Chapter Ten
There was no breeze as she moved through the dark.
Laura hadn’t planned on meandering the trail, but she found rapid boredom with pacing the back porch–and she was curious about the state of the hidden trail she frequented when she was young. It was her favorite place in the territory.
Tucked off of one of the main trails, about a quarter of a mile from Michael’s childhood home, was the veiled entrance to a thin trail, where the trees and underbrush grazed you as you passed. A little way in, the bottleneck opened, giving a spacious break to the trail before it narrowed again. It was in this space that Laura had placed a large boulder, the one she dropped herself against now, sitting in the dirt, facing the woods as it buzzed with life.
Two seconds.
Just two seconds of peace...
Her ear twitched.
“Shh..crying isn’t going to make anyone happy.”
She quietly choked on her spit, her body viscerally reacting. She didn’t have the wind to scent him, but she didn’t need to.
Derek Grayson.
A copy-paste of the older version. Less infuriating–more nauseating–with his entitlement tendencies extending beyond the scope of poor morality; he was of the attitude that everything and everyone was subject to his whim.
Bam.
Laura flinched as the boulder she leaned against caught the weight of a body on the other side.
“Y-you have to get rid of it first, now.” A small female voice tried to stand firm, a voice Laura didn’t recognize.
“That’s not how this works, love.” Another familiar voice brought a wave of anger. She just stopped short of a snarl.
Trenton.
Neither of them has changed. Though, not unsurprising for males of thirty-plus.
More shuffling sounded, and before long, the sounds of flesh on flesh filled her favorite place, the pleasure clearly one-sided.
“Is this how you tighten for Darren? Had your first heat yet, bitch?” Trenton taunted the girl.
“What would poor Mark say about that?” The laughter from the males was cruel, and the whimpers of the female twisted Laura’s gut.
“If you try to shift on my dick, you’re dead,” Trenton growled.
Laura almost felt bad for the female.
Almost.
While it felt wrong, Laura was determined to leave pack business as the pack’s business. It didn’t need to involve her.
Crunch.
Laura stilled. And so did they.
“It’s better if you come out now.” Derek’s voice was a calm poison.
Since it’s come to this...
“If it isn’t Laura.” Blue eyes glowed preternaturally in the dark. His smile: predatory.
He was standing with his arms crossed, watching as Trenton held the female against the rock, then he moved, carrying that unnerving smile. Laura tensed as he came to a stop behind her, close enough to feel his heat as he stooped over her smaller frame.
“Something about this feels familiar..” His neatly trimmed strands brushed against her, his breath hitting the crown of her head.
She could smell him now.
She held her breath.
“Oh yeah..the commons. Your little room was privy to it all, huh?”
The males roared, their laughter filling the woods.
“Hm, I do recall the pathetic pants of a pup against a tree on more than one occasion.” She stared at Trenton, whose face contorted in anger. He looked ready to lunge across the boulder at Laura.
Derek whistled low.
Laura glanced at the female, the shock pulling raised brows.
Stephanie DePoux.
When they were younger, she was the most sought-after female of their age group… And one of Laura’s most prominent terrorizers. Though looking at her now, the pitiful state of the girl–bent over the rock with Trenton Phillip’s tiny member buried in her–she couldn’t muster any hate.
“Leave her alone.”
Trenton’s response was to resume his thrust. Slapping Stephanie’s ass.
Laura’s claws extended. She figured any retaliation to her actions wouldn’t be good for the future Beta, considering her current position.
“Look closely.” The directive was breathed into her ear. She almost forgot about the Alpha’s bastard.
“Does she look opposed to this?”
She was annoyed with his continued proximity, but his words did give her pause.
Stephanie certainly wasn’t reacting the way Laura would expect any girl with common sense to act in Trenton Phillip’s arms. Quite the opposite.
“Ah..” Stephanie was panting, her face warped into one of deep pleasure as she stared at the male behind Laura.
“Miss DePoux is heartily the share around here,” Derek continued, “even after finding her mate, she still lives with her partner–you may recall Mark Young–and continues to sneak around with others, like now.”
All of Laura’s guilt was immediately absolved. She retracted her claws, intending to leave undesirables with each other.
A hand ran the length of her back, while another brushed the base of her scalp.
“We wouldn’t be against you joining us...” Laura side-stepped, swiping her hand in the space Derek previously stood.
“But you are the pride of the pack after all. Enjoy your trip..I’ll find you when you come back.” Laura couldn’t place the tone in his voice, but she felt physically threatened by the suggestion.
“Don’t wait up,” Laura made sure he didn’t miss the disgust on her face.
If Trenton was a menace, Derek was a psychopath. She didn’t want the attention of either.
The heat of his eyes followed her out of the woods.
Laura was drying her hair, just finished with a shower, when a knock resonated.
“Come in.”
She’d smelled the woman before the polite knock.
Jacklyn entered the room, making it seem much smaller than it already was, but in a good way.
“I know you’ll be leaving early tomorrow, so I wanted to stop in and chat for a moment.”
Jacklyn perched on the edge of the bed, motioning for Laura to join her.
As soon as Laura sat, her hands were clasped in Jacklyn’s warm ones, despite Laura having just taken a shower.
“This pack..I won’t apologize for them. They made their choices, and for them to have the gall to drag you back to this forsaken..” She trailed off, “I won’t ask you to go on behalf of this pack either. If you wish to leave, I will do everything I can to help you.”
Laura tried not to show the surprise on her face, but she was pretty sure the silence gave her away. Jacklyn had always been sympathetic to her, but she had to know how much of a risk it would be, if they—no—when they were found out. She couldn’t believe she would even offer to do that much for her, putting her own family in jeopardy. Laura smiled.
Like mother, like son.
“While I appreciate the sentiment..” She turned to show the reprised mark etched into her body. “It would only mean trouble for us both.” Jacklyn’s worried look shifted, her soft features flashing in anger as she stroked the mark.
“That damn Alpha doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone.”
Jacklyn said her goodnight, promising her offer still stood if Laura wanted it, before taking her leave.
She lay there, listening to the sounds of the house settle and the light snores through the hall...
But sleep didn’t come for her.