Judith

Oliver

'You can come by to pick her up,' Trevor’s voice drifted through the mind link.

Adair perked up. 'They’re coming home.'

I smiled at the wolf’s excitement. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same. 'We can’t overwhelm her here, she’s healing.'

I made my way to the Land Cruiser, again thankful the drive was short. Trevor and Rose were wheeling Lya out as we rolled up to the front door. I jumped out and opened the passenger door for her.

“FJ60?” Lya asked, her eyes wandering over the car.

I smiled and nodded. “You know your cars.”

She shrugged. “A thing or two.” She struggled a bit to get herself up into the passenger seat, so, without thinking, I just scooped her up and set her in. She blushed a deep red. “Thanks,” she muttered.

Trevor jumped in the back seat. “You coming, Rose?”

Rose slid in the back seat. “I’ll take a ride, but I need to head over to the training grounds when we get there.”

Lya looked around, taking in everything. We had tried to stick with the local flavor when designing the pack, so most of the houses looked like life size Lincoln Log cabins. Her eyes grew wide as we turned down the driveway to the packhouse.

“Oh,” she breathed.

I looked up at the house. I had gotten very used to it here, as it had always been my home. The house faced away from us, overlooking the river. Nearly floor to ceiling windows let in light and made the view impossible to miss. There was a large patio running the length of the house with a balcony above. It truly was the definition of a log cabin mansion, but it needed to be.

“This is huge!” she exclaimed. “How many people live here?”

I chuckled. “It’s actually kind of small as far as packhouses go. Only the Beta, his mate, and their three kids, Trevor has a room here, I’ve lived here all my life, and now you. We also have the offices for pack leadership here, and pack events would be held here.”

Lya nodded, eyes still bugging out of her head. We pulled up to the front door. I got out and scooped Lya out of the passenger seat before she had the chance to try and struggle out on her own. I reveled in the excuse to hold her close. She was stiff in my arms and beet red. Her embarrassment was cute.

“Would you rather walk?” I asked.

“Yes,” she stated.

“Can you?”

“No,” she quietly conceded.

I carried her up the steps, Trevor and a wheelchair close behind. Once in the foyer, I set her down in the wheelchair.

“Welcome home, Lya,” Trevor mused, clapping a hand down on her good shoulder. “Want the grand tour?”

She nodded, so we set out wheeling her around the downstairs.

“The kitchen is fully stocked and you are welcome to anything,” Trevor said when we made it to the kitchen, “but we do ask that you never try to cook anything at all ever. We don’t need this place burning down.”

Lya laughed a bit. “Hey! I do it out of love.”

Trevor cringed. “Find another love language.” He rolled her out to the patio and parked her near the outdoor fireplace. “This is where we spend the most time in the summer,” he said.

The sun glistened off the river, the water slowly weaving downstream. I pointed to a particular outcropping of rocks right on the shore. “That would be my suggestion for a good place to go with a beer,” I said. “When you’re healed.”

Lya smiled. “It’s beautiful here.” I watched her eyes find a footpath that followed the river. She pointed over to it. “Where does that go?” she asked.

“That goes down to my grandmother’s house,” I said. “She didn’t want to live in town after she moved out of the packhouse. She likes the solitude.”

We sat in a comfortable silence on the patio. After a while, Trevor slipped back into the kitchen, reemerging with a few bottles.

“It’s too early to drink, and one of us is on high doses of painkillers, so kombucha will have to do,” he said as he passed them out.

“Oh, is this some of the stuff you make?” Lya asked, cracking open her bottle.

Trevor gave her a side eye. “Really, would I let you drink anything less?”

This was the kind of peaceful afternoon I could get used to. After a while, Trevor broke the silence again.

“I’ve been thinking about your offer, Ollie,” he said, looking down at his bottle. “It’s time. I’ll take it.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes trained on the river. “Good. We will need you here, anyway.”

Lya looked back and forth between us. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Part of the pack hierarchy includes a beta,” I told her. “The alpha is inherited, but the alpha gets to choose their own beta and gamma. I’ve been trying to harass Trevor into taking the beta position since I took over eight years ago, and have just kept on my father’s beta while waiting for him to take it.”

“Does that mean that whole family will need to move out?” she asked. She seemed a bit worried.

I shook my head. “Not immediately. I’ll probably have Gregory work with Trevor for a while to get him up to speed, and their oldest daughter is probably going to medical school after this summer. So, at the end of summer we will start looking at alternative arrangements for them.”

“Besides,” Trevor chuckled, “the house will be too quiet without them.”

I looked down at my watch at the mention of the beta family. “Ah, shit, they’ll be getting home from school soon.” I looked up at Lya. “Would you like to meet some rowdy teenagers, or see your room?”

“Uh… room, please,” she said.

I nodded, standing up and wheeling her back through the kitchen. Trevor followed with the empty bottles, dumping them in the recycling. We walked down the hall of offices, and I made sure to point out which one was mine. Trevor veered off there. We turned at the end of the hall, heading down the Alpha wing. There were four doors, two on either side. The first on the right was Trevor’s, second on the right was empty. To the left, was first Lya’s room, across the hall from Trevor, next to me. Not close enough.

The rooms in the alpha and beta wings were large - enough room for a king size bed, small sitting area, private bath, and closet. Electric heat was not commonplace when this house was built, so the larger bedrooms each had a small fireplace, too, although now unnecessary.

“Oh, wow,” she gasped. “I get to stay here?”

I nodded. “I figured a downstairs bedroom would be easier for you while healing, and the upstairs is currently very desolate with no one staying up there.” She looked around, taking it all in. “We also have a housekeeper. Mara will do laundry and a basic clean once a week.”

“That isn’t necessary,” she quickly insisted.

“It isn’t,” I agreed, “but it’s a way I can ensure a paycheck for at least one pack member. Also, I hate cleaning.”

“When uh - when do you want me moved out by?” she asked cautiously.

I smiled. Never. “Don’t worry about that. Just get healed, figure out some more about yourself, and then we’ll talk.” Lya nodded. “Do you need help with-”

“No,” she cut me off, holding up her good arm. “I’ll figure it out. I don’t need a babysitter.”

I backed off. “I’ll come grab you when we get around to dinner, then.”

Lya’s only response was a nod again. I left the room, hoping some time and space would be enough for her to open up a bit. I couldn’t get a read on this girl to save my life.

'Usually you don’t have to get a read, I do,' Adair commented.

I huffed. 'So what’s your take, then?'

'I don’t know, I can’t get a read.'

'You are so very helpful,' I said while rolling my eyes. I opened the door to my office, glad to see Trevor was still there.

“So you’re staying,” I said.

Trevor nodded. “I’ll have to go back for a couple weeks to just wrap a couple things up, but I’ll be back this time. I promise.”

“If you back out again, I won’t be able to give you another chance.” I looked at him gravely. A little over a year ago, one of the few times he had been back, he had agreed to officially stepping up to be the pack’s beta, but backed out as soon as he went back east river to wrap things up.

“You said last time there was a girl…” my voice trailed off.

Trevor nodded. “It was her. There was always something just… off. She’s been a regular at the brewery since the day she moved to the area. She never smelled right. Not human, not werewolf, always super on edge. For a while I thought she was a hunter, actually.”

I tried to keep a stoic expression. Adair seethed. We could have had Lya here - home - with us, before that hunter had ever put his hands on her. “Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked. A hunter even six hours away was too close to home.

“I didn’t want to sound the alarms over nothing,” he shrugged. “But then she came in with that guy, and he was just fishy.” Trevor stared at his hands. “This has been my ultimate screw-up, and now I have to fix it.”

I gritted my teeth. “Well, we have a lead on the family her hunter fiance is from.” I shoved the file Gregory had given me earlier over to him. “I think you’ll recognize the name,” I spit.

Trevor looked down at the file. He leaned back, scrunched his eyes shut, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was about to lose it.

Marsan. This pack knew that name well. Over a decade ago - twelve years, to be exact - the Marsan family had targeted this pack. Luckily, we had been tipped off, and were able to lead them on into thinking we had a different location. East river, to be exact. Both Trevor’s parents were killed in the battle that ensued.

Once upon a time, Trevor’s father had been the beta of this pack. After his parents died, my parents took him in. We had grown up in the same house; he was already practically family. It only made sense for him to stay. But, no one was surprised when he left to seek vengeance, under the guise of searching for his mate. I knew Trevor, and I knew he didn’t give a shit about a mate. He knew exactly who his mate was, but absolutely refused to admit it was her. Slowly, over the past six years he had been gone, I had put the dots together. He had always guaranteed me he would come back home as soon as he ended the Marsans for good, and said he would have time to face the music then. But he knew as well as me that the fight was coming home now.

I leaned over my desk, my voice low. “I know retribution is what you really want, and they didn’t fall for that trap you tried to set. Time to follow the rule book now.”