Chapter 8

Kate POV

I can hear the wolves. There are so many of them calling to me. The sound is almost deafening. I want to know why they are reaching out to me now, after all of this time. My pack could have saved me a long time ago. I open my eyes to see Erick holding me. Why is he so kind to me? Why does he care about me? I am nobody.

I look into his eyes. There is something about him that is so familiar. His eyes are kind, unlike his mother's or his father's. Erick is not like them. “You should try to eat something,” Erick says to me.

I can barely hear his voice over the wolves calling to me. “Not right now. I am listening to the wolves,” I say to him.

“What are they saying to you?” Erick asks me.

“I don’t know. I can't make it out. It is confusing,” I say to him.

“Please eat,” Erick says.

I hear someone calling my name from somewhere else. The howls and my name are coming at me rapidly. What do they want from me? “I have to find the wolves,” I say to Erick.

“I can help you find the wolves, but you need to get your strength back,” Erick says.

I drift in and out of sleep. The wolves are speaking to me in another language. They growl and howl at me. Why is this happening? “What do you want?” I scream. I look at Erick as I sit up in the bed.

“Erick, they are trying to tell me something,” I say to him.

He pulls me closer to him. “I am staying with you tonight,” Erick says. “Why,” I ask him. “To make sure you are safe,” Erick says.

“Why wouldn’t I be safe?” I ask him. “I do not know, but there has to be a reason the wolves are talking to you,” Erick says.

Kate! Kate! Kate! I hear my name over and over. I try to listen. I close my eyes and see a woman that looks like me. She shifts into her wolf form. She runs up to me. She stands in front of me. “You are not safe,” she says. “Why?” I ask her. “The imperial pack is the only one that can help you,” she says. “Should I go to them?” I ask her. “Yes, take him with you,” she says.

I wake up and look at Erick. He is watching me. “What happened? You were talking crazy,” Erick says. “I think I spoke to my mother. We have to find an Imperial pack,” I say.

There is a lot of noise outside. Erick gets out of bed and goes to the window. It is Karen and Alpha. “Alpha is here, and he is coming into the house,” Erick says.

Alpha comes into the house. “Kate, stay here; I will handle it,” Erick says. I stay in my room. He goes into the living room. I can hear Alpha screaming at everyone. I did not want to cause this kind of trouble.

“Where is the little bitch at, Erick?” Alpha screams at Erick.

“She is resting, dad,” Erick says.

“Well, is she going to live?” Alpha asks.

“I think so. No thanks to Mother,” Erick says.

“Well, since you are so close to her, you can let her know that her father is dead, and she is now responsible for his debt to me,” Alpha says.

“That is not fair, dad. You know that is not right,” Erick says to him. I move out of my room and into the hall to listen.

“Did you find her a new job? She will be indebted to us for a long time,” Alpha says.

“Yes, she is mine now. So her debt is my debt. I will take care of it,” Erick says.

“She is yours. What you are taking her as your slave?” Alpha says.

“Yes, so I will take care of her debt. Like it or don’t like it, that is how it will be, got it, dad,” Erick says.

“Don’t let this girl fuck up your future. You are the future Alpha, and this does not look good for you,” Alpha says.

“I do not give a damn how it looks. You should not be treating Kate this way. You know there is more to her, yet you are treating her this way. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Erick says.

“Watch it. I am still Alpha, and I will still beat your ass,” Alpha says.

“I wonder what the imperials will think when they found out how you treated one of their lost wolves?” Erick asks Alpha.

“She might be an Imperial, but there is no way she belonged to Rainwater. That child is dead just like her mother,” Alpha says to Erick.

Alpha growls at Erick as he kicks the front door and goes out to his truck. I hear the gravel flying and hitting the house, and he speeds out of the driveway. Erick comes back to my room. “I think we should go somewhere else for the night,” Erick says.

“Is my father dead?” I ask him.

“I am sorry you had to hear all that,” Erick says.

“It is fine. He was never much of a father to me,” I say to him.

“I am serious. We should go somewhere safe. Pack a bag, and let's go,” Erick says to me.

“I don’t have anything except the clothes on my back,” I say to him.

Cassie walks up the hall. “Hey, I will give you a few things to take with you,” she says. She goes into her room and packs a bag for me. She comes back quickly. She hands Erick the bag. “Come on,” Erick says to me. We walk down the hall into the living room. As we go out the door, Erick stops and looks at Karen.

“If you tell anyone I took her, I will tell my mother what you have been doing with your Alpha,” Erick says to Karen. Karen sits stunned but says nothing. Erick and I get into his big truck and leave.