Chapter 9

I didn't look at James, keeping my eyes trailed on the ceiling. I had the feeling he was waiting for me to talk. I was starting to feel uncomfortable. My phone began ringing on the bed beside me, and I was thankful this conversation was on hold.

"Hello?"

"Ashlyn, I'm pulling into the driveway. Grab everyone. I'd like to have a meeting," Charlie instructed me.

"Got it," I answered, hanging up. I looked at James, who hadn't stopped looking at me. I stood up, leaving him and the awkward conversation stranded. I leaned over the railing.

"Meeting! Everyone in the dining room!"

From behind me, a door opened, and an aggravated moan sounded. Brandon stumbled out of his room, looking like a mess.

"I was sleeping," Brandon pushed past me, "you sound like you have a freaking bullhorn. Shut up."

I let out a loud singular laugh, flipping him off playfully. I sauntered down the stairs ahead Brandon and heard a swell of footsteps joined me. Sometimes this house sounded like the military. In the dining room, everyone grabbed chairs and the table began filling up with food and alcohol. As usual, the meeting was turning to a frat dinner. I grabbed a can of pop and Kurtis gave me a weird look.

"I'm not in the mood to get drunk this afternoon," I clarified with a shrug. He shrugged as well, sitting down. I feel like I'd woken everyone up in the house.

Charlie walked into the room and the atmosphere changed. The jokes stopped and the seats filled up. Charlie surveyed the contents on the table and laughed, grabbing a beer for himself.

"You can take a few minutes and eat a couple snacks. I'm not sending you to war right away."

The room turn back into a fraternity. Charlie walked around the table and leaned down beside my ear.

"I could hear you yelling from outside," he muttered.

I gave him a ridiculous, childish grin. Brandon leaned over from his seat beside me.

"This army general woke me up. I think we need to schedule meetings from now on, so she can shut up and not yell outside my door," he said, getting louder in my ear. I snatched the beer out of Brandon's hands and took a long drink from it. I daintily put it back on the table in front of him and grinned obnoxiously at him. Brandon ran his tongue along his teeth, grabbed his beer and faced towards Sarah sitting on the other side of him. Charlie chuckled behind me, rubbed my hair, and walked away. I glanced at James across the table from me. He was laughing at the interaction between Brandon and me, taking a drink from his beer bottle. I flipped him off which he answered with a wink. Charlie stood behind his chair at the front of the table. The room fell silent again. Brandon placed his arm on the back of my chair and tugged on the ends of my hair. Glancing at him, we exchanged smiles.

"As you all know, Ashlyn, James and Brandon met with Mack Carrey today by Carrey's invitation. On my request, Ashlyn recorded the conversation. I've been able to take a listen to it. Carrey has decided the existence of the Pack is unnecessary within the world we live. His goal seems to be proving that to the others in our world," Charlie looked at me, "is there anything you'd like to add?"

I folded my hands on the table, "Carrey mentioned that his group of werewolves are the behind killing Bill and Michael. He said they were trying to prove that Pack wolves aren't strong independently as we are perceived. Truthfully, Carrey admitting they were behind the murders didn't surprise me. It's almost as if the pieces clicked together. Carrey mentioned that it was hard for Strays to find jobs because it seems that no one is willing to work with them since they are not in the Pack. Obviously, we can call around and see what people say but I think that's bullshit. I'm not sure if we're being told their real intentions obviously. It appears that Peter Thompson and Taylor Malik are a part of Carrey's group now. They were outside of the diner. I'd say they were guarding but Brandon became best friends with them."

I glanced at Chrissy saying Thompson's name and watched her jaw shift. Being bitten at thirteen by Thompson, Chrissy had never gotten the closure she deserved. The last time Chrissy had seen Thompson was when he abandoned her. My father made sure of it.

"Anything else?" Charlie asked, setting up the next phase of the conversation. My father and I made eye contact. I knew he wanted me to mention Daniel Blake, but I thought that was something James or he should be saying. I opened my mouth, but I didn't know how to bring it up, especially with the reactions from our interaction with Daniel at the hospital.

"My father was there."

Everyone turned to look at James, his gaze on his own hands. Everyone's jaws hung open, no one knowing what to feel. Brandon's fingers tap against the back of my chair.

Charlie cleared his throat, "yes, it seems Daniel decided to make an alliance with Mack Carrey."

No one knew what to say. Everyone looked between Charlie and James, with the occasional glance at Brandon and me. Sympathy, confusion, discomfort. There was a lot of different emotions.

"I thought James' dad was dead," Sarah whispered to Brandon.

Brandon shook his head, "no, he left the Pack and hasn't been back since."

"I'd like it if you wait to discuss this until I've had the chance to call the others and let them know what's happening," Charlie said, "now, time bring up the other reason I called this meeting. We've seen now that Carrey is collecting other Strays to his cause. I'm tasking Brandon and Kurtis with collecting information on the wolves that he's got with him and anyone else who could be at risk of being influenced by Carrey and his group. If there's anyone you can think of, let them know."

"William Todd is a vulnerable man," Scott said around his chewing.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Will asked, crossing his arms.

"He's the hermit werewolf with two daughters who thinks Charlie is going to pop out of no where and cut his head off," Drew responded with a smirk of absurdity on his face. Will's eyebrows crinkled, confused.

"Todd isn't a hermit," I clarified, "he's just paranoid. He's raised his daughters to be very anti-Pack."

Will nodded, "oh, that guy."

"The meeting is adjourned, so go back to being a large frat," Charlie said, tapping the back of the chair.

Sitting in the front room, I absently watched squirrels chasing each other around the yard. I thought about my mother's accident and how close it was to the other incidents. I'd begun considering the possibility of Carrey having something to do with it. The question of Daniel's involvement developed too, but I did my best to push it away. I didn't know the man. When I was young, I'd spoken to Charlie about Daniel. Before he'd left the Pack, Daniel was a decent man and father. Charlie claimed Daniel cared about his son and what kind of werewolf he grew into. Katerina, James's mother had died giving birth to a second child when James was six years old. The child didn't survive either. Daniel became more distant then, but he still took interest in his son. Daniel had always been my father's best friend and right hand. Would he have a hand in an attempt at killing his best friend's wife? Eventually, Daniel gave up and left the Pack. Charlie didn't have a specific answer for me as to why Daniel left the time Pack, but I was fourteen at the time I asked. I'm sure my father thought I wouldn't understand the complexity of the situation.

Making my way over to the mantle, I picked up one of the framed photographs. It was a photo of Daniel, Katerina, infants James and Tyler, and my parents, my mother pregnant with Drew and me. They were happy, laughing at something that my mother said. Daniel had a grin on his face, looking at his son. Happiness and comfort were clear across his face. I never asked my parents about the photograph. My mother loved the photograph, it was always the first one dusted. Years ago, I'd caught James staring at it a few times. I'm not sure if he'd looked at it recently.

Considering Daniel could be part of the reason my mother was in the hospital felt like I was betraying the friendship in the photograph.

Charlie stopped outside the room's door, "you mind if I borrow you for a bit?"

I nodded, placing the frame back on the mantle. Aaron and James stood in the hallway, already having been summoned. Charlie led us down to the basement. It was completely renovated, as we used it for a multitude of purposed. Passing the two emergency cages, we walked to the furthest corner of the basement. Charlie stopped outside a bookshelf that sat against a wall. James and I glanced at each other as Charlie yanked along the edge. The bookshelf slid across the wall. I looked at James, my eyebrows raised high. I didn't know this door was here in the twenty years I'd lived here. My father typed a code in on the keypad and rested his thumb for a scan.

"Holy shit," I mumbled as a second door opened. The walls of the inner room were stacked with guns, knives, and other basic weapons. I wasn't expecting an armory in the basement. Doing my best not to have my mouth hanging open, I noticed a safe sitting built into one of the cupboard units.

"What's that for?" I asked, pointing.

"That's where we store the files on all the wolves in the country."

My gaze flickering to my father, "all of them?"

"All that we know about, yeah. Pack included," Aaron responded.

I nodded, letting my eyes hang on the dark metal box. Consideration to ask for Daniel's file sat on my tongue. No one would tell me more than I already knew, I wanted to see if I could deduce for myself why Daniel left the Pack.

"I get why you have such a serious lock. I'd hate to see nine-year-old Drew and Brandon messing around with these," James said, holding a handgun. My eyes roamed over the weaponry as I ran my finger over the edge of a slightly opened drawer of ammunition.

"As if they would be any safer now," Aaron muttered, causing a chuckle from my father.

"Here," I turned to my father, "I want you to keep these."

He handed me a handgun like the one James held. Before I could absorb the fact I was holding a gun, Charlie handed me a machete too.

"Dad, don't you think this is a little much?" I asked. The gun weighed more than I was expecting. I rolled it in my hand, letting my finger run over the trigger.

"No, I don't. I'll give you a few more to take back to Oakville. You never know when you'll have a problem and not enough time to become your greatest weapon. You need the next best and easiest thing."

Charlie suggested we go out to the backyard and practice some shooting, pushing us out of the room. As we all started grabbing guns, I placed my hand on Aaron's upper arm.

"Do you mind if I get a peak at Daniel's file? It doesn't have to be the updated version, just what you have."

Aaron's eyebrows crinkled, eyes flashing to James outside the room before he answered. "Um, sure. Kurtis has them but I'll get him to put it in your room when I get a chance," he said. I smiled in thanks and walked away. James glanced back at me, and I gave him a different smile, one of reassurance. He shot one back as we walked up the stairs.

I took a deep breath, keeping my eyes aimed over top of the gun. My heart pounded in my chest. Exhaling, I squeezed the trigger. I smirked after I saw the bullet had cracked into the centre of the target spray-painted on a tree.

"Good, good," Scott praised, "go again."

Scott had an extensive knowledge of guns; he was giving us a crash course. Drew, Tyler, and Chloe were lined up beside me, all aiming at separate trees. I heard an aggressive grunt and female laughter. I turned, smirking at the scene behind me. Scarlett was lowering her hands as the sparks on her fingers dissipated, smirking at Chrissy who was lifting herself off the ground a few feet away. The two were sparring, Chrissy attacking and defending against Scarlett's magic. In the large backyard of Talia Grove, werewolves were sparring. It'd become an afternoon of training. Scarlett and Chloe arrived as we came up from the basement, deciding on a surprise visit. Apparently, they'd gotten bored without chaotic werewolves around.

Scott smacked my arm, "come on, again."

I took another deep breath and let a couple rounds out of the gun. All landing in the centre again. I grinned at Scott, who rolled his eyes.

"Okay hot shot let's try something new," Scott grabbed my shoulders and angled me sideways, "one hand and stay still. Don't let the reverb throw your arm backwards too much."

I planted my feet and rolled my shoulders back. I squared my gaze over the gun and took a breath. Opening my palm enough to adjust my grip, I squeezed the trigger and shot. The bullet hit the same spot I'd repeatedly hit before. I looked at Scott with eyebrow raised, satisfied with myself. Scott turned to the porch.

"Charlie, your daughter's a natural killer. It's terrifying."

My father grinned at Scott's comment, laughing. He and Aaron were swinging at the outdoor punching bag we had sitting on the back porch.

"Runs in the family," he called over before taking a drink of water.

"Ashlyn, come take a break so Scott can get some of his own training in," Aaron waved me over. I ran up the stairs of the porch and placing my gun on the table. After I emptied my hand, it was filled with a beer. Aaron cocked an eyebrow, and I shook my head, chuckling. Before taking a drink, I sat down on the steps to watch everyone else.

"Oh good, give the overly confident one a beer. That's going to help her shooting," Scott called over, loading his own gun.

"We'll see how it goes," Aaron responded. I didn't have to turn around to know my godfather was smiling.

My gaze stopped at a pair of naked shoulders rotating, loosening up. James held his fists in the air, while him and Robb circled each other. I focused on a long scar that ran up James's side and past his left arm. The memory of the day that scar was created bloomed into my head. James and I were running through the woods that sat metres away from us. A wild rabbit had run in front of us. James tried to chase after it, but he tripped over a rock. We were on the edge of the forest by the road where humans sometimes crossed. A broken beer bottle was sticking out of a bush. The glass shredded his skin and bits stuck in his side. His change back to human was excruciating, his screams brought half the Pack running. In town at the time, Gregory Andrews, our Pack doctor cleaned and stitched the wound back together. I was part of the group holding James down, sitting by his head and saying he'd be okay. That night, three years ago, was the first time James and I had sex.

I jumped, flashback ending by a hand grabbing my shoulder. Chrissy sat down beside me; her body covered in sweat. She reached over and took a swig from my beer. Her eyes were watching James and Robb.

"This should be interesting. Even your dad thinks so."

Chrissy was right. My father stood with his arms crossed, watching the sparring between my best friend and our British guest. We hadn't seen Robb do anything to break a sweat. I had a feeling this part of the day, the outdoor sparring was something Charlie planned. Behind Charlie, the back door opened. Kurtis walked out of the house, a beer in his hands. We made eye contact as he came up beside my dad, nodding his head once. I turned back to the action in front of me. Kurtis had put the file in my room.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh drew my attention, and voices rose in the backyard. I turned in time to see Robb's fist connect with James's lower jaw. It was a fast moment ending with James on the ground. I jerked forward, fighting back my instinct to jump up and interfere. I was stopped by Robb and James laughing, Robb helping him stand. My body relaxed. I laughed to myself. I could not turn off backing up James, even in a fake fight. I glanced at Chrissy and we both rolled our eyes.

"Children," she commented.

"My turn," a voice rose from the porch behind me. Will was leaning on the railing, a wild look in his eyes. Will leapt over the porch railing and walked over to James. Robb stood next to James, looking between the two of them. Even from twenty feet away, I could see the slight discomfort on James's face. I turned to Chrissy and we exchanged a look, both knowing how bad of an idea this was. Chrissy took another drink from my beer.

"We're going to need a few more of these," she said, shaking the emptying bottle.

Will and James had a "healthy" competition that had been going on for years. One of them always had to be better, though most of the time that stemmed from Will trying to piss James off and it usually worked. James just reacted to whatever Will put in front of him and that ended up in a competition. It could be amusing to watch or worrisome like this moment.

I pulled my phone out to distract myself from the rising levels of testosterone in the backyard.

Will was not cruel in any way. He just had a habit of taking advantage of his strength against other people. I had seen him start fights with men just to show off. If there was someone to impress, Will wanted to do it.

A body dropped down beside me, the scent of sweat hit me in the nose. Robb accepted the water bottle that Chrissy handed him.

"What's going on between those two? Will seems a little too excited to fight James." Chrissy chuckled and leaned against the railing posts beside her.

"He may be eight years older, but Will has always been a bit jealous of James. Will was bitten as a child and showed up at our front door within a few months of Daniel leaving. James was the centre of attention from Charlie, Cora and the other members trying to compensate for Daniel's absence, something Will thought he deserved, since he was someone who had not been raised in a werewolf environment. Will made himself bigger and stronger and just an over-all active, needed Pack member. Will felt he had to try harder for Charlie's approval than James. Sometimes he still does."

I took a drink from my beer, my eye moving to the sparring. Almost everyone else had stopped what they were doing to watch James and Will. When these two fought each other, it was usually long and possibly bloody. Will was not known to tap out easily. Once, he had passed out from blood loss and that was the singular reason Will gave up that fight. James, on the other hand was a naturally good fighter and never back down from any fight, especially against Will. James also had a knack for winning these fights which impressed my father and the others, pissing off Will.

I watched James swipe out Will's legs, making him crash to the ground. Chrissy chuckled under her breath as a few Pack members clapped at the move. James looked over at me with a grin on his face. He had to know I'd been watching but it seems James had to make sure. Will needed the approval of my father, James needed mine. He raised his eyebrows, [TK] bragging about his actions, causing me to roll my eyes. His upper body shook, laughing at my reaction. James rolled his shoulders and faced Will, who was beginning to stand up. James reached his arm out to help him. The next moments happened all at once. Will threw his arm upwards from the ground and I saw the dirt fly from his hand, hitting James in the face. James stumbled, confused by the stinging in his eyes. Will leapt up, slamming into James's abdomen with his shoulder. From the impact, James's body slid across the grass, Will landing on top of his body. They left deep impact marks in the dirt. Will pinned James to the ground, knees crushing James's wrists. Now that he'd stopped him from fighting back, Will began to swing his fists into James' face.

On my feet as the first fist made connection, I barrelled towards the fighting boys. This was past sparring the moment the dirt left Will's fingers. Without slowing my pace, I threw my arm around Will's neck and yanked him away. His body flew to the side, and I stumbled from the new weight. Will's elbow connected with my cheekbone as he blindly defended himself. Instinctively, I released Will's head, I stumbled backwards from the shock of pain. My tailbone stung as I landed on my backside, not able to stop the impact. I got back on my feet, pushing back the pain Robb appeared beside me and grabbed on to Will's bicep, yanking him farther away from James. There was a pause of silence. Will was panting heavily; his left side lay against the ground. His eyes were wide, and pupils blown. I caught my own breath, staring at the look on Will's face. It was predatory and something I'd never seen from him before.

"Will! Take a walk," my dad boomed from his spot on the patio. Everyone was frozen from shock. Will glared at the group, resting particularly long on James and me. His upper lip twitched, and I almost expected him to growl. We watched Will stalk off into the woods.

I bent down beside James, inspecting his wounds while he laid on his back. Blood pumped out from above his eyebrow, lip, and nose on top of the dirt across his skin. James watched where Will had disappeared into the trees, confusion written on his face.

"I'm taking you inside," I said, grabbing him by the armpit. James attempted to grumble a complaint but got a taste of his own blood instead, literally. Robb grabbed his other shoulder and the three of us walked towards the house. A few of the others moved to help.

"You did a good job standing around before," I snapped, "do it again."

I groaned, dropping James on to his bed. Robb left his hand resting on James's shoulder, making sure he was steady. James ran his hand across his nostrils. Before I had time to smack it away, James made a sound of discomfort, having disrupted the wound. Blood slowly began pooling in his nostril again. Robb pulled a tissue out from the box on James' nightstand, holding out to him. James took it, nodding in thanks. James looked up at me watching him with my arms crossed.

"I'm fine honestly," James complained, trying to stand up. On his feet, James' face crunched from pain, and he dropped back down to sit on his bed. Huffing out of annoyance, I grabbed his chin and inspected James' face again. His eyebrow was crusty with dried blood, but his lip and now his nose too, were still wet. James was covered in blood, but I knew it wasn't all his.

"Thank you for helping me bring him up here. No one else seemed like they were going to," I said, looking at Robb.

Robb shrugged, "it's hard for werewolves to register Pack members fighting each other," Robb leaned against the doorframe, "it's happened a couple times back home. Usually ended a lot bloodier than this."

I put my hand on his shoulder, "still, thank you."

Robb nodded awkwardly and left the room. Staring at James' wounds, I listened to his footsteps thud down the stairs. James looked up at me, tissue up his nostril. I shook my head, out of disbelief. Without a word, I went across to the floor's shared bathroom and grabbed the medical kit under the sink. James had sprawled on his back as I shut the door behind me.

Dropping the bag beside him, I said, "sit up and let me fix your face."

James sighed but followed my instructions. He was completely worn out and began slumping forward a bit. I adjusted myself to sit on my knees.

"Did you say something to him?"

James shook his head, "no, I don't know what happened. I knocked him over and when I looked back, his expression had changed."

Absently nodding, I focused on cleaning away the blood. James' nose twitched as I did my best to get the blood from the entrance to his nostril. Once the blood was no longer crusted on his face, a few minor cuts were revealed on his cheek. James hissed as I applied hydrogen peroxide. A bit of guilt surged through my heart, knowing I added to his discomfort. Standing up, I raised his head to the light. There was going to be bruising, but I didn't have to tell him that. I'm sure he could feel it. I leaned forward and touched a kiss on his lips before placing my hands under his jaw where there was less injury.

"You aren't allowed to get hurt by someone you can easily beat. Got it?" I whispered. James placed his hands on my face in a mirroring fashion to mine. He kissed me with the force I hadn't wanted to use on him. Pulling back, James ran his fingertips across my cheek bone where I could feel an uncomfortable pressure from a bruise starting to form.

"Thank you for stepping in but next time, don't get hurt trying to save me."

"It doesn't hurt that much," I said with a shrug. James pulled my head down, kissing over the bruise.

I smirked, "better already."

"Well then," James said, moving his hands down my sides, resting on my thighs. Yanking me forward to straddle him, a giggle fell out of my mouth in surprise. I placed my hands on the back of his neck, kissing him. I was no longer concerned about his injuries, knowing he'd make me aware if I was hurting him. The kissing evolved into a heated make out session, clothes being taken off the other. I heard a shout for us downstairs, but I didn't plan on stopping and neither did James.