Chapter 3
Allie
As she got back into her room, Allie realized quite quickly that she had definitely been noticed when she was away. There were a couple of people waiting in the room for her, both of them were part of her protection team and she was given the dirtiest look she’d seen in a while. She tried to think fast, say that she was sorry or at least come up with some kind of excuse as to why she was gone and where she’d been. If they found out the truth, Allie knew that her brother would have a conniption, and she was sure that he would punish her in some way or another. He tried to act like he was the nice king, but Allie knew better. She knew that her brother was capable of horrible things if pushed and likely being caught in the city by herself would be the push that required action.
“Where were you?” Gabriel asked her without too much compunction about who she was. To everybody else she was some kind of royalty because her brother was Alpha, but not to Gabriel. He treated her more like a child even though she was 20, about to be 21 in a couple of weeks. Allie wondered if she was ever going to be able to grow up, if her brother would ever let her.
“I just had a walk,” Allie said nonchalantly.
He told her that she was full of crap, and Allie said that it wasn't that way at all. She swore that Gabriel could see right through her. He knew when she was lying and, of course, she was lying then. Allie finally told him that she just needed a little bit of time alone. “I didn't hurt anybody; I didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to do, Gabriel. I just wanted a little bit of time in the world without people following me. Is that so hard to understand?” she asked, exasperated and on the verge of tears.
Gabriel had a hard face. It was solid looking, like it was made of stone. Allie was sure that he never smiled or at least she didn't see it very often. When he finally looked at her, Allie could tell what his answer was going to be. She had not swayed him to her side at all.
“It doesn't matter if I understand or not; my job is to keep you safe. If something happens to you, I would never forgive myself, and your brother would kill me. Do you want me to die?” he wanted to know dispassionately.
Allie would have liked to have thought that it was an over exaggeration or even a joke, but she knew that it wasn't. Her brother was a man of his word and if he said that he was going to do something, he would do it whether it was good or not.
“Are you going to tell him?” she inquired, hoping that another one of Ben’s men would give her a reprieve. She didn’t try to bat her eyes with Gabriel. It would do her any good.
Gabriel smiled and pushed his hands through his shoulder length brown hair. “I just told you that your brother would kill me. I don't want to die today, so I won't say anything to him if you don't.”
Allie grinned, knowing that she was going to be in the clear. As much as she wanted to believe that she would stand up to her brother because he didn't have a right to tell her when and where she could go, Allie knew better. He wasn’t just her brother and even though she was an adult, he had taken over her life a long time ago. Allie owed him a lot, but sometimes she just wanted a normal life, and she wondered if that would ever happen with Ben as her brother.
“Well, if you're not going to say anything and I'm not going to say anything, then we can pretend like nothing happened, right?” Allie asked hopefully. She just wanted to be clear of what was happening there.
“You're going to get another person on your protection detail and they're going to take away your walks if you can't keep it straight, Allie. I swear to God, I'm going to be full gray by the time I retire because of you. Thank goodness your brother is in talks to get you married off, then I won't have to deal with you anymore.”
Allie froze for a moment with the words. Her brother was doing what? Allie asked Gabriel to repeat himself, but he was stuttering now, realizing that he had screwed up. Likely, her brother did not want Allie to know about it. He was keeping it from her, so likely Ben would want to tell her when he was ready, not when it was spilled by somebody who worked for him. The way Gabriel’s eyes flared, told Allie the truth. She was now the one holding the cards, not Gabriel.
“I won't say anything about what you just slipped to me,” Allie reassured him.
Gabriel gave her a dirty look and finally just shrugged. “I don't even care, honestly; I just don't want nothing to happen to you, Allie. I didn't mean it about you getting married off. I don't want you to go.”
“You meant it though, didn't you? My brother really is going to marry me off when I turn 21, isn't he?” Gabriel put his head down and couldn't meet her gaze. Allie already had her answer. Her brother was once again stepping into her life like he had some reason to be there, and he was going to make decisions that were not his right to make. Allie was not going to marry someone just because her brother told her to. It wasn't just that Allie had found something with Justice, and even though she would probably never see him again, Allie knew that she wanted that kind of feeling and spark between the person she was with. She didn't want to marry some random stranger, and she had no intentions of doing that.
Allie was in a funk when everyone cleared out of her room. Gabriel had sent everyone away and once he left, it felt so empty there. She laid down on her bed and just stared at the ceiling for the longest time. It didn't matter if the lights were on or off, she wasn't looking at anything. Allie couldn't see past the thoughts that were in her mind. Allie had hoped she would have freedom one day soon, but that would never happen if she was going to be mated. Her brother likely wanted her to couple with whatever enemies or allies that he was trying to get closer to. Allie could only imagine where he would send her. It wouldn't be to make her happy or anything like that; it would be what would get him the best deal. She hated the idea of being a bargaining chip.
Problem was, it’s not like Allie had much of a choice. For if an Alpha, whether he was her brother or not, told her to marry someone, she was expected to and if she didn’t, there would be consequences. With her brother there were always consequences because he felt like if he didn’t follow through with his consequences, then she would never learn. He had been the closest thing she had to a dad for quite a while, and although Allie would always love him and be grateful for what he had done for her, at the same time, she really wished that he would just let her go and live her life. That's all she wanted.
Allie was starting to plan her escape. She didn't even really think about it like that, not directly, but that's what was happening. She was wondering where she could go and whom she could hide with, and what she would do after she was alone in the human world by herself. Allie had a few ideas; she was smart and adaptable. Even though she had spent far too much time hiding out, Allie was bound and determined to break free of anybody else's ideas of what she was supposed to do. She was going to live her own life one way or another. Nobody was going to stand in her way, not even her brother.
Even though her life was just as messed up as it was when she left that day, and even though she now knew for certain that her brother was going to try to marry her off in a couple of weeks, Allie felt lighter than she had in a very long time. For one reason or another, she was convinced that now that she knew what was coming, she could dodge it. Allie was just going to get it together and if she had to leave, then she had to leave. It wasn't exactly what she wanted, but she was used to that by now.
Chapter 4
Justice
“Where the hell is your mind at today, soldier?” Sergeant Gillespie asked Justice. They did not get along. Donald was somebody who had grown up with him. They had never gotten along and ever since they were in kindergarten together, they’d been fighting. Somehow, some dirty ass way, Donald had figured out a way to get ahead of Justice in the army. He wasn't exactly sure what he did for the Alpha, but he put him shoulders ahead of everybody else, and Donald showed it every chance he got. He walked around cock-strong, even though he was 6 foot one and only weighed about 150 pounds. He was a runt by any other description. What saved him was his crafty mind. He was always thinking, plotting, and it was one of many things that Justice hated about him.
“Nowhere, sir. Did I miss something?”
Justice was in a room with about ten other soldiers, and they were being debriefed. He knew what the subject matter was. There was a local clan that was small and still hadn't bowed down to Ben. He wanted them to say their allegiance to him, even though they didn't even know him. Many of the things that Ben said he wouldn't do when he became Alpha, he had been doing. He was trying to grow the territory, as well as pick fights. At least that's what it looked like on the outside looking in. The fact that he employed somebody like Sergeant Gillespie as one of his closest allies was telling of his direction. It was telling about Donald, as well as Ben.
Since everybody was looking at Justice and a few people were chuckling, he could see that Donald was going to take the moment to embarrass him. Donald told him that he had to do 100 pushups. That was nothing really and Justice started to get down and start.
“You didn't say, yes Sergeant. I think you need to do 100 more. You know, so you can learn to pay attention.”
Justice ignored the smile on his face. He knew what was going on and that he was just being pushed to see if he would pop. Donald made it his business to break Justice, but he wasn’t going to let it happen. It wasn't the first time he had been pushed in such a way, and it likely wouldn't be the last time.
