Page 56 of Forced Bonds

I made a whining sound and tried to hide under Chris’ arm pit.

“Damn that tickles,” Chris said, laughing. It sadly caused him to move away from me, much to my dismay.

“Come on, feisty, let’s get back to the pack,” Zar said, holding out a hand for me. I took it, then looked down at myself. I wasn’t in a gown like I’d thought I would be. I had on sweats, a T-shirt, and even socks.

“Did you dress me?” I asked.

“Yes,” Zar replied simply.

Huh. I must’ve been heavily asleep, no wonder Zar had sounded so worried the first time I’d woken up, even if my memory was a bit hazy.

“Can I get some burgers on the way home? I remember I was promised burgers,” I said.

Chris laughed, kissing my cheek. “All the burgers you want, my heart.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Christopher

Benji was happily munching on his second burger in the backseat and I lovingly wiped his chin for the second time, not that he even seemed to care, too starved to think about anything else than his cheeseburger with extra bacon.

It was weird how being mated had changed me so much. I was much more selfish before, but I would never regret claiming Benji. Doing so had given me both him and Sal and I couldn’t imagine living without them now. We were facing the pack later today, or as soon as I could get everyone gathered at the old warehouse out back. It was the biggest building in town and could fit the entire pack. Keen was a mix of humans and werewolves, around fifty-fifty, so it made it harder having these big meetings without the humans noticing half the town had gone missing. It meant big meetings were rare, but it was needed as I stepped down as alpha.

“Altaur has summoned us for a meeting when we move you into the mansion,” Sal said from the driver's seat. “He’s allowing us this time to get things in order, but demands to speak with us as soon as we arrive at the mansion.”

“Fine by me,” I said, smiling at Benji, who was now resting with his eyes closed, his second burger already devoured. He’d wanted five burgers, so we’d gotten him five, even though I knew his stomach wouldn’t be able to handle them all. We had no idea how long it had been since he’d last eaten, and with him being asleep for so long it was long overdue that he fell into a food coma.

I closed my eyes as well, intent on getting a few minutes of sleep as we neared Keen. I would need all the energy I could get before facing the pack. They might even be mad at me for fucking up so much lately. No matter, I would soon be gone for good.

I blinked awake in what felt like seconds later, and saw we’d arrived home. There wasn’t any sign of the pack and upon leaving the car, I couldn’t smell any lingering scent of blood either. They’d watered the backyard then, removing the smell of Panu’s blood. Fuck…. Panu. He’d been so young.

“When are we meeting the pack?” Sal asked, standing next to me.

“I’ll do a summons and ask them to be there tonight at eight. I think that’s enough time. The only ones not in attendance will be those with small children or if they’re sick, but we’ll still be around two thousand in total.”

“Fuck, I had no idea the pack was that big,” Sal said, grabbing the still sleeping Benji and carrying him inside. It was weird how little they knew of the pack they were such a big part of, even if we were leaving it. They still had no idea who these people were that trusted us to run the pack. I was pretty sure Father would be disappointed in me, but for once that thought wasn’t a scary one. He’d been a good alpha, and still died because of his mate. He wasn’t a better alpha. I knew that now.

The house felt colder now that I knew for certain this wouldn’t be considered home for much longer. I actually doubted we’d stay for long after the meeting. It felt wrong living here when I wouldn’t be pack anymore. One thing I wanted to do before leaving was to visit my father’s grave and say a final goodbye. It wasn’t something that was needed or demanded of me, but I wanted to do it. My mother’s grave was somewhere in a town I didn’t even remember. Juniper had sent her off to get cremated and dumped in some random place. It didn’t matter. The pack had all agreed with my decision regarding her burial, so that was at least something. They’d loved my father as their alpha and had all blamed her for his death, just like I’d done.

Sal had placed Benji on the couch and eyed him with worry. “You think this is just because he needs more rest? I don’t like how he keeps sleeping.”

I rolled my eyes and hugged Sal, figuring he needed it. “He went through a lot. Let his body decide what it needs.”

“You’re right,” he sighed. “You think he’ll be mad when he learns of the whole Hell thing?”

I grimaced as we ended the hug. “I fear he might. It wasn’t as if we had a choice. It was either him or the book.”

“I can’t wait to talk to Altaur about everything,” he said, looking at Benji’s sleeping form again. “There was a lot that just didn’t make any sense. Hopefully, he’ll have more information for us.”

“I doubt he’ll know much. Isabelle told us a little but then teased the rest. But no matter what happens, we protect our own pack: you, me, and Benji.”

He tilted his head at me. “You want us to be your only pack? You don’t think the coven will be that for you?”

I shook my head. “Pack means I’ll be accepted in all forms. I won’t feel comfortable in my werewolf form in the mansion. Only you two will see that form from now on.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I can have a cabin built in the woods behind the mansion for us to use. You can safely shift there and run around with us. The coven will stay away from that area during the full moons.”

“You think they’ll agree to that?”