“The Great Luna has a purpose for you, Penelope. It’s more than this. I wish I knew how to give it to you or help you achieve it.”
Penelope turned to face Rose and saw the pain that often filled the alpha’s eyes when she looked at her. “You’ve done enough.” She hoped the alpha heard the sincerity in her words. “Your compassion is something I treasure. I know I was dropped on the doorstep of this mansion, but you took me in and have always treated me as if I’m valuable.”
Rose bowed her head, shaking it slowly. “There’s no doubt you’re valuable, Penelope.” When Rose raised her head, tears streamed down her face, and her bottom lip trembled slightly. “I’m sorry that you don’t feel that way. I’m sorry I haven’t made you feel that way.”
Penelope grabbed Rose’s hands. “No, no, don’t say that.” She swallowed hard and pressed her lips together to keep her own tears from falling. If Jeremiah walked in, he would scold her for crying. The stoic alpha hated tears. “You, of all people, have made me feel loved and welcome.”
“You shouldn’t have to feel welcome in your own family,” Rose huffed. “It should be a given that you belong. You’re not a guest, dammit. You’re pack.”
Penelope didn’t want to tell Rose that she’d never felt like anything more than a guest, and often more like a burden. She frequently saw guilt in the alpha female’s eyes when Penelope was treated with scorn by Jeremiah or the other pack members. That’s not to say some weren’t kind, but mostly, especially with the males, their attitude followed Jeremiah’s.
“What’s going on in here?”
Jeremiah’s booming voice filled the room, and Penelope immediately stepped back from Rose. One thing that seemed to annoy him the most was his mate showing Penelope any affection.
Rose discreetly wiped her eyes before turning to face her mate. “I asked Penelope for help with some cleaning. We were just finishing up, and I was letting her know what needs to be done next.”
Jeremiah’s eyes darted between her and his mate, as if trying to determine if Rose was telling the truth. Considering he could simply look into her mind through their mate bond, Penelope wondered why he wasn’t already accusing Rose of lying. Finally, he focused on Rose. “You don’t ask her to help, mate,” he grumbled. “You tell her what you want done and then leave her to do it.”
Penelope lowered her gaze, hiding the resentment she knew must show in her eyes. She bit her lip to keep from telling him off and simply waited to see what else he would say. He had undoubtedly sought one of them for a reason.
“Penelope, take water and refreshments to the training area for the warriors working there. Don’t bother them. Simply set everything out and refill as necessary. Understood?”
Though she wanted to respond sarcastically, she said, “Of course, Alpha.” The title tasted like ash in her mouth. She despised addressing him with any form of respect because he deserved none. A true alpha would be worthy of the title.
She hurried from the room, but before Penelope was out of earshot, she heard Jeremiah say, “I don’t understand why you insist on keeping her around. She’s a dormant. That whelp will never have a mate. She’s just deadweight.”
Penelope’s feet stopped moving as his words pierced her heart, a heart she thought she had protected with stronger walls.
“That’s cruel, Jeremiah. She’s a living person with the same rights as you and me,” Rose replied. She was the only pack member who could get away with talking to Jeremiah like that.
“We live in a world of survival of the fittest. A pack is only as strong as its weakest member,” Jeremiah snarled. “She makes us weak.”
Penelope had heard enough. She’d heard it all before. Jeremiah loved to point out what a burden she was. She often asked herself why she didn’t just leave. The answers remained the same: she worried about Rose, she loved Tanya, who had always treated her with the same kindness as her mother, and being a lone female wolf, dormant or not, was dangerous. Maybe if Jeremiah allowed her to learn to fight alongside the pack’s warriors she could venture out on her own. But he treated her like a servant, and servants didn’t learn to defend themselves.
She sighed as she entered the kitchen and began gathering items for the warriors. Perhaps Dillon would be willing to work with her in secret? He seemed like a much kinder wolf than their alpha and appeared to have more respect for a dormant like herself. It was something she would have to consider. But Penelope knew if she approached him, she’d need to be very careful. If Jeremiah found out, he might just go ahead and finally put her out of her misery like he’d always threatened to.
“My grandmother can hit harder than you do.” Kevin heckled Dillon from where he, Rusty, and Gabe sat just on the edge of the sparring circle.
Dillon ignored him as he focused on the two wolves that had challenged him. Apparently it had gotten around, no doubt courtesy of the three troublemakers on the sideline, that he’d taken out five vampires nearly by himself. So now, every wolf in the pack was eager to take him on. He hadn’t had to do any sort of recruiting for some training lessons. They’d simply lined up, especially once they heard Jeremiah had ordered it.
One male was in his wolf form, while the other was still in his human skin. They seemed to use a tag team method, which was not doing them any good. If they’d both attack him at once, they’d have a much better chance at taking him down. As Dillon moved around the sparring ring, he waited for the perfect moment to strike. The wolf circled him, snarling and snapping, but Dillon was too quick for it. With a swift movement, he darted behind the wolf and landed a well-placed punch to its side. The wolf yelped, but it didn’t go down. Instead, it turned around and lunged at Dillon again.
The one in human form, sensing an opportunity, charged at Dillon from the side. Dillon saw him coming and quickly ducked and rolled, putting some distance between himself and his attackers.
Dillon knew they would think he was stepping back for a breather. So, instead of hesitating, Dillon rushed forward toward the human. Before the man could react, Dillon punched him square in the face, sending him flying back into the circle. The wolf’s eyes widened in surprise before his body hit the ground with a loud thud. He groaned but didn’t try to rise.
Meanwhile, the lupine wolf was still circling Dillon, looking for any opportunity to attack. Dillon remained vigilant, keeping the beast off balance. Finally, the wolf gave a frustrated snarl and charged wildly. Dillon sidestepped with practiced agility and swung his arm around the beast’s furry neck, pulling back with all his strength. With a yelp of surprise, the wolf stumbled back and fell to its side with Dillon on top. It thrashed and rolled, but Dillon pushed all of his weight down on the wolf and wouldn’t let go. No matter how hard it tried, the beast couldn’t shake Dillon free. Eventually, the wolf quit fighting. After a few seconds, it gave a small whine of submission. Dillon released him and rose to his feet.
Dillon could hear cheers and catcalls coming from the pack members that had surrounded the sparring circle, things like “Two on one, and they still couldn’t beat him,” and “I’ve never seen a man move that fast.” Dillon found it hard not to preen like a peacock. Apparently, hunting the feral hogs and coyotes in Coldspring for so long had kept his skills sharp. But he wasn’t terribly proud of besting these two warriors. They fought hard, but they clearly hadn’t been trained properly. Anyone from his old pack back in Montana could have bested them.
The defeated wolf phased back into a human. Dillon extended the man a hand. At first, Dillon thought he might not accept, but he finally reached out and took it, allowing Dillon to help him up. Dillon tried to read the expression in the man’s eyes. He saw a defeated look he didn’t like. Being bested in the sparring ring shouldn’t be shameful. It should be an opportunity to learn, to improve your fighting skills, so that you can defend the weaker members of your pack.
Gabe jogged over and tossed the man a pair of sweatpants.
“You did well.” Dillon helped the wolf up. “And you, too.” He nodded at the other one.
Pointing to the first wolf, Kevin walked over and said, “The one you knocked out is Wade. And the other one with the puppy dog eyes is Dean.”
