I scratched out a line I had written in my notebook. I continued to black it out until I was sure Max would never be able to read it. With a sigh, I relaxed into the pillows. Maybe I did have some melodramatic teenager tendencies.
There was a light tap on the door.
Max hurried out of his office to answer it. "Hi, how are you?" He ushered the pair inside.
A brown werewolf led a fragile looking sub into the room. He had amazing red markings that covered his lower arms and leg with a bit on his chest and muzzle. There were even some on the tips of his ears. Why had I gotten stuck with a damn diamond?
"Thank you so much for coming." Max hurried on ahead of them. "This is Jax, my mate."
I pulled my legs close to me.
The sub sat down by my feet and smiled. "Jax, I'm Aden." He held out his hand.
I shook it. "Hi."
He looked at the others. "Why don't you two give us some time alone?"
"Are you sure?" asked the woman.
Aden laughed. "I'm not going to break. It's sub stuff. It's easier to talk without you upper ranks hovering." He waved at them. "Go on. Titus is with Andreas. Go talk and fuss over him for once."
"Alright." She walked toward the door.
"If you need anything, just pressed the green square on the speaker." Max motioned to the panel on the wall.
"I can handle it," stated Aden. "Out." He pointed.
The door closed, and the sub climbed off the bed. "That's my granddaughter. She's convinced I'm made of glass." He shuffled around and looked at different things. "This is a nice room. Aha, here it is." He wandered into the closet.
I sat up and tried to figure out what this strange werewolf was doing. Aden returned with a few different clothing options.
"What are you doing?"
"Human-born, sweetheart." Aden changed forms, and a man with bright white hair appeared. His spine was sticking out along with his ribs. He pulled on an oversized t-shirt. "I get tired of always being covered in fur. We weren't born like this." Aden came back to where I was sitting and place the clothes near me.
I sucked in my lips and stared at them.
"Don't mind me, I won't look."
"Max hasn't taught me how to change back."
"Good heavens, the dominants in this family." He shook his head. "It's a good thing Daven asked me to come." He patted my leg.
"You're his uncle?"
Aden nodded. "I'm an only child, and my mate has one brother. We had one pup and raised him alongside the twins. I love those three boys all the same. So when Daven said we had a sub emergency, I knew it was time for me to step in. I had to do it for Raven. Mind you that was years and years ago—" he smiled at me—"but I still know how to handle these upper ranks."
I massaged my feet. "Could you teach me? Max hates human form. Getting him to shift for me was like arguing with a toddler. He loves how much I look now, so I don't think he'll ever teach me unless I bug him for weeks." I rubbed my forehead.
Aden grabbed my hand. "I see why. You have adorable markings."
I frowned. "Yours are better."
He laughed. "I got so much red on me, I might as well just be red." He gripped his knees. "They're gotten smaller over the years. Maybe yours will too. But I hope that little bit never goes away." He tapped my forehead.
I didn't feel the same. "So about shifting, how do you do it?"
Aden sat up tall. "You have to focus and pull the energy you felt during your first moon into your center." He pressed a hand to his chest.
I nodded. "Is it hard?"
"It takes some practice to figure it out the first time."
Taking a deep breath, I sat up and closed my eyes. "Bring the energy back into my center?"
"Yep, pull it back into your chest."
I focused on finding this mysterious energy. I opened my eyes and gave him a sheepish look.
Aden let out a deep breath. "No one gets it the first time, sweetheart."
***
(Jed)
Hide tightened the rope around my wrists so it dug into my skin.
"Do you really need to do that?" said Cat. "It's not like Red is dangerous."
"I don't need him trying to make a run for it." Hide patted my cheek and stood.
"His feet are still healing." She motioned to me. "How far do you think he'll get?"
Hide leaned in close to Cat's face. "Far enough." He turned sharply and headed for the exit. "Get him up and into the truck. Let's get the hell out of here. Axil knows. As of right now, we're being hunted."
I swallowed hard and rose up on my knees. My feet still ached.
"Let's go." Coyote grabbed my arm.
Air rushed from my lungs the moment my feet touched the ground.
"Come on. It ain't that bad."
Cat shoved him back. "Go outside with Hide. You're not helping at all." She looped her arms around my chest. "Pix, grab his feet."
"I can walk, really." I tried to get on my feet. I clenched my jaw to stay quiet when they rubbed against the ground. They could carry me. Now was not the time to act tough.
Cat lifted my upper half while Pix grabbed my legs. The two carried me out into the back of a truck with a back row seating.
Hide laughed at them. "Women, you're too soft on him Kitty-Cat. If that kid's mate catches up with us, I doubt Red is going to convince Axil to go soft on you."
"Shut up." She helped me maneuvered into the middle seat. "Red's human. I'm going to continue treating him as one." Climbing into the back, she slammed the door.
Pix sat on the other side while Coyote and Hide were in the front. Hide started the truck and we started down the dirt road. I let out a shaky breath and tried to ease some of the tension around my wrist.
Shaking her head, Cat reached over and untied my hands.
"Fucking hell," breathed Hide. "If you get us killed."
"What the hell is he going to do? Jump out of a moving vehicle? He can't walk. His feet are blistered. He's sitting here in his underwear. Really, Hide, tell me how Red is such a threat?"
I kept my head down and rubbed my wrists.
"Women," breathed Hide. "Tie him back up when we get there. Got it?"
"Fine." Cat shoved her knee up against the back of Hide's seat.
Pix leaned forward. "Where are we going?"
"Houston," said Coyote. "The heart of what's left of us humans."
***
(Jax)
"I feel it."
"Good, good, hold onto that."
Focusing on it, I felt the energy running back from my arms and legs to my chest. My fur disappeared into my skin, and I felt the slight discomfort of my face and feet changing back to human form. I opened my eyes.
Aden smiled at me. "Where you a strawberry blonde before?"
I rubbed my head. "No. It was red."
"Mine was black," laughed Aden. He stood and puttered about. "Do you have a mirror around here?"
"Maybe in the bathroom." I grabbed one of Max's shirts and pulled it over my head. The man was huge as a human as well.
"Here we go." Aden wondered back with a smile. "Have a look."
I peered into the tiny mirror. "Oh my god." I turned my head from side to side and looked at my neck. "What the hell did he do to me?" I glanced at my arms.
"Not a mark on your body, but this." Aden pulled back his shirt to show his scar. "It takes some time to get used to."
I took in a deep breath. "Just one more thing."
Aden nodded. "Daven said you were struggling with the instincts."
I slumped forward. "It's embarrassing. All those damn alphas, and I started acting like I was five. This werewolf thing sucks. It's messing me up inside."
He patted my leg. "You're not alone. I had an alpha want to shake my hand once. I ran. I shifted to all fours and race through the caves to a back room. I had never been so humiliated in my entire life. It gets easier, though. You learn to control it."
"That's good." I rubbed my feet.
"I heard you were in a wheelchair before Max found you."
I nodded. "Muscular Dystrophy, I was in the last stages of it. I'm feeling better though. I can sit up by myself, but my legs are still too weak to hold my weight."
"Do they hurt?"
"Not anymore."
Aden's eyes went wide. "Shifting is hell. My legs were a mess. No one tells you about that when you agree to the mating."
Laughing, I smiled. "That and my jaw. Everything else was a little sore, but my face and feet just ached."
"It gets better. It's never as bad as the first time and after awhile, it goes away completely."
"So it'll hurt when I change back?"
"Just a little. Nowhere near as bad as your first moon."
I picked at my fingers. "Thanks for coming. You're making me feel a lot better about this."
"It's hard." He gripped his knees. "Werewolves run on instincts and a very strict social structure. Humans nowadays understand aspects of it, but it's still not the same as being a part of the pack."
"Is it hard to watch?"
Aden bowed his head. "I don't like thinking about it. Thankfully my parents passed away before the war. Titus never told me how long werewolves live," he laughed. "I never thought I'd still be here at my age. But then again, it didn't use to be like this. They'd live to be over a hundred or so if the pack was healthy. Midfield changed all that. You belong to a very smart pack." He gave me a smile that seemed quite sad.
Taking a deep breath, I fell back into the pillows. "I did this to give my family a better life. The farm was hard on them. They never said anything to me, but I could see what the stress was doing to my parents. The few times I've seen them since coming here, they're so happy."
"It's a world built on rank." Aden shrugged. "Everyone has their place."
"Yeah, I guess." I scratched my arm. "So what do retired alpha's do?"
He grinned at me. "Well, my mate is a beta."
"Betas, then?"
"My grandpups call it the old folks home." Aden laughed to himself. "There's a mansion up in the mountains. Northern Ridge retired alphas live there with a few exceptions." He felt his sides. "Oh, that girl took my phone." He groaned as he stood and went to the panel to push the green button. "Kailynn, Kailynn, I need my phone. Hello Kay? It's your grandpa. I need my phone, sweetheart." He threw up his hands and returned to the bed. "Someone will get her."
I laughed to myself. "What's this mansion like?"
"Like this?" Aden motioned around the room. "With a few traditional touches. My mate wasn't too thrilled to leave the cave life behind, but I was ready for it. We have an underground hot pool because heaven forbid he takes a shower like a normal person."
There was a knock on the door and the girl from early entered. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, dear. I just need my phone."
She passed it to him. Aden started tapping on the screen.
"Everything's going, alright?"
"Baby girl"—he looked her in the eyes—"I love you, but this is my one time to bond with the younger werewolves with my rank."
Kailynn tried not to laugh and kissed Aden's cheek. "Alright, I get it. Let me know if you need anything." She left the room.
"Here we go?" He passed me the phone and moved up closer to where I was sitting. "That's my friend River." Aden pointed to the photo of two subs. "His mate was the brother of Trevor. We lost contact because our mates were so busy with their ranks, but as soon as it was time to retire, we were inseparable. He's the sweetest man you'll ever meet. He's the starting point for the Midfield beta line."
I went to the next picture.
"That's Peter. He's one of those rare pure white subs. Just like"—Aden flipped through a few images—"my beautiful nephew."
He stopped on an image of a white werewolf hugging what looked to be Daven's mate, Jesse.
"So it's like a huge hangout?"
Aden nodded. "Once you've put in your years as alpha, beta, or even a high ranking dominant, they're exhausted and just want to relax." He went through a few more images. "It's just nice to be all together. The war was really scary for us subs. We were the prime targets for the humans. The quickest way to destroy a dominant is to take their mate." He looked me in the eyes with a smile. "Maybe one day you can come and live there with us. Midfield has a few other retirement homes for us old folks, but you'd be welcome here as well." Taking the phone, he looked through images. "It's like our own little pack. It helps me forget about everything else going on in this world."
"That would be nice." I forced the lump down in my throat. "Just to be around people like me." I nodded. "I feel so out of place here with all these powerful werewolves walking around."
Aden grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Every sub has felt the same, and we'd be happy to have you."