Outliers

The responsibility of love; To keep another’s heart safe.

- Bridgett Devoue

Daniel was going to finish his training in Colorado. He only had a year to go anyway, so it seemed stupid to throw it all away now. To my surprise, Astrid - his mate - was transferring here to train alongside him for the remaining year. From everything that Nero had told me about her so far, Astrid was a quiet girl that barely socialised with the rest of the pack and stuck to the company of her family. That she was willing to travel to a completely different pack, to a completely different lifestyle, all for her mate, was more than enough to garner my respect.

After Daniel’s final year, he was going to return to Nevada to train under Samual - Thane and Allister’s friend currently acting in the place of Nevada’s Alpha - to become the pack’s Beta ready for Riley’s eventual return. I was told Samual had centuries of experience working as Alaska’s Beta alongside Allister, so I had no doubt he would be a good mentor for Daniel.

Riley would be transferring to a different pack after the year and complete another year’s training under another Alpha. He would continue to do this with all the packs until Thane - and the rest of the Alpha’s - believed he was ready to run a pack of his own.

It had been two weeks since Russo’s attack, and Riley was still quieter than usual, still reserved, but he didn’t hide away in his room for most of the day anymore. He insisted on continuing his training with Thane that very next day, and already I could see a noticeable improvement in him.

The young male stood straighter now, and didn’t shy under people’s gaze. And he was more confident in his training, picking up everything Thane taught him quickly. He was eating more too and sleeping easier - from what he had told me - and training longer and harder as a result. If things kept up, I knew he would begin to fill out more and his confidence in himself as an Alpha would grow.

This didn’t mean he still didn’t have tough days. I would still see him at times with red-rimmed eyes, or whispering to Daniel with a miserable expression on his face. I wasn’t naïve enough to think a bit of exercise could ever change the fact that he had still lost his father, still been betrayed so heinously and thrown into a situation no other wolf should ever have to deal with. But I still saw hope in him, still saw that drive to keep going and better himself. As long as he had people to lean on when he needed it, as long as he knew he could confide in those he trusted, I too hoped that he would endure.

It was a sunny afternoon, that I found myself sat alongside Nero on the main house porch. Riley was out on the field a distance away, with Thane and Lorcan beside him as they worked on various grappling positions. The sun was beginning to set, its glare sharp in our eyes as we watched in silence.

Nero sat with his camera, no longer so shy about taking photos around the other wolves. And the enforcers didn’t seem to mind too much when he photographed them training. In fact, I think it made them train harder, and I was sure I’d see a few of them flexing muscles and puffing out their chests.

Sandra’s hunters, that small group of females, were especially deadly when it came to training. They were quicker than any wolves I had ever come across, and when they spotted Nero out with his camera, they turned almost feral - clearly eager to prove themselves.

It certainly didn’t help the rivalry I was beginning to notice more and more between the enforcers, between the three distinct groups they divided into amongst themselves. Sandra’s female hunters - the quickest and stealthiest wolves that prided themselves on the precision of their attacks and their ability to work as a group to conquer any opponent. Lorcan’s warriors - that included both Taron and Zahra - that never showed fear and never conceded unless they absolutely had to. They were strong, ferocious, and terrifying when they wanted to be. And finally, Adriel’s wolves - those in charge of patrolling the territory, that had more endurance than I ever thought possible. They never tired and had the best defensive training from what I had seen. They waited out their opponents, playing with them almost until they were on their last dregs of energy.

I was infinitely impressed by all their skills and couldn’t wait to finish my basic training with the other trainees so I could join their ranks.

“It was always a dream to join this pack, you know?” I said suddenly, pretending to watch Riley and Thane work through some training exercises when instead I was watching Nero carefully. “I don’t think I ever truly thought I would be initiated in. Even when Thane brought me back with him all those weeks ago, I still thought he would reject my request.”

“You belong here,” Nero hummed. “I couldn’t imagine you in a normal pack, if I’m honest. And if you hadn’t come, then we would have never met. How heartbroken I would have been.”

I snorted, “You wouldn’t have known I existed if I hadn’t come here.”

“Yes,” he sighed, as he turned to me with sad eyes and a hand to his chest. “But I would have always known something was missing in my life.”

“You’re a little shit,” I said with a grin.

“I aim to please.” Cheeks dimpled, and with a deep smile that nearly split his face in two, he turned back towards Riley and Thane again.

“Do you still want to stay in Colorado forever?”

Nero stiffened beside me, and I watched with an ache in my chest as his smile faltered into a faint grimace.

“It doesn’t matter,” he shrugged. “My training will be up at the end of the five years, and I’ll have to go back to Arizona - or my mate’s pack, where-ever that may be.”

“But if you could stay here, you would?” I asked, biting my lip. I needed confirmation that this was what he wanted, so that I could go to Thane with a solid answer.

“Why are you asking?” He asked, suspicious. His eyes narrowed a fraction in my direction.

“Because you’re my best friend,” I said simply. I didn’t want to get his hopes up. “And I don’t want you to go, even if it is five years from now. But more importantly, I want you to be happy. And I get the sense Arizona wouldn’t make you happy.”

He held my gaze for a tense couple of seconds before his eyes darted away again.

“I’d give anything,” he murmured earnestly, so quietly I nearly didn’t hear it.

I knew that feeling, that desperation to escape and be somewhere I truly felt free. I too would have given anything to come here, and it had nearly shattered me entirely when I had thought Thane had rejected my transferral request.

But it hadn’t really been about Colorado.

I had been desperate for change, for anything that could have offered me a life away from what I knew. Colorado had seemed like the only option at the time. It just so happened that Colorado had provided that freedom for me.

And maybe Colorado couldn’t be that for Nero. Maybe it was foolish to place all his hopes and dreams into one place as I had, as if it could solve all of life’s problems. I loved Colorado, but I recognised it was not the perfect utopia, and it would always have its issues like any pack. It wouldn’t fix everything for Nero - that was for sure - but if he truly believed he would be happier here, then I would do everything in my power to make that come true for him.

***

“Does it usually take this long?” I asked with a huff, wiggling my toes against the freezing cold slab of rock Thane and I stood on. I was nearly shivering in just my shorts and sports bra.

I should have worn a sweatshirt, and thick joggers… maybe a hat.

Stood below us on the ground, Adriel smothered a laugh. He’d let his hair loose, the strands fanning out to brush the top of his shoulders. Under the moon’s cool glow, the golden colour shone, and the numerous scars across his exposed chest seemed to glow silver. He looked just as he had the last time I was here.

Thane, too, looked just as ethereal in the moonlight. I loved taking him in like this, drinking in the sight of him as this harsh, wild Alpha Male. Every hard line of his body was made sharper by the shadows cast by moonlight.

“We’ve barely been out here ten minutes,” Adriel chided. “Don’t be so impatient.”

“I know, I know…” I groaned, biting my lip. Thane’s arms wound around me from behind and I felt my body relax, a tension easing from my muscles. I hadn’t even realised I was so stiff. “I’m just excited, and a little nervous. Maybe feeling a bit sick. Should I have told him? Does he hate surprises? Gods I should have checked if he liked surprises.”

“Emily, chill.”

“I can’t,” I groaned through clenched teeth. I kept looking towards the section of trees where I knew Sandra, Lorcan, and Nero would emerge.

Thane’s buried his face into the crook of my neck, his lips pressed against the bare skin. I felt him shaking against me and knew he, too, was laughing at me.

“I’ve literally never seen you like this in the entire time that I’ve known you. I didn’t even know you could get this nervous.” I shot Adriel a sharp glare.

“It’s a big deal! I want it to go well! Is that a crime?” I huffed.

“Oh, believe me,” Adriel said, looking at Thane in amusement. “Harris was an absolute mess when it was you.”

“Really?” I perked up, trying to twist in Thane’s arms to look at him.

“No,” Thane answered gruffly against my skin, arms tightening around me and holding me in place.

“Don’t lie to her!” Adriel guffawed incredulously. “Emily, he literally wouldn’t stop worrying about it all day. He was so on edge, kept snapping at me whenever I was in the room.”

“That’s because I find you so annoying,” Thane grumbled, finally lifting his head up. I imagined he was scowling.

“Yeah, okay, keep telling yourself that. We all know I’m your only friend.”

“Allister, Samual, Sandra, Lorcan, Emily-”

“You can’t count your mate!” Adriel snapped.

“Shut up, Adriel,” Thane said with a huff, his breath tickling my neck, “I can hear them. They’re coming.”

I wiggled free of Thane’s grasp - much to his annoyance - and tried to put an acceptable amount of distance between us. I remembered how serious and dramatic my own initiation had been; Nero didn’t need Thane kissing my neck in the middle of his.

“And you’re sure I should be up here? I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Adriel groaned, “Emily, good Gods. Please stop. We’ve been over everything. You know what to do and what to say. If I have to answer one more question, I’m going to tear my hair out.”

“You’re such a di-”

Thane’s hand against my mouth cut me off from insulting Adriel. I glared at the smirking Beta and he - despite being over two hundred years old - stuck his tongue out at me.

“They’re here. Both of you shut up,” Thane laughed gruffly. I watched, impressed, as his expression effortlessly settled into one of seriousness.

Gods he was attractive.

It was hard for me to drag my gaze away from Thane, and the small twitch of his lips at the corner of his mouth told me he was all too aware of my struggle. Smug bastard. But it was worth it when I saw Nero first emerge from the trees, led by Sandra and Lorcan, both in their wolves.

Nero was scowling, and though I couldn’t hear everything he was saying, his expression told me everything I needed to know. He was likely annoyed to have been dragged from his bed so late when there was no training scheduled this evening. His eyes widened, though, when he caught sight of us.

Adriel laughed at his nephew’s stupefied look. “You just gonna’ stand there all day, or what?”

Nero was quick to scowl once again, snapping, “Gods Adriel, you insensitive prick, give me a second to take it all in, would you?”

The young wolf stomped over towards us, eyes narrowing for a second on his uncle, and heaved himself up onto the rock Thane and I stood on. It was all considerably less dramatic than my initiation, and Nero seemed to be drastically less in awe of the event than I had been. Then again, it had been my first ever initiation, a moment I never thought would come, and the entire experience had seemed so surreal.

Nero was grinning now, a cheek splitting grin that dimpled his cheeks as his arms shot out and pulled me roughly into his body. I winced at Nero’s tight grip, pushing him away as he shook me about in his arms energetically.

“You sly, little bitch. I should have known,” he exclaimed, eyes bright. He pinched one of my cheeks, laughing as I slapped his hands away. Then he turned towards Thane and said with entirely too much flippancy, as if what was about to happen wasn’t monumental, “Right then, let’s get this going. Who’s blood am I drinking first?”

***

“How does it feel to be an official Colorado wolf?” I asked hours later, bumping my shoulder against Nero’s. Everyone else had returned to bed now, due to the fact that it was now around three-am, but Nero and I stayed out on the porch. There was a cool breeze blowing through my hair, and I leisurely leant back on my forearms to stare up at the stars.

A smile hadn’t left my face the entire time, and my cheeks were beginning to ache. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so relaxed and at ease.

“Pretty damn good,” Nero sighed happily, a satisfied grin stretched across his mouth. “I knew there was a reason to befriend the Alpha’s mate. My evil plan has worked. I have no use for you now.”

“Shut up.” I shoved Nero, and he fell back with a laugh. “You didn’t even know I was his mate back then. No one did.”

“Please,” Nero scoffed, waving dismissively. “It was pretty obvious. He was constantly staring after you.”

“Glaring at me,” I corrected, rolling my eyes. I remembered all too well my first week in Colorado, when I had been convinced Thane disliked me. In my defence, he’d never smiled at me and he always pushed me to my limits during training - at one point I’d been certain he was genuinely trying to torture me with cardio.

“Horribly disguised sexual frustration is what it was,” Nero said, running his hands through his curled hair. He sighed again. “I can’t believe we’re both Colorado wolves. I’m going to annoy Adriel so much every damn day. He’s stuck with me for life now.”

“He’s going to annoy you, too. And he is your Beta now, you realise,” I corrected, and the shift in Nero’s expression was instantaneous, as his amusement morphed into outright horror.

“Shit. I’ve made a horrible mistake. Is it too late to back out? Otherwise, I might actually have to throw myself off a cliff,” he said with a dramatic shudder.

Our laughter cut off when the front door slammed open behind us. We barely reacted quickly enough to dive out of the way of Alpha Allister as he charged past us, a snarl curling at his upper lip. Nero cringed, looking nauseous at Allister’s sudden presence, and I imagined the Alpha’s aura was currently overwhelming.

The porch vibrated under his heavy footfall, the old wood creaking. Just as his feet hit the grass, Thane appeared in the open doorway, storming after his friend with worry furrowing his brows.

“What the fuck is happening?” I asked loudly, to no one in particular, eyes wide.

Thane called after Allister, but the hulking male didn’t stop, stalking across the grass without glancing back once. He seemingly didn’t care if anyone was following him; or, from the glazed look in his eyes, didn’t realise anyone was. Allister appeared to be in a trance, his pace not slowing the further he moved, already approaching the trees. That was a determined male, if ever I saw one.

Thane fell back, shoulders slumping, and allowed Allister to leave without further intervention. He dragged a hand down his face, eyes tight, as he turned back to the porch and met my gaze.

“Is he okay?” Nero asked softly, frowning, as we all watched Allister disappear from sight behind the trees. He was heading directly west.

“Something’s popped up in Nevada. Something he’s been searching for, for a long time,” Thane breathed, sounding unsure of his own words. He rubbed at the back of his neck, still staring after his friend. Allister couldn’t shift like a normal wolf - that’s what Thane had once told me - he could only shift on a full moon. Was he planning on walking all the way to Nevada?

“The same thing you thought he’d never find?” I said, remembering his words from two weeks ago. Thane grimaced.

“What is it?” Nero asked.

“Who,” Thane corrected, a fleeting glance in our direction. Though he hid it well, I could tell he was bothered by this. “Ainslie’s reappeared. I need to call Samual back and let him know Allister is on his way.”

Ainslie, that name sparked recognition with me. It was the name of Allister’s partner. Partner, not mate, because that was four-hundred years ago, and she had been human. So how the hell was she in Nevada?

Before either of us could ask any more questions, Thane had disappeared into the house.

Nero turned to me, looking as confused as I felt. “Who the fuck is Ainslie?”

[okay, so this is officially the final chapter of Outliers. I don’t think I’ve left anything important out. But don’t worry, there’s an epilogue still to come and some bonus chapters.

I know the chapter is left kind of open for a final chapter, but I thought this ending set up Allister's book pretty well.]