Chapter 6

I took a moment to compose myself even as my wolf wanted to push through and change, knowing she could handle the pain a lot better than human me.

Can’t believe the douche called me cruel. The bully part I could understand, I was a bit of a bully. I mean one year fresh out of high school couldn’t erase the years I spent using my fist instead of my words as Elder Alaric said, but damn, did John have to mention it?

A sharp insistent pain made me groan and I leaned against the outside of the Den extending my neck to release some of the tension as my wolf growled at me.

The Den itself was carved from old stone and concrete. So at least it made it a bit harder for the pups to smell my pain.

There were corridors branching in vines beneath the valley. It felt like an underground hotel. Although the place was old, with Glyphs and claw marks lining the walls, the security systems, AI interface and technology was as modern as one could get. The kitchen equipment costed the pack a leg and a half plus the green room underground was equipped with every kind of vegetable we could get our hands on growing under led lights. We had an eco-pool getting sun from a small part in the ‘cave’. Of course it was wolf built but it worked.

I loved staying here during my younger days.

The electricity worked on 90% solar which meant we were still 10% on grid power which was owned by the humans

The scent of sage and earth filled the air as I entered the place I spent my youth in. It was before my mother was taken and my father left to fight in the west. Both gone. I hastened my movement toward the backrooms past the training centre, further away from the communal room and up a few stairs into the next door. A metal door.

I expected elders. A trial circle. Maybe even an exile sentence if they were feeling theatrical. I was disappointed. The pain however wasn’t my reason. That particular thing was on going and the sweat dripping down my spine and on my forehead told me it would be on going for a while.

What I didn’t expect… was Haden.

He was standing just inside the Elders chamber, leaned against a stone pillar like he was bored, arms crossed over his chest. His dark brown hair was tousled like he’d run here and then tried to act like he hadn’t. His build hadn’t changed—still broad, still 6’3”, still wearing that smug, quiet authority like it was stitched into his skin like a piece of dragons tail.

But what had changed was the crescent-shaped mate mark burned into his neck. Twisting black runes carved deep into skin, pulsing faintly with the bond magic. I stared at it a moment too long.

He smiled, just a little. But even so small it was enough to tell me two things—a, his mating bond was strong and solid, b, I would never have that because as I stared at him with sweat dotting my forehead, and pain coursing through my veins and bone marrow, I wouldn’t know that feeling. My mate rejected me.

“Didn’t think you’d show,” he said as his green eyes grew smaller with a deepening smile.

I snorted. “Didn’t realize you were back to loitering in elder’s halls. How’s mate life treating you?” Not that I needed an answer.

He didn’t answer right away. Just watched me like he was reading the fine print of my soul. Not that it mattered since we both knew I was in pain and trying to act as though I wasn’t bordered on stupidity since we were shifters, wolf shifters. We could smell anything.

“She’s calm,” he finally said. “Predictable. Likes silence. But surprisingly she’s exactly right at the same time.”

I made a face. “So… boring.”

He tilted his head. “Sometimes boring’s what keeps people alive.”

I brushed past him leaving the elder's room. “Or just emotionally dead.”

His voice followed me down the corridor. “You shouldn’t have taken the bait. And I’m not just talking about last night with Desiree. Last year…”

I froze. Turned and ignored the pain burning me alive, ignored the sting of his words and the audacity to bring it up.

“You think I don’t know that?” My voice was low. “You think I don’t hear myself every night replaying that moment like it was a damn loop?”

He stepped forward, eyes bright in the torchlight. “Then why’d you do it, Ash?”

I hated when he used my short name. Only a few people got to do that—and he hadn’t earned it back.

“She said I’d be alone forever,” I said simply. Ignoring the bigger issue, the year old issue we had. “And I believed her.”

"And what about me, did you forget or is this another one of your 'I don't remember' scenarios?"

"Last year happened because you were mated to someone else."

His expression shifted. Just slightly. Like he wanted to say something but bit it back.

Before the silence stretched too long, Elder Amer stepped into view from the corridor behind Haden, hands on her hips, and barked out, “There you are. Took you long enough.”

I blinked. “Wait… I’m not here for a death sentence?”

“Nope,” she said, turning on her heel. “You’re on pup duty.”

I blinked harder. “I’m sorry. What duty?”

Amer shot me a look over her shoulder. “Come on, Gorde. You’ve been chewing through the elders’ patience like a bone. Now you get to work with the only things in this pack more volatile than you.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I’m dead serious. You’ve got thirty days to prove you’re still part of this pack. Or the next time someone files a complaint, they’ll cut you loose. And you know what that means for younglings like you, either you get shipped to another pack or worse, human life for you. Come. Now.”

Haden gave me a look like I warned you.

I flipped him off and followed Elder Amer down the corridor.

What they really meant was 'We won't toss you out and cut you loose, but we will ship you off and pull your strings tight enough until we ready to take you back.' There was no leaving the pack. I knew that, the others who were 'kicked out' knew that and even the ones who convinced themselves they were now lone wolves. only mated ones who mated other wolves could leave the Pack.