A Swim and a Confrontation

         They arrived home late that evening. Rose knew how to avoid her father in the morning. Sure enough, when she looked out of her window, she saw Anita leaving after a night of whatever she did with Russel. That Rose had no interest in knowing.

         A quick look at her email and texts. Jules wanted to go swimming. No, not necessarily the word swimming was in quotes. What was Jules up to? They commonly coded messages to each other, because they knew both of their fathers randomly looked at their messages. Even though she was twenty-one this past December. Her father treated her like a disobedient child. Rose felt stuck in that state. She needed to get out from under his claws.

         One of her requests to join a pack must be accepted soon. Or inquiries about where her mother went when she left her father after she was born. Rose wanted to know why her mother left her here with him.

         So, swimming it was. Their territory bordered a lake, and they swam there. Rose gathered her things and slipped down the backstairs. Through the kitchens to avoid the Hollow Wood Pack Leaders and to grab some food for the day.

         Rose padded down to the lake to wait for Jules to sneak away, too. They learned long ago to leave separately for better success.

         “Hey, glad to see you out and about. What happened when your father spoke to you?”

         “The last time I spoke to him was over the phone and, as always, it didn’t go well. I’ve avoided being in the same room with him so far. So, I’ve not heard about what tattletale Anita told him.”

         “Well, let’s make the most of today. I got a surprise. Ben’s sneaking over to spend the day with us.”

         “Jules, you can’t have him in pack territory. That’s considered a sign of aggression to be in another pack’s territory without permission.”

         “I gave him permission.” Jules smiled triumphantly. “Fine. If he’s not comfortable here. We can find somewhere else to go.” The girls dropped off their things by the water’s edge and waded in. The water was cool to the touch and Rose had to admit it was a pleasant change from how she’d been feeling since she met Ty.

         Gods, there she went again. Thinking of him. She needed to stop thinking about him and get him out of her head. It wasn’t long before a figure came into sight, walking along the shoreline. With his hands in his pockets, Ben strolled toward them. Rose could only call Jules’ gaze as she was trying to eat him up from a distance. What was going on between the two of them? They needed some kind of help with this.

         Jules walked out of the lake and didn’t hesitate to meet Ben on the shore. He wore his jeans and his jacket from the previous day. But this time he didn’t wear a shirt. Rose was shocked to see a claw scar running across his chest before Jules practically climbed Ben to kiss him. She just met him yesterday.

         Within moments, they were walking away down the shoreline the way Ben came. “Hey, where are you going?”

         “To have some fun. Be back later!” Jules was laughing and now holding onto Ben’s arm. Ben waved to Rose as she stood waist-deep in the lake. “A little warning would be nice.”

         “Warning is for the old. Let them live a little. We need to talk. Just you and I.” It was Ty, and he’d just come out of the bushes. When Rose spotted him, he was picking up the last of their things from the shoreline.

“What are you doing? That’s our stuff.”

"Yes, and right now, you won’t be needing it. Now come to me and we’ll talk as you dry off."

“We have nothing to talk about.”

“Oh, but that’s the point, Rose. We have so much to talk about. Come here.” He wasn’t angry, but he used that tone again. Rose struggled not to comply.

“I’d rather stay here and talk. I just don’t know what we must talk about.”

“I guess you don’t. I bet your father never told you he was once the Beta and not the Alpha of the Hollow Wood Pack.”

Rose knew none of this. She knew people talked about him when she wasn’t around. Over the years, she’d lost count of the times she’d walked into a room and all conversation just shut down.

“I didn’t think so. I would then assume your father never told you how he actually came into the position of Alpha. Or where your mother is.” Rose opened her mouth to say something. But as she thought about it, why didn’t her father brag about that? He bragged about everything else.

“Of course, he didn’t. I bet he told you to avoid me at all costs.” Her expression must have told her everything. “Well, we both know that won’t happen. You’re mine, now and forever.”

“What do you know about my mother? Where is she? I must talk to her.”

“That, I’m afraid, can’t happen. Thanks to your father’s Beta cleaning up your father’s messes over zealously.”

“What are you talking about? What did Jack do to my mother?” Rose knew Jack would do anything for her father. Absolutely, anything.

“Come out of the water now, Rose. We don’t have time right now for this. It’s time we left here.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, not until you tell me what’s happening.”

“You’ll come with me one way or another. But you and Jules are no longer safe here. I won’t have my mate in danger.”

“This is my home, why wouldn’t I be…” Her words trailed off. Rose knew Anita had it out for her. But would her father actually harm her? It sounded like Ty knew something about what happened to her mother, and she feared it was tragic.

She had to get away from them all. Rose needed to think with a clear head, and she knew that wouldn’t happen around Ty.

“Don’t even think of running, Rose. My instincts are riding me pretty bad where you’re concerned. You run and I will hunt you down. There will be no getting away from me. I’ll keep you safe from your father and his people. I have the ability.”

It was too late. The one thing Ty hadn’t planned for was Rose’s instincts riding on her hard, too. She ran from the water and shifted into her wolf at the same time. He missed catching her ruff by a fraction of an inch as she ran down the shoreline toward where Ben and Jules had disappeared.

He couldn’t help it. His animal nature kicked in and he dropped everything, including his clothes. They’d come back for them later. Right now, he hunted his mate.