False Pretense

Oliver

Lya fell asleep only about thirty minutes into the movie. She had unconsciously tucked herself under my arm and I couldn’t help playing with a couple strands of her thick auburn hair. Rose left once it was over, promising to come back after training the next day. Trevor and I sat in silence, staring at the black tv screen.

Trevor sighed before breaking the silence. “I’m really sorry man.”

“What for?” I snaked my hand along the back of the loveseat

“I wouldn’t have done it like that if I had known…” his voice trailed off, but I knew what he meant. He wouldn’t have tried to use Lya as bait to draw the hunters in if he had known she was my mate.

'Shut up,' Adair hissed.

'Not now, Adair.' I gritted my teeth.

“It shouldn’t have been done that way at all, with anyone,” I said.

“I know,” he nodded.

“Ending this isn’t all on you,” I said. “If it’s all on anyone, it’s me.” Trevor tried to speak up, but I cut him off. “I get that they killed your parents, and I get the personal responsibility that you feel. But it’s my pack, and they pose a threat to all of us. Not just you.”

“I just thought I could end it without getting anyone else involved,” Trevor mumbled.

I chuckled, “That’s never how it works. What made you decide to give it up, anyway?”

Trevor shrugged. “She actually became my friend, which wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to just be a pawn. And the closer they got, the more it worked, the more scared she was…”

“And you couldn’t do to her what our parents did to others,” I finished. “Those things usually only work once, anyway.”

“Is there any way we can keep my mate away until this is over?” he asked.

I shook my head. “You know as soon as this is over, there will be another threat on the horizon. You could’ve had four years of peace with her at this point. I already forced her into college instead of being a warrior like she wanted. I’m not controlling her life anymore. You want her away from the pack, you tell her.”

Trevor looked down at his beer. “I can’t lose her, too,” he said quietly.

“Man, you don’t even have her. All you’ve done is run from her,” I scoffed.

“G’nite, man.” He stood up, heading for the door.

“She’ll be back at the end of the month.” I looked over to where he was standing in the doorway. “You’ve got two weeks to figure your shit out.”

Adair rustled around in my head.

'Now what?' I asked.

'She’s been awake.'

Fuck.

“Lya.” I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eye. When I finally looked up at her, she was staring at me, wide eyed. The scent of wolf on her became overpowering.

I searched through the mindlink until I found the person I needed. 'We need you at the packhouse.' I didn’t get a response, but I rarely did.

“Why was I brought here?” she demanded.

“Lya, nothing’s changed,” I insisted. “It’s the exact reason I told you before.”

“But why?” she insisted.

I withdrew my arm. “It’s a long story.”

“Make it short,” she growled. It was very much a wolf’s growl.

“Exactly as it sounds, then,” I sighed. “Lya, can you listen please?” I thought at least her wolf trusted us, but now I wasn’t so sure.

“Lya?”

She growled again, and the unmistakable sound of bones cracking to shift ripped through the room.

I reached out to touch her. “Lya, please,” I begged. An auburn paw batted my hand away. She had shifted.

'What do we do?' I asked Adair.

He was anxious. 'I don’t know!' He shrieked. 'We can’t hurt her.'

Lya’s wolf went to dart past me. I reached out to grab for her, but she made her way through.

A brown wolf came charging down from the beta wing, leaping at the little red wolf. She flew back against the wall, yelping in pain. She got up, cowering against the wall.

Before I could stop him, Adair had shifted. He shielded his mate, growling at Gregory’s wolf.

'Shift.' Even through the mindlink, a wolf lower than the alpha had to obey. Seconds later, Gregory’s form was standing where his wolf had been, head bowed. We looked back at Lya. She was still in her wolf form. She couldn’t mindlink with us yet, but a command was unavoidable for a rogue. Gregory saw it, too.

'Luna?' he asked.

Adair nodded. He walked over to the she-wolf still laying on the ground, shaking in pain. He laid down next to her and nuzzled her.

“Gregory, thank you, but I think I can take it from here.” My grandmother came into view.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, turning back to his room.

'We need to talk,' Gregory said as he left.
'Tomorrow,' I agreed.

“Ollie, Lya, I’d like to talk to you two.” It wasn’t a command, which she was still capable of, but it was still an order. I shifted back, but Lya’s wolf was still attempting to hold onto her form.

“It’s okay, Lya,” I whispered. I reached out to touch her, but she flinched away. “Lya, you’re hurt and this is hard on your wolf. Please shift.”

Her wolf let go, leaving Lya on the floor in her place.

My grandmother, always thinking of everything, handed us both robes. “Dr. Whitledge will be here soon, but Lya, I need to talk to your wolf. Would you let her come forward?”

Lya closed her eyes. When she opened them, her wolf’s eyes were darting between us.

“What’s your name, dear?” Grandma asked.

“Tala,” the wolf whispered, her voice hoarse.

“Tala,” she smiled. “That’s a lovely name. I’m Marjorie.” Tala nodded. “What can I answer for you right now to make you feel safe?”

“Wh-wh-why was Trevor going to let us be killed?” she stuttered.

My grandmother shook her head. “That was never the intention,” she assured the wolf. “Knowing Trevor, he wanted to lure the hunters in with you. You had no family and no knowledge of our kind, so it’d be easy to use you for that without you even knowing. But, Trevor always forgets to account for things to go less than perfectly, so it was a poor idea.” She cupped Lya’s face. “Dear, you have a pack now, and everyone here will fight for your safety, no matter the threat. You convince Lya for us, okay Tala?”

Tala nodded and closed her eyes.

Lya’s eyes were full of fear. I wrapped my arm around her to keep her still, yet she struggled against me.

My grandmother grabbed Lya’s face, staring into her eyes. “Lya, you need to listen to Tala. Hear her, and trust her.”

“Who’s Tala?” she gasped.

Grandma smiled warmly down at her. “You, dear. Your wolf.”

Lya tried to ask more, but her consciousness was slipping. I looked up at my grandmother.

“What do I do now?” I asked.

“Keep her safe. Safe from herself, mostly.”