CHAPTER SIX
- Tallulah -
After my fifteen-minute fight with the doctor, I’m finally on my way to the Alpha’s office. But I’m pissed. The only way the doctor would let me leave was if I agreed to use a wheelchair.
I’m upset at being stuck in a chair because it proves everyone right. I am a liability. I’m weak. Hell, realistically even a full shifter with my injuries and Wolfsbane in their system would need to be in this stupid chair. It does not soothe my injured pride.
Slouched deep in the chair, I let loose a huff for the hundredth time. Kenji walks in front of us to open the doors, and Dad’s got the honour of chauffeur. They wouldn’t even let me steer myself.
Uneasiness goes through me as we make our way down the familiar hallway. The boys and I used to run down it before that disastrous summer. Years have passed, and I still have no clue why it all changed. My five-year-old self couldn’t grasp or understand why one day I had loads of friends and the next I was banished from the pack house.
I remember the sense of loss. Though it’s now tempered with anger. Ever since that summer, I’ve been treated like a leper. The only reason I can even come up with is the children were told I’m a half mutt and ordered to stay away from me. Only, the guys visited me at the house. They were the only ones, and I assumed they truly cared. But recent behaviour from them implies they never did and were only there out of pity.
My grip tightens on the handles of the wheelchair as I battle with my emotions. I need to get myself under control before this stupid meeting. God knows what it’s about, but the Alpha made a good point. I requested it now so I could avoid Theo for a little while longer.
Before I realise it, we’ve made our way through the long hallways, and Kenji opens the huge, dark wood double doors to Alpha Henrique’s office. My body automatically tenses as if it knows it needs to prepare for the firing squad.
When my chair comes to a stop in front of the desk, it’s a surprise to learn Luna Rosalina and Beta Leverette are also present. Kenji briefly greets his mum and dads before the double doors firmly shut behind me.
Luna Rosalina is a beautiful lady. She has a tall and slender frame with hair the colour of autumn leaves. She has a gentle and naturally nurturing ability, which suits her well as Luna, but she can be as strong as her mates when she needs to. Theo inherited her eyes which always appear to sparkle like jewels. I know from experience they also become dull or darker depending on her mood.
Dressed in casual business attire, she still manages to appear relaxed while seated at the desk. Small and self-conscious, I sit in her elegant presence while dressed in my ratty pyjama’s.
“Are you feeling better, dear?” Rosalina smiles in kindness.
I openly study her face, looking for any hint of disgust, but I don’t find any. In fact, her smile only grows into an amused grin. I’m a liability to the pack so, no matter how many times she’s visited over the years, I always expect to see disappointment or disgust from her.
It’s always a surprise when I don’t.
Letting myself relax a little, I loosen my death grip on the chair and discreetly flex my fingers to work the blood back through them.
Leverette momentarily glances up, but goes back to the paperwork strewn haphazardly across the desk. “How’s the leg, Tallulah?”
Before I can answer, he grumbles under his breath, but I don’t quite catch what it was. Judging by the laughter from Rosalina and Henrique, they both caught what he said.
Quietly, I watch their interactions. Henrique tenderly holds Rosalina’s hand, and from what I can see, it looks like Leverette has a hand on her knee. I’ve grown up watching these three be openly affectionate towards each other, and I can’t help but admire their relationship. It also leaves me with a sense of loss. I’ll never have what they do.
On the brief occasions I’ve visited, I’ve never witnessed jealousy between the Alpha and his Beta over their love of the same lady. Henrique is Theo’s father, and Leverette fathered the twins, Kenji and Quimby.
Wondering whether the guys will share a mate or if they’ll have individual relationships, causes me to feel queasy. Jealousy rushes through me, and I bite my tongue in a bid to distract me.
It’s stupid and unrealistic to want more than friendship from them. Sure, I’ve known them all my life, but it doesn’t warrant the hope my stupid crush will be reciprocated. Irrational jealousy aside, Theo’s recently turned into an asshole towards me. Why should I care if some poor sap gets stuck with him? I should be relieved it’s not me, but for some reason, I’m not.
I break away from my inner turmoil and come back to my surroundings, to the conversation. I only catch the end of what Henrique says, “...stay here.”
Confused, I turn towards Henrique and nervously request, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
He frowns at me with a sigh, but complies with my request without backlash. “I said, with the recent attack, it’d be best for you and your father to stay here until we figure out what the Blood Moon pack are after. If I were to hazard a guess, they were after the pups, but I think we’d all feel better with you both closer, in case we’re wrong.”
Shock shoots through me that Blood Moon would go after innocent children. “You suspect the babies were their intended target and not me. Yet you want me to stay here, why? I mean, who wants to go after the half-mutt?”
Loud curses, and a vicious bang echo from behind the closed doors. I jump in surprise. Damn, I forgot Kenji and my father were still outside the office.
My attention is pulled back to the Alpha and Beta in front of me. I’ve spoken out of turn, judging by the dark, murderous expressions on both Henrique’s and Leverette’s faces.
Immediately, I gulp and hang my head in shame. About to have my ass chewed out for my disrespect to the heads of the pack, I wait for whatever punishment is about to come my way.
I flinch when a chair scrapes noisily across the polished wooden floor. Nervousness makes me briefly wonder if the varnish scraped off and will need to be re-done. Hands slap down on the desk and cause me to recoil into the chair with a gasp.
When I raise my head, I’m momentarily caught off guard. Rosalina leans across the desk, her hands support most of her weight.
Things are about to get nasty. Especially if I managed to piss off the normally happy, laid back Luna.
“Now you listen here, and you listen good, Tallulah Mardak. You will stay here until the threat’s over. I don’t care if the threat was only towards the pups. You’re injured, and your father can’t do his job properly because he’ll be in a state of constant worry over his little girl. So we, or rather, I, want you close.” She briefly smiles sweetly back at her mates, to lessen the sting of her words. “I enjoy the time my three boys are around me, as well as my two mates, but it’s too much testosterone and becomes overly tedious at times. But here’s the deal, I’d like some female company for a change. Therefore, while you’re banged up, you can’t escape me.”
Fiercely, she continues, “However, if I ever hear you call yourself a half-mutt again, I’ll personally drag you, injured or not, to the training room and kick your ass myself! Do I make myself clear?”
I can only nod at her words.
She straightens and walks around the desk. Her hand gently caresses Leverette’s shoulder as she passes him. She stops next to me, turns the wheelchair to face her, and kneels at my side.
The brown of her eyes bright, she gently takes my face in her hands, much how I imagine a mother would her child. “You’re a beautiful, young lady, and you’re also very special. Half human shouldn’t be a burden, rather you should be proud of your heritage. We’re very lucky to have you, Tally, don’t ever forget it.”
Still reeling from Rosalina’s comments, I miss Dad coming back into the room until he pushes my wheelchair out of the office and walks in the direction of the Alpha’s family quarters.
That’s another thing I can’t get my head around. Instead of placing us in a separate house like all the other pack members, Henrique has opened his house personally to us.
What I don’t get though, is why? We’re not important. I know I’m injured and the doc said he wanted me and Theo to stay close to each other for his convenience, but there are other places big enough for two beds. And any equipment needed can easily be found at the medical centre to accomplish the task of healing.
Overwhelmed, I ignore the sensation of Dad’s eyes burning into the top of my head as I glance around. The Alpha’s house is joined to his office by an overly long hallway. Transparent glass is on one side with numerous closed doors on the other.
I choose not to acknowledge the tense atmosphere around us. Instead, I take in the beautiful views as we pass by. The children play happily out front on the well-manicured lawn, and in the distance, wildflowers of various colours speckle the ground at the base of the trees. The thick forest offers shade in the sun now that the storm has passed. My mind turns to the attack, and a shudder runs through me. My heart stutters at the thought that my injuries could have been a hell of a lot worse if Theo hadn’t been there. Possibly even fatal.
At some point, I need to thank him for saving me, even if he’s an ass. It will be better for me to curb my attitude a little with him, too. After all, I’ll be stuck with him for the next few days.
Being trapped with them will likely be a nightmare, and I don’t want to fight with any of the brothers. Only Theo keeps pissing me off. Kenji… Well, I’m not even sure where I stand with him at the moment. He was nice in the hospital, but his mood turned foul when we exited the office. For some unknown reason, my guess is he was the one who caused all of the bangs and curses in the hallway outside the office. He hasn’t spoken a word since, just continues to ignore everyone as he walks past them in the hallway.
Ahead, Kenji opens a door, but instead of patiently waiting for us, he disappears inside without checking to see if we follow. Dad briefly stops in the hallway. As if he’s aware of my inner turmoil, he places a hand on my shoulder and gently squeezes. I draw some extra strength from him and give him a nod. I’m ready for whatever is about to greet me.
He pushes me through the door, and I’m shocked to realise the open planned living space is the same as I remember it from childhood. Many times, I played in here with the boys while Dad went on food runs. Rosalina always treated me the same as her boys. Resolved to the fact I need to harden up, I shake my head to dispel the thoughts. I can’t keep dwelling on what I had as a child.
“Hey, Baby-cakes, you’re finally here!” a voice shouts excitedly to my left.
I turn towards the voice and spot Quimby propped up on one sofa with a magazine in his lap with Theo sprawled across the other sofa. He’s only dressed in a pair of shorts. I glance at his chest, able to make out most of the smaller scratches have healed. The larger gash on his side still appears red and sore. Wolfsbane in his system must have slowed down his ability to heal, too.
A door slams down the hallway, and I startle. Glancing around, I realise Kenji must’ve headed in the direction of his room as soon as we came into the main living space. To busy gawking, I didn’t notice.
Pointedly, I turn my attention back to Quimby and attempt to smile, but it falls flat. “Hey, Quib.”
His attention was directed over his shoulder where Kenji had gone, but when he hears the familiar shortened name from me, he spins back to face me with a huge smile and an extra sparkle in his eyes. “Mum said we’d have a couple of guests, so I got the guest rooms ready. If I knew it was you though, I’d have put clean sheets on mine instead, and we could’ve shared,” he adds a flirtatious wink.
“I doubt you’d want to share with me Quib, I hog the covers,” I joke to hide the blush.
Dad snorts behind me. “She’s not far wrong, son. Many a time I’ve taken her camping, and she’d always hog the blankets. Proper wriggler, too.”
My hands cover my burning cheeks. “Alright, Dad, enough with embarrassing me.”
Quimby and Dad openly laugh. Shockingly, a chuckle comes from Theo’s direction, too. I haven’t heard him laugh like that in what seems like forever. Slyly, I glance over. There is a smirk on his face, which softens his appearance. His eyes, for once, are lighter.
He usually comes across as serious, like he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. With a glimpse at those shoulders, a fluttery feeling goes through me, like butterflies have taken up a spot in my stomach. I tear my gaze away and nervously wring my hands.
Maybe, the weird reaction is because of the drugs in my system. It’s the only thing I can think of which would make my body confused by Theo. Don’t get me wrong, he’s gorgeous, but aside from the stupid crush thing I’ve ignored, I keep noticing his body and appearance. I can’t seem to keep my eyes off him.
Dad kneels next to my chair and taps my arm, dragging my attention back to him. “Right, sweetie, do you want me to grab you anything specific from the house? I need to go over and assess the damage.”
My heart skips a beat, and I grab his hand tight. “You can’t, Dad. Please stay here. What if they’re still there?”
He smooths my hair down with his free hand, and he doesn’t flinch away from my death grip. Sympathy and understanding fill his face. “They’ll probably be long gone by now, and I’m a tough old boot. I’ll be fine, and I’ll take a couple of the pack’s security with me if it worries you. You won’t be rid of your old man that easily, honey.”
Dad places a kiss on my cheek, and I loosen my hold on him. He gives a nod to Theo and Quimby before he leaves the room. The click of the door as it shuts behind him sounds ominous. Tears fill my eyes, but I manage to battle them back. My reaction is stupid, but ever since we lost Mum, Dad and I have been attached at the hip. He’s a shifter; he’s stronger than a human. My brain knows this, but in my heart, I’m still petrified something might happen to him.
The guys must sense my drop-in mood, because Quimby claps his hands together to get all our attention focused on him. “You must be hungry. I know I am. So, what’s your poison...” He cringes when his words register, and Theo growls at him. “Okay, shit head! Let me rephrase it.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me and smirks. “Burger and fries? Pizza?”
My stomach lets out a loud approval to the junk food. Theo and I chorus together, “Pizza, please.” At the same time, “Burger,” can be heard bellowed from behind the door down the hallway. Kenji is upset, but clearly not enough to put him off food.
Slowly, I wheel myself over to the third sofa, apply the brakes, and heave myself up without putting weight on my leg. It takes some careful choreography, along with creatively using the wheelchair to wobble, stumble, and hop, my ass over to heavily land on the sofa. I sigh in relief, wiggle to get more comfortable, and lift my legs up.
Quimby makes a weird noise, stands up, and marches over to the phone. He picks it up in a death grip. Fascinated, I idly wonder if he squeezes it any harder, will he snap the phone? He speaks with a level of authority, which could rival Henrique’s, before he slams the phone down. He lets loose a chuff as he rubs a hand down his face before his body finally relaxes. He turns and notices me observing, but I don’t question him. I doubt he’d like it.
Theo must’ve been watching his actions while on the phone, too, because Quimby looks straight at him. “Twenty minutes and the food will be brought up to us.” He acknowledges Theo, but puts off the unspoken question. He leaps over the back of the sofa to land prone, picks up his forgotten magazine, and then noisily flips through its pages.
With a huff, I slouch slightly and shut my eyes. These next few days will be like pulling teeth if the tension stays this thick. Maybe, it would’ve been better if I refused to stay here and gone home instead.