Chapter Eight
Living with Jace and Clarissa was hard, but shortly after Amanda and Logan moved in with them, the tabloid stories died down. It was probably the lawsuit that frightened the paparazzi off, and for that Amanda was grateful. If Logan wasn't so thrilled to actually be living with the Alpha, his father, she would have suggested that they move out again after a week. Being around Jace only made her heartache get worse every single day. At least the tabloids had moved onto other targets.
But the damage done to her reputation was already done.
"Hey, I know you."
Amanda tensed as she tried to ignore the woman's harsh tone, quickly grabbing a jar of peanut butter and putting it into her cart. Even something as simple as grocery shopping had become a chore, with people stopping, staring, and whispering. Then there were the people like this woman, who thought it was her job to protect Jace against women like Amanda.
"You're that skank that's trying to destroy the pack."
Stay calm. I can handle being called names.
But it wasn't the names that got to her. It was the feeling of being an outcast in her own hometown. She was raised on a farm out on the packlands. She went to school here. She took her courses at the community college right in town. This was literally the only place she had ever lived, and suddenly it was like she didn't belong here anymore.
"So, what do you want, anyway? To come between our Alpha and his mate so you can be the Alpha female?" The woman followed her into another aisle, her eyes lit with what she must have thought was righteous indignation.
"Leave me alone," Amanda said, looking for tuna fish. Logan loved tuna fish.
"That's rich, you're trying to tear the pack apart and—"
"I am not trying to tear the pack apart." Amanda whirled on her, eyes narrowed. "And you're not putting much trust in the Alpha if you think he'd be deceived by some skank."
The woman's face went red. Eyes narrowed. A growl rose from her chest. Amanda abandoned the shopping cart where it was and practically ran from the store. It was just getting worse. Jace promised that he would take care of it, but it seemed as if the more he put out official statements that there was nothing between himself and Amanda, the worse the bullying became.
If I move away, how will our custody agreement with Logan work? Would it even be fair to take Logan with me, away from his home and friends and the pack? From what Jace told her about his years outside the packlands, humans could be very cruel towards Shifters. Was it really within her rights to expose Logan to that at such a young age?
When she got out to the parking lot, she froze. Words were spray painted all over her beloved grandmother's car. Whore. Slut. Skank. Other words that were far worse. Amanda clamped her lower lip between her teeth as her eyes welled with tears. Well, whatever else, she couldn’t stay here.
She got into her mutilated car, hands shaking as she turned on the ignition.
Part of her wanted to drive out to her parents' farm, fall back into her old bed and sob until everything was taken care of. She had never had that much attention in her whole life. An introvert, all she really wanted was two or three close friends that she could rely on. Now, with all the negative attention pouring in on her, the weight was so strong that she thought she just might die before it broke.
By the time she got back to Jace's house, silent tears were streaming down her face. Luckily, neither Jace nor Clarissa was around. She didn't want to face them right now.
What do I do?
Amanda tried to calm down and think. Going to the farm wasn't going to help, not really. If she moved out of Jace's house and back to hers, would that stop the people from being so nasty? Or would that just make the house a target for people unhappy with the fact that six years ago she accidently got pregnant with Jace's son? Would Betty end up getting eggs thrown at her?
It seemed like a few days out of the public eye had helped the media frenzy die down. Maybe taking a few days out of town, getting some more time off work, and heading up into the mountains where she could just be herself, and run through the woods in her Wolf's skin would help with this situation. It had been months since she and Logan went camping.
Her mind made up, Amanda quickly made the preparations. She packed a cooler full of food and filled a backpack with clothes and toiletries. Her fishing rod and tackle was back at the house, so she'd grab that before picking up Logan from school.
But what was she going to do about her car? She couldn’t drive around everywhere with those words written on it. She would need to take one of Jace's vehicles. Fishing her cell phone from her pocket, she phoned him.
"Of course," he said when she explained what she had planned. His voice was thick with concern. "There's a four-wheel drive truck in the garage. The keys are in the glovebox. Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah. I'll just pick up my tent and sleeping bags from the house and get Logan from school. He loves camping. He's like you." Amanda held her breath to stop a new sob from ripping from her.
"He's like you, you mean. I always hated camping. I only ever suggested it because you love it so much. Are you going to our old spot?"
Amanda couldn’t help a fresh well of emotion. That was so like him, pretending to like something so they could do something together. "Yeah. Maybe you and Clarissa can come up sometime?"
"Maybe." Jace sighed. "I'll take care of your car, and I'll find a way to get these people to listen to me and leave you alone. I'm their Alpha, they need to start respecting my word."
"They think they're on your side."
"They're not," Jace muttered. "And I'll make them see that… somehow."
Amanda wiped her face. "I should go. Logan will be out of school in half an hour."
"Yeah. Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Thanks. I—" She almost said 'I love you' but caught herself just in time. "I appreciate it."
She hung up and shouldered the pack, returning to the kitchen for the cooler. Maybe she was running away from her problems, but at this point, she didn't really care. She just had to get away from this town and figure out what her next step was.
***
Logan's tail flew in wide circles as he pounced into the stream, biting the water. He went under, yipping as he surfaced before he jumped on a floating leaf and tore it in half. Amanda grinned as she watched him play, loving the feel of the cool breeze brushing against her fur. With the dirt under her paws, she felt utterly relaxed–far more relaxed than she had been in months.
She splashed through the water towards her son, and when he saw her coming, Logan jumped onto the bank, then tried to bounce onto her back. He missed, hitting a deep spot in the stream. He went under all the way and began kicking wildly. Amanda grabbed the scruff of his neck and pulled him out of the water, setting him down on the bank. He wasn't hurt at all, just a little scared, and she licked the water off his face to comfort him.
"Amanda?" Her ears rotated backward at the sound of the voice.
It was Jace. Logan yipped, then threw his head back and let out a thin howl. Amanda's wolfish face smiled as she gazed at her son and his attempts at howling, then faced the direction Jace's voice was coming from and howled, letting him know where they were.
She could smell him before he arrived. His rainy cedar scent stood out all the more in the midst of the birches and pines in this area. He wasn't alone, though. Clarissa's lilac scent came with him. Amanda's tail drooped in momentary disappointment, but as Logan ran towards the sounds of the two people headed their way, Amanda jumped into the bushes where she had left her clothes and shifted back into her human form.
"Hi, Logan," Clarissa said, sounding a little unsure. "Wow. He looks just like you in his Wolf form."
He did. Amanda smiled. In human form, he looked like her father, but as a Wolf, he was all Jace. Both of them suddenly let out protesting cries.
"Logan!" Jace cried. "No! You don't shake off around people like that. You got us all wet. Come here, you."
Amanda couldn’t stop a chuckle as she pulled on her clothes.
"Where's your mom?"
"I'm just getting dressed," she called, slipping on her shoes. She headed out of the bushes to find Logan still in his Wolf form, curled up in Jace's arms, dripping. She grinned at the sight. It was so sweet to see her son with his father. "So you two came up."
Jace nodded. "Yeah. We set up our tent already. We brought stuff for s'mores."
Logan yipped, wriggling so much that Jace almost dropped him. The Alpha laughed and set his son down. Logan immediately made a break for camp, Jace chasing after him. Amanda smiled at Clarissa as they headed back to the campground.
"How long will you two be staying?"
"I'm staying overnight," Clarissa said. "I don't know how long Jace will stay."
There was a mild edge to her voice, but Amanda didn't comment on it. Instead, she nodded as they continued. Camping was something that she and Logan were going to have to themselves in the future, it seemed, if both Jace and Clarissa weren't that fond of it. And that actually made her feel a little better.