The Pack - On the Run

“Louis, take Mrs. Hart to the anger management room,” Jack’s order jolted me out of whatever stupor I had sunk in.

“What? No!” I panicked as my eyes snapped to Louis’ dad. He met my gaze head-on, not shying away from the loaded gaze I gave him. It was the only indication the man heard me and acknowledged my objections. A kindness of sorts.

“Josie, it’s okay,” Rosalynd chimed in softly, trying to ease me but accomplishing the exact opposite.

“No, it’s not okay. Nothing is okay! My mum held a knife to your neck, and you don’t even seem phased, and now... Now you are taking her to a room that sounds awfully a lot like jail! What about it, do pray tell, is actually okay?!” I shouted, heaving loudly.

My little outburst fell on deaf ears. Louis didn’t even spare me a glance as he followed with whatever his dad had ordered him to do, his expression closed. I bit my lip, feeling the bitter taste of betrayal on my tongue (though I didn’t even know why I felt betrayed by the boy I barely knew in the first place) while he carefully took mum from Rosalynd’s arms and cradled her to his chest.

“Where are you taking her? Where are you taking my mum?!” I demanded, stepping forward to stop Louis. Unfortunately, my ankle chose that moment to remind me it was still injured. The pain pierced my foot as I staggered to the side, hissing under my breath. I shifted the weight of my body, adjusting Mikey in my hold. His poundage certainly wasn’t doing any good to the hurt area, but I dared not let him out of my arms.

Not with those people around.

“It’s just a room in a basement, Josie, nothing to worry about,” Rosalynd finally explained, throwing Jack a look I couldn’t decipher.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing,” I countered, my voice dripping with sarcasm while I ignored the pair’s mute conversation. Mikey hugged me closer, hiding his face in the crook of my neck as he wailed softly, trembling. He was agitated, and it bothered me so much I was getting desperate to ease him. I made a soothing noise at the back of my throat, gently running my hand up and down his back in a calming manner.

“Can somebody tell me what is going on?” I asked again, frustrated.

“How have you been turned?” Jack suddenly decided to grace me with his attention, though not the way I anticipated.

I blinked, tightening my hold on Mikey as I stated, “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

Lie.

Jack didn’t even bother to comment on it, giving me a pointed look as he nodded for me to sit down at the table. I reluctantly followed, placing Mikey in my lap while the man took the chair opposite me. Rosalynd moved the cups of tea in front of us, but she didn’t join us at the table, leaning against the counter instead. I grabbed the cup she offered and pulled it closer, smelling a sickish aroma of melissa. It made my stomach churn.

“Let me rephrase the question: who has bitten you, Josie? The truth, please,” Jack rumbled slowly, his quicksilver eyes gauging my reaction as he laced his hands on the table and leaned forward.

I immediately backed away, suddenly overwhelmed. The sweat broke above my upper lip and on the nape of my neck, my fearful reaction purely instinctive. Some part of me knew who the bigger predator was - the red alert lights wailed the alarm in my brain, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Despite that, I opened my mouth to spout a lie, but Mikey beat me to it.

“It was our pa,” He supplied, his voice timid as he breathed into the side of my neck. “Our pa turned into a huge bad wolf, and he bit us.”

[*]

~ LOUIS ~

The look of disappointment and betrayal written on Josie’s face haunted Louis while he carried Mrs. Hart downstairs to the anger management room.

Although the boy knew the punishment his dad imposed on the woman for attacking the Luna of the Pack was outrageously lenient, his wolf still fought Louis for control, ready to challenge their Alpha; ready to challenge their own father - the only man whose judgment they completely trusted. And why? Because the girl Louis barely knew felt hurt.

The boy was baffled.

He pushed the steel doors with his hip as he walked inside the room he had spent so much time in when he was a pup.

Louis wasn’t always in tune with his wolf. They both had a temper, and even now, they sometimes struggled with controling their anger. Most dominant males did anyway. And dominant Louis was. He was also mateless, seeing that there weren’t as many born females as males, and those turned hardly survived their first shift. Werewolves’ world was pretty much dominated by dicks.

Which totally sucked if anyone asked him.

Louis looked around the place. His quicksilver eyes skimmed over the claw marks that damaged the thick dull-gray concrete walls and stopped at a single bed firmly secured to the floor - the only piece of furniture inside. The spartan-like set reminded him of a prison cell but, as Louis came to learn from his personal experience, there was a brutal practicality behind the minimalistic design. The less loose things meant, the fewer things would be thrown at the walls or ripped to pieces by raging wolves. It was simple like that. The room was hardly used to hold prisoners anyway, so there was no real need for accommodation. Most often than not, the enemies of the Pack were dealt with on the spot... with the rare exceptions of crazed human huntresses, apparently.

And Josie’s mum was just that - a huntress. The tattoo Louis spotted behind her right ear told him as much. He doubted Mrs. Hart had been very active recently, though. Her reflexes had been too sloppy, plus her kids clearly had no idea about their mother’s funny business. Otherwise, Josie wouldn’t be so freaked out by Melinda’s little episode in the kitchen.

Louis exhaled softly, gently laying the woman on the mattress, and he walked out, closing the doors behind him. He didn’t lock them - there was no need. Mrs. Hart wouldn’t get out even if she tried, because there wasn’t any handle inside. It was another measure implemented to keep the unstable wolves in; one that apparently came in handy while dealing with huntresses, as well.

Which brought Louis to the question at hand - how the hell had they let a hunter in their lair in the first place? And what was the connection between his da and Josie’s mother? The Alpha had obviously recognised her from somewhere...

It hit Louis hard as he started to climb the stairs and then walked into the kitchen, just to hear Mikey say, “It was our pa. Our pa turned into a huge bad wolf, and he bit us.”