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Dedicated to ThisLovelyJourney because I found myself thinking of Ciar today, and I was looking at a chapter of one of my previous stories, which I'd dedicated to her back when she had a different username. 

Ciar, you are still in the hearts in all of your readers, and no one will forget you <3

Excuse the Mistakes

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“Done!”

At the sound of the word that I’d been longing for, I felt my legs give out from under me, and my body collapsed to the ground. I let out a hiss as I felt my intensely sore muscles stretch and shift as transformed back to my human form. Across the backyard, I saw Zack in a similar position. 

For the past hour and a half, we’d been running back and forth through the woods nonstop. Now, werewolves had a pretty good stamina, but 90 minutes of straight sprinting was pushing it. This was our punishment for fighting, and we still had two more days of it. 

After a few minutes of choking on my own breath and drowning in salty sweat, I managed to push myself up to a sitting position. I grabbed my nearby pair of sweatpants and pulled them on slowly, and then I let out a deep breath before standing up. 

“Damn,” I muttered under my breath, and I glanced at Zack, who was pulling on a t-shirt. I still hated the guy, and every time I looked at him, all I saw was his lips against Dot’s while she tried to push him off. 

I walked across the backyard to the back door of the pack house, and I grabbed my t-shirt off of the hand railing as I pushed my way inside. Bo and Tyson were standing against the wall, and Bo nodded to me as I passed. I returned his gesture grimly before walking down the hall and into the kitchen. 

There, I found Dot sitting on the counter eating a sandwich, along with Adam and his newfound mate, Violet. They’d only known each other for thirty-two hours, but Adam and Violet were already getting inseparable. Part of me wished that Dot and I had been like that, but the majority of me found that taking it slow was actually nice.  

“You look like hell,” Dot commented as I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of Gatorade. 

“I feel like hell,” I replied, taking a big gulp of the sports drink. Dot smiled and offered me the other half of her sandwich, which I took gratefully. As I chewed my first bite, I noticed her raised eyebrow, and I frowned. “What?”

“Way to unhinge your jaw there, Stud,” she said with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes and took another bite, this one intentionally bigger than the last. Dot snorted, and I grinned gleefully. 

“We’re going to go watch a movie,” Adam announced suddenly, and he wrapped his arm around Violet’s shoulders. “Catch you guys later.”

“Wear a condom!” Dot called after them, and Adam flipped her off as they disappeared from sight. Dot sighed happily and crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Those two are really cute together. Violet’s a little quiet, but when you get her talking, she’s actually pretty funny.”

I studied my mate as she talked, and I noted the giant grin and overall lightness to her body language. “You’re in a good mood,” I said, and Dot’s head turned to look at me. 

“That’s random,” she replied, but then she shrugged. “I guess I’m just excited. I mean, my soccer team is in the championship game in three days. It’s really exciting!”

“I’ll be there cheering you on,” I stated, and Dot’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she tucked a couple strands of hair behind her ear. Just as she reached out for me, there was a loud buzzing sound, and she pulled her phone out of her pocket. 

“Crap,” she muttered, hopping down off of the counter as she read something on the screen of her phone. “I have to run to the store to get some supplies for the signs we’re making for the seniors.” 

Dot started to hurry out of the room, but then she stopped and turned around. “You wanna come?”

“Sure,” I said, even though I truly wanted to go take a hot shower and then take a nap. However, I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity for alone time with Dot. I tugged my t-shirt on over my head as I followed her into the garage, and I ducked into the passenger seat of her car. 

As we drove towards town, my hand found Dot’s. We didn’t talk, but it was a comfortable silence, and I found a smile creep its way onto my face. 

Dot pulled into a parking space in front of the convenience store, and she shut off the car. As I got out of the car, I spotted a hamburger joint across the street. My mouth started to water, and I heard Dot laugh. 

“What’s so funny?” I asked, glancing back at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“How about I get the stuff I need for the sign while you get us some hamburgers,” she suggested, nodding towards the restaurant. 

“You sure?” I replied, but I was already feeling for my wallet in the pocket of my sweatpants. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Dot said, running a hand through her hair and giving me a knowing grin. “I want a cheeseburger with barbeque sauce, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am!” I replied, and I gave her a quick kiss before walking through the parking lot. I looked both ways by crossing the street, and then I pushed into the busy hamburger restaurant. 

As I stood in line, I got this eerie feeling, like someone was watching me. I shook it off quickly, and then I ordered Dot’s and my food. After paying, I stood at the pickup counter to wait for my food. It was there that I heard his voice. 

“Hey there, Eli.”

I whipped around, and there he was; Kane. His brown hair was slicked back, and his buttery leather jacket hung limply on his shoulders. He had this smirk on his face, like he knew something I didn’t, and it bothered me.

“Kane?” I said, staring at him in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to collect on your debt,” he said frankly.

Shit. I didn’t have the money. I’d been so concerned with winning Alpha Bo’s trust that I hadn’t been able to log the hours I’d need to at the hardware store. Sure, I had some money from the original loan, but I was short on the total I owed him.

“Look, Kane,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, “I don’t have the money yet, but I—”

“Don’t worry about it, Eli,” Kane interrupted, “It’s not money I want from you.”

“Then what do you want?” I asked, giving him a confused look. I took money from him, so shouldn’t he want that money back?

“Why don’t we go outside and talk?” Kane replied, clamping a hand on my shoulder. With the food I’d ordered forgotten, I walked out of the restaurant with Kane, preparing myself for whatever he was about to ask for. 

As we found a vacant area in the corner of the parking lot, I noticed a couple guys sitting against their cars, eying me. “Acquaintances of yours?” I asked, shoving my hands into my sweatpants pockets. 

“Hey,” Kane said with a shrug, “I may be a rogue, but I do have a couple of friends.”

I nodded once, and after a moment of silence, I asked, “So what do you want to settle the debt?” Kane tipped his head to the side and rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger, like he needed a minute to think of something that he probably already had on the tip of his tongue. 

“Your mate.” 

My jaw dropped and my blood ran cold. Did he really just tell me that he wanted my mate to settle a debt? Actually, a better question was how did he know I even had a mate to begin with?

“Are you crazy?” I demanded, taking a step towards him, “I’m not letting you take Dot!”

“Dot,” Kane repeated, completely ignoring my outburst. “That’s a fitting name for such a stunning girl. She looks pretty good when she’s bopping around in her little soccer uniform, not to mention how beautiful her wolf is.”

Kane had seen Dot in wolf form? That meant he’s been in the forest when she was shifted. Dot had been on so many runs alone; he could’ve snatched her whenever he wanted. The thought was infuriating, and I felt my lips curl back as I growled. 

“Watch yourself, Eli,” Kane warned mockingly, “I wouldn’t want you to shift in front of all these humans.”

I ignored his side remark and shoved him into the wall of the restaurant as hard as I could. “I’ll be damned if I let you take my mate,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “She’s mine!”

“For now, Eli, for now.”

If there weren’t humans around, and if I wasn’t outnumbered, I would’ve beat Kane down with every fiber of my being. I probably would’ve killed him, I was that angry. However, Dot was across the street, and any moment she would be walking over her. I didn’t want her anywhere near Kane, so I needed to get to her as fast as possible. 

I turned around, only to see the people who’d accompanied Kane blocking my path. Just as I was tightening my fists to ready myself for the seemingly imminent fight, Kane’s voice sounded from behind me. “Let him through, boys. He’s only got a few days left with his mate, so let him enjoy them.”

Sure enough, the boys parted, and I gave Kane a glare before hurrying away. I felt like in some way, I was being a coward. However, all of those thoughts disappeared as I saw Dot crossing the street. 

“Dot!” I called, running towards her. 

“Hey babe,” she said, but the grin slid from her face as she read my expression. “What’s wrong, Eli?”

“We need to go,” I said, turning her around. Dot started to protest, but I cut her off loudly. “Dot! We need to go. I need to talk to your dad immediately!”

“Okay,” Dot replied, keeping her voice calm, though I could see the panic in her eyes. Quickly, we hurried across the street, and I climbed into the passenger seat. Dot sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition. Then, she pulled out of the parking lot and sped back towards the pack house. 

Again, as we drove, the car was silent. However, this time, the silence was thick with tension and urgency. Dot didn’t know what was wrong, but she had figured out that whatever it was, I was more than worried about it. 

After ten minutes, Dot pulled into the garage, and she turned off the engine. Without a word, I unbuckled my seatbelt and jumped out of the car. “Eli, wait!” Dot cried, but I didn’t stop. Instead, I sprinted through the pack house, past pack members who gave me confused looks. 

“Troy!” I yelled when I saw Troy standing near the stairs with some kids from the Fire Sun pack. “Where’s your dad?”

“His office,” Troy replied, frowning. “Why? Is something wrong?” I ignored his question and rushed past him. I could hear the pack starting to talk about what was going on, but I didn’t lose my focus. 

I reached Bo’s office, and without knocking, I burst inside. “Eli?” Bo said with surprise as I came to a stop in front of his desk, “What’s wrong?”

I’d meant to carefully explain my situation with Kane, but in the heat of the moment and with the adrenaline pumping through my veins, all of the words escaped my mouth in a confusing jumble. 

“I made a deal with a rogue before I got here, and now I’m in debt to him because he gave me money and a bus ticket. Now he’s back, but instead of wanting the money I owe him, he wants your daughter, and he’s seen her during her soccer games and when she was in her wolf form. I don’t know what to do!”

Bo just stared at me, and his mouth hung open slightly as he started to process what I’d just said. Then, to my complete surprise, Bo lunged across his desk and tackled me to the ground. As he pinned me to the floor, Bo yelled the one thought that had been present in my mind ever since Kane had told me he wanted Dot. 

“This is all your fault!”

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So, Kane is back!!!! I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited for the drama that's about to unfold. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to update before the so-called "End of the World" on Friday. I don't actually believe that steaming pile of doggie poo, but whatevs :)

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