Chapter 6

Yet, their serious looks and some of their scowls, even from the pups, the place told her that the Delaney pack lived up to its name somehow.

All too soon, she saw what looked like the manor house of the compound; it was easily bigger than most of the other buildings. It had to be where the Alpha lived. She didn't even get to gasp as she was drug up the rust-colored marble front steps harshly, nearly tripping, barely managing to catch herself before being pulled again. She could see the icy white and maroon interior through the glass panels with the decorative wrought-iron inlay.

As they opened the large mahogany doors, she was pulled through, catching what she could of the house. In truth, there was little color to it all past the different shades of brown and white. They sharply turned a corner before opening a pair of large wooden doors to an empty study. The leader growled slightly, causing Jessica to shake, just barely retaining anything that she felt. How was she going to get out of this?

"Looking for someone, brother?"

An almost monotone female voice appeared behind them, causing Jessica to finally let out a yelp that she had been holding in the entire time. As they turned, Jessica saw her.

The woman had medium-colored skin and light brown/dirty blonde hair like the leader, her brother, which she wore up in a messy bun. She wore a loose black pencil skirt, a white zip-front seamed blouse, and black Steve Madden Stokker pumps.

She had an irritated look in her olive-green eyes as she walked up to them. She looked at Jessica with the same harsh eyes, making Jessica quickly lower her eyes again. She didn't like this...

"Who the hell's this, Keric?" The woman spoke to the leader, her scent telling Jessica she was not pleased.

"Her name is Jessica. We found her wandering around in Jackson," Keric told her as she passed them, making her way into the study with elegance and authority, and sat down in the chair.

They walked into the study, but the woman focused her stern eyes on Marco and Emanuel. They both quickly stopped moving forward and bowed their heads, turning to leave and closing the door behind them.

Jessica swallowed in the silence, a lump starting to form there before the female spoke up, "Sit down and relax puppy. I'm not going to bite unless I feel like it."

Jessica quickly nodded and sat down, fear and anxiety not leaving her immediately as the woman insisted.

The female didn't even give a slight snicker like most would have. No clock ticking, no creaking, no sniffing. Not even a sound from the other side of the room's walls.

Nothing. Just the still air.

The silence only continued for a moment longer before the female spoke again, "My name is Adeline Delaney. I am the Madame Alpha of the Delaney pack if you haven't figured it out. My brother told me you're a lone omega and for 14 years too. That's quite impressive. But that doesn't answer why. Why were you in Jackson?"

Jessica's trembles worsted, feeling the harsh tone in Adeline's voice. She knew better than to lie to wolves. Unlike humans, they could easily smell both deceit and emotions. She probably reeked of fear in the car just as much as she did now.

She sat up in her seat and cleared her throat as best she could, "I...I did not know that there was a wolf pack in Jackson. All I was going to do...w-was make my way west, to Hawaii or the Pacific Islands. When I came here, I scented no wolves, so I continued to do what I needed to survive."

"Why out west? Why not join a pack?" Adeline continued to question the harshness unrelenting.

"...Be...because I chose not to," Jessica bit her lip as her words came out almost in a whisper.

Adeline and Keric both shifted in their seats. Adeline folds her fingers together, her elbows on the desk and her eyes narrowed, making her even more intimidating to Jessica, "You chose...not to? Which pack did you belong to before you were alone, puppy?"

"I...belonged to three packs before I chose to be alone, Alpha. I was a part of the Oakens pack in Pennsylvania—"

Both of the Alphas growled lowly at the mention of the name, causing Jessica to break out in a sweat, her eyes shifting fearfully, but fortunately, both stopped, probably sensing and seeing her renewed tenseness. Adeline waved her hand once calming down, "...Carry on, puppy."

"I-I was," Jessica cleared her throat again and shifted in her chair uncomfortably, "I was also a part of the Stenpryde pack in—"

"Stenpryde?" Adeline growled out the name in a fury, "That Canadian pack?"

"Y-yes," Jessica whispered, shaking in fear of the female Alpha's anger.

It was silent for a while as Adeline was calming down once again. Jessica continued to tremble, her nerves were too high-strung to relax. She was scared to say anymore. This was the Delaney pack here, and they now knew she was a part of those two packs before. Would they kill her by association? If Adeline or Keric so wished to, they could kill or have Jessica be killed right now without another word being said. What would happen if she said her original pack's name? Would she freak out or would she murder? Either way, it would sound like Delaney's way of doing things.

"What was the third pack you were a part of, young one?" Keric asked her from the renewed silence, his words calmer than his sister's, especially at the moment.

She bit her lip as she continued to shake.

She didn't want to say it.

She shouldn't want to, but she couldn't say it. She had protected and cherished her original pack's name for so long that she felt horrible if she gave it up now. She thought about the fire, their slaughter, how she should have been there, and how they would never come back. She thought of everything about them, their love, their kindness, their laughter, her alphas, her parents. Everything and everyone she cherished in her pack. She didn't even carry it as her current last name it was so important to her. It was the last thing she had of them, and she knew that if she told them, then she would never have it again.

Adeline growled at Jessica warningly, a bite in each of her words, "What was the third pack you were a part of, puppy?"

Jessica's lips trembled. Her already dried-up tears still had a little energy left, as a weak, yet single tear trailed down her face.

"M-Méraudin. M-My first pack...was the Méraudin pack in Qu...Quebec."

Once again, everything fell to the dreaded silence.

"...Méraudin? ...You're the last survivor of the Méraudin Pack, puppy?" Adeline asked, in a way that both surprised and frightened Jessica.

She looked up slightly and took a small intake of breath. Adeline's eyes had softened a bit onto her. Keric didn't seem as ridged either. Jessica nodded, "...Yes."

The silence began again. This time, though the energy in the room seemed temporarily softer, Jessica shook with the pain of having to reveal her old pack's name. She didn't want to give it up, not now, not ever! But once again...the Moon Goddess always shows her things can never go her way, and that she should never want. Ever.