Ethan did not come back to me that night, or the next night, or the next night, or the next night.
We heard his howls. We heard his howls and we endured. We endured when he would whine under my window throughout the night, keeping watch over us, over his mate. We endured because running to him now would not do him any good. Ethan needed tough love, the kind of love that Levi would happily give you and until he pulled his head out of his ass that is all we could offer.
After my brawl with Levi, I felt more like myself. I felt more like myself and everyone started to notice. I think one day Andrea actually told me that I was being more 'pig-headed' than usual, which I took as a compliment.
I took it as a compliment then used that fire in my veins to tie with Billy. The day I did, Evan had to pay Jake fifty bucks that he lost, which Jake obviously gave me a cut of. Billy also had me doing more two on one, or three on one training since the attack. At first it was rough. I had my ass in the dirt more times then I liked, but eventually I got better.
Much better.
Like today when I laughed at Evan as he spit dirt out of his mouth next to Ryder.
But today was a day that felt like Christmas. Today was the day that Levi was coming for the Alpha Council meeting that kicked off tonight. My wolf was giddy. Levi, Lander, Claire, Liam, and Remi would all be coming and we couldn't help but feel like it was Christmas at Lander's house again.
It helped mask the pain that we felt from the pull, from the lack of Ethan in our lives. God, I missed him. I missed him but I knew this was good for him, this was something he had to do on his own.
Evangeline and I had fixed up a cabin next to mine that was empty for them. We were going to put Levi in my spare bedroom then stick the rest of them in the other cabin. Remi and Liam would have to share a room, but I guess it could be worse.
Miranda was in a frenzy all week. Besides training hard with Billy and Evangeline, who loved hearing all about my spar with Ethan, I spent more of my time trying to kiss Miranda's ass as Levi suggested.
Which was like trying to swallow bleach and shards of glass that were dipped in acid.
I think a part of my soul died every time we complimented her, but it worked. At first, she was insanely skeptical of me, but after enough ass kissing, she seemed to let the whole 'rogue' just blow over. Vanity could be blinding to those who let it. But not Thomas. Thomas kept a watchful eye on me, an eye that I could feel; an eye that I wanted to rip out, he was lucky that Levi and I didn't run back down here that night.
The only bad thing was that Andrea had left. Her aunt was due to have a pup any day now, well twins, and Andrea promised her that she would be there to help for a few days. I was happy for her, I really was, but both Evangeline and I would have felt better if she would had stayed with us.
At least we have the vamps.
The vamps that had each of my outfits planned out for each day of this damn council meeting, and they had a lovey dress picked out for Evangeline to wear at the party. I don't think I've seen Elliot so excited since Christmas. While Evangeline and I got sick of playing 'Barbie,' we did enjoy all the lovely clothes that Evie had shipped over.
"Where's Ethan?" I asked as Evan and I started walking to the valley.
I could feel him coming. Levi.
We were supposed to all gather in the valley with the other ranked wolves to welcome the alphas as they came in, but I really could care less about the others. I just cared about seeing Levi again. I was even giddy to hear his grumbling in the morning over breakfast.
Ethan was supposed to be here, though. Apparently, we were supposed to appear together at these council events; it presented a 'strong front' as Miranda would call it. I was a bit nervous though, I hadn't seen him since our fight and both Evan and Evangeline had only seen glimpses of him.
"Who knows, he'll turn up. He knows he's supposed to," Evan grumbled. "You did a real number on him you know?"
"I know."
Evan sighed a little then nudged me playfully. "I'm proud of you Char. He needed it. He'll come around."
"I know he will," I sighed out. "Now let's try to keep Levi from killing anyone today."
Evan chuckled next to me and started to run with me out to the valley. To the valley where I could feel them coming. The Thornes.
We broke the treeline right as Thomas and Miranda walked out with Amber and Aaron in tow. Billy came out from the back sparring rings and leaned on a tree as a group of dark-colored wolves came out of the forest; black wolves.
Levi's beast wasn't graying anymore. His position had done him well. Evan was right, being away from the pack took a toll on him and Lander, but now that order seems to have been restored; they both looked better, healthier. They looked like two formidable alpha males that are two seconds away from letting their teeth sink into your throat.
My beast rumbled in approval.
Thomas was shouting something at me as a small crowd started to gather but I didn't care. I ran out to them as fast as I could, as fast as my legs would let me. Evan chased after me as they started to shift into their skin and throw some clothes on that they had stored in the saddlebags on their backs.
Levi pulled on some jeans and a shirt then started to walk out to me with a smile while Lander hopped around as he pulled on some sweatpants. "Charlie girl," he said as he caught me in his arms.
He hugged me tightly and kissed my hair, letting his beast nuzzle the crown of my head before he set me back down. He looked at me for a few moments then smirked. "You look good my daughter."
I smiled warmly and nodded. "Ass beatings will do you well, or so I've heard."
Levi laughed heartily and shook his head. "Come here Evan," he said as he stepped around me and to a smiling Evan. He hugged him tight and whispered something to him, but I wasn't sure what it was, I was too busy get crushed by Lander to notice.
"Well girly, miss me much?" Lander teased.
"Course Lander," I pulled away right as Claire jogged to me. "Claire!"
She nuzzled her cheek against mine and smelled my hair thoroughly. "I'm proud of you."
I felt my beast reach out to hers. I nuzzled her some more and nodded. "I missed you."
"Miss me Char?" Remi called out.
I pulled away and hugged him then looked at Liam who looked a little pained. "You alright?"
He nodded stiffly before looking behind me. "You're alpha doesn't look too happy to see us."
Levi growled lowly. I stepped up next to him but he pushed me behind him. "Stay with the boys girly."
I nodded as Lander stepped next to Levi. He whispered something to him that seemed to calm him, but I could feel the hum pouring off of him, the energy; our damn stubborn ass Thorne blood.
The crowded had gathered but as Levi let his beast came forward a little more, they started to move back to the pack house. I looked up to see Thomas walking towards us with Mirada next to him and his God-awful kids in tow.
Levi cocked his head deviously and pushed some more. If you weren't looking you would have missed it. Amber's eyes widened and her lips started to quiver while Aaron pushed back a shiver. Miranda paled slightly but bit something back and Thomas slightly flinched; he flinched enough to make Evan and bite back a laugh.
"Interesting," Remi mused from next to us.
"Yup," Evan replied.
"Fifty bucks says Levi lays him out right here," Remi said over my head to Evan.
Evan looked at him deviously. "Hundred bucks says he waits until the party so he can do it in front of the other damn alphas."
Remi wiggled his head back and forth while I rolled my eyes. Liam stepped up on Levi's left and eyed Arron dangerously. From here I could see him scoff which made Remi grin mischievously.
"Twenty-five says Liam lays Aaron out."
Evan chuckled softly and shook his head. "Fifty says my brother does it." Both Remi and I snapped our heads to Evan who was grinning. "Oh, little sister, when Ethan comes around he is going to lay one hell of a beating on all of them."
My beast rumbled in approval as Claire stepped behind Lander. Her hackles were starting to raise as Miranda walked closer. She could easily have her neck and I would pay to see it.
"Levi," Thomas greeted.
Levi let out a hot breath. "Thomas."
"You're early," he replied politely as he stopped a few feet away from them.
"Wanted to come and check on my daughter," Levi said tensely. Thomas' eyes widened a bit which made my beast rumble in approval. I was starting to wish that Levi would take him out right here, but I knew we had to wait. "Come here Charlie girl."
Remi nodded encouragingly to me as I walked up to him. I let her come forward. She was licking her lips, she was ready to tear into the throats that had done this pack so wrong. I promised her that if we found solid proof that we would bathe in blood, which seemed to appease her.
Liam stepped aside and let me walk up to stand next to Levi who put a protective arm around me. Thomas cocked his head slightly then looked at me before looking back to Levi. "You've met my Amber, right?"
"I don't think we've had the pleasure," he answered with a hint of sarcasm, well, more than a hint.
"No, but I think Charlie here has," Lander slipped in slyly as Amber walked forward.
Liam eyed me with a devious grin. We let our beasts come a little closer; blood humming with energy rolling off of her that made her start to slightly shake. I cocked my head at her as my beast licked its lips.
Levi looked Amber up and down then looked over at me with a smirk. "Well, now that all this bullshit it over, let's get to it."
"Right," Thomas sighed out. "You're in a cabin next to Charlotte's. I have your binders and the schedule for everything in there for all of you. Tonight we'll have the kick off meeting and dinner, as I am sure you remember?"
Levi grumbled again as he pulled me tighter to him. "Real peachy time."
Thomas nodded tiredly. "Right, well, we'll start at six and hopefully finish up around seven. We have dinner, more like heavy appetizers so everyone can chat."
"Love me some bullshit small talk, don't you brother?" Lander asked.
Levi let out a breathy laugh and nodded. "Yup." He looked Thomas up and down one more time. I know he was dying to give him a beating, but we needed to wait. It wasn't the right time yet, we just needed to be patient. "Well if that's it I'll let Charlie girl here show us to the cabin."
Thomas flickered his eyes to me. I let my wolf come out a little more, enough that made his eyes slightly widen. Oh, she wanted a bite out of this alpha and I was real close to losing my cool and letting her. "Alright, see you all tonight then."
Levi nodded then started to pull me towards the forest, not minding that he was showing his back to Thomas; Levi was obviously the stronger wolf, for him it felt almost as if Thomas as like a petty threat.
"Levi is actually in Char's cabin," Evan called out as he trotted to catch up with us. He smiled a Levi a little who seemed to still be brewing about something. "Thought since she had an extra room that you would want to."
Levi broke his trance and snapped his eyes to Evan and gave him a nod. "Yup, good move Ev."
"The rest are in the cabin next door," Evan said as we started walking down the path's the cabins. The wolves that were walking amongst them, going about their daily business, stopped. They eyed us all then turned around and went back to where they came from. Evan chuckled amusingly as Remi fist-pounded him. "Anyways, it's two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There's a full working kitchen and I dug out the extra X-box in the pack house and hooked it up for you guys."
Liam looked over at Evan and eyed him approvingly while Remi rubbed his hands together. Remi nodded at Liam. "I like him Liam, I think you save it for his brother."
Liam growled a little before Levi snapped to him. "His brother's ass is mine. If there's anything left then you can have a piece, Liam."
I felt my wolf stir as I cringed for Ethan, but we knew it was right. We knew that Ethan needed another alpha, a true alpha male to beat some sense into him besides us.
"Where's Evangeline?" Claire asked as we got to their cabin.
"She's probably at the pack house, I'm sure you'll see her later. Miranda has had her going non-stop today," I answered. Poor thing was running around like a chicken without a head.
We got to where the path spilt between our two cabins and stopped. Levi let out a long breath before looking to the rest of the group. "Alright let's get settled. Lander, bring those damn binders over once you do so we can see what kind of bullshit we have to deal with this year."
Lander groaned a little before taking a bag from Claire's shoulder before he kissed it. "Love me some bureaucratic bullshit."
"Everyone get dressed by five-thirty so we can go down for the meeting together, open up the link. I want to be able to get a hold of you guys in case I actually do decide to kill someone."
Claire laughed a little then kissed my cheek before she trotted off after Lander. Levi tugged me forward as Derek and Elliot walked out of the cabin waving. "Well, good to see you too."
"Miss me much?" Derek said with a cheeky smile.
"Missed your damn cooking more," Levi honestly answered.
We stepped up the stairs where Derek gave Levi a hug followed by Elliot. Levi stepped in the cabin and looked around a little approvingly. He looked back to me curiously. "Oh, you're next to Derek."
Levi nodded then walked down the hall while I walked up to the island. I sat down as Derek poured me a cup of this morning's coffee, I felt like I was going to need more than coffee for this meeting shit.
"Char?" Remi called out.
"Yup?"
"Alright good, I'm pulling the other's in."
I sipped my coffee while I felt multiple little links pop in brain before they all twisted into one line. Remi let out a tired sigh. "Levi, want me to bring in Billy and the other boys?"
"Is Evan in here?"
"Yes Uncle, miss me already?"
Levi rolled his eyes as he walked out of his room which made heart warmed a bit at the sight. He sat down next to me while Derek started to pour him a cup of coffee too. "Want to find out how much I missed putting you boys in the dirt?"
"I'll pass today Uncle," Evan quickly answered while we all chuckled.
"Ya, pull them in, it will be easier to communicate."
I felt three more pops until I felt a familiar one tingle which made me laugh. "Ghostrider reporting for duty."
"Shut the hell up Ryder!" Evan hissed.
"Damn males," Levi grumbled into his cup.
"Alright, we will commence our little pow-wow after I look at these binders. Where the hell is Ethan?"
"Probably preparing his ass for the dirt," Jake said coyly.
Levi chuckled and nodded. "I like you Jake, we may have to go round one of these days."
I knew it was a compliment but it seemed to scare Jake stiff which made us chuckle more. Lander knocked on the doorframe right as Elliot waved him in. He stepped in then immediately closed all the blinds after he shut the door.
He set a thick binder in front of Levi which made Levi growl a little. He gave one to me too, which had my name printed on crisp white computer paper that was slipped into a clear pocket in the front of it. I looked at him a little curiously which made him chuckle. "Technically you are, or will be, the beta female."
"Right, let's explain this bullshit to Charlie girl," Levi said as he started flipping through the pages of the binder.
Lander slid onto a barstool as Derek slipped him a cup of coffee. "Well girly, this meeting is the biggest barrel of fun you will ever have."
Levi rolled his eyes and took another sip of his coffee. "So girl, this meeting we have the alphas from our region, which is Southern Alaska, gather around so we can talk about shit that's been going on."
"Usually we talk about things like security, which is a big one, threats to the region as a whole, any laws that we want to change or add, news from the vampires per our agreement with them, and other great bullshit," Lander added.
"So how does this work? I guess, what do I do? Why do I have this thing?"
"Well girly, tonight will be the kick-off meeting, then we will meet all day tomorrow before that damn party Miranda's been planning. We will introduce our successors, if we have one, give a general brief status of our pack's health, and we will finalize the agenda for tomorrow," Levi said as he took a long sip of his coffee while his fingers ran over the current agenda items in his binder.
"So Char, like most meetings like this, there are 'procedures' if you will," Lander added.
"Ok," I breathed out.
"So the way it's set up, is usually there are a couple rings of tables in a room that the host finds. Here I know that Chris made sure there was a big meeting room for these types of things.
"So the first row is aways alphas and their lunas. The next behind them are the betas and beta females followed by their successors. Kinda like how the rank naturally falls in a pack.
"You have that binder because of your status, because a betas job is to support his alpha and he can't do that in the dark. We know all that they know at these meetings, but they always have the final say."
I looked down at the binder then back to Lander who was starting to flip through it. "So where do I sit? Do I have to say anything?"
"Nope girly, not unless you're called up, which I don't anticipate you will be," Lander answered with a smile that made me feel a bit relieved.
"But you will have to sit with Ethan. It's how it is girl. That and you'll be sitting behind Thomas and Miranda, which as much as it pisses me off, it is what we have to do," Levi grumbled out.
I felt my heart stir at the thought of Ethan. "Have you seen him, Char?" Elliot asked gently.
"Not since I laid into him the other night," I replied.
"Who won?" Levi asked without taking his eyes off the binder.
"We tied," I said into my coffee cup.
Levi flickered his eyes to Lander then to me as a smirk tugged at his lips. "Good girl, you did good then."
I smiled a little then looked back at the binder. "So, what's this stuff with the vamps?"
"Well," Levi said as he wiped some coffee that had gotten loose off the corner of his mouth. "Per the treaty, there is always a representative from the vampire council for this region. They give us a state of the union for their region and answer any questions; we always send a representative to their region as well as part of the treaty."
"I thought your cousin was the council person?"
Levi growled a little. "Since I took my title back he called me and happily gave it back, little shit."
"So who's the vampire rep?"
"Your's truly little one," Derek said with a cheeky smile. "Leo thought that since I was already here that it made sense."
I smiled as relief started to flood my system. Levi sipped some more coffee then looked over at Lander who nodded.
"Alright, everyone listen up," Levi ordered firmly over the link. "I want status reports now, Ev?"
"Remi and I ran the border with Ryder and got nothing, but both Remi and Ryder feel like something's there."
"I was going to have my dad look at it tonight while everyone was distracted with the meeting," Remi added.
Levi nodded approvingly. "Good, keep at it, boys. Alright Billy, what do you have for me?"
"Well," Billy sighed out. "Talked to Sam and she has a few ideas on witnesses for Char's attack. She said that they are all supposed to come by for an annual checkup soon, so she's going to pry then. I've got some of my best warriors on the other search, though. They're loyal to Ethan Levi, good wolves, I know they'll keep their mouth's shut."
"If not I'll rip their damn tongues out," Levi practically growled out. "Billy, what's the temperature with the warriors and the rest of the pack? Ev you can chime in too, just don't yap too much."
"Warriors sway more towards Ethan. There are some that are sour, you always have a sour bunch, and loyal to Thomas. There are also some loyal to Thomas because he is technically the alpha and they are good law abiding wolves, soldiers, and respect that; I think with the right evidence they can be easily swayed," Billy said very matter of factly.
"Ev?"
"Packs similar. It's hard to know exactly, I mean even with the warriors it's hard to really know a solid number, but I would ballpark it around a little more than half for Ethan and the other for Thomas, but mostly for the same reasons Billy said.
"Some are just sour wolves and cronies of his dumb shit kids or his. Others are just loyal because he's technically the alpha and they respect the authority and hierarchy laid out."
Levi mused for a few moments as he took a sip of his coffee. "That's good we can work with that. Status on Ethan, where the hell is he?"
"Well, Char apparently put a real beating on him," Evan said tiredly. "Haven't really seen him but here and there for a few days. I also am going to assume that he's hella busy with helping Thomas too."
"I think we may need to chat with our young alpha brother," Lander said with a devious grin.
Levi chuckled darkly and nodded. "Yap, it's coming."
"Alright here is the plan for this damn meeting. I want everyone first and foremost to remember to keep your heads down."
"Levi is right," Lander firmly added. "Thomas is a little spooked, anyone could see that today. We need to make sure they are not onto us, so best behavior everyone. You too brother."
Levi growled a little over the link and shot Lander a dirty eye who just shrugged innocently. Levi let out a hot huff before nodding. "Alright, Lander's right. Just remember to keep your eyes and ears open. Lander, you and I can poke around at the other alphas here, see if they have anything going on that's suspicious. Claire, you talk to the females, see if you can get them gossiping. Where's Evangeline?"
"I think Miranda has her at the pack house Levi," I answered reluctantly. She was getting stronger, so much stronger, but right now we all had to bite the bullet and do our part.
"Alright, tell her to keep an eye on Miranda, and Charlie girl you need to behave. I don't need any throat ripping yet," Levi warned. I growled lowly in annoyance while Lander winked back at me. I looked over to him and begrudgingly nodded. "Alright see everyone at five-thirty."
Levi sighed and looked over at me. "You need to stick close to either Ethan or one of us. Besides the other bullshit, there are plenty of unmated males coming here, and they aren't the little boys you tore up on the bear hunt girly, these are strong males with alpha blood. Alright?"
I nodded while Lander mused to himself. "May not be a bad thing for that mate of her's though."
Levi rolled his eyes while I laughed with him. Levi slid off his seat and walked over to a recliner where he leaned back and stretched out his limbs. I yawned a bit then walked over towards a couch when Levi patted a spot on his leg. "Come here girly. My damn beast is pissed off as hell still."
I chuckled softly and crawled into his lap then laid my head on his chest. He kissed my crown while Elliot clicked on the television. I could feel how close his beast was, even though Levi looked incredibly calm. He wanted blood, as did I, and we would have it.
I eventually fell asleep and slept for a few good hours with Levi in the chair when Derek woke us up to get dressed; to which he was more than excited and proceeded to drag me into his bedroom.
I won't lie though, I did love all the clothes that Evie sent us. I made a mental note to write her a thank you card and send her some flowers afterward.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes," Evangeline sighed. "Sorry Miranda has had me going all day."
"You feel tense, are you sure?" I could hear the edginess in her voice and feel the unsettled nature of her beast.
She sighed a little. "Yes, I think it's just everything going on. I can't tell you how hard it is for me to be around them."
"I know," I sighed out. "Remember we don't know for sure yet of anything. For all we know they really could be innocent, it's what's fair. We have to be fair to them as much as we don't want to, we would want the same for each other. Just stay close to Evan."
"Alright, see you later," she sighed out.
I slipped on some shiny black pumps that Derek had handed to me then looked over my form in the mirror. Derek whistled lowly while Elliot smiled a little deviously. "Oh, that mate of yours is in for a good time."
I sighed and shook my head. Derek had me in these high-waisted slacks that were tapered at the bottom so you could see my shoes. I tucked in the form fitting white-collard long-sleeved shirt while the necklace that I got from Claire for Christmas dangled around my neck.
Derek had curled my hair so it fell in long dark waves and added only a little bit of makeup. I really didn't want that much anyways. He handed me a black leather belt that had a golden metal rectangle on the front where the belt would hook underneath to finish it all off.
I nodded a little. "Evie does have great taste. I feel like Amal Clooney."
"Well, Amal does have these things. Evie got them off the runway first I think," he replied casually.
I raised my brows a little when I felt him come. The hair raised on my neck and my beast started pacing in anticipation of seeing her mate. I walked out of the room and another wave of him hit me, he felt different. He didn't feel as strong as he did the last time I saw him, but he felt closer to it.
I was going to go for the door when Levi growled a warning out to me. I raised my brow as he finished buttoning his shirt, he actually had slacks on. Black tailored slacks with a dusty blue buttoned-up shirt tucked into it. He looked damn sharp.
I nodded approvingly as he went to the door and opened it. He opened it and Ethan's scent almost took my breath away, but I held firm. I wasn't giving into him, not now anyways.
He looked so edible, though. He had on dark navy slacks and a crisp white buttoned-up shirt with his navy jacket folded neatly over his arm. His shirt was open just enough to tease me with some skin and it fit just snug enough for me to see his muscle flex when he saw Levi instead of me at the door.
Levi looked him over and nodded. "Ethan."
"Uncle," he replied firmly.
His eyes were swirling as he looked at Levi. Levi pressed a little harder, let his beast teasingly came forward, but Ethan just pushed back. He seemed annoyed. He pushed back and met Levi which made Levi chuckle. "Just like your damn dad," he said on the tail end of a chuckle. It made Ethan's eyes widen slightly before he settled down. "So what do I owe the pleasure?"
He looked at Levi a little funny. "I'm here for Charlotte," he said very matter of factly.
"Hmm," Levi hummed. I bit back a laugh as my cheeks flushed a little from the whole scene. "Grab your binder Charlie girl," Levi called out over his shoulder.
I quickly walked to the counter, heels clicking against the hardwood floor, and grabbed the thick ass binder. It was annoyingly large; damn pain in my ass it was going to be.
"I think my daughter is about ready," he replied with a challenge in his voice. I saw Levi step a bit closer to Ethan who held firm in his place. Levi chuckled again. "You better take care of my daughter or I will take care of your hide in those nice navy pants of yours."
Ethan growled a little which only made Levi chuckle harder. I bit back a laugh as Levi opened the door a little more widely for me and stepped aside. "Come on girl, time to sit through two hours of hair pulling fun."
I rolled my eyes and walked towards Ethan. He kept his eyes on Levi as I stepped closer which only made my beast chuckle in the back of my mind. I smiled inwardly and kissed Levi's cheek then walked out to Ethan.
He nodded to Levi then turned towards me and put a hand on the small of my back, sending tingles up it, before he started to push me forwards. We didn't say anything as we walked but I could feel his eyes on me, drinking me in.
His hand would subtly rub little circles on the small of my back which made me have to bite back a purr. Damn the pull. It was starting to heat up now, and I knew that this could possibly be the most miserable few hours of my life.
A very miserable couple of hours.