It was a no-brainer. He never mentioned that passionate night, and my attachment to him was one-sided. Maybe he’d fucked me out of pity or regretted it. When he’d returned from that training, he’d acted like nothing happened, and it stayed at that. I was eighteen by that time, and he knew I couldn’t shift, so he must have been relieved I hadn’t brought that night up again.
My nose burned and I let out a shaky breath. I never considered it until now, but he must have seen me as some sad, pitiful girl attached to his side, following him everywhere he went. He must be tired of me.
Everyone in the pack knew I was attached to his hip, but until now, I never stopped to think I bothered him.
He was my haven. And I was... useless.
It was ingrained in us since we were children that pack Alphas must have strong mates, and to be a solid mated couple, they both must have strong wolves. Especially since he would become the pack Alpha tomorrow.
Everyone, including Camden, thought I was a defective werewolf. Someone with a wolf so weak it couldn’t come to the forefront.
If only he knew I was an Omega and could call my wolf forward whenever I wanted.
Yet, what everyone saw was a shiftless werewolf. Not only that but there were some ignorant pack members that considered me deficient. Being mute didn’t make me less, but ask some people and I was ruined, according to them.
Idiots.
The steps leading to the porch creaked and I shoved the screen door open. My dad, Hector, lifted his head off the couch pillow, and he grunted at me.
“Heading to bed, Willow?”
I nodded and forced the corners of my lips up. He seemed satisfied with that response, so his attention returned to the television. I needed to get some rest so I was prepared for work tomorrow.
Willow
I layon my bedroom mattress and gazed at the popcorn ceiling, valiantly trying to stifle my tears. If I wasn’t near Hector, I wouldn’t worry about it, but my eyes became scarily red when I cried and stayed that way for a while.
Lifting my hands to my face, I scrubbed my eyes with my palms. Living with your family was normal in a werewolf community, even at my age. Many got their own home only once they settled down with someone.
Plus, I didn’t want to leave Hector after what Nola put him through. He’d been through enough. We’d been happy the earlier years of my life while living in a small pack in Washington, but even back then I recalled her skittishness—she never relaxed. The day after my tenth birthday, she asked to separate from him. Her desire for not being discovered as an Omega overpowered her love for Hector... and me.
It was one thing after another once that happened. She packed me up in her car along with her stuff, and spent the entire drive across the country telling me how dangerous we were and what happened to her family when she was a little girl. Throats ripped out, blood coating the ground... the description of the slaughter was horrifying.
Instead of joining a new pack as she promised, she left me at a gas station. One moment she was kissing my forehead before I went into the restroom and the next, child protective services had me in their custody. It was an entire year before they tracked down my dad.
Although it was traumatizing, it drove in the seriousness of what I was and the risks I posed. Being close to werewolves was dangerous and being surrounded by loved ones would only bring them harm. The sour taste spread on my tongue.
At first, I’d tried refusing going with Hector, but he had insisted and as an eleven-year-old, I’d had little choice, so he’d brought me back to the pack he’d grown up in—Redwood Pack.
Hector had been distraught, and I couldn’t bring myself to run away, so I resolved never to shift. It’d been fifteen years since I arrived here and at twenty-six, I still lived with him, but he wasn’t home often since he patrolled as a pack enforcer, which consisted of the most dominant pack members. There were few instances where there were Alphas who had no desire to lead a pack, like Hector, but still wanted to be a part of one. Because of his dominance, Torrin allowed him more control, but only because Hector never attempted or hinted at desiring more.
I could have asked Hector to petition to get me an individual home, but even with his influence and clout, I doubt he’d succeed.
Especially with Alpha Torrin in charge. If you were male, it was easier to get Alpha approval to build a home, but females? Forget about it.
It was extremely biased and sexist, but there was only so much I could do to go against that since I held absolutely no power here. Actually, according to many females here, the shred of protection and power I held was due to Camden. No one messed with me because of him, which they irritatingly made blatantly clear.
After Camden took over, he’d approve me for my own place, because he always took care of me... My unwavering shadow. There to argue with and get into trouble with since we were kids.
The first day I’d stepped onto these pack lands after Hector and I came here, Camden and I had been at each other’s throats. It was only after I helped him escape one of the traps the other pack kids had set on him that he’d let me past the wall he barricaded himself behind. Camden’s growth was slower than other pups’, so he’d been picked on even though he was the Alpha’s kid.
And since Torrin expected him to handle himself, he’d done and said nothing.
The day I got him out of the trap, he promised me he’d never leave my side and he’d protect me. My chest constricted, a knot forming in my throat. We’d had each other’s back since then and he’d outgrown me by a ton, but instead of leaving me in his dust, he’d been my fierce protector.
He’d gone nuts the day I’d taken the hit that ruined my voice box. He never left my side and it’d been his idea to learn ASL.
A small smile tugged at my lips.
