| Unexpected Allies
Silence invaded our usual conversations this morning. I couldn't fathom Paul's explanations the night before, but they were the only ones I was permitted. He ensured his logic was rational but represented truths I had never contemplated before.
Were instincts that strong? Would they have helped me avoid Antoine? And what danger was Paul preparing me for? I couldn't wait any longer to get my answers.
Paul headed home to shower and change. His plans for the day revolved around deliveries with Luke. After he left, I practiced for hours with every noise in the house. First, I turned the radio to the max and narrowed in on the static. Then, throwing the doors open to the rolling surf, I zeroed in on the cawing of crows in the distance.
Sunday had come, and with it came thoughts of returning to the shop tomorrow for work. I hadn't thanked Luke for helping with my medical emergency. With my sedan parked in the heart of Benton Ridge, I also needed to see if I still had a debt to pay back at the shop. I wished Carolyn were here, that I could be open with the drama unfolding in town. But, instead, she'd probably shrug, ignore anything out of the ordinary, and remind me to buy second-hand next time because I could never keep nice things.
Chilled air blasted from overhead units as I strolled into the grocery store. The walk had been tiring. I wanted to make a meal for Luke and Paul; surprising them after their deliveries seemed like a nice gesture. They may see I was trying and offer me more than questions. I navigated through the fresh produce aisle, picked up some green beans, and then moved to the deli counter.
After selecting the biggest steaks I could afford, I paid and stopped short of the double exit doors. They opened and closed as they sensed my indecision when I spotted Carlyle loitering outside in a dark leather jacket and sunglasses.
He waved. On instinct, I recoiled, reaching for my phone. But, unfortunately, any hope of this being a casual conversation died with his next words.
"We need to talk. You have questions, and I have more answers than you're being given. So come, I'll buy you a drink, and then I'll drive you home."
That was never going to happen. Despite sharing blood with Jenny, the way I felt in their presence couldn't have been more opposite; Jenny was a puddle, whereas Carlyle was an ocean. There were secrets within him, all the way down where the sediment meets the sand because that's where rivers flow deepest. My guard was up after our last encounter, and I would not let it slip this time.
Paul would say I was ridiculous for even considering it. But Paul still deemed this man a friend, and out of all of them, he was the only one prepared to give me answers. I only hoped Carlyle wouldn't turn on me twice. The lure of what he was offering was too enormous to turn down. If this were to happen, it would need to be in public.
"I'll see you at the bar in half an hour?" he asked.
I nodded, now wondering if this man shared the same talents as the others. This could get me what I wanted the most, and hopefully, hindsight wouldn't tell a different story.
Thirty minutes later, I was sitting at the counter in the bar, which was now becoming familiar to me. I ordered a drink and sat with my grocery bags at my feet. Carlyle was late. Maybe he was watching on, amused that I was desperate enough to come. One drink became two, became three as my nerves got the better of me. What would make a man like Carlyle cry?
The bartender opened another drink with a hiss-pop and set it down in front of me with a flirtatious smile. His hand refused to move as I reached for the bottle. He had eyes the same shade as Paul's, but rather than provoking a flutter; they were just brown.
Me: Do you have another brother?
Paul: No. Why?
Me: Because the bartender has your eyes
Three dots appeared on my screen and then disappeared. Then, after a pause, they restarted again.
Paul: Tell him if he touches you... that's what your Wattpad wolves would say, right?
I was semi-mortified and would delete the app as soon as I got home. The bartender was straining to get my attention. Finally, I placed my phone on the bar and looked up, about to speak.
"She's taken, I heard. You have no chance there." Carlyle sidled up onto the stool beside me and ordered a drink.
"You're over an hour late." I shot him a warning look. Even though he'd arrived, that didn't make it easier knowing I'd sat here waiting for him like an idiot.
"I have two things to apologize for?"
"Is Luke forcing you to do the first one?"
He smiled and said, "I guess we both feel like idiots."
"What am I doing here?"
"If I had the time to earn back some of your trust, I would. But this is too important. Paul says you're ready. If you want our full truth, this happens tonight."
Convinced more than ever that he could get in my head the same way as the others, I saw no need to hold back my truths. "Why doesn't it hurt when you read my mind now? It scares me."
"It's a sign you're adjusting to it. Think of it as a river carving a new path. Things will begin to happen now. In all truth, that's what scares me. I want you to run as far as possible. You being here exasperates an existing problem for me."
"Which is?" My eyes narrowed, searching for signs of dishonesty. I found none.
"Do you know what happened in the pit that day?" he asked.
My head shook once, replaying the scene in my head. "I have never seen them like that." My head dropped to my hands. "What were they doing to you?"
"Well, I'm not a team player, a lone wolf so to speak, but the price is too high. As my Alpha, Luke had a lesson to teach me." He took a sip of his drink. "They are keeping things from you."
"I know." And not just about the secrets, but the continuous lessons these brothers thought relevant to share. "What's new about that?"
"You want me to share a truth?" He swirled the whiskey in his glass before draining the last of the liquid. The glass smacked on the counter. "I was the one who hit your car the first time you arrived in Benton."
This was no longer a secret. Was this the sole reason for his aggression toward me? I hit-and-run, and he was pissed that we covered it up? It sounded plausible. Hell, if someone tried to kill me, I wouldn't let it lie. But something else was off because when I had hit, there wasn't an ounce of surprise in his eyes. "Is that why you hate me? Was it my fault?"
His eyes dipped. "Only that you didn't hit me hard enough."
I swiveled to face him. "Did you do it on purpose? Why would you run in front of a moving car? Do you even know the trouble you've caused?"
"I wanted it to stop. There was no other way. Didn't work, at least, not as I'd hoped."
"What were you trying to stop?"
"You." His face remained serious. "I don't trust what your presence here means, and I am fed up. Some wolves are born pack ready and some, like me, feel the tug of life alone. I can't do this forever, but Luke can be quite the enforcer. He wants you to help Lucille but I'm not at all convinced it's to save her."
"But why?"
"Because if she comes back, who is the real Alpha then?"
"Does Paul know you think this? He wants me to help Lucille?"
"Paul may be my cousin, but he is also Luke's brother, his Beta. Luke is his Alpha. There is no world where he won't follow. He has to."
I couldn't sit idle if something else was going on, something that could further threaten the only family I had left. I stood before Carlyle did and headed out the door towards the parking lot.
Carlyle drove a van fitting of any kidnapper; tinted windows, sliding side doors, and rear access. If Paul had taught me anything, my body wouldn't have the same reaction to Carlyle as it had the time before. I prayed it was right.
He shrugged out of his leather jacket, setting it on the backseat. He wore a sleeveless vest, and his hulking upper arms reminded me that if he switched on me, I would be powerless to stop him.
Lines meandered up his bare skin, intersecting with more prominent scratch-like scars in sets of three. It wasn't easy to look at. "What happened to you?"
"The same thing will happen to you if you don't leave Benton."
His warning became a rattle in my fingers that I couldn't contain.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"Do you trust Paul?"
I concentrated on the whirring of the tires, wanting to drown out any possible doubt in my mind from traveling. I wanted to.
His eyebrows inched up. "Someone's been practicing—good because you're gonna need all the help you can get."
I needed no more convincing. Carlyle took the back roads through the forest until we reached a small compound in the woods. From a distance, he killed the lights, and we sat in the shadows.
"Watch," he said.
Twenty yards away, Paul and Luke appeared from an opposite clearing. They stopped short of the compound's door, and both pulled out their phones. The cell in Carlyle's lap vibrated.
I looked at it and then at him. "You are supposed to meet them."
"Yes. But, this—" he pointed out of the window—"is what they don't want you to see yet."
"Why is Luke afraid to tell me the truth?" After mulling over this almost the entire journey, this was where my thoughts had landed—I wasn't trusted enough. Whatever it was, why couldn't Paul just come out and say it?
"Paul worries he'll lose you if you're not ready. The boy has yet to click. You want to leave anyway. Luke, however, needs you to stay—permanently. I just haven't worked out why."
Did what they have to say contain the power to make me bolt even with the threat of Antoine over my shoulder? "Will I be safe with you?"
"As safe as you would have been at home alone tonight. Some train wrecks we can't avoid. You need to let them hit, then see what pieces are left."
The idea of letting the truth smack me in my face was terrifying. But I was more than ready. "Then what are we waiting for?" The timer was finally up.
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