Not Edited at all!
Enjoy!
xoxoxo
****
She felt restless, she couldn't turn back to her human form and she just couldn't bring herself to stay a wolf. She felt so out of control, something that Cory was not used to. Years of training took her from meek and weak to someone formiddable. Someone always in control of everything but at this moment she felt a loss of reality, a loss of the bad-ass bitch she worked so hard to be. She wanted to run, hard until she could leave this fidgety feeling behind but try as she might she couldn't break out of her makeshift cage. She couldn't understand how she was being kept inside this room.
She growled, then howled smashing her body hard against the door. She needed to be let out. She needed to run.
****
Upstairs all three Colts felt a frissure of unease at the banging and noise but tried to push it aside as they all sat at the stools at the kitchen island. The cottage itself was slightly bigger than what you would imagine a regular wooden cottage to be like. Dark wood everywhere and a nice homey feel. As a child he loved the coming here for, what his parents loved to call, 'vacations from reality'. The woods surrounded it on all sides and a mile out, just a small run away, was a small lake. He had so many good memories here that was until Cory.
Jeremy would never resent her for it. He couldn't stand the sight of the place now that he was here after knowing what happened to Cory as a child. After hearing that her brother was murdered so close by the novelty of his childhood get away lost it's appeal.
"Jeremy are you listening?" His mother asked, her eyes shone with concern.
"Sorry, spaced out. I guess this place is bringing back a lot of memories." He shrugged.
"Yea" Christie responded looking around. "But this is the only place that we could think of to bring her. No one is going to think to look for us here. but Just in case we're going to need your help to divert attention from the area."
"Okay." it made sense to him. "What exactly do you need me to do?"
"We have to come up with a plan." His father responded. "An excuse for why Cory went ballistic. We could say she's coming into her alpha powers. Anything could work really than the truth."
"Her Alpha powers?" Christie questioned with a furrow of her eyebrows. "How believable is that? I mean alpha children don't just loose control when thier coming into power. Not that I know of exactly." Blake ran a hand through his hair in slight fustration, lost in thought.
"Well, Mom, these are some unique curcumstances. I mean they feared giving Cory Alpha training because of her situation as a child and then considering that most Alpha families have more than one child that surge of power is usally divided or if it is one child it's usally a male and they are taught to control. Cory gets niether advantage and because she's not mated she gets full surge when usally she would share that with her mate. Any of those reasons could work to our advantage when she goes through her heat now." Jeremy explained, which, truthfully, surprised his parents at how well any of those things could be a good cover.
"That's perfect but how will we keep them away. We don't even know how long this heat will last. I mean we can't disappear as a whole family." Christie mused as she rubbed at her face in worry. This had been her worst nightmare when her and Blake took in Cory but they had fallen so in love with her that they hadn't cared about the risks. Now she wonders if thier naivity and false hope that the bite mark not being a mate mark had caused more harm than good. Maybe they would have been more prepared for this if they had been more cautious.
"How about you guys don't disappear. I'm supposed to be at college, not here. It's easier to pass up my abscense in not being able to get into contact with me. You need to be around to dispell any concerns in the pack." Jeremy suggested to them. And it seemed like the only way things could work in their favor. Still it was a risk because that would mean leaving Jeremy alone to protect Cory against her mate which everyone in the room knew would be after her. And probably close by.
"You could get hurt honey." Christie whispered her concern as she looked worriedly at Blake before looking towards her son. "We can't leave you to defend Cory by yourself if it does come to that. And you know it could come to that, having to defend her."
"I'd rather risk my safety to Cory's mate than to risk Cory's life to our pack." Jeremy sighed looking at his father with determination. "You know I'm right Dad, this is the only thing that could work and keep our family safe. That's important to me, our family's safety." Blake looking at his mate brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek.
"He's right, baby, this is the only plausible thing for us right now. We don't have any other options and we certainly don't have the time to keep thinking about it."
"No Blake, we can't just leave him. He's our son and he could be at risk." Christie shook her head in earnest.
"Mom like Dad said we have no other options. You can't stay. The longer you prolong this the greater the risk of us being exposed. Distract them and I'll get some research done on how long these heats might last. I mean I've never heard of a mate couple not giving in right away but Cory can't possibly be the first. And if she's not then I will find out. Just buy us some time and keep the scent away from here." A howl broke the silence and a crunch sounded through the house. All three glanced worriedly at the basement door. "I'll call you if I need you but I also think for now it would be best that once you leave you stay gone. Not a word Mom" He said when Christie moved to protest, "You know I'm right about all this. You can't risk coming here and being followed I can take care of this. And if you learn anything call me. I'll be waiting by the phone for any news. Right now though Cory needs you somewhere else."
Christie doesn't move but with a firm squeeze to the shoulder from Blake she nods her acceptance. "Don't hesitate to call us." She said softly as she and Blake stood and moved towards the door.
"Just remember the story and everything will be fine. I love you."
"We love you too baby." Christie bit her lip as a lump lodged in her throat and threw her arms around her sons neck holding him close. "be careful."
"I will" Jeremy moved away to hug his father. "Just watch your backs okay?"
"You know we will"
****
Blake pulled onto the dirt driveway of his house and was surprised to find his Alpha and son sniffing at the tree that they found Cory bitten at. Glancing worriedly at his mate, he stopped digonally in front of them and both wolves looked up, exposing thier teeth only to relax their stiff stance when they saw Blake and Christie hesitantly get out of the car.
"I'll go get you some clothes." Christie whispered without looking at them, rushing into the house.
"Where have you both been?" Leonard asked, having transformed back into his human form.
"We headed towards the school but when we got there it seemed there was nothing we could do. Cory wasn't there and you weren't there either. We decided to come back here."
"That was over an hour ago." Leon countered with narrowed eyes. Like his father he held no shame in standing there naked. It seemed both of them held a quiet fury about them. Blake went to reply but his mate walked out with two pairs of grey sweat pants and to plain white shirts, averting her eyes as she walked up to the alpha and his son.
"I'm sorry Alpha we thought since we were on the road already we would look for Cory as well. Just to make sure she didn't near any humans. From our vantage point on the road, though, we didn't see her so we came here." She said, subdued in her retelling, submissive to her Alpha.
"That was good thinking." Leonard said taking the clothes from her outstretched hands and handing the identical set to his son. "What I'm curious about is what is going on. I've never heard of anything like this before. Of a werewolf loosing control like this."
"We have a theory if you're willing to take it into consideration." Blake replied as he gestures towards the house. The Alpha and his son lead the way as both Blake and Christie follow. Seated at the island in the kitchen, Christie pours everyone a glass of water as Blake speaks.
"We noticed some aggresive behavior the last couple of weeks coming from Cory. We thought at first it was just her being anxious for graduation but then she started verbally lashing out." Blake looked at Christie, seeing her nod. "This morning we tried to keep her home. She was running a slight fever. She refused, her emotions seemed to be all over the place. The only thing we could think of that could cause this is her Alpha heritage. When we got the call about the school, we figured someone must have upset her or her emotions were too much with the overload." Christie rested her hand on Blake's knee and squeezed, her nerves frayed. The Alpha looked down and rubbed at his chin, mulling it over.
"It explains her behavior. Her brother would have been the one to take over in the pack and if that hadn't been the case she would have had training to control the overwhelming power." He sighed and looked at his son, who was scowling at the countertop. "I guess I'm partly to blame, I never trained her, and now I can't even think of a good reason why. I mean I was going to have her join my forces and train her along side Leon. Unfortunately you never know with these kinds of things and with her parents gone I should have anticipated this happening. Where do we go from here?" Silence descended but the scowl on Leon's face worsened.
"Are you sure she's not going into heat?" He asked softly but with a fierceness that everyone in the room looked at him in shock. "You sure it doesn't have anything to do with her scar?"
"What?!" Christie starts, slamming her hand on the counter in anger, which Blake knows is a terrifying fear, because he's trying to cover it up with the same anger. "We've been monitoring Cory since she hit puberty. You think if she was going into heat she wouldn't have already done so. We give monthly reports to the Alpha to ensure that he knows everything, to protect us all."
"Reports?" He said looking at his father but with a sharp glare looks back at Christie. "Well what about this month? you obviously lied if you sent one in because you didn't mention her mood swings or her little temper tantrums. You're going to get us all killed for some orphan."
"How dare-" Christie almost half yells but the Alpha raises his hand for silence.
"That's enough both of you." He scrubs at his face and sighs. "Yes, Leon, I have been getting reports but that was between her parents and me. I am standing Alpha at the moment, I didn't need to discuss it with you. And if you must know they didn't turn in thier report. As for her going to heat the boy has a point. You could be lying."
"I truly resent that" Blake gruffly replied. He raked a hand through his hair. "We've been nothing but forthcoming. I haven't seen anything that would lead to her being in heat. I mean do our females suffer from mood swings before they go into heat? Do they suffer from uncontrollable rages? As far as I know the only symtom that I can see from experience is being horny." His lip quirked despite himself, looking at Christie's blushing face. Leonard smiled, his eyes glassy.
"When Tabs was alive I don't think mood swings was the way I would describe her heat." His eyes turned sad, his son mirroring the expression. "I'm sorry on behalf of my son. He hasn't met his mate yet so he doesn't really know what kind of reactions a heat cause to a female."
Leon frowned but resigned himself.
"And I'm sorry on my behalf as well. I know as your Alpha that your duty lies with those you care about. Thank you. With that being said we still haven't discussed what to do. Give chase or wait?"
"Honestly Alpha running after her like this could be dangerous. She's in attack mode, she could hurt herself or someone else. I'm concerned for the humans but we live pretty far from civilization. I just don't want to risk the pack getting hurt and I think Cory can take care of herself."
"She's not exactly in the right state of mind Blake." Leonard has point.
"Well when you ascended what helped?"
With a furrowed brow Leonard sighed. "a run, a run usally helped calm my wolf down. Lets give it a day and then look." With that both son and father left, Blake and Christie walking them out and watching them go.
"How long can we lie like this and not be found out, Blake, he's our Alpha." Christie Whispered with a shine in her eyes.
"For as long as we can baby." Blake replied. "I'm more worried they didn't bring up the smell. It's not like our Alpha to be forgetful." Christie held onto Blake tighter.
****
Jeremy paced, he heard what could only be the calming breaths of a sleeping wolf. Maybe Cory exhausted herself with her banging around, Jeremy thought. Yet he still continued to pace. He was worried, he couldn't get the thought of his parents out of his head. What if they were found out? What if the Alpha suspected them and then commanded them to tell the truth? No one can resist the Alpha's command. His worry spiked and he thought he was going to pace himself into the floor if he didn't get a call soon.
His phone rang.
"Mom?!" He breathed desprately.
"Yes baby it's me. Calm down everything is okay. We have a day. No more, no less. Just stay there we can't come over. I think we still have some suspicion on us." She whispered. "No one knows that we actually own the cabin we found Cory at so we're fine for the time being. I don't know what we're going to do after 24 hours but just keep her safe. Me and your father will think of something. Don't call us we'll call you. We love you baby. "
"I love you too Mom." His throat was thick but he swallowed down the lump and hung up.
He thought of eating when he sat himself at the breakfast table but couldn't bring himself to be hungry. He had so much on his mind, so much worry on his shoulders and although he would love for a stiff drink too he also needed a level head.
A growl sounded and Jeremy stiffened.
That didn't come from downstairs.
The hair at the back of his neck prickled and his inner wolf growled, the sound building in his chest until it left his throat. Another growl sounded and instead of freezing in place, he moved, leeping to his feet and without thought out onto the porch. Jumping from the third step, he landed onto the trampled grass in front and circled the cabin. On his second right he froze, his hackles raised, and his wolf pushing at him.
Crouching by the basement window, scratching pathetically, growling and whimpering, was one of the biggest wolfs he'd ever seen, almost the same hieght as him, which was odd for someone of thier kind aside from the Alphas. Pitch black with honeyed eyes, his pink tongue darted out and licked the window another growl leaving him. Jeremy's canines elongated as his wolf pushed further to the surface. He stepped closeer.
"Change." Jeremy's speech was muffled by his sharp teeth but it was understandable enough that the wolf's head snapped towards Jeremy and growled ferociously, paws digging into the earth. "I said change or I'll kill you where you stand." It wasn't an empty threat, he would truly attempt to kill the intruder, whether he succeeded he couldn't say. The black wolf dug his paws deeper into the dirt.
Suddenly a howl sounded from inside, no doubt Cory, whether in pain or fustration he couldn't quite say. But the effect her howl had on the wolf in front of him was astounding. It's like he lost complete focus and was back to whimpering at the window, the growls gone.
"I SAID CHANGE!" Jeremy yelled, realization dawning on him. "And step away from that window and my sister." He said calmer than before as he felt the change almost at the tip of his fingers.
The wolf, startled and angry went to growl aggresively until he heard the rest of the sentence. He tensed and looked, if possible for any kind of wolf to have facial expressions, worried before nodding. He transformed, his nudity on display. the man was as big as a truck with disheveled brown locks in contrast to his midnight fur. The shock, aside from the eyes that hadn't changed, was how young he looked, with a splash of freckles across his nose and beauty marks dotting all over his body. He could almost be classified as baby faced if it wasn't for his strong jaw line and sharp cheek bones. Too broad to be lean, he was packed with nothing but muscle. Jeremy felt trepidation settle.
"Give her to me." His deep voice rang out. "She's in pain she needs me."
"Like fucking hell." Jeremy quickly replied, anger chasing fear. "And then what? Do you think your going to live happily ever after. Don't think I don't know who you are. You killed her whole family, everyone she ever loved before us is gone. Do you think she's ever going to forgive you just because you relieved her pain now. She'll hate herself for not having any control in the decsion and hate you even more for taking advantage, if that's possible."
"You don't understand." He pleads as each of his words causes him pain. "She's suffering, so much right now."
"Because you showed up. I have no idea why but you did, how the hell you even found her is beyond me." Jeremy clenched his fist. "Did you think she didn't suffer these last 12 years. You ruined her life and now that you get to some action you care about her pain."
"You don't know shit about me." His voice deadly. "Don't you dare, under any circumstances, think this is about getting laid. She's mine, has been since she was a kid. That mark proves it so get the hell out of my way and let me help her." He took a threatening step forward.
"No." Jeremy growled, standing his ground. "If this isn't about getting laid then leave. Get as far away from this place as possible. Your prescense is causing this don't you get it. I may not be able to kill you but you can't kill me either. She'll never love you if you do and that's why you haven't done so. Why did you come here, knowing this could trigger this? I mean you must be old enough to know."
His honeyed colored eyes were in agony, Jeremy could tell he was trying to control it but a whimper from Cory had the emotion bare to the world. And Jeremy wished at that moment that this man would drown and die in the emotion. He felt no sympathy.
"It was so hard after seeing her again. It's been so hard all these years." He said, his voice thick. "Please."
"Do her a favor and leave and I won't tell anyone you were here. Just get out of here, as far as you can go, and don't look back." He looked at the basement window, his face drawn in pain before he nodded. Jeremy sagged in relief.
"Braylon." He said looking out to the wooded area on the opposite side of the cabin.
"I'm sorry?" Jeremy cocked an eyebrow.
"My name is Braylon." He repeated.
"And why would you think I cared enough to know?" Jeremy replied, angry.
"Because this isn't the last you'll see of me. I'll be back."
"Why?! For what?! Cory?! she's never going to want you she's never going to give into you!" Jeremy yelled, fustrated.
"Not for her. I actually never came back for her." He seemed sad as he said it. "I came back for the lands I killed for." And with that he shifted his paws bringing him to the treeline within seconds, almost as if he had flown there, leaves a scattered mess behind him.
Jeremy's heart clenched in fear and sorrow for his sister. What in the world were they going to tell her?