Chapter Eight
Amelia tried not to worry when Xavier didn't phone her. He did say that he was going to try to talk to Timothy first thing when he got home. She didn't even look at her phone until the two hours it took to drive from her place to the packlands were over. When an hour after that passed and she still hadn’t heard anything from the Alphas, she carried it around in her hand, Xavier’s number ready to be called, trying not to imagine fiery car crashes or that anything else that might have happened to him.
A frantic knocking came at the door. Amelia was so wrapped up in her silent phone that the noise startled her. She rushed to the door, throwing it open to find Lucinda, stark naked, panting on her step. Amelia's eyes widened, then narrowed.
"What are you doing here?"
"It's Xavier and Timothy. I made a mistake – a terrible mistake!" Tears ran down Lucinda's cheeks and she grabbed Amelia's wrist, dragging her from the house. "You have to come. I'm afraid they're going to kill each other!"
Amelia's heart stopped. Her eyes widened, and she let Lucinda pull her along – until they started towards the forest. Instantly her suspicions rose again. What if the werewolf just wanted to lure her into the woods to kill her? Amelia yanked her wrist away.
"Why should I believe you after the lies you've told?"
Lucinda's eyes widened. "Please! I didn't mean for this to happen, I just didn't want them to pick you. Ever since I was a little girl, my grandfather has told me that I should be the Alpha female, and I was angry that they would rather have a human than me. I didn't intend for this to happen. I think you're the only one who can stop it. Please believe me. Please!"
Amelia hesitated. There was no reason for her to trust the werewolf, not after the way she had acted. Yet, there was something about her that screamed of the truth. Finally, she nodded. "But I need to take my car."
"No time," Lucinda said. "It's faster to go through the forest, rather than around it."
"I'm not exactly dressed for a hike."
Lucinda rolled her eyes. That was rich, coming from her. Amelia opened her mouth to tell her just that, but before she could, the other woman had backed up against her, picking her up piggy-back style. Amelia yelped, instinctively holding on. Lucinda began walking, and she didn't show any signs that Amelia was heavy to carry. Amelia yelped again, not comfortable being so close to the naked woman.
"I'm not really that type of girl—"
"Hold on," Lucinda interrupted. "I'm going to shift now. Try not to fall off."
Amelia responded by clutching the werewolf tighter. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was disappointed that her first time riding a Wolf wasn't with either of her Alphas, but she dismissed the thought as Lucinda began to shift. She did it slower than when Amelia saw Timothy shift, but that was probably so her rider could adjust her hold as necessary.
The Wolf Amelia ended riding was the size of a horse, and it was all she could do to hold on. Wind whipped in her face, snatching away her breath as Lucinda dodged trees and branches. Searing pain slapped over Amelia's exposed arms and legs as they rushed through the forest, unable to avoid all the twigs that snatched at her. She gritted her teeth and held on tighter.
By the time they emerged from the trees, Amelia's arms and legs were aching with the effort of holding on, and Lucinda was clearly tired, her pace having slowed significantly. A motorbike was sitting just outside the trees. Lucinda shifted back to human form, letting Amelia drop, and climbed onto the bike.
"Get on," she ordered even as Amelia was scrambling on after her. She wrapped her arms around the Wolf's naked waist, too worried about her Alphas to be embarrassed. She could hear fierce snarling in the air already.
The sight that greeted her at the Alphas' house had her heart in her throat. Two giant wolves, both coal-black, were tearing into each other, growling and snarling. Fur was flying everywhere, teeth sinking into flesh. Abruptly, it stopped and they backed away from each other, staring one another in the eye.
Lucinda grabbed Amelia's arm when she jumped off the bike. "They are fighting for dominance. The right to be Alpha and mate you."
"If I don't get both of them, neither of them gets me," Amelia snarled back.
Her voice seemed to jerk the one on the left back from whatever was going on in his brain. He lunged forward again. He grabbed the other one by his scruff, flipping him onto his back. That one responded by kicking with his back legs, hitting his attacker in the stomach. The front paws pressed against his attacker's neck until he choked and released his prey.
"Stop!" Amelia shouted. "Both of you, just stop."
The one that had attacked the other turned ever so slightly. Green eyes shone from the black fur. Timothy. Even in his Wolf's form, Amelia could see the hurt in his eyes. A low growl erupted from Xavier's chest and Timothy glared back, his hackles rising.
They were going to start fighting again, and the cause was clear: her.
After years of friendship, she was the one to come between them? Had Xavier pushed too hard when he told Timothy what she had told him? Her heart broke to see the two Alphas snarling at each other. She dashed forward, ignoring Lucinda's gasp, and planted herself between the two wolves.
The growling stopped immediately.
"You two are going to stop fighting and tell me what happened!" she shouted, looking from one to the other as tears filled her eyes. She pointed at Timothy. "Whatever is going on in your head, you can just forget about it. I want you! Yeah," she continued as his eyes widened, "I want you. But unless you can take your head out of your butt and put a little trust in me, it's over. Today, one way or another, either the three of us are going to be together or I leave, never to see either one of you again!"
Both wolves began backing up from her. Timothy's gaze went from her to Xavier. He shook his head, as though finally coming to his senses. Amelia held her breath, waiting. What would she do if they started fighting again?
"Please," she whispered. "Timothy…"
***
Xavier could only hope that Timothy would listen for once in his life. He didn't like how Amelia was between them, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that Timothy wouldn't harm her. His attack on Xavier was because of Alpha rage. He assumed there was a threat to his position and mate, and thus reacted to it. His instincts to protect his mate would be even stronger than his need to establish dominance, though.
Slowly, Xavier shifted back to his human form. Timothy growled when he stepped up beside Amelia, but the Lakeland Alpha didn't move.
"Tim, come on. We have been best friends our whole lives. You said that I betrayed you. How? What did I do? I didn't sleep with Amelia. All I did was hold her while she cried. I would never betray you. You know that."
The growl lessened and Timothy cocked his head to one side. Regret flashed in his green eyes and Xavier let out a deep breath. Good. The Alpha was retreating from him, returning as his friend and partner. Cautiously, he stepped away from Amelia, towards the other werewolf.
"Let's talk."
Timothy's form shifted from Wolf to human and he dropped to his knees, bowing his head. His chest heaved, fingers clawing into the dirt. After letting him recover his senses for a long moment, Xavier knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go inside."
Timothy nodded. "Do you really want me?"
"Yes. Yes, I want you."
"Let's get inside and patch up these scrapes," Xavier said, helping his partner to his feet. He winced as his ribs ached. "Then, we need to talk. You need to tell us what happened."
Timothy grunted, and his head swung round, focusing on Lucinda. She paled and backed up a step.
"You will wait for us inside," Timothy ordered.
The female dropped her head and nodded, following the triad in.