“Welcome to the Forest pack,” Erik says as he stops the car outside a massive metal gate, which sits in the middle of an endless forest we have driven in for half an hour. I haven’t said a word; just tried to turn my phone on, and glared at both Gold and Erik the whole time. Two people are standing next to the gate on each side, looking imposing and creepy. They both stare at us and then at each other, and I watch as the one on the left walks over to the car. The man is big, with a grey jacket and jeans on, and a serious expression as he looks at us.
“The Forest pack? Couldn’t the owner or whatever think of a better name?” I ask Gold, who laughs.
“The alpha is the person who owns and runs the pack. He has three betas, and you are about to meet one. You have met my twin and me already. That’s all three,” she says, nodding at the beefy man coming over. Erik lowers the window, and the man leans in.
“New wolf?” he asks straightaway, and he looks at me with a slight frown.
“Lewis, nice to see you again. Always a pleasure and yes, the rogue turned her before we got him,” Erik replies.
“Alpha is not going to like this,” Lewis says and straightens up, waving us in as the gates open.
“Why is the alpha not going to like me being here?” I ask.
“Erm…” Gold looks away, not answering my question. That’s not worrying at all. I mentally curse and look out the window as we drive past more trees and down a dirt road. The large jeep makes some sense now. The dirt road opens up to a massive house, which looks like five houses combined. It’s made of grey stone, with massive towers on each side that cut short of the giant trees. There is a large garage built onto the far side, with ten cars parked outside. There’s a space between them, and Erik pulls the jeep into it.
“Let us do the talking and don’t be scared,” Gold says with a smile as she gets out the car. Erik doesn’t say a word, just opening his door and walking away. I get myself out the car, flinching with pain when I stand on my leg. That bloody hurts.
“Here.” Gold comes to my side of the car and puts her arm around me, letting me lean on her as we walk slowly towards the house, every step shooting pain through my leg. The house looks even more prominent when we get to the door, and Erik pushes it open. He holds the door for us, as we walk up the two steps and into the house. The inside is massive, and I have a feeling every room is like that. The room has light wooden floors, and a large staircase that curves around the wall, with a long corridor full of doors underneath it. The one wall is stripped of plaster and polished, showing off the grey stone. It’s really nice.
“This way; he’ll be in his office,” Gold says, leading me straight down the corridor in front of us.
“He never leaves the damn place,” Erik mutters, and I see Gold glare at him.
“Shouldn’t you go and see Snow and Arisa?” she snaps, and he looks away. Who are they? I don’t have time to ponder their identities as we reach the second door down, and Gold knocks three times.
A deep, seductive voice responds, “Come in.”
“Let me go and explain things to him a little,” Erik suggests and Gold nods, stepping back to let Erik through. The door is left open a little, so I can hear what they say.
“What’s wrong?” the man asks.
“The rogue we followed, he bit a human just before we got there. The buggar was hard to track,” Erik says, and there’s silence in the room for a long time. I look up, and Gold places a finger against her lips.
“The turned? Is the human alive?” the man replies after the pause.
“Yes, and we brought her here. She woke up today. We were lucky; she just turned eighteen and was a foster kid. The foster parent grabbed the money before we even had a chance to explain Harper is okay. No one will miss or follow her,” Erik replies, and I look away from the door when I see Gold giving me a sympathetic look. Colton will miss me, and he will want to know where I’ve gone.
“Bring her in. We will have to sort something out,” the man says.
Gold lets me go a little and takes my hand in hers, before opening the door. I walk in, following her, and stop in my tracks when the man sitting behind the desk stands up as his blue eyes meet mine.
“Mate,” he breathes out in apparent shock.
Mate?