Out Running the Alpha

Into the Fire

"I'll let you settle in," Fitz said before leaving, and I was left alone.

I didn't know what it was about this place, but I'd felt more comfortable here than I had anywhere else in a long time. I took a shower and then went to find someone to see if I could find someone who could give me a phone.

I found Alston downstairs, and I timidly cleared my throat "Hi Alston, it's Alston, right?" I asked tentatively.

He smiled, "Yes. Is there anything I can get for you?".

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could use a phone?" I asked, hopefully.

"Of course we can get you a new cell phone, but for now you can use mine" He smiled, handing me his phone.

"Thanks," I grinned, ducking into another room so I could have some privacy.

I punched in my dad's cell phone number eager to hear from my family. "Who is this?" my dad growled on the other end.

"It's Britney dad," I said, unable to keep from my voice from cracking.

There was silence from the other end before my dad spoke. "How do I know that this is really my daughter?" he finally said.

"It's me. You paid for my mother's burial in your family's plot," I said, thinking of something that no one else would know.

I heard my father let out a sob. "Where are you, sweetheart. Just tell me where you are, and I will come and get you".

"I'm with this were called Fitzgerald. He's going to protect me from Mason. I let him trick me into leaving the country with him, but I was able to get away" I babbled, hoping to ease any worries he had.

"So it's started then," my father sighed. "I was hoping to keep you out of all of this by not inviting Fitzgerald Dufort when we were trying to find your mate."

"Wait, you didn't invite him?" I asked, confused.

"No. The Duforts are one of the most brutal groups of Weres who have been locked with a bitter blood feud with our family ever since the original Antoinette was killed" My father sighed.

"So should I try to leave?" I asked quietly.

"No," My father sighed. "Begin with Fitzgerald is probably the safest for now, but you cannot trust them."

"Ok," I whispered. I heard footsteps outside the door and whispered into the phone, "I have to go, but I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart," my dad sniffed, "Be safe."

I quickly hung up as Fitz came into the room. "Who was that?" He smiled easily, but there was a tension in his body at odds with the smile.

"My dad," I said easily. Anger flashed in Fitz's eyes, but it was gone almost as quickly as it had come. "I just need to let him know I was safe," I smiled.

"Did you tell him where you were?" He asked breezily.

"No, I thought it would be safer to keep him out of everything," I lied. I figured it would be easier to feign ignorance of everything my father had just said.

"I'm glad you were able to give him some peace of mind" Fitz smiled, looking relieved. "And of course I'll get you your own phone, so you can keep in contact with your dad and friends back home."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. It seemed strange that someone who was nervous about me talking to my father would give me something that would allow me to speak to him whenever I wanted. "That's really kind of you," I smiled.

"It's the least I can do. You're going to be cooped up in here for a while until we can figure out how to get rid of Mason" Fitz said, " I just want to make you as comfortable as possible." 

"Thanks," I said sheepishly.

"Anyway, I just came in here to tell you that dinner was ready," Fitz said, "I invited a couple of people from our pack to join me so you could make some friends."

I stiffened slightly "Would you mind if we had dinner just the two of us. I'd just really like to get to know you better".

Fitz beamed, "Of course. I'll get us some food, and we can go to eat in the den downstairs".

I nodded in relief. I didn't think I could handle being surrounded and judged by a whole new group of strangers. Besides, this would give me a better opportunity to get to learn more about Fitz, which could help me figure out whether or not to trust him. On the one hand, I had already caught Fitz in a lie, but he had also confirmed several things that I had already suspected. I also couldn't ignore the fact that being around Fitz put me at ease more than anything else ever had.

Fitz came back with two plates piled high with bread, cheese, meat, and fruit as well as a bottle of champaign tucked under his arm. "Follow me," he beamed impishly.

We settled in on the floor of a media room, and Fitz popped the champaign pouring it into two flutes. "So tell me," I said, taking a deep swig of champaign trying to loosen up, "What is your favorite color."

Fitz laughed, surprised, "Really favorite color? That's what you're going with?".

I shrugged laughing, "I figured I'd lob you a softball, to begin with."

"Well, I guess I really like the color blue," he shrugged his ears, turning slightly red.

"That's nice. Blues a cool color. I really like the color green." I smiled. "Now, you get to ask me something."

"Hm," Fitz mused dramatically, tapping his chin "I guess I'd like to know what's your favorite book?"

"Well, I guess I used to really like any fantasy book before I got dragged into all of this," I sighed, taking another long sip.

"What do you mean by dragged into all of this?" He asked, looking confused.

"Oh," I straightened up surprised "I just thought you knew. I didn't know about any of this supernatural stuff until a couple of years ago. My mother hid my brother and me from our father so we were raised as humans."

"Oh that must have been quite a shock," Fitz whispered compassionately.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged "My whole childhood was kind of a bummer so I guess in hindsight it's really not the worst. Sorry, that was a super heavy answer to what my favorite book was," I laughed awkwardly.

Fitz gently took my hand "I'm honored that you felt comfortable enough to tell me that. I didn't really get along with my father, but my mother was an incredibly amazing woman. She was the only thing that made living with my dad bearable. She died when I turned twelve, but she's the reason I'm the person I am today."

"So did you grow up knowing that you were some other person reincarnated?" I asked now thoroughly buzzed on champaign.

"Yeah. That was part of what made living with my dad unbearable. I was raised knowing that it was my destiny to end the blood feud between our families uniting all the Weres into one glorious pack ushering in a new era of prosperity for our people," Fitz laughed at the incredulity of it. "But I guess the way I see it is that while I may have a recycled soul at least part of what made me is the experiences that I've been through and the people I've grown up around which are different so despite sharing a soul we're different people."

"That's incredibly wise," I smiled leaning against him comforted by the warmth radiating from him "So does that mean that you really don't think that I'm your soulmate?"

He shrugged "I don't know, but I'm willing to find out if you are."

Authors Note: Hey guys thank you so much for your continued support!!!! As always please vote and comment!!!!! :) A huge shout out to @mariale821, @hajar_music, and @GracieTb!!!! Thank you guys so much for voting and commenting I really love hearing what you guys have to say :) As always please vote and comment for your chance at a shout out. Comment with who your favorite love interest has been so far :)