Holt

 

My mother was kind enough to continue bringing me food after I scarfed down one heaping plate of pancakes and venison sausage. She made herself a plate with a small amount of food; then sat at the table with me. She watched me shovel food into my mouth like I hadn’t eaten in a week. She proceeded to say she thought it was time for me to find my soul mate. She insisted this Hunger mumbo-jumbo was to blame for my insatiable appetite and angst.

I hate to admit it, but I tuned her out. Talking about a mate was the last thing I wanted to hear. The loss of my father was to blame for my anguish, period. And in typical fashion, the same as when I was younger, I turned to food for some form of comfort. My mother should have known that because that had been my coping mechanism in the past. My excessive eating and extra weight when I was younger was one of the reasons I was tormented so much by that wretched Veronica. It had become a vicious cycle. Eat, gain weight, fight weight off. Repeat.

As I got older, I’d worked out extremely hard during college for long hours to lose the weight and perfect my body once and for all. I wanted to look like someone who should be called Holt, not look like fat-boy Barry with a new name, like others had teased. Those days were behind me and, even though my appetite seemed quite abnormal right at that time, I was prepared to do whatever it took to make sure the weight gain didn’t happen ever again.

“Are you listening to me?” She asked.

My mom had pleaded over and over with me not to jeopardize my own safety by engaging in a war with the humans right away. She swore the men would be dealt with in due time. Patience wasn’t my strong suit. I wanted revenge and I wanted it right then, but I appeared to be honoring my mother’s wish because Trey was forcing me to be patient, too.

“I hear ya,” I said through my mouthful of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. What kind of impression are you going to make on your mate? She’ll think her life partner is a caveman or something.”

I swallowed and laughed. “Can we not talk about this soul mate stuff?” My mom shook her head, then joined in with a light chuckle.

The mood seemed to have lifted for a brief moment, and there was no way I was going to let her in on the secret that Trey, Dolph, and I had an appointment with the Wolf Council to discuss what they deemed was appropriate later.

After Mom cleaned up the breakfast dishes, and hung up her apron she reached for her purse.

“I have to go out this morning. I have some errands to run. I shouldn’t be too long,” she said.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go to the store. You’ve eaten nearly everything we had.”

“Promise me you won’t shift. It’s not safe.”

“Yes, dear. Always the worrier. The same person who wants to initiate a war with a Pack of four.” She chuckled. “Barry, do me a favor, please.”

“Sure, Mom.”

“Keep an eye on the house and our land. And spend your energy on finding the rest of the Pack and your soul mate. To be a strong Alpha, you’ll need to have her by your side.”

“Yeah, yeah. All this soul mate stuff is really too much right now.”

“Barry,” she said. “Sweetheart, I love you. Always remember that. Will you do that for me?”

“Of course, Mom. I love you, too.”

“I should be back soon.” With that, she gave me a tighter-than-normal hug, one last glance, then she turned on her heels and pulled the door closed behind her.

It was almost nine in the morning. I was expecting Trey and Dolph to come by so we could make our way to the Council to get everything situated. Then we could begin to strategize the best way to free the members of the Pack. We had to get this right. A lot was riding on us being successful. My father used to always tell me to give my best effort. This time I had to do better than that. There were quite a few others counting on me to step up.

“Hey,” Dolph said as he walked in the door without even knocking. “What’s for breakfast?”

“We don’t have any more food. Mom just left to go shopping. We can go find something. I’m starving, too.”

“I just saw her. Is she okay?”

“I guess. Why do you ask that?”

“I don’t know. She seemed preoccupied. When I said hi to her, she didn’t hear me. I had to walk over directly in front of her, and she nearly ran into me before she realized I was there. Without saying a word, she pulled me into a tight hug. It just seemed strange to me.”

“Mom has a lot on her mind. We’re going to have my father cremated, and that’s upsetting her, too. I’ll talk to her when she gets back.”

“Have you had any luck being able to hear any of the others yet?” Dolph asked.

“Nothing. I thought I’d automatically become Alpha and have the same powers my father had.”

“You didn’t pay attention to anything your father told you, did you?” Trey questioned. His entrance was stealthy, and he startled me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The Council needs to acknowledge you as Alpha. And even then, it will take some time to hone the ability to hear the others. It’s not like they wave a magic wand over your head. Good grief,” Trey said as he shook his head.

“Yeah, well,” I started. I had nothing to say. My father probably did tell me that.

“Well, let’s get prepped for this meeting with the Council. We can’t go in there half-cocked.” Trey tilted his head, and let his eyes roll while he looked in my direction. I knew that was a cheap shot directed at me.

We sat and talked for nearly an hour. My stomach continued to rumble throughout our discussion. It felt like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. I thought my stomach acid was going to begin eating a hole in my gut from the inside out if I didn’t get some food.

“We need to get some food in your stomach, then we need to get going. We can’t be late. They will frown on you as Alpha if you’re so much as one second late,” Trey said.

“How do you know so much about this?” I asked.

“I fucking paid attention. Now, come on.”

We left the house and locked up. My stomach wouldn’t calm down until I shifted and locked my jaws on a delicious deer. I devoured it, taking a break only when Dolph stepped too close. I lifted my head, my eyes focused, holding him in his place and then I growled a warning for him not to touch my meal. He had his rabbit.

We cleaned up and continued on our way until we reached our destination.

The meeting didn’t take as long as I thought it might. I honestly had no idea what I was walking into, but Trey stood by my side and helped me answer many of the initial questions about the Pack, the land, and what happened that day in the park.

When it came time to discuss in more detail the situation that landed many of our Pack in captivity, and my father being murdered, the Council members were very upset, and could see why I wanted to take action, but they asked Trey to oversee me. My jaw clenched and my fists balled up. I was furious. I felt like a child all over again.

Finally, the topic of Pack Alpha was discussed. Evidently the comments Trey had made in the past made their way to Council ears. Fucking great, I thought. When his comment that I couldn’t lead a Pack to pick up sticks was repeated, followed up immediately that a She-wolf would make a better Alpha, I was mortified. Trey cleared his throat and said he’d made those comments when I was younger, and that now he stood before them and vouched for me, as my father’s Beta.

Luckily for me they didn’t say no, but they didn’t say yes, either. I was put on a sixty-day trial-run as Alpha to see how I handled the responsibility. After that time lapsed I was to return, and they would have a final hearing. The bottom line - I was named ‘acting-Alpha.’

“Just fucking great,” I mumbled as we walked outside.

“Shut up, kid. The walls have ears, and it could be worse. At least they’re willing to give you a chance to prove yourself,” Trey said.

Lucky me, I thought.