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Chapter Quote:
"That you want this, us. That someday you'll love me."

~Ren Laroche in Nightshade

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Chapter 31

Josilyn

I'd barely been able to speak to my dad after he chose to leave the pack. I'd tried convincing him to let me stay with the Laroches only because I wanted to stay with Hunter but my dad wouldn't hear of it. My mom was more understanding but dad stood firm.

We were staying in one of the apartment buildings at the Stanley. I was sleeping in the living room on a pull out sofa. I stuck next to my phone in case anyone texted me. I'd received texts and calls from everyone in the pack, even Elsa. Apparently no one told her for days after she woke up about what had happened and kept apologizing that she hadn't contacted me sooner until I finally convinced her it was really okay. The only person who hadn't contacted me was Hunter. I couldn't figure out if it was because he was upset or if he was angry at me. It wasn't like I had any control of the situation. Much like Hunter's father, once mine made up his mind about something, he stuck with it. It would take something drastic for him to change it.

I was scrolling through pictures on my phone of me and my pack, reminiscing when the most worrisome thing in our lives was sleeping through an alarm to get us up for school or getting a detention (none of the girls really did except Thea and Ember- Thea for talking back to a teacher and Ember for getting caught in a super heavy make-out session with Noah in a janitor's closet), when the doorbell rang. My dad got to the door before I could even get off the couch. He motioned for me to hide. Reluctantly I did although I was pretty sure that if it was a Hunter, they weren't going to ring our doorbell before they killed us. I was pretty sure they would go straight to the killing part.

"Hey dad," my brother greeted.

"Hi Mr. McKay," Elsa's shy voice followed.

"Hey Noah. Elsa, since when am I Mr. McKay to you?" dad asked.

"I don't know. It feels weird calling you Shiloh now that you're not in our pack..."

"You can still call me Shiloh. I have nothing against you sweetie. Come on in. Josilyn's here. Carrie went out to do some grocery shopping." I popped out from my hiding place and threw my arms around my brother and friend.

"I'm so happy to you! I've missed you like crazy!" I exclaimed. "How are you feeling Elsa?"

"I'm good. All healed. How are you doing? Is that gunshot wound healed up?"

"Completely. Come in, come in, I just made brownies. Want some?"

My brother and friend nodded. Dad went into his room and shut the door. He was still pissed at Noah for staying with the Laroches. I put the brownies on plates and set them down on the table.

"So tell me, how is everyone?" I inquired.

"They're good. They miss you though. We all do. And then something is wrong with the Starks. Something about a dead packmate coming back to life I think," Noah replied.

"It was their omega who supposedly died in the house explosion: Callie Hart. She's been brainwashed by the Hunters and turned into a weapon for them," Elsa explained.

"Callie... isn't that Spencer's ex-girlfriend's name?" I remarked.

"It's the same Callie."

"Oh, I'm sorry Elsa..."

She shrugged. "Don't be. I was always wondering if it'd work out between me and Spencer and I'm pretty sure that Callie coming back is a sign that it wasn't meant to happen. But enough about us. How have you been?"

"I've been... okay. I wish I was back with all of you. How... how's Hunter?"

"He's terribly upset about everything. He misses you so much," Elsa answered. "Have you talked to him?"

I shook my head. "No. I've texted him but he hasn't responded. I thought maybe something had happened to him so I texted Ember asking her but she said he was fine. I don't know why he won't talk to me."

"I think he's too upset to talk about it all. He won't say a word about it to any of us. I'll talk to him when I get back though."

"No, it's okay. Let him talk to me when he wants to. Listen, I'm going stir-crazy in this house. Since you two are here, dad might let me go out for a bit. Would you like to do that?"

Both of them nodded. Dad gave me permission to go although I could tell he was hesitant about it. Then again he hated me being mad at him and knew this would alleviate some of my anger at the whole situation so he let me go with Noah and Elsa into town.

"So you two are getting along again?" I prodded, amazed that the two of them had been in each other's presence for twenty minutes without so much as a slight insult or even a glare thrown at one another.

"We've moved past that. I think," Noah said, giving Elsa a sideways glance as if he was unsure.

"Yeah, we're good. Don't worry, I'm not going to punch you again for breaking my arm," Elsa said. "Where do you want to go first?"

"I know it's far off but can we go shopping at that cute little Christmas store?" I begged. "I want to get a good advent calendar."

Noah laughed. "Josie, that's really sad but yeah, of course we can."

"I want to see those house things that all create a wintery scene. You know what I'm talking about?" Elsa looked at us.

"I do! Come on!" I grabbed my friend's hand we walked to the Christmas store with Noah behind us. Upon arriving at the shop, we realized we were the only ones in there besides the owner. I guess people weren't looking for Christmas ornaments in the middle of the summer. Oh well, that meant more selection for us! I went straight to the ornaments in the shapes of wolves. The Laroches had multiple trees in their house at Christmas. They had their main one in the foyer, one in the living room, one in the basement, and Elsa and Ember had mini ones for their rooms. The foyer tree was always a formal one with a different theme each other although they recycled the themes every few years. My favorite, along with Elsa's, was when they did the red and gold themed tree. The living room tree was the family tree, the one that everyone bought ornaments for and had no theme whatsoever. Elsa and Ember had collector Barbie ornaments that they always put at the front. Hunter had a lot of sports stuff. Ren and Arya had picture ornaments of family memories. More than once I'd caught Arya staring at the pictures, mainly those with Caleb and Anna in them. The basement tree was a pack themed one. It had wolf ornaments (so many wolf ones), a few Stanley or Rocky Mountain National Park themed ones, and to commemorate our Searcher family, ornaments in the shapes of weapons.

"What about this one?" Noah lifted up an ornament that was rather frightening simply because the sculptor couldn't get the face right. Elsa and I both made faces at it. Snickering, my brother put it back. We went back to shopping. Elsa and I ended up buying all the wolf ornaments in the store. Noah made fun of us but we ignored him. The three of us left the store with intentions to go to Poppy's for lunch. We reached the street we had to cross to get to our restaurant. Elsa and I hurried across while my brother took his time. We didn't think anything of his lagging behind until we heard a two distinct yelps. We whirled around to find my brother on the ground with a big, burly black wolf on top of him, unable to move.

"Dad," Elsa breathed, running over to them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loren leaping over a railing, chasing after some suspect. Melinda was behind him. What were they doing back in Estes Park?

By now a crowd of people had gathered around us, staring at the wolf that had saved my brother's life. Ren was lying unmoving on the ground but he snarled at anyone that made a movement to come near him, even Elsa.

"I knew dad wouldn't be okay with me coming here," Elsa muttered.

"You snuck out?" I asked, shocked my friend would do something like that after getting demoted to omega for sneaking out to see Spencer and his pack.

"No, I asked mom if I could come see you and she agreed. She said she'd tell dad but I guess she didn't. Listen, we need to get him out of here."

"I'm a vet," some guy shouted.

"Oh it's okay! We'll take him to our vet. He lives right over there!" Elsa replied. "Noah, can you carry him?"

"I don't think he's going to appreciate it," Noah remarked when Ren bared his teeth at his daughter's idea.

"Well it's either going to Shiloh or leaving him here to get hit by another car and I don't think he wants that to happen."

"I wouldn't be so sure if it means avoiding my dad. Remember the last time they talked to each other?"

"They better act like the adults they are then. This isn't a matter of testosterone, this is a matter of making sure my dad is okay. Noah, carry him. Josilyn and I aren't strong enough."

"Sorry Ren," Noah whispered, carefully lifting the wolf over his shoulders. The Laroche alpha let out a strange noise that I was pretty sure was between a growl and a whimper. We trudged back up to the Stanley where we received quite a few stares. I guess most people weren't used to seeing a wolf casually being carried through town.

When we arrived at the apartment we were staying in, my dad threw the door open.

"What the-" he began.

"Dad, Ren saved my life. Before you go Cujo on him, at least thank him for that before you do."

"I wouldn't kill Ren. Not with Elsa or Josilyn here at least," dad mused. Elsa snapped her head up at my dad, horror in her eyes. Hastily my dad added, "Kidding."

"Ah he couldn't kill me anyways," Ren muttered. None of us had seen him change so we all jumped at his voice. "Noah, set me down. I'm fine. Let me call Arya, tell her what happened."

"How about you tell me what happened first?" Shiloh said.

"No. I don't take orders from other Guardians," Ren growled. "Let alone deserters. My wife gets called first."

Shiloh glared angrily at Ren but said nothing further other than ordering Noah to bring Mr. Laroche into the house.

"Hi honey..." Ren greeted once he was set down on the floor. "Yeah, just got hit by a car. I'm fine. Listen, Shiloh found out I'm here... yes, I got hit by a car. That's what I said... because a Hunter was trying to run Noah down. I knocked him out of the way... I'm fine. I'm at Shiloh's... No I haven't killed him yet. I wasn't planning on it you know. He hasn't done anything to piss me off. I also wouldn't kill him in front of his kids..." Ren put his hand over the phone and whispered 'kidding' to me and Noah before going back to talking to Arya. "I'll call Adne, have her weave a portal so I can get back. Call in on Loren and Melinda. They went after the Hunter... honey you don't have to do that... oh, well I guess I'll see you soon then... love you too."

Ren shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Looks like Arya got caught by Carrie saving Carrie's life. That Hunter didn't survive though. He's dead, currently being transported to the morgue. Died of a wolf bite to the neck. Sorry I can't get out of your hair sooner."

"Thank you, Ren, for saving my son," Shiloh said, nodding his head in respect to the Laroche alpha.

"Yeah, well, he's my pack. I protect my pack," Ren replied, not breaking eye contact with my dad. There was a tic in my dad's jaw.

"What are you doing back here? I thought you were staying with the Searchers?"

"Oh we are. But Arya wasn't letting you get away from us that easily. We've been watching you since you left. The Hunters have been watching you ever since you left too but haven't attacked because we've gotten to them first. They're getting smarter though, arriving in larger numbers to attack. That's how the two that attacked Noah and Carrie got away with it. I gotta say, I've never heard of a hit and run tactic being used by Hunters. They're starting to get creative."

At that moment, the door opened to reveal my disheveled mom and Arya who was sporting a black eye and busted lip.

"Ren! Good lord, you told me you were fine!" Arya chastised.

"I am fine. Afternoon Carrie," Ren greeted, nodding his head at my mom.

"Ren, nice to see you again," mom replied.

"Did you call Loren and Melinda?"

"Yes. They caught the Hunter and already brought him back to the Academy to be interrogated. I need to call Adne so she can weave a portal for us to get back. I'll be back." Arya exited the apartment. Dad hesitated before following her. Carrie followed him.

"Do you need anything Mr. Laroche?" I asked. "Water? Tea? Food? I have brownies."

"While that all sounds wonderful, I'm going to decline. Thank you though Josilyn," he replied. At that moment, the door opened. Mom, dad, and Arya walked in.

"Kids, can you go outside for a moment? The adults need to have a word," Arya said. Knowing better than to argue, Noah, Elsa, and I filed outside but the second the door shut we all had our ears to it, listening in.

"Shiloh, if it wasn't for Arya, I'd be dead," Carrie said.

"Was this your plan? Be there when the Hunters attacked so you could convince us that we need you or something?" My dad remarked.

"No. We're here because we didn't feel comfortable having you out here with no protection and Babatunde felt the same way. I don't care what happened between you and Ren, you were still my second and I still care for you and Carrie and Josilyn and just because you're not my packmates anymore does not mean you're not my friends anymore either. I'm not protecting you as my packmates, but as my friends. You left the pack of your own accord. However, you are still welcome to come back. We all miss you and I would hope that you miss us... well, most of us," Arya replied. I could hear the slight joking tone at the end of her sentence and could imagine the glare that Ren was giving his wife.

"Arya, don't do this again," Ren grumbled.

"You're not exactly in a position to argue with me. In case you haven't noticed, you're still on the ground because you got hit by a car."

"Watch me," Ren declared. I heard some sliding and scraping for a few moments before he said, "There. I'm standing."

"I hardly call leaning against the wall with all of your weight 'standing', Renier." Elsa covered her mouth to stifle a laugh before whispering to me, "Mom only calls dad by his real name when she wants to piss him off."

"Shiloh, I want to go back to the pack," Carrie said softly. "You and Ren both overreacted last week. You both said things you shouldn't have and things you didn't mean."

"No, I'm pretty sure he meant what he said," Ren mumbled.

"Whether or not you join our pack again or not, Carrie and I both came to the decision in the car ride back here that you two need to apologize to each other. Formally and sincerely," Arya said firmly, allowing a little threatening growl to escape.

I heard both men sigh. "You're really going to make me do this?" Dad whined.

"Yes," mom responded firmly.

"Shiloh, I'm sorry for attacking you physically and verbally. I shouldn't have threatened to harm Noah if he hurt Ember and I shouldn't have accused you of being overprotective of Josilyn when I'm pretty much the same way with Elsa," Ren said. I could tell he didn't want to say anything at all but I still heard the sincerity in his voice.

"I'm sorry for everything I accused you of. Between saying you were a shitty alpha, telling you that you're the reason half our pack got killed, telling you that you never belonged in our pack, it was all things I was saying because I was angry and upset Josilyn got hurt. I took it out on you because you were there. You're actually a great alpha, you didn't get our pack killed, and you wouldn't be in our pack if even just one of us hadn't accepted you into it. Despite my earlier actions, I do accept you as the male alpha of the pack," dad said.

"I might've been a great alpha before but I've been a shitty alpha lately. So you were right in that part."

"No, you're just being human, Ren. You can't be a perfect alpha all the time."

"I'm supposed to be. Do you forgive me?"

"Yes. Do you forgive me?"

"Only if you answer one question for me."

"What is it?"

"Were you really pretending to be my friend all these years or were you lying about that too?"

At that, my dad actually laughed a little. "Ren, you know I've never been good at pretending stuff. I wouldn't have been able to pretend to be your friend if I really hated you. I was your friend, and once we move past this, I would like to be your friend again."

"Then yes, I forgive you. And yes, we're friends again."

"Arya, we'd like to come back to the pack," Carrie said.

"For the love of God, I thought it'd never happen," Arya replied in exasperation. "I'll help you pack. Elsa, Josilyn, Noah, I know you've been listening in. You can come in now."

We threw open the door. I ran and hugged my dad, saying, "Thank you daddy!"

Elsa hugged her own dad but whatever she said to him, it was too quiet for me to hear. Ren was taken aback by his daughter's show of affection but gratefully went along with it.

"Elsa, Noah, help me pack!" I exclaimed, dragging my best friend and brother over to my suitcase. Arya went to help Carrie and Shiloh pack. Ren shifted into wolf form and fell asleep at the door. Within an hour, we were packed and ready to go. Adne showed up in our apartment, stepping through a portal, ushering us to hurry through before someone saw it from the outside. Shiloh threw our suitcases through the portal before letting everyone jump through. I went first, too excited to see Hunter to think of anyone else going first. Elsa was next, followed by Noah, then Ren, then Arya, then mom, then dad, and finally Adne. While she closed the portal, I ran to Hunter's room, knocking excitedly on his door. He opened it a few seconds later, but it wasn't the greeting I thought it'd be.

"Josilyn," Hunter said, blinking. "What are you doing here?"

"Dad and mom agreed to come back to the pack!" I explained before throwing my arms around his neck. "I missed you so much!"

Hunter remained still. His arms didn't pull me close like they usually did. "Did you?"

I pulled away from him. "What?"

"Did you miss me?"

"Wha- of course I did! I missed you like crazy! I texted you and called you and you didn't respond. I had to call Ember to make sure you were okay since you weren't responding. Why... why would you ever think I didn't miss you?"

"Did you even fight to stay with me?" Hunter asked, hurt filling his eyes.

"I didn't have a choice. Dad didn't give me one," I replied quietly.

"You always have a choice Josilyn. If the positions were switched, and your parents were alphas and I was put in your position, I would've fought with my parents until I could stay with you. But you... you didn't even try to get your dad to let you stay here."

"Hunter-" I began.

"I need to get some work done. I'll see you later." Before I could say anything else, Hunter shut his door. I staggered back in shock, only coming to a halt when my back hit a wall. I stood there for a few moments, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened but I couldn't. I forced myself to go back to my room. Elsa was there, unpacking my suitcase and putting everything where I'd had it before.

"Hey Josie, where did you have this dress? I can't remember," Elsa remarked, turning around. When her eyes landed on me, her face scrunched up in worry and said, "Josie, what's wrong?"

"Hunter... he doesn't think I love him," I sobbed, finally letting all my emotions out.

"What?!" Elsa exclaimed, throwing my dress on the bed and running up to me. "What made him think that?"

"He asked if I... if I even fought to stay with h-him and I told him my dad... my dad gave me no choice," I explained.

"Oh god, my brother's an idiot. He knows the only people who can ever get Shiloh to change his mind is my parents, your mom, and Shiloh himself. Not even Noah can get your dad to change his mind. It's not your fault. Even if you had argued with your dad about it, you wouldn't have accomplished anything except making him even angrier. Don't blame yourself okay? Let me go get some Ben and Jerry's from the kitchen and we'll sit in here and watch movies to distract you okay?"

I nodded, thanking my best friend. Elsa darted out of my room, barely being gone a minute before she returned with the ice cream. "One for each of us. And look! They even had your favorite flavor!"

I gratefully took the thing of ice cream from her. The movies weren't going to distract me much but the ice cream would cheer me up a little. Elsa and I curled up on my bed, putting our feet under the covers, and put on the movie Pride and Prejudice.
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