to like me and my dad would have too.  Disgusted, I pounded it into my head that humans don’t stay.  They can’t tolerate us.  I didn’t want to give a human a chance because she never gave me one.”  Helplessly he muttered, “Humans don’t stay.”

“We can’t stay, Chief.  Not if you don’t give us a chance to.”

Alise’s words hung between them.  He wanted to tell her that she was right.  He wanted to tell her that he’d give her a chance, but no words came.  He was thinking too hard about getting attached to Alise and what would happen if she walked too.

With sadness brimming her eyes, Alise turned to Chloe and Dell.  “Thank you for your hospitality.  If it’s okay, we’ll stay the night and leave first thing in the morning.”

“Where will you go?” Chloe asked.

Glancing over her shoulder at Chief, Alise said, “Tomorrow we’ll exchange marks before he takes me home, and he can go back to StoneCrow to fulfill his vow.”

Without another word, Alise hurried from the den leaving Chloe, Dell, and Chief staring after her.

Chief snarled, “You think me marking her is going to make it even remotely possible for my wolf to let her go?  I can’t fucking do it now!”

“Others have done it,” Chloe offered sadly.  “And if you’re so anxious to be free of her then it’s what you’ll have to do.  Best to do it sooner than later.  Rip the band-aid off, as they say.” 

“And who in the fuck said I want to be rid of her?”

Chloe jabbed her finger toward the empty doorway, face snapping into a frown.  “She did!  Your mate believes you don’t want her, Chief!  And if that’s the case, I’m gonna do what I can to make her separation from you as easy as possible.”  Chloe stomped toward the exit.  “And if it’s not the case, you’ve got some serious fucking work to do, which I suggest you get on because Alise wants to go home tomorrow!”

Alone with Dell, Chief growled, “Chrrrrrist!”  Scrubbing a hand down his face, he heaved out another breath before frowning at Dell.  “Is it always like this with a mate?”

With a chuckle, Dell clapped him on the back.  “Every minute and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Good lord, I’m screwed.