Mine, chapter 24
A/N: So, here we are. I hope everyone's till enjoying this as much as they were. Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review/read this.
The lone wolf sat on the edge of his old pack's territory, his nose twitching as he caught Mike's scent on the wind. Even though Punk had sworn to himself years ago that he was never going to come back here, it felt good to be close to his old hunting ground. He felt closer to Colt here, too; it was one of the reasons he had taken to staying in the general area the last six months or so.
As the thought of Colt entered his mind -not that he was ever very far from Punk's thoughts- a low, needy whine left Punk's throat and he closed his eyes briefly before he trotted across the territory lines, immediately heading for the graveyard.
“Do I really need to stay behind?” Justin asked as they walked toward Sabin and Shelley's. His hand was buried in the fur at his mate's neck and Randy kept brushing against his legs as they were walking.
Yes; I need to talk to the rest of the pack, Randy told him, rubbing his head against Justin's side in a silent apology. I need to look in on the new pups, too.
You'll be at Sabin's with Dan and Josh; I told John to drop Evan off, too. He needs to get over whatever's wrong with him, and soon.
You're not scared of Shelley now, are you? Randy asked Justin after a minute. He hadn't sensed any fear from him, but he was curious to hear what the newborn would say.
“No,” Justin answered, shaking his head. “If Shelley wanted to hurt me, he would have.”
Dan and Josh are going to practice their guarding skills on the two of you, Randy went on as they broke through the trees. Sabin and Shelley will keep an eye on them, but this is a chance for them to prove themselves.
Justin nodded, resolved to help his best friend and to stay away from Wade.
Randy caught the brief shiver of fear that skated down his mate's back and he nuzzled his side to make him feel better.
He won't touch you, Randy promised fiercely. I swear it.
Alex sat on the porch waiting for everyone else to show up. He was staring at the sky, but he didn't even notice the sunrise; he kept playing Evan's words over and over again in his head.
You're a monster, just like they are. At least some people have a conscience.
Did he have a conscience? Maybe now, but it hadn't always been like that. There had been a time -before Chris- when the only thing he had cared about was his Maker's wishes and doing whatever it took to make sure he got what he wanted. It was at times like these where he wondered if he had a conscience or if he just had Chris to tell him what was right or wrong.
Alex closed his eyes as another dead body flashed in his memory, another reason why he couldn't blame anyone for loathing him, another sin to lay at his feet -if he wanted to get religious about it.
Before he could get too depressed, he felt Chris settle behind him; his arms going around Alex's waist and resting his chin on Alex's shoulder as he surveyed the yard.
Everyone will be here soon, Chris said, kissing Alex's shoulder before moving back to his original position.
Are you going to be alright with Evan here?
I'll be fine, Alex assured his mate, smiling a little. You act like a wolf with her pup sometimes.
Interesting, Chris said, the smirk very evident in his voice. He slid his hands until the tips of his fingers were just underneath the waist of Alex's jeans and moved his head back a few inches so he could see the fading bruise and bite mark that were on Alex's neck from earlier.
You weren't saying that before, Chris told him, dipping down and, very lightly, setting his teeth on the bruise. Of course, it was hard to hear anything over all the moaning and screaming.
You're such a fucken dick, Alex told him as he moved his head to give Chris more access.
Chris growled at the motion but before he could take advantage of it, he saw Randy and Justin coming from one side, and Dan and Josh from the other.
You're sure you're OK with it? Chris asked one last time as he got to his feet and gave Alex a hand.
Yeah, Alex answered, and there was a taste of self loathing to the words that he couldn't help. I can't blame him for being afraid of me; maybe he should be.
Fuck him, Chris said, turning Alex so he was looking into his eyes. He's a fucken immature brat who has no idea what he's talking about. And if he cares about John at all, he'll watch his fucken mouth when I'm around. You're worth five hundred times what he is.
You're a little biased, Alex pointed out, amused.
So what? Chris scoffed as he waved to his pack-mates and Alpha. It's still true.
Alex couldn't help smiling as he trailed behind Chris to greet everyone. Maybe he couldn't get Evan to trust him again, but Chris still believed in him -and he always would. And that's what really mattered.
As they came into the yard, Dan hung back to let Sabin and Shelley greet Randy and Justin first. Josh automatically slowed down to match his pace to Dan's.
Did you know about Shelley? Josh asked suddenly, sounding curious.
Dan glanced at him but as far as he could tell, Josh didn't seem upset or angry.
Not specifics, no, Dan answered, brushing his shoulder with Josh's as they made their way over to the vampires.
But I'm not surprised. You don't get as old as Shelley is without killing some people.
There was an underlying respect to the words that Josh understood. Wolves were predators, after all, and all predators respected each others teeth and claws and the willingness to use them.
It's going to be interesting, Josh commented wryly, glancing at Dan.
Tell me about it, Dan agreed. Hopefully, Evan'll be smart enough to not act like he has a death wish.
Josh could only agree as they went to go greet everyone.
“John's dropping off Evan,” Randy reminded Sabin while Shelley and Justin were greeting Dan and Josh. “And I'm sure Ted will drop Cody, too.”
Randy could see the dislike on Sabin's face but all he did was nod. “I'll be back in a couple hours; I just want to check in with the rest of the pack and look in on the new pups.”
“Kelly had hers, then?” Chris asked, amusement chasing the distaste off his face for a minute. “How many this time?”
“Only two,” Randy said, sharing a smile with him. Kelly's proclivities were well known; even within a race that was known for being very sexual, it raised eyebrows sometimes. But Randy usually let it go; as long as she wasn't causing trouble, he tended to let her go her own way.
“A boy and a girl,” Randy continued, walking toward the yard. “Both healthy; we'll introduce them to the whole pack at the next full moon.
“I want to let a couple of the lower wolves know what's going on, too.”
“No problem,” Chris said, hesitating for a minute before asking, “Have you heard from Punk?”
Randy sighed, looking at the trees. “I got a hold of him last night, told him I needed his help, but you know Punk. He didn't even say he would try.”
“It's gotta be hard for him, Randy,” Chris said softly, his eyes focused on Alex. “Coming back here...”
“I know,” Randy agreed, his own eyes focused on Justin as he laughed at something Dan told him. “It's the only reason I haven't ordered him back here.”
Randy sighed again before nodding to Chris and walking into the yard. Chris watched him say goodbye to Justin before striding to the edge of the trees and Changing.
Once he was out of sight, everyone else headed for the porch; Dan and Josh looking at him expectantly.
“Go run a perimeter around the house,” Chris decided, glancing up at the sun that was barely in the sky. “Then loop back around and come inside.”
How big of a perimeter? Dan asked, poised to run. Is three and a half miles good?
“Yeah, that's just about perfect,” Chris praised, scratching Dan's ears briefly.
Wagging his tail, he barked happily and licked Chris hand before dashing off, Josh right behind him. After a conferring for a second, Josh turned left and Dan went right.
Justin looked at Chris nervously before turning to Alex. “You're not mad at me or anything, are you?”
“No,” Alex answered, exchanging a surprised look with Chris. “Why would I be?”
“Because of Evan,” Justin said simply, shrugging his shoulders. “He's my best friend, after all.”
At the mention of the other newborn Chris's eyes darkened but he didn't say anything to Justin, he just looked at his mate and raised an eyebrow.
Do you want to handle this or can I call him a fucken moron?
“He might be your best friend,” Alex said, mentally snickering at Chris's words. “But last time I checked, that doesn't make his opinions yours. Hell, even if he was your mate, it still wouldn't make his opinions yours.”
Justin nodded, his relief obvious. “Thank god,” he muttered, smiling a little. “I was afraid I'd have Chris after my ass.”
Chris laughed, rolling his eyes. “Technically, I'd be going after Randy, not you. Beating on you is against the rules,” Chris told him, hooking an arm around his neck and putting him into a headlock.
“Come on, man, let me go,” Justin laughed, halfheartedly trying to shove the older vampire away from him.
Chris released him, smirking a little. “See? Can't even handle a little rough housing; no wonder no one's allowed to beat on you.”
“Well,” Alex drawled, his smirk almost identical to his mate's. “I supposed Randy could beat on you, but that would really defeat the purpose.”
“Threatening you with a good time isn't exactly a punishment, is it?” Chris finished, snickering at the embarrassed look on Justin's face.
They were still chuckling when Ted came by with Cody. The brown wolf stayed by the trees long enough to watch his mate reach the porch then he turned and headed back the way he came.
Sorry, I can't talk, Ted told Chris. I gotta go meet Randy; take care of Baby Boy for me.
Wait, you mean, I'm not supposed to kill him and drink his blood? Chris asked sarcastically. I'm so confused right now.
Ha ha, Ted said dryly. If I had the time, I'd bite ya 'cause that was the dumbest joke I've ever heard ya make.
Come on, that was a good one, Chris protested and when Ted didn't answer him, he turned to Alex, who just shook his head and grinned.
“It was pretty bad, babe,” Alex informed him, amused at he look of indignation that crossed his mate's face.
Justin and Cody were both snickering and Chris slapped both of them on the back of the head. He couldn't stop his lips from twitching, though, and it was with humor that he glared at both of them.
“That hurt,” Cody pouted, rubbing the back of his head dramatically.
“Please, Codes, I'm not Ted,” Chris reminded him, rolling his eyes and leaning against the the front window. He scanned the yard briefly before turning his attention back on Cody. “I'm not going to buy the pout and I'm not going to lose my mind when you pretend to be hurt.”
“I have no idea what you're referring to,” Cody said loftily, throwing his arm around Alex and smiling charmingly. “So, what's there to eat around here? I'm hungry.”
“What does this look like, a fucken restaurant?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow and elbowing him. “Can't you just go kill Bambi or something?”
“Who, me?” Cody asked innocently, fluttering his eyelashes at him. “I would never hurt anything like that.”
At that the three of them broke into hysterics, Cody joining in after a couple seconds.
“What do you mean, I'm staying there?” Evan asked, stopping dead in his tracks. He knew he probably sounded like a petulant child, but he couldn't help himself.
John sighed and put his hand on his mate's shoulder. “Randy wants you to stay there; it's safer that way. And even if I didn't agree with him, you'd still have to do it.”
Evan shook his head but didn't say anything else.
“Justin'll be there, too, Ev,” John told him, pulling him into a hug and rubbing his face against Evan's hair. “And I'm sure Ted will bring over Cody, too.”
“I noticed you didn't mention Jay or Alex.” Evan pointed out but there was no heat in the words.
“You know why they won't be staying there,” John said, moving away from him and lacing their fingers together and tugging him forward.
“Yeah, I know,” Evan sighed and let his mate lead him to Sabin and Shelley's. “I'd just feel better if there was someone stronger there.”
John didn't say anything, but he shook his head over his mate's stubbornness.
As Alex turned to say something to Justin, movement over by the trees caught his eye. When he realized it was John and Evan, he couldn't help the way his body tensed up.
It was obvious that the newborn didn't want to be here; his head was hanging down and his shoulders were hunched. His misery was plain enough to see.
Alex couldn't help the guilt he felt; and, on some level, he was comfortable with it. He deserved it, didn't he, for all the lives he had taken and for the countless others he had damaged beyond repair.
Stop it, Chris ordered, his voice rough. He tracked John and Evan's progress into the yard with his eyes, frowning a little. H would follow orders -he had too much respect for Randy to do anything else- but his expression clearly said he wasn't happy about it.
I mean it, 'Lex. Fuck him; how long has he known you? Not nearly long enough to know the real you. Do you think Randy would leave Justin here if he believed what Evan thought of you? Or Ted? Or, hell, even John?
Alex shook his head, acknowledging the truth of his mate's words. No wolf would leave his mate with someone he believed was even remotely capable of hurting them.
“Hey, guys,” John said quietly, his eyes weary. “I can't really stay and talk; I'm running late.”
“That's what happens when you can't control yourself,” Cody snickered.
“You have a smart mouth, brat,” John told him, smiling a little. “Maybe I should fix it for you.”
“Please, I'm fucken perfect and we all know it,” Cody said, running his hands through his hair and smiling charmingly.
John laughed, shaking his head. “I've got to get going; it shouldn't be too long.”
“No worries,” Chris smirked, his voice easy. He wasn't pissed at John and they all knew it. “I think I can be trusted for that long.”
John rolled his eyes and turned to his mate. He pulled him in for a quick kiss and whispered something in his ear before Changing and heading for the trees.
Evan stood there, refusing to go any closer and just stared at his feet. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day.