© Amber Kalkes 2015
Song: "Never Let You Down" By WOODKID {Ft. Lykke Li}
C h a p t e r T w e l v e >
Blood stained hands shake in her lap as Poppy stares at them with teary eyes. She hasn't found the strength to wash herself. She hasn't even had the strength to get off the floor. All she can do is stare at the mess she'd made and the pain she's caused written clearly on her hands.
Laura had it coming, she knows that as well as anyone else but what scares Poppy is that she couldn't stop herself. She couldn't stop her wolf. She thought her mate would explain why her wolf acts the way she does but even that doesn't make any sense. He's human. Just a regular human man. So why can't she control her wolf? Why can't she just be...normal?
"You need to wash up Poppy," Cassidy tells her softly, making Poppy remember she's even in the room in the first place, "You'll drive yourself crazy if you don't."
"Like I'm not already."
"Poppy..."
"Is Colton mad?"
Cassidy's silent for a moment before moving off the bed to sit next Poppy on the floor, "He's mad but not at you."
"He should be."
"He knows how hard it is for you."
Poppy wants to argue but instead asks, "How's Laura?"'
"Stable. Healing. She should be perfectly fine by tomorrow evening."
Poppy nods and looks down at her hands again. It's a relief to know she didn't cause any serious damage and since Laura is a shifter as well, the healing won't take long. She knows how painful it will be though and winces at the thought. Samuel will definitely be making her pay for that.
"Rae went in to talk to him and Hudson is trying to arrange some kind of meeting with the Alpha council."
"He'll be trying until that stupid beard of his falls off," Poppy says with a snort before going to wipe her wet cheek but seeing the blood again, "Alpha council only pops up on serious big matters, if they even exist. I'm starting to think they're more like Santa Claus than a reality anyway."
"You could die Poppy. That's a serious matter."
"Not to them it isn't. Samuel was right; he's probably doing the rest of the packs a favor by killing me."
"Don't say things like that!"Cassidy jumps up from the ground and stares at Poppy with wide scared eyes, "Laura had it coming and just because her dick ass of a mate doesn't see what a bitch she is then he's the one who needs to be punished! Connor told me everything! He told me what she's been doing to you while I was gone and the awful things she said! She pushed you!"
"She did but I took it too far."
"He's not even an Alpha! He can't hand off punishments!"
"His daddy is an Alpha so the chances of him becoming one are a little better than most."
"But he still isn't an Alpha," Cassidy argues as she starts to pace, "I don't even know why Colton even listened to him at all. If I were him I would have beaten the hell out of him for even suggesting this."
"Colton doesn't want to start a war...he's being a good politician."
"But you're his family."
Poppy throws her head back and groans, "You're so naïve Cassidy."
"Naïve," She repeats, "I'm being a human being!"
"And in this world that won't do you any good. You're forgetting where you are now. This is a pack of wolves, Cass. Family is important but respect is the master here, even for people who don't deserve it."
"It wasn't like this with at Aunt Jolene's," Cassidy mutters.
"No but they're on the edges of the territory. Though that land belongs to this pack they don't live under the same rules we do here. They get to live how they want as long as they follow the big rules. If they had their own Alpha close by that wouldn't be the case."
"Well I hope they never get one then if this is how it's going to be!"
Poppy hides her smile while also agreeing with her sister. It's been often that Poppy thought of going to live with Jolene. Leave the side glances and the stress of pack life but something always told her to stay. Her mind conjures up the image of Nick and Poppy lets out a scoff. Well, now she can guess why. She and her wolf were just waiting for him to show his annoyingly handsome face.
"What is so funny?"
Poppy shakes her head before looking her youngest sister over. It's almost sunrise and Cassidy has been with her for the past few hours as support. Both are still dressed in their outfits the run. Both of their heads of hair are messes on the top of their heads and all their makeup has been rubbed off. Still, Poppy can see the glow on Cassidy's skin and the flush in her cheeks. She immediately feels guilty for having asked her to be with her when Cassidy could be with Connor instead.
Cleo and Mackenzie have popped in periodically and so has Rae, to check in on her. Her brothers have been more concerned about trying to talk some since into Samuel but so far, no go. Hudson has been giving her sorrowful sounding updates throughout the night and it only makes Poppy feel guiltier about the whole situation. She wishes things had gone different. She wishes Nick was here.
"You should go Cass," Poppy sighs heavily as she rubs her forehead, "It's late."
"I'm not going anywhere!"
Poppy rolls her eyes before giving her a flat look, "It's five in the morning. Can you keep your voice down?"
"No!"
"Cassidy...honey, I need to shower and you have a mate waiting for you."
"He can wait. You're my sister."
"And you're mine but I need time to think about what I'm going to do next."
"In an hour it'll be dawn Poppy. Samuel expects you to be out there and ready to take whatever sick punishment he has for you."
"You mean her 'dick ass mate'?"
Cassidy blushes at the reminder of her earlier swearing rant, "D-Don't change the subject!"
"I'm sorry it's just...that's the first time I've ever heard you swear."
"Well," Cassidy mutters with a blush on her cheeks, "I don't make it a habit like some people I know."
"Why not," Poppy asks with a mock pout, "You're so cute when you swear. I bet Connor will love it."
If possible Cassidy's blush gets darker, "S-Shut up and stop avoiding the subject!"
"I'm trying to lighten the mood."
"Well stop!"
Poppy rolls her eyes and gets to her feet, "If I have to take a punishment I'll take it. If I have to run, I'll run. I can't do anything until Colton tells me I can."
Cassidy surprises her with a hug. It takes her a minute but Poppy wraps her arms back around her sister and holds her tight. She inhale's Cassidy's scent deeply and commits it to memory. She tries to remember the comfort of this hug. She tries to remember everything she can about this because if all her fears come true, she may not feel it again for a long time.
"What if you have to run? Where will you go?"
"I don't know," Poppy says hesitantly while trying to hide her own nerves about what she'll do if it does come to that, "But I'll figure it out."
Cassidy tightens her arms around her, "I don't want to lose you."
"You won't."
"Especially over that brat," Cassidy adds sullenly making Poppy laugh.
Pulling back, Poppy looks her sister in the eyes as she says, "The moon goddess always fixes the wrongs in our lives. Laura may have gotten Samuel as a mate but fate never gives us what we don't deserve."
"Are you saying Laura deserves to be Alpha female?"
"What? No," Poppy snorts, "What I'm saying is she may have gotten an Alpha heir as a mate but that doesn't mean she'll become Alpha female. Do you remember Julia?"
"Um..."
"She was the Alpha female at our old pack, before here. She was a shit Alpha female and an even worse person. She was a perfect match for Kendrick but she wasn't Alpha female material. Even Kendrick's father knew that if you listen to the gossip but where is she now?"
"I hear she's a rogue now."
"Exactly," Poppy says with a slight smile, "And that's where she deserves to be. She wasn't a good Alpha female. Her reign was for less than five years Cass. The moon goddess and fate never do anything without a reason. Maybe that's what this is, just another step closer to my fate."
Cassidy searches Poppy's face before nodding her head, "Maybe."
"Look at our family Cassidy and what the moon goddess has done for them. For Rae she sent Colton and a pack for support. For Mackenzie she sent Jace to show her love and family. For Hudson she sent Joseph for partnership and for Andy she decided to torture him with Cleo's pigheadedness." Cassidy laughs and Poppy smiles at her, "And you have Connor to give you so much affection and protection you will never be in need for it again."
"What about you though?"
Again, Nick comes to mind and Poppy smiles a little, "I'll find my own fate and something tells me it will be as unusual as anything else about me."
><
Nick brings the glass of scotch to his lips quickly before looking over his shoulder for his boss. Morris always throws a bitch fit whenever he catches him drinking and in an effort save his ear drums, he's decided to hide the quick sips.
He's been feeling like shit since the morning before but it's gotten worse over the course of the evening. He feels sore and tired. He keeps sweating and sometimes he feels like he's going to vomit. The liquor has been helping but he can't get too drunk. He's still working for shit's sake.
After hiding the glass under the bar, Nick brushes his long black hair out of his face before picking up a rag to wipe the bar down. Maybe he can find enough money for a doctor's visit. Maybe it's just a cold. He should call Corrine up and ask. She's an older woman with some knowledge. Maybe she'd know what can make him stop feeling like hell warmed over.
"Hey Nikki," A high pitched voice greets making him wince before plastering a smile to greet her back.
"Hello Denise, what can I get you?"
No one calls him 'Nikki' but this woman and it irritates the living shit out of him. He slept with her one time and all the sudden she thinks she can call him by nicknames. Still, he has to play nice. Denise is a big tipper and since most of pay is tips he has to put on a smile and deal with it. Even if the reminder that he slept with this squeaky voiced brunette makes Nick want to stab himself with an ice pick just to get out of talking to her.
She gives him a flirty smirk, "You know what I like."
"Indeed I do," He agrees before turning around to grab a beer before sliding it towards her. She slides a few bills back at him but makes sure to touch his fingers when he tries to grab it and get his attention, "What are you doing tonight?"
"Working," He says simply.
Denise rolls her dark brown eyes, "I mean after."
"I'm going home to sleep Denise."
"Need someone to tuck you in?"
Nick forces a smile and keeps his voice light as he tells her, "No thank you. I'm sure your husband needs you much more than me."
She pouts at him, "Party pooper."
"It's a special talent."
Denise grabs the beer from the bar and saunters away from him and towards her friends who all give him inviting looks. Nick tries to look busy so none of them will approach him, particularly any of the single ones.
Nick has a rule. He doesn't do relationships with single women and it's not for the reason most people would think. He doesn't want to make promises he can't keep. He doesn't want to promise a woman the world and not deliver. His dad had done that his mother had been a miserable woman because of it. Nick refuses to do anything like that to any woman he cares about.
The bar closes at four in the morning and when he's given the go ahead to leave, he doesn't need to be told twice. He feels worse and as he climbs in his car he's relieved to be sitting down for once. His whole body is sore and all he wants to do is lie down and pass out for a few days. He has to work tomorrow morning though so that seems out of the question but shit, does it sound nice.
Starting up his car, Nick rolls down the windows and lets in the cold air as a way of keeping awake. He doesn't remember much of the drive home but when he sees the sights of his trailer he can't help but smile. Fuck, he thinks, it's nice to like coming home. A bitter memory of his life back home makes him grimace and force the car into park much harder than he intended. Lowering his head against the steering wheel his body is wracked with unintended coughing.
Great, he's sick. It's official.
Nick opens the car door and mutters to himself as he goes to his house not paying attention to much. A dizzy spell overtakes him and he stops himself from falling off his steps by grabbing the door to balance himself but in the process drops his key. With another low curse, he backs down the steps and goes to grab his keys off the frost tinted grass but pauses when he hears an odd noise.
Is that...breathing? It sounds like it but it doesn't sound like healthy breathing. It sounds labored and kind of wheezy. Nick abandons his keys and steps closer to the sound cautiously. He can feel his heart ratcheting up in speed the closer he gets and as he walks around the back of his trailer his nerves only get worse.
Then, his overbeating heart stops beating as he takes in the sight before him. A woman, dressed in jeans and a light blue tank top lies passed out in the grass face down. Her dark blonde hair is loose and covers her face but something about the sight makes his entire being in a black rage.
Her back is covered in blood and as he gets closer he can see festering marks on her back that have him struggling not to gag. Nick doesn't know what to do for a few seconds but when a low moan comes from her direction, he realizes he's acting like an idiot. What should he do? He needs to help her! Chiding himself, he moves forward to try to help her.
Nick gets to his knees and pulls off the plaid button up he's wearing to put over her. He doesn't even think about the blood that'll stain it. To be honest, he doesn't care. He wraps that around her exposed torso and sees her shiver violently before moaning again. Nick hesitantly reaches out and moves some of her blood stained hair from her face. What he sees has him swearing loudly and sharply.
He jumps back when she suddenly grabs his hand and stares at him with unsettling light yellow eyes that he's sure he's hallucinating. She opens her pale lips a little and says one word before passing out. The word has his heart beating again and his mind racing.
"Nick..."
What the hell happened to Poppy?
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Sorry for the wait and the fact that this is kind of filler...kind of. I got some criticism for making Laura an 'alpha female' but I think you guys forgot what happened to the last bad alpha female so this was a bit of a reminder. Bad people don't stay in power for long and please do keep in mind that this story is far far far from being over. We have so many chapters and turns to make before anything is done and settled so be patient with me. Mama bear knows what she's doing :}
Also the time lines are a little disjointed right now but it'll get fixed next chapter so don't worry if you're confused! I'm a mess. lol
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