Chapter Seven
They arrived back at the cabin, the omega still keeping his name to himself. The rest of the pack had made it there ahead of them.
“Congratulations, Hunter,” Sybil said, stepping forward to press a kiss to his cheek. “And who is this lovely young man?”
The young man in question needed a shower. A few days in a cage would do that to anyone.
“This is…” Hunter turned to the omega, hoping he’d help him out, but he avoided Hunter’s gaze. “…my mate, who isn’t quite ready to talk just yet.”
“Of course he isn’t,” Sybil said, “after the way he’s been treated. Come on now, dear. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
She whisked the reluctant omega away and the sound of running water followed.
“So, not quite love at first sight?” Seth joked.
“We warned you he’d be trouble,” Angus said. “He’s your responsibility now.”
“I know that.” Despite the very recent fight, he felt his anger grow. Why did they have to keep pushing?
Seth caught him by the arm. “Let’s go outside, get some air. The others can keep an eye on your mate.”
Hunter looked to Angus, who nodded his agreement, the tension in the room easing.
Once outside, Seth marched them off into the woods, giving the Gathering, and nearby cabins, a wide berth.
They were out of earshot of anyone else before Seth spoke
“Have you lost your mind? You know how my father feels about omega. How exactly is choosing one as your mate a good idea? You’re supposed to be doing this to calm your anger, not fan the flames.”
Only now was Seth voicing his concerns, after it was a done deal. Typical. Seth was good at helping him get into trouble but useless at getting him out of it.
“I don’t want a mate, Seth.”
“I know that. You’ve made it very clear.”
“Yeah, well, he doesn’t want a mate either. You heard what they said. He’s a runner. Give it a week or two and he’ll be gone.”
Seth started to laugh. “That’s your grand plan? Let the omega you’ve just claimed as your mate run away?”
“Yeah. He gets away, and I buy another year before I have to choose a new mate. Everyone’s happy.”
“My dad is going to be pissed if he figures out you planned this. Which he will pretty quickly if you and your mate don’t at least look the part.” The look on Seth’s face told him that so far, they weren’t convincing anyone.
“Angus is the one who gave me the ultimatum. He said to choose a mate or be exiled. I’m just doing what he asked.”
Seth laughed. “Walking yourself into trouble is more like it.”
“When am I not in trouble?”
“True.” Seth leaned against the trunk of a tree. “Did you see the way the Red Fangs were eying Baelon? Like he was a deer they’re stalking. I give it a year, tops, before they make an attempt to take his territory. And after that, the rest of us will fall, like dominoes.” Seth slapped a hand against the trunk of the tree.
And with Baelon burning bridges with the other packs, no one would be coming to his aid.
“Do you ever feel like we’re watching our world fall apart around us?” Hunter stared up at the sky, seeing the stars spread across the darkness. It if looked that bad from down here, what would it look like from up there?
“Yeah, that’s exactly what it feels like. The whole place is in quicksand and there’s no one left to pull us out. We must have gone wrong somewhere, Hunter, seriously wrong.”
Inwardly, Hunter agreed. In a matter of years, the ability to shift would be relegated to myth and legend. Stories they told kids around campfires. He wished he knew why.
Sybil, the pack alpha’s mate, was like a mother hen, making sure he got cleaned and fed. It was nice to wash the dirt from his hair and skin. He was starting to itch in places.
After he dried off and put on the clothes she’d left out for him, he stuck his head out the door, all eyes in the room turning to him. None of them were Hunter. But the pack’s alpha was there, his gaze disapproving. He’d heard him talking before, and knew he hadn’t given his blessing for Hunter to choose an omega. Better and better. They might not bat an eyelid when he took off. In fact, they might be more than happy to see the back of him.
“There now, that’s better,” Sybil said, looking him up and down. “Let’s get some food into you before Hunter gets back. It’s been a long day, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
He crossed the room cautiously, following her into the kitchen. There was a girl sitting at the table, her eyes red, a woman sitting next to her with an arm around her. Cade recognized her vaguely as the one who hadn’t been selected at the Choosing.
When she caught sight of Cade, she scoffed. “This is the one Hunter chose? He’s not even pretty.”
“Elena!”
The woman next to her shushed her.
Cade slid into a seat, avoiding eye contact, aware that both women were staring at him.
“Here, eat this,” Sybil said, setting a plate in front of him. He hadn’t thought he was hungry, but the smell of the freshly baked bread hit his nose and his stomach growled. Sybil was busying herself washing dishes while the others were still giving him the evil eye. He picked up the sandwich and started eating. It was a good deal nicer than the food Black Tail had been giving him. And a darn sight better than the scraps Baelon threw him.
Someone hollered from the other room and the woman at the table got up and left, Sybil following her. That left Cade alone with Elena.
“He’s too good for you, you know.”
Cade chewed and swallowed a mouthful of sandwich before looking up at her.
“It’s Elena, right?” he said.
“That’s right.” Her gaze held a challenge. Cade guessed she’d been expecting Hunter to choose her.
“How long have you known Hunter?”
“Since he was a kid and his mom brought him to the pack.”
“He wasn’t born in the pack?” That was unusual.
“His mom was our alpha’s sister. She left the pack when she turned eighteen. Turned back up out of the blue with Hunter in tow, dumped him there and left.”
“And your alpha took him in with open arms?”
“Our pack looks after its own. And Hunter is the best of us. He and I are meant for each other.”
Cade was unusually qualified to testify to the contrary. There was no sense of connection between Elena and Hunter. None. So why was Elena so insistent that there was?
He took a drink of water before replying. “Then why did he choose me?”
“You did something to him, didn’t you? Worked some kind of omega magic.”
Cade laughed at the accusation. “Right, I put a spell on him and made him fight for me.”
The sarcasm went right over Elena’s head. “I knew it. I’m going to talk to our alpha, force him to break off the mating. Hunter is supposed to be mine, I know it’s true.”
She got up and stormed out the door.
“You’re welcome to him,” Cade muttered. She was a tail short of a wolf, too. There seemed to be a lot of that going around. Maybe being unable to shift did something to people’s minds.
He almost felt sorry for Hunter. It still didn’t explain why the alpha was so keen to have him for a mate that he’d take on Zane. He wanted something, but Cade wasn’t sure what that was. It made him uneasy and he was tired being at the mercy of an alpha’s whims.