Joel's pov
(Image of Rodney)
I glared at the Devlin and the blonde haired tramp that was currently ignoring me as she clutched my mate's hand, pressing her overly large and obviously fake breasts against the side of his arm, while batting her equally fake eyelashes at him in an embarrassing attempt at seduction as he stared down at her with an amused expression; but did nothing to discourage her.
"Devlin, remember when we were voted prom king and queen and you refused to dance with anyone but me?"
Devlin finally pushed her away and she let a sad pout cross her lips.
"If I remember correctly, you spent the whole night getting drunk and right after the last dance you told me that you'd been cheating on me the whole time with one of my best friends and called me a pathetic loser for thinking I even had a shot with you and the next day, you threatened a new student who approached me to ask for directions to her classroom that you were going to rip her hair out if she even looked at me again."
"Come on, Devlin, you know I was just kidding around back then. You've always been the only one for me."
Devlin suddenly pulled her to her feet, dragging her towards the door.
"Why did he send you here?"
"W-What do you mean?"
Growling low in his throat, Devlin pulled the door open and shoved her outside.
"Go home, Sheila. I don't know what the two of you are planning, but I want you to pass on a message for me . . . tell my sire that he lost the right to interfere in my life a long time ago."
The pout became a hideous snarl as she pointed a finger at me.
"You're willing to just turn your back on this pack and throw away everything we've all worked so hard for because some stupid slut spread his legs and convinced you he's your mate?!"
Devlin's usually brown eyes flashed silver and before I even had a chance to try and stop him, he had her pinned against the wall with his hand around her throat.
"You will never talk about my mate like that again! He is more important to me than this pack or your life and I won't tolerate any disrespect to him or our pups, do you understand?"
Instead of answering, Sheila turned her hostile gaze towards me. Following her eyes, Devlin tightened his hold on her until her face started to turn blue.
"Do . . . You.. . . . Understand?!"
"Y-Yes, Alpha Devlin."
Devlin instantly released her and turned to me as soon as the words escape her lips and she takes the chance to get away. A guilty look crossed his face and he quickly launched into an explanation.
"I'm not an Alpha, Joel. The Alpha of this pack is my sire, but I refused the inheritance a long time ago. And as for Sheila_____."
I held up a hand and Devlin stopped midsentence.
"It's fine, Devlin."
Before he could say another word, I walked away, leaving Devlin where he stood and went up the stairs to check on the pups, letting my own doubts and fears run rampant. Had I made the right choice? Did I rush into this to get over Kyle? I mean even though we're mates, we know absolutely nothing about each other and it's almost like we're afraid to question each other . . . and on top of that, I know this pack wants me and the pups gone.
(Flashback)
I jerked awake when the soothing swaying motion of the car suddenly came to a stop and looked at Devlin who smiled down at me.
"W-What's going on?"
"We're here, Joel."
Despite his smile, Devlin's tone sounded tense and a voice in my head told me not to get out of the car. To calm myself down, I reached up and pressed gentle fingers against his cheek.
"Are you alright?"
"If they say anything to you that makes you uncomfortable , I want you to come to me."
"O-Ok."
Devlin sighed, turning away to stare straight ahead, before sighing and taking the hand against his cheek into one of his and stroking his lips across the knuckles in a tender kiss. I shuddered and my eyes slid shut as the soft touch lit up my entire body.
"This isn't the best pack, Joel. They're very judgemental and I don't want you to get hurt because someone says something hurtful."
I nod, letting a small smile cross my lips.
"As long as you're with me, everything's fine."
Pulling me into his arms, Devlin stroked my back gently as if to assure himself that I'm still there. Reluctantly I pulled out of his hold and opened the car door. Almost immediately I heard quiet growls and turned to find several of the pack's wolves staring at me with disgust and the promise of violence in their eyes.
Swallowing nervously, I move closer to Devlin, who has his back turned, unfastening the belts on the pups car seats. The sight of Sabrina, Jonathan and Zoe instantly soothed my nerves and I eagerly reached out and took the first one he lifted out of the car, rocking them gently in my arms.
"Those can't be Devlin's pups."
"So why did he bring them here?"
"You know how he is, helping any pathetic mutt with a sob story."
"And I bet the little slut is milking it for all it's worth too."
I flinched at the cruel words and tightened my hold on Sabrina, glancing at Devlin who seemed oblivious to what was going on around us and the whispers continued around as he lifted Jonathan and Zoe into his arms. I jumped when I felt Devlin's side bump up against mine and he looked down at me with a confused expression on his face.
"Is everything ok?"
I force a smile on my face.
"Yeah."
He didn't look like he believed me, but he nodded his head and led the way to the pack house.
"Come on, I'll show you around."
I followed close behind him, doing my best to ignore the eyes that burned into my back as he led me inside.
"Don't let them scare you, Joel. I'd never let anyone hurt you. "
"Why do they hate me?"
"You're not the mate my sire had in mind for me. But remember one thing, you're the mate I chose for myself and I'm not letting you go."
The sound of Sabrina crying shook me out of my thoughts and I quickly rushed into the room to see a large copperhead sitting on her stomach, its head swaying back and forth as it prepared to strike and without thinking, I rushed forward, shifting and lunging for the poisonous animal before it could bite down on my daughter's delicate throat. Seemingly angry at being interrupted, the snake turned on me, plunging its fangs into my snout and pulling back to attack again. Before it had the chance, I quickly snapped its neck, before rippling its head off to make sure it was dead. The poison acted quickly and I collapsed to the ground, whimpering as my snout began to swell and my body started to lose its strength.
"What if Devlin finds him? You know he'll rush to the rescue."
"Lock the door. The longer he goes without help the quicker we get rid of him."
I recognize those voices, or I would if my mind wasn't too clouded for me to focus.
"If he finds out we're behind this, he's going to kill us."
"Then you'd better make sure he doesn't find out."
I heard the door slam and the lock click in place, just before everything went black.
Unknown pov
That witch! I can't believe she'd go this far! I jumped from the tree I'd been hiding in, pushing the window open as quietly as I could and making my way into the room where the injured wolf lay still and silent, the corpse of a copperhead lying beside him. I bit back an angry snarl, searching the shoulder bag for the collection of needles I had stored in the portable cooler and selected the one I needed.
"I'm sorry, this isn't enough to stop all of the poison, but there's enough antivenin in here to keep you alive until I can get help."
I stuck the needle into a vein in the wolf's hind leg and pushed the plunger, lifting him onto the bed and covering him with a blanket before checking the three small pups who lay watching me silently. Sighing with relief that none of them had been bitten, I knelt down and examined the snake more closely.
"Rodney."
I had to fight back tears, this was the snake I'd raised from a baby and I realized that only one person would have access to him. Closing my eyes, I narrowed the pack link until I was able to contact Alpha Devlin without anyone else listening in.
'Alpha Devlin, please bring the pack doctor and come to your room right away, your mate needs you!'
Swallowing back the nervousness of being found alone with Alpha Devlin's mate and pups, I dropped to my knees and lowered my head in respect, waiting for the two sets of footsteps to enter the room.
"What happened?"
Lifting pain and anger filled eyes, I lifted Rodney's lifeless body for the Alpha to see, before pointing to the bed where his mate still lay unmoving and forcing out the words that I knew had to be said, even though I knew it would condemn the only family I had left.
"My sister tried to kill your mate."
*(SSDP=Same Stuff Different Pack)