Chapter 2

“Henry! What the hell?” I stormed over to the car that Henry was leaning against.

His right eye was closed from the swelling and it looked like it was reaching down his cheek to his jaw. Arms crossed over his chest, my brother was trying to look cool and failing miserably. After reaching up and inspecting his face, I put my hands on my hips.

“What were you thinking?”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you, Tahlia.”

I snorted, shaking my head. “You either explain it to me, or you explain it to Dad. I’m sure he’s going to get a kick out of seeing this.”

“It’s nothing.”

Throwing up my hands, I paced in front of him. “Nothing? It’s all over your face, Henry. You’re not in high school anymore. You’re a year out from taking over the pack! Except that you keep pulling this shit! What is Dad going to say?”

“Nothing! He’s going to say nothing! It’s fine. It’s not a big deal, Tahlia.”

I growled at him, stepping up into his space. “What’s next? You gonna tell me to look at the other guy? It doesn’t matter! You’re going to be Alpha! You need to act like it!”

“What about you, huh? You think you’re one to tell me about my position? Or about fighting in general? Who did you fight with today? Hm?”

Reeling back, I crossed my arms over my chest. “No one, actually. I didn’t fight with anyone.”

“That’s not what Michael said.”

Snorting, I rolled my eyes. “Michael? Who gives a shit about Michael?”

Michael was one of Gamma Paul’s sons. He was a senior whereas I was currently a freshman. He was part of the football team, though not the quarterback, but he acted like it. There were girls falling at his feet and he thought they should kiss the ground he walked on. It was stupid, since everyone knew that Farris was going to be Gamma, not him. No matter how much Gamma Paul complained to Dad.

“He said you were fighting with his little sister. Again.”

“I didn’t do anything!” I frowned and added, “…today.”

My brother let out the long sigh he inherited from Dad. “Tahlia, I’m serious.”

“So am I! I didn’t have any classes with that she-bitch and I was with Anna and Gwen, all day. They can give you a play by play. Hell, you can see the messages on my phone. If I had fought her, I would have been gloating how much of a push-over she is the moment she breaks a nail.”

“That’s not…” He scoffed before his hands fell to his sides. “Michael said some things. Things that should never be spoken about another she-wolf. Especially the Alpha’s daughter.”

I took a step back, my face falling. “Wait…you got in the fight because Michael insulted me? I can fight my own battles…”

“He went too far! He said…it was bad…Tahlia. I never want you to hear that. Ever. I had to put him in his place. He got a few lucky shots off, but he won’t be playing football for the rest of the year.”

“But he got his wolf already. He has healing…”

The look that Henry gave me was so pained and so deep. “I know, Tahlia. Which is why I didn’t hold back. He didn’t deserve to walk away after what he said. Dad would agree. I don’t mind telling Dad. Or getting into trouble. It was worth it.”

Sighing, I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him. He had gotten so big. Henry was taller than Dad now. A lot of his time was spent training or shadowing Dad as he worked. Already, he could beat Dad in a one-on-one. I think Dad would have passed the title over to him last year, but Henry declined.

Every month, he’d take a trip to other packs and try to find his fated. If he didn’t find his fated by twenty-three, then he would take over for Dad no matter what. Though, you could see how sad he was every time he came back empty-handed. Still, Dad said he hadn’t met Mother until they were thirty. Which, Henry and I knew, did not make him feel any better.

“Thank you. I don’t want you fighting my battles for me, but thank you.”

He snorted, but his arms wrapped around me. “I know you can fight your own battles. You’ve come home hobbling way too much. It was just something I needed to do. As your brother.”

“I’ll take care of Dad. Don’t worry about it.”

Henry shook his head. “No. I need to talk to Dad about this. Gamma Paul’s kids have always been an issue. They think they can run amok just because they are children of leadership. It needs to stop.”

“They still think they are going to be leadership. Like magically Dad is going to talk you into taking Michael or Jason.”

“Yeah. That’s never going to happen. Not with their attitudes.”

I got in his car and we headed back to the pack house. We were a little later than normal, since I stayed after to have a study session with Anna, Gwen, Winny, and Tate. We had an AP midterm coming up and it wasn’t going to be pretty if we didn’t study. So we carved out a few days after school to go over our notes and work out how the test might look.

The green trees were starting to turn to their auburn and yellow colors. The weather had cooled down enough to feel like fall and I was happy for it. It was my favorite time of year. Right before it got too cold to even function. During the winter, I was basically useless. I hated going outside and the snow was terrible. Snow was too cold, too wet, and too white.

“Did Dad have you doing paperwork today?”

“No, not today. I was filling in for Gio. His mates having their first today, so I took over his patrol schedule. At least for the next couple of weeks.”

I smiled. “Soooo…you’ll be here for the Harvest Moon?”

“Yes. I will.”

There was no stopping the squeal of delight coming out of me. Usually, Henry spend the Harvest Moon out of the pack. He would go to the joint celebrations that the Alpha King sometimes hosted to try and find his mate. That was the last three years.

“Jeeze, don’t be so excited I haven’t found my mate yet.” Henry gave me the side-eye, but his tone was light.

“You’ll bring her to the pack when you’re ready. Just like I’ll find my mate and then we will be able to live happily ever after.”

Henry frowned. “Who said anything about you finding a mate?”

I snorted. “Now you sound like Dad. When I turn eighteen, I’ll be on the hunt for my mate too.”

“Well, I think you can wait a couple years. I don’t think you need your mate right away.”

Leaning forward, I smirked. “Why? Worried your sister is going to lose her virginity before you?”

The car jerked as Henry’s head snapped to mine. “You’re fourteen, Tahlia! You don’t need to be worrying about things like sex and virginity!” His voice cracked mid-sentence and I burst out laughing.

“Four years. That’s all I have left. I’m going to get my wolf. Get my mate. Have sex and leave you and Dad to your pitiful non-sex lives.”

“Who said I haven’t had sex?” His voice was still high, trying to defend himself.

However, as soon as he said it, my brother turned ashen. Bursting out laughing again, I leaned back in the seat. Holding my stomach, I wheezed through the giggles.

“You sly little wolf! You’ve been going around to the packs getting laid, haven’t you?”

“I…no! That’s not! I just…ugh! I hate you!” Henry slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “I’m not talking about this anymore.”

Lucky for him, we pulled up into the pack house. It was forcibly dropped because Dad was standing out on the porch with his hands crossed over his chest. His face was dark and the laughter died in my throat.

“Oh boy, he’s mad.”

“Gamma Paul probably got to him first.” Henry shut off the car.

I grabbed my backpack and held his arm back before he stepped out of the car. “You sure you don’t want me to step in?”

“No, it’s fine. Just…put your headphones on. Dad is going to be mad.”

“Yeah…okay…”