Unhappily Ever After

Chapter 50 - Meet the Family

On my third bout of freshers flu now lads. If only I didn't have the immune system of a literal infant ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We couldn't shift. Well, I couldn't. It would be the fastest way to tear the wound open again, and then we would be back at the starting line. Instead, we walked at a brisk pace. I had to mind-meld with Ebony almost constantly to check the path ahead - she was flying circles around us from above - and every so often we would have to adjust our course to avoid patrols. Silver Lake was out in force to hunt me: it seemed every single one of their fighters, poor Alex included, had been shaken out of bed and sent into the woods.

Climbing down was easier than climbing up. Jess had gone first and done it in ten seconds flat - I suspected it wasn't the first time she had escaped her room. I had gone next, much slower, with Makayla following behind to catch me if I slipped. I hadn't, but I had managed to tear open the top of the wound in the process.

So now I was bleeding again - just a trickle, but enough that I had to keep checking that the blood wasn't soaking through the makeshift bandages. We had gone about half a mile when Jess fell into step beside me. I could feel the argument coming, rolling over the link like storm clouds on the horizon. She was pissed, and she had been pissed for a while, but she was very good at hiding it.

"Now that you're not on death's door," Jess started, "can you explain why my wolf has decided that we're mated?"

I was more interested in hearing an explanation of why one question from her could scare the living shit out of me more than all of Silver Lake Pack put together. There was no subtly, no beating around the bush. She had gone for the throat.

"No, I can't explain it," I said quietly. "But she's not wrong."

Jess nodded, the motion clipped and ragged. "You've known this whole time, haven't you? That's why you kept your scent off, even in the valley."

"I knew," I admitted. "But I also knew you already have a mate. Whatever this is ... it seems to be a mistake in the fabric of the universe or some similar shit."

She disagreed. She disagreed completely, and the force of her conviction was spilling out of her mind, flooding across the link. "Scott is the mistake. Isn't that obvious? He might have come along first, but we're like chalk and cheese."

"I'm just gonna go walk over there," Makayla muttered. "Let me know when you're done baring your souls and shit, okay?"

Both of us ignored her - barely even heard the words. We were staring at each other even as we walked, and I was trying desperately to bury the doubts that were rearing their ugly heads. I wasn't supposed to have a mate. She wasn't supposed to have two. How the hell could we know if this was a glitch or an upgrade?

When it was obvious I didn't have a reply, Jess sighed, the sound catching in her throat. "Why didn't you tell me? Were you scared I'd pick him?"

I winced. It was time to be honest, I reckoned, because the lying had done enough damage already.

"I was scared you'd pick me," I said. "I can't offer you jack shit, Jess. All I've got is a roof over my head and hot food three times a day. Your life here, your stuff, your friends, all of it - how can I ask you to give any of this up?"

She scowled. "That's my decision to make, not yours. You hardly know me! How the hell would you know what I want? What would make me happy? Just because I've made the best of things here doesn't mean it's where I want to be."

I chewed the inside of my cheek, not saying a word because she was right, of course, and I deserved it. I had assumed she was happy, because she seemed happy, but that was Jess. She would have found a way to enjoy herself in hell, let alone this backwards pack.