Katie’s POV
I made sure that I look presentable before I started heading back to the pack house. Last thing I needed were odd stares and a worried Rose.
She’s finally happy and not worrying about me.
The walk feels longer. But it’s enough for me to calm down and take in the natural beauty of Mother Nature.
It looks really beautiful.
My eyes snap to the pack house coming into view and watch a couple nearby tenses and whisper in hush voices to each other. There’s a kid with his mother and they’re quickly scrambling off in the opposite direction than me.
I click my tongue at how easily they stare judgmentally at me.
Like they know half the shit I went through.
“Katie,” Trish jogs up to me and I have to smile at how she roughly shoves at the members glaring at me.
“Trish,” I greet.
Trish grins and now I feel like I should hurry back to Rose.
“Want to hang out? I’ll show you around!” She offers.
Suddenly, something pops in my head and I nod. “Actually there is a place I want to go, but I was afraid nobody would tell me if I asked.”
“Oh? Where?” Trish looks intrigue.
I bite my lip wondering if she’d really tell me. She seems cool and doesn’t seem like she’ll blow up in my face or quickly judge me. “Remember the two who I badly injured?”
Trish nods curiously.
“Can you take me to the one that didn’t injure Rose?” I ask.
“Okay.” Trish grins.
“Okay?” I ask dumbfolded. “You aren’t going to ask why?”
Trish raises an eyebrow at me. “I know you’re not stupid enough to start trouble. And come Katie,” she playfully shoves me and I step back because I’m still in shock, “We’re friends right? Who do you take me for?”
I laugh at her exaggerated eye roll and follow into to step when she begins walking. “A ticking bomb that has an endless pit in her so called stomach.”
Trish laughs heartily at that and rubs her stomach. “Har, har. Real funny.”
It’s a long walk into the woods before we stop at a small house.
Trish knocks on the door and a few seconds later a little girl who looks no older then eleven opens it. She smiles and greets Trish, then her eyes land me and her smile drops. She sniffs the air and takes a step back.
“Trish, why is there a rogue with you?” She eyes me cautiously looking ready to bolt back inside the door.
“We’re here for your big brother Tony.” Trish smiles sweetly at the girl. “And don’t worry, Katie here is my friend. Katie, this is Jessie, Tony’s little sister.”
I smile kindly at her and her eyebrows nit together in confusion. “You’re not a bad person?”
Before I can answer a male’s voice inside the house cuts me off. “Jessie! What’s taking you so long? Who’s at the door?”
Jessie hesitates and Trish pushes the door open allowing herself in. “Me and a friend who wants to speak to you.”
I smile apologetically at Jessie who doesn’t look sure if I should be entering or not before she follows after Trish and I.
My eyes immediately land on a lean teenager boy looking comfortable in an old person’s fluffy chair.
Well, he looks comfortable besides the bandages wrapping around his head and a brace for his mouth.
I cringe when I smell fresh blood. His wound still hasn’t healed like how I expected it wouldn’t.
I would have laughed at how his eyes almost bulged out his sockets when they landed me, except he began to panic and try to squirm off the couch.
“Wait!” I snap, because I didn’t come here to bash his head again.
His body freezes and I see Jessie’s body tense at the annoyance in my voice.
Trish nudges my shoulder and I calm down.
“Look,” I say softly this time because I don’t want to scare either sibling and make the situation worse, “I came to heal you.”
I sigh at the confusion in everyone’s face.
Then, the confusion on Tony’s face quickly turns into anger. “And how the hell can you heal me? Last time I checked you’re a werewolf not a healer.” He spat.
Okay, maybe I deserve that but I’m an Alpha and a very stubborn person who doesn’t like it when I’m talked down to. “Do you want my help or not?”
“Your help?” He snarls angrily. “You’re the one who did this to me!”
My rage begins to boil and I glare at him. “You were the one who attacked me!”
“Because you’re a rogue and part of the West Clan!” He snaps and I can see veins appearing on his forehead.
“How can I be a rogue and be a part of the West Clan?” I ask disbelievingly because how stupid can this guy be? “I ran away from there that hellhole! And I was never a part of those pieces of shits to begin with!”
“Woah,” Trish steps in. I’d forgotten she was still there. “You two need to calm down.” She looks to Tony, “Katie is here to heal you, and if she really can you should let her.”
Tony doesn’t say anything but he sits back into the chair and his eyes land on me. “If you weren’t a part of the Dark Moon Pact then what were you? I never heard such an excuse before.”
I reign in my anger, but answer if only to calm the tension between us. “I was a prisoner.”
His eyes slightly widen and I see Jessie’s mouth drop.
Trish doesn’t show any reaction, she just continues to stare at me.
I continue to stare into his eyes. “My mother was taken prisoner when my father,” I try not to choke on the father part because this is the first time I’m calling that bastard that. “He impregnated my mother, locked her up and thus I was born a prisoner.”
I inhale deeply when my stomach begins to burn from my confession. Well shit.
“Oh,” he catches my attention. “I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, just forget about it. Not much happy memories of my stay there anyways. Now are you going to let me heal you?” I force a smile. My stomach is already aching in pain and I feel like I’m going to throw up.
Tony rubs his neck awkwardly and nods. “Yeah. Sorry.”
I slowly walk to him and carefully touch his forehead with the palm of my hand. I feel his muscles tense under my touch.
Sighing, I will the wound to heal. My hand begins to warm and a faint white glow appears. I feel him relax and I smile. Slowly I glide my hand down to his cheek and I trace every each of his face. I stop when I feel bones mending together and tissue repairing.
His eyes flutter open and I raise an eyebrow. I hadn’t noticed when he closed his eyes.
“Wow,” he says breathlessly and he stares up to my eyes in wonder, “that…actually felt really good.”
I make a small smile. “Is there any other injury?”
At the shake of his head I move away and give him space to stretch himself.
Jessie stares at me with sparkling eyes. “Wow! That’s so cool! I thought werewolves could never interbreed with psychics or witches!”
“That’s because the genes surprisingly don’t match, most of the time their children dies and if they’re lucky they’re born with a weak body.” I sheepishly say. I’m not sure if I should be telling a child this.
“I know that,” Jessie makes a duh face at me and I laugh. “I meant how can you do that?”
“Yeah,” Trish is staring at me with the same sparkling eyes. “I want to know too.”
My eyes land on Tony and he looks no different. Weren’t we just about to go at each other’s throat a few minutes ago?
“It runs in the genes?” I say, but it comes out as a question. Honestly, even I’m not exactly sure on the reason. “Or maybe because I’m a female Alpha and it’s one of its perks?”
Jessie eyes light up and she’s grinning. “Really? Like the one from the legend?”
“Maybe,” I grin teasingly down at her.
“I envy you,” Trish sighs dramatically beside me.
I bite back the on the words of telling her that it’s I who envies her.
“Yeah,” I hear Tony agree. I look at him and he’s smiling sheepishly at me. “Sorry about early and the stuff that day.”
I send him a small smile. “It’s all in the past.”
“Are you going to heal Keith next? The other guy you badly injured?” He suddenly asks.
“I’m going to let him suffer a little longer. I don’t care if he’d had injured me, but it’s a different story if someone hurts Rose,” I try to hold in my growl but by the way Jessie flinches a little I think I didn’t do a good job.
“Oh,” he says. Then his eyes flicker to Jessie and he’s staring at me with a small smile of his own, “I understand where you’re coming from.”
I grin. Good.
“Well we should be going now,” Trish says and is heading to the door, “gotta show this chick around.”
I look back and I see how the two siblings deflate and I laugh. “Want to join us?”
Their heads snap up at us and Tony and Jessie look at each other before looking back at me. “Yeah!” They say together.
Siblings, I swear.
Trish nudges my arm and I come face to face with her smirk. “Well look at you making friends already.”
I smile.
It’s not long before the four of us are wondering around.
Many people stare in disbelief when they catch the two siblings with me.
We hang out for hours talking about little things or about the pack house and some historical lessons.
“Time to prepare lunch!” Trish suddenly says and looks pointedly at me.
Tony’s smile falls. “Oh, I hadn’t noticed we’d been out that long.”
Jessie smiles up at me and asks, “Will we get to hang out with you again?”
I smile at her and Tony when he looks at me expectantly. “Of course,” I say. “Actually, maybe we can hang out after lunch?”
“Really? Okay!” Jessie bounces on the balls of her feet. “Can I Tony? She turns to her brother.
“Now that I’m up and ready, I should go and talk to Alpha about what’s going to happen to me. I still have a three month leave before fulfilling my punishment and pack duties.” Tony smiles down at his sister. “You’ve been cooped up in the house these past few days taking care of me. Go enjoy yourself.”
Jessie hugs her brother before she turns to me and Trish. “Can I follow you guys?”
I look at Trish but she just shrugs. I look back at the eleven year old girl and nod. “Why not?”
We wave goodbye to Tony and head into the pack house.
Jessie was surprised when she found out I’m the infamous chief in the pack. I swear there’s more sparkles in her eyes than the last time I saw them.
We ate together in the kitchen after cleaning up and continued on exploring. Indeed the area around the pack house was large.
A playground, a pool, even a variety of courts for sports, then there’s fields for sports and some training. And that was just the backyard of the pack house.
Eventually Trish had to split ways with us to go help her mate with Beta duties. I laughed at the expression she made when Daniel mind linked her. She was smiling at something I said, but then Trish’s faced morphed into a scowl the next second. Jessie and I couldn’t stop laughing at her as she stomped away.
“So,” I start when we find a random bench in the woods to sit down. “I can’t help but ask, but aren’t your parents and Tony going to worry about you staying out late?”
Jessie stops swinging her legs and she stares down at the ground. I watch as her brown locks hide her face. “Oh, Tony is fine since he knows I’ll be with either you or Trish. As for my parents…they’re dead.”
I sharply inhale. Okay Katie, way to ruin the awesome day you just had. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay,” she looks up at me and there are tears forming in her eyes, but I can tell she’s holding it back. “I’m proud of mommy and daddy. They fought to protect the pack like the warriors they are the last time the West Clan attacked us.”
I bite my lip. So she lost her parents three years ago in that battle. “Oh…”
She wipes her eyes and sniffs. “I’m sorry though, about Tony.”
“Tony?” I ask. “Why?”
“Because he got angry at you. I know you did that to him. I also know it was for self-defense. He shouldn’t have pushed you into a corner when you were trying to help him.” She says softly.
My eyes widen in shock at the little girl before me.
She notices my shock and snorts. “I may be a lot younger than you, but I’m not that stupid.”
I laugh at that. “Right,” I say teasingly and she glares at me but I can see her mouth twitching trying to hold back a smile. “My bad.”
“And I’m sorry that you were a prisoner to those dangerous people.” Jessie says softly.
“Yeah, but it was thanks to Rose that I survived down there, or well she was more of the reason I continued to decide to live.” I shrug.
And it’s the truth. She doesn’t talk about my mom because I already told them she died when I was young.
“Rose, is your friend right?” Jessie suddenly asks and I nod. “At least your friend was a prisoner with you. That way you weren’t alone all the time.”
My smile drops and Jessie stares at me weirdly.
“Is something the matter?” She asks worriedly.
I force a smile and I’m glad that it’s enough for her to believe. “Fine. I’m glad Rose was there for me too.”
Though, I may not have it any other way with where I’m at in life right now with Rose, I still wish I’d never met her.
“I’m fine,” I say more to myself than to her this time.
“Well you should be,” Jessie smiles even more, “you’re here with us now!”
I smile at how innocent she is and how she doesn't know anything about the real terror of the West Clan and what they do. How she can smile without a care in the world and is proud to be the daughter of two great warriors.
I smile because even though I know I can never remain fine, I feel fine right now. And that’s enough for the moment.
“Yeah,” my eyes catch a familiar figure and immediately my eyes lock with red eyes that burn my soul. “I’m fine.”
Jackson smiles at me from where he’s standing.
My insides melt comfortably at the sight.