The Iron West

Chapter 4

Josie

The day started at five a.m. for me. After my eventful night, I got a scarce amount of sleep. Nevertheless, my brain was absolutely wired and ready to go.

All I could think about was the man last night. There was an energy to him that I couldn't place, something familiar about his energy.

I knew he was my mate, but it felt nothing like in the stories where the wind rushed at me as I ran towards him in a field of wildflowers. There was nothing of the sort.

I had been scared to death in bed, ready to smash in a man's cranium in the dead of night. The embarrassment that crept over me whenever I remembered it was enough to keep me from seeking out my mate.

There was a soft commotion in the hall, as well as the sound of feet hitting the floor above me.

The thought that my mate might still be in this house made me queasy. I can't be living in the middle of Montana, in the wilderness like this. Ranches were work for me, not pleasure.

Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe this would all have been my brain telling me I'd meet him soon. There was no way my mate was a rancher in Montana, and there was no way I was meeting my mate on the job.

Snapping back into business mode, I pulled myself out of bed. I put on a dark pair of jeans and my sweater, layered with a parka on top. I put on two pairs of socks and my best hiking boots, not sure what I would face in this weather.

I certainly wasn't risking any of that.

After some time to build up my confidence, telling myself this was just another job site, I opened my door to the rest of the house. I was almost immediately met by Evander.

"Hey, I heard you had a scare last night." He seemed nervous. "Were you taking note of that?"

I shook my head. "No, that has nothing to do with the ranch productivity. But you will likely be hearing from the pack's Human Resources office within the week if I had to guess. I'm mandated to report inappropriate behavior toward pack officials, myself included. I'll file it separately though."

Evander looked pale. "Look, Luke isn't exactly part of our staff. He's a troubled teen we've been seeing after."

"Like the Dr Phil show?" I questioned.

Evander shrugged. "His folks didn't know what to do with him, so Dean's been helping 'em out."

"As thoughtful as that is, his behavior was inappropriate. I'll need his legal guardian's contact information," I felt a pang of guilt as I said it. 

It was protocol. If I let things like this slide, my safety wouldn't be taken as seriously. And on a random ranch thousands of miles from Pack Head Quarters, I had to be vigilant. Thankfully, all seemed right with this group, but I'd had my series of threats and violence.

"Are they pack members? I can just look them up." I looked at him expectantly. Of course they were pack members, rogues weren't tolerated on Destiny Pack lands.

"His folks are human." Evander shifted his stance, as if sensing the power dynamic between us. In this moment I needed to hone in that dynamic.

"I need to speak with your superior." 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked to the barn with purpose, guided by Evander. He looked pale and worried. We walked into the barn and everyone went quiet as I passed. Towards the back of the barn was a small office that Dean sat in. He had an old worn-down desk with a laptop propped on.

"Mr Foster, I need to speak with you." My voice nearly faltered, knees shook as I locked eyes with him. His eyes were striking, making me question what I had even wanted to say.

His expression was grave as he motioned for me to sit and nodded to Evander. Evander walked out, closing the door behind him.

"What brings you to my office ma'am?" His eyes never left mine.

I bolstered my confidence and sat up a bit straighter. "I regret to inform you that the pack cannot consider your ranch for funding."

I flinched a little, waiting for the screaming and yelling. To my shock, none came.

"Why's that?" He looked more concerned than anything. "Is this about last night? I swear that never happens--"

I cut him off.

"No, it's about the fact that you're housing a human on your land. The pack cannot affiliate with any limited liability corporations that house humans. It's a conflict of interest for Alpha Vesper." I explained, hoping not to anger him.

He looked perplexed. "Can you elaborate? I don't know of a single human on this land."

I nodded, trying to maintain a semblance of professionalism, looking away from his piercing gaze.

"The young man who barged into my sleeping quarters last night will need to be filed with the pack humane resources department for inappropriate behavior around a pack official. I asked your ranch hand for his legal guardian's contact information, and he informed me that the boy's parents are human, therefore, making the boy human."

I crossed my legs, a motion that Dean most certainly noticed. I caught the way his eyes snapped to my thighs. 

"His situation is complicated," Dean said slowly, his eyes dragging up my figure. 

I pulled out my iPad. 

"Explain it to me." I tapped my stylus on my thigh and stared at him.

He looked hesitant to explain it to me. "He was bitten."

My heart froze. "Bitten?"

He nodded. "Poor kid didn't know what to do. We rarely ever see bitten wolves in this part of the country, but we're trying to help him through his transition."

I wasn't sure what to say. Part of me wanted to alert the Alpha, as I was supposed to. Another part of me felt great pity for the young boy. He was likely overrun with raging wolf hormones.

The bitten were a specific and dangerous breed of wolf. They were usually attacked, originally born humans. They were hard to control and shifted into a beastly-looking monster on the night of the full moon. 

Most were put out of their misery by their Alpha, but Luke must be under the radar.

Guilt overwhelmed me.

"Please," Dean began. "Don't report him. We're sedating him with wolfsbane every month and he's only seventeen. We're trying our best to manage him. He doesn't deserve to die."

I stared at my hands. "Not to mention your land would probably get taken by the Alpha and you could all go to jail for keeping him here."

Dean exhaled loudly, clenching his jaw.

"Miss Duncan, you wouldn't report our ranch and send your own mate to jail, would you?" 

My eyes snapped up to meet his, and I flinched.

So I wasn't imagining things last night.

Unsure of what to do, I grabbed my things and rushed back to the house.

Evander saw me, still looking as anxious as before.

He saw me running, one hand gripping my work bag and the other keeping my coat closed in the cold.

"Josie?" He started to follow me and I shook my head. 

"I was never here. You never saw me, and you never picked me up from the airport." I yelled to him as I ran inside.

Quickly I called an Uber and gathered my things.

I knew two things for sure. Firstly, I was not going to be responsible for a young boy's death, bitten or not. And secondly, I needed to stay away from Dean Foster for as long as I could.