Shit. I shuddered to think what would happen if my grandmother came here. She didn’t have the patience to ask subtle questions or observe for long periods of time. She would definitely discover what happened to my parents, but it was extremely probably that there would be blood spilled when she did, and not all of the people she spoke with would be guilty.
“Fine,” I relented, knowing that I had no other choice. “You can stay, but you’re on my turf now. You aren’t my alpha any longer and I won’t follow your commands without argument.”
Lach’s reaction surprised me. He laughed. “When did you ever follow orders without arguing?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “You have a point. Now, if you have thoughts or suggestions, I’m willing to listen, but Gram and I have a plan and I don’t intend to deviate from it.”
“Sophia already made that perfectly clear.”
I couldn’t help but smile at his tone. “Good. Now, let’s figure out how we’re going to handle the barbeque tonight.”
“Oh, I’m allowed an opinion now?”
I rolled my eyes. “Lach.”
“Just kidding.”
Once again he was smiling at me, a smile I hadn’t seen in years. Ignoring my body’s reaction to it, I grinned back. Even if he never realized that he was my mate, I would have to be satisfied in the knowledge that he was happy and alive.
Several hours later,we made our way into town. As we climbed out of Lach’s truck and walked toward the park, we noticed the crowd of shifters gathered around tables and a huge smoking grill. Children ran around on the grass, swarming a playground filled with brand new equipment.
My heart ached at the memories the picture evoked. While I was growing up, my parents arranged pack gatherings like this all the time. This was a painful reminder of a happier time.
As Lachlan and I approached the group, he reached out and took my hand, squeezing gently. I tugged my hand away, ignoring the way he growled at me beneath his breath.
During our conversation at the cabin earlier, I’d argued with Lachlan that the pretense of us being mates wasn’t necessary. Honestly, I feared that my sanity would be destroyed if I had to go along with that harebrained scheme. Mostly because there would be no pretending on my part.
Acting the part of the smitten mate would likely kill me.
Lachlan finally tired of arguing with me and merely pulled out his phone, dialed my grandmother, and handed it to me. She made it very clear that I was to adhere to the plan that she, Calder, and Lachlan had concocted or she would take over.
I compromised and told her that he could put on the show of a mate trying to woo his she-wolf, but that I would behave as though I were resisting.
When I shared that, my grandmother laughed loudly. “That’s a good plan, darlin’. And it’s a damn sight more accurate. Any mate that rejected you would have to work his ass off to earn your forgiveness, wouldn’t he?”
While what she said was true, my motivation wasn’t realism. It was self-protection.
As we drew closer to the crowd, people shifted, moving out of our way, clearly avoiding us. Everyone suddenly seemed busy, looking everywhere but directly at us.
Except Darrell. As soon as he spied us walking through the crowd, he grinned and came over.
“I’m glad y’all made it,” he greeted. “Let’s get you somethin’ to drink and give everyone a chance to say hello to you.”
I nearly laughed at his words. I seriously doubted anyone would speak to us. I wasn’t sure why. We followed him through the crowd and I watched the wolves around us carefully.
Though I had trouble believing it, there were many rumors about how Darrell ran his pack. Rumors that said he was cruel and violent, that he would force unmated she-wolves to submit to his sexual appetites when he wished. The Darrell I’d known when I was a child never would have done those things, but that Darrell also hadn’t been the leader of the pack. Power could twist weak men, turning them into unrecognizable degenerates.
So I watched the way his pack mates reacted to him and what I saw made my jaw clench.
The females smiled and glanced his way, but none looked directly at him. Several even cringed ever so slightly when he brushed by. The males hunched subtly in his wake, as though they worried about offending him. The only pack members who didn’t seem to fear him were the four males that also served as the town’s police force.
Once again, Lachlan’s hand found mine, squeezing hard, and I knew he noticed it too. I also left my hand in his. I needed the comfort of his touch. Something was wrong in the MacArthur pack and the knowledge made my gut burn with rage. My parents had always been firm but fair with the wolves they led. Though alphas were not elected, they wanted their pack members to be happy and healthy and to maintain peace.
Even though our walk through the park was short, I saw more than enough to convince me of the veracity behind the rumors.
Somehow I managed to school my expression to hide my fury and disgust. Glancing at Lachlan out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he’d pasted a smile on his face, but I could still see the tightness of his jaw and around his eyes.
Two picnic tables were set up, one holding drinks and the other food. Darrell nodded to a female standing next to them and she fished two beers out of cooler and brought them over.
