Mine, chapter 26
A/N: I know this is kind of short, but I really just needed to set things up for the next chapter and also check in with everyone else so they wouldn't feel left out, lol. Enjoy, peeps. Thanks, again, for all the comments and feedback.
Ted sat outside Kelly's house, waiting for Randy to finish checking on the new pups. Traditionally, the Alpha was the only one allowed to see any new pups until they got introduced to the rest of the pack and Ted knew it was one of the things Randy looked forward to.
His ears twitched when he heard Mike and Alex running up to the house, their footsteps as distinct to him as their voices were.
He's not done yet? Mike demanded, collapsing next to Ted after he greeted him. He's getting slower in his old age.
Christ, Mike, do you want Randy to kill you? Alex asked, amused with his mate's antics. He settled down next to him, making sure he was in touching distance.
Please, Randy fucken loves me, Mike scoffed before he turned to Ted. Any hint on who's the dad this time? I got fifty on it being Shawn.
I have no idea, Ted told him, snickering. And if I did know, I sure as hell wouldn't tell ya. I got my own money on it, after all.
Asshole, Mike groused, but there was no heat behind it.
They waited in silence for a few more minutes until they could hear Adam and Jay coming up to them.
Hey, guys, Adam greeted his friends as he and Jay made themselves comfortable. Where's Cody?
I left him with Sabin, Ted answered, yawning a little. There's nothing here for him to do here and I thought Justin and Evan might like the company.
Good; maybe Cody can knock some sense into Evan's thick skull, Jay said, settling next to Adam. I hate when everyone's fighting.
I know, Angel, Adam said, briefly rubbing his nose against Jay's. I'm sure Evan will get his act together.
Ya can't really blame him, Ted said, his voice musing. His eyes ran over the surrounding area before turning back to the others. First, he gets Turned by that monster and then he finds out one of his new friends isn't who Evan thought he was.
You can't be condoning his behavior, Mike said incredulously, his tone sharper then he meant it to be. When Ted turned and stared at him, Mike showed his throat for a second so Ted would know he didn't mean to insult him. He's calling Shelley a monster every fucken chance he gets and acting like Shelley's going to rip his throat every time he so much as looks at him.
The tone was quieter, but their was no mistaking the sincerity behind the words.
Of course, I'm not, Ted assured him, sighing a little. And honestly, if I was Sabin, I probably would have went after John's throat by now. I just meant, I can understand why Evan was a little shaken, that's all.
It's not just that, Ted, Adam said, his own eyes running constantly over the nearby trees while they were talking. It's going to start affecting John soon -if it's not already. I don't have to tell you what having Evan scared and nervous all the time is going to do to him.
Not to mention that Shelley's starting to take it to heart, Jay told Ted, his senses alert; he might be submissive to Adam but that in no way meant he was going to sit by and watch if a fight happened now. I can't be the only one who's noticed that he's a lot more withdrawn then he was even just a few days ago. Every time I glance at him, Sabin's got his hands all over him, trying to make him feel better. Which isn't that big of a deal, but I can feel the shame and self disgust coming off of him in waves.
I know, Mike said simply, his worry evident.
Alex edged closer to his mate, pressing against his body, trying to make him feel better. Mike would never admit it out loud, but Shelley was closest friend after Alex and he didn't like seeing him get so down on himself.
Ted sighed again, resolving to talk to Randy about it when they were alone later on. Having the others come to him with problems that couldn't simply be fought out and decided by who was more dominant was natural. Ted was more accessible then Randy was and no matter how laid back and easy Randy acted, he was always the Alpha; it wasn't something that he could just put to the side. None of them would go to Randy without first talking it over with Ted, unless it was a major problem. And even then, a lot of the lower pack would go to Ted or even one of the others first and trust them to take it to the Alpha if they couldn't fix it.
They all looked up when Randy came out of the house and paused by the front door to talk to one of Kelly's older pups before he walked over.
“Hey, guys,” Randy greeted them, stretching before he sat on the ground next to Ted. “How's everything?”
Before anyone could answer, John broke the tree line and trotted towards them.
Sorry, I'm late, he apologized after greeting Randy and Ted.
Adam gave Ted a pointed look at the weariness that laced John's voice came through loud and clear to the rest of them. Ted nodded, his own concern going up a little.
“No problem,” Randy assured him, petting him briefly. “I just got done at Kelly's a few minutes ago.”
Yeah, Ted agreed dryly. Mike was just about to attempt a shake down on Randy so he could get the inside scoop.
John laughed at the indignant look on Mike's face.
I was not, Mike insisted. But I wouldn't object if he wanted to volunteer the information, he added slyly, glancing at Randy with a smirk.
Randy rolled his eyes. “No, Mike; you can wait with everyone else. It won't kill you to have some patience.”
Patience, my ass, Mike grumbled.
So, what next? Adam asked, hoping to try and help distract John by having something to do.
“Since everything's quiet for now, I want to check on some of the teenagers,” Randy answered, standing up and motioning everyone to follow him. “I decided to leave Matt and Jeff up by the border, so -”
Randy stiffened, his eyes flashing green as he picked up his mate's fear. Justin? Did something happen? Are you, OK?
He barely noticed Ted and John's eyes changing or the way everyone else was starting to tense up for a fight.
I'm fine. There's just someone here I don't know, Justin told him, confused.
Before Randy could do more then breathe a sigh of relief that they weren't under attack, Chris was talking to him.
Randy. Punk's here.
Chris sounded as shocked as he felt. Randy looked at Ted and saw the same complete and utter disbelief in his face.
Despite what he had told the others, Randy had never expected his cousin to show up; the ties that bound them were tight, but Randy had believed that Colt's death would be too painful for him to even try to come back home.
Punk, Randy said, his voice badly shaken. I - thank you.
There was no answer but Randy knew Punk had to have heard him. He waited another minute, but when there still wasn't an answer, he turned his attention back to the wolves around him.
Randy could tell by the looks on everyone's faces that either Ted or John had told them what happened. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again, afraid that if he talked right now, his voice would crack.
The teenagers, right? Alex offered, giving Randy a chance to gain his composure again.
Randy nodded, Changing and leading the way into the trees.
He hoped that Punk showing up meant that he was finally starting to forgive himself and that he was ready to be part of the pack again.