Red Ridge Pack 1 Pack of Lies (15 page)

Finally, the group came into view. “Hey Alli. What are you doing way out here?” Luke said.

“Oh hey, Luke. I guess I got a little turned around,” I said trying to play it cool. “Okay, who am I kidding? I’m completely lost,” I added.

Luke was with two other guys. The tallest, Gage, I had met before, but the other guy was completely unfamiliar. It was no secret that I was upset, but at least they were all nice enough not to ask about it.

“Hey, it happens. This place is pretty big, and it’s easy to get a little lost,” Gage said.

Standing in the middle of the woods with two guys who were practically strangers, both of whom had seen me naked I might add, and one complete stranger, was a tad unnerving. I was wracking my brain to think of something to say, but nothing was coming.

“Oh hey, this is Dylan. He’s new to town, like you,” Gage said.

Dylan stuck out his hand and said, “Nice to meet you…”

“Allison, or Alli,” I said filling in the blank.

Dylan smiled, held my hand for just a bit too long, and I could have sworn he took a whiff of me. Guess that means he’s a were, but it was still a little freaky to have some random guy sniffing you in the woods.

The guys reeked of booze and pot, and even though Luke had been nothing but nice to me, I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.

We stood around and made small talk for a few minutes, and then out of nowhere, Dylan announced, “Guys, it’s been real, but I’m out of here.”

Without waiting around for goodbyes, he took off through the trees.

Immediately after Dylan’s peculiar departure, Gage unexpectedly grabbed me by the shoulders, spun me around, and said, “Head that way, and you’ll run right into the lake.”

But before he let go of my shoulders, I think he sniffed me too. What’s up with these guys?

I took my leave and headed toward the trees hoping that Gage was right.

Chapter 32

Kendall

“So, what do you have to say for yourself, young lady,” my mom asked as she made herself a drink. A stiff one. She only broke out the vodka when she had an especially rough day. I watched as she added a splash of orange juice to her glass.

She made me sit down at the kitchen table just like she did when I was little. After Marcus’s little speech, I was in no mood for her lecture. “Nothing. I have nothing to say, Mom.”

“Nothing? You can’t be serious. What? You think your behavior should just go unpunished? I should take that new car away. That’s what I should do. Girls like you shouldn’t be driving around in a brand new car. That’s what the other women here would say.” Mom took a gulp of her drink, and the look on her face told me it was strong, even for her.

I shifted in my chair. What did she expect me to say? What was there to say? I screwed up. I should have known Allison would snitch. What I didn’t expect was that she’d go all schizo-wolf on me, and then shift right there in front of everyone. One very naked Allison, right there for the whole pack to see. It was actually kind of funny. Seeing her there completely humiliated was definitely worth being on lock-down.

It wouldn’t last anyway. Mom is drunk as a skunk by ten o’clock most nights, and hardly notices whether I’m here or not. Does Marcus really plan on checking to make sure I’m tucked away in bed each night? Becca and Shari might adhere to his bullshit rules, but I plan on doing whatever I want.

“Mom, just give it a rest. I’m being punished by the pack, okay? You don’t have to take away my car. I won’t screw up again!”

She took another drink and headed toward me. “You better watch your tone. The fact is, what you did was stupid. If you have a problem with the Wright girl, that’s fine, but whatever you do, you need to be sure it doesn’t come back on you.”

So, there it was. Her real problem was that I made her look bad today. She doesn’t care what I do, as long as it doesn’t affect her.

“Fine, Mom. Don’t worry. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

“You better not, Kendall. How am I supposed to show my face around the estate tomorrow? After what you did? I’ll have to personally apologize to Lillian now.”

“Can I go to bed now?”

She sat down at the table to finish her drink. “Yes, but you better make sure that everything is okay with you and Cade tomorrow. Your relationship has been rocky enough without you screwing things up even further. I saw how he ran over to cover Allison up. Are you sure you are telling me everything?”

I stood up and headed out of the kitchen. “Cade and I are fine, Mother.”

But before I made it out of earshot, she said, “Why don’t you invite him over tomorrow night? I’ll be out, so you two can be alone. Maybe some alone time is just what you two need. If you know what I mean.”

Chapter 33

Allison

Ahh! The lake. Finally!

I never thought I would be so happy to see this God-forsaken body of water. I was on the verge of freezing to death, and still very well might if I don’t make it home soon. At least my brisk walk through the woods had enabled me to calm down… some. I followed the edge of the water with no clue as to how far I still needed to go to reach the warmth of my house.

I trudged along for what felt like forever with my internal dialogue on repeat.
I hate Cade, I’m going to kill Kendall, being a werewolf totally sucks, I hate Cade, I’m going to kill Kendall, being a werewolf totally sucks…

Then I saw it. A beacon of hope. The pier, that I would now rather forget existed, came into view, and while I was slightly repulsed by the sight of it remembering all that had come to pass there, I knew my home was not far off.

I tromped a few steps farther when I heard the faint sounds of footsteps coming from behind me.
Go away Cade.
I turned around to tell him to go f–himself, but stopped dead in my tracks. It wasn’t Cade. It was Dylan, the one who was with Luke and Gage earlier, and this guy’s creepy-factor was off the charts.

“Hey, Alli. I didn’t scare you did I?” he asked sounding concerned, but the sinister smile spreading across his face gave me the feeling that he just might have wanted me to say yes.

“Surprised is more like it. Are you following me?”

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” he said moving closer toward me.

Ewww! He can’t be serious.

“Whatever,” I quipped as I turned around and started walking away.

“Where are you rushing off to? To find Cade?”

That got my attention. What the hell did he know about Cade and me? More than anything, I wanted to find out what he meant, but my gut was telling me to get the hell away from him and quickly. So, I held my questions at bay and gave him my best kiss-my-ass glare before I continued on my way.

“Oh, I’m not supposed to know. Am I? Maybe you shouldn’t wander around reeking of the guy if you want to keep it a secret… just sayin’,” Dylan so eloquently suggested.

I kept charging ahead, hoping he might take a hint and go away.

Without warning, Dylan grabbed me by the arm and whirled me around to face him.

“What the fu—”

“Ah-ah-ah watch that tongue of yours,” Dylan chided.

“Get your hands off of me! What the hell is your problem?” I said faking a little bravado.

To be honest, I was scared of this guy. He seemed to know way too much about me, and I knew absolutely nothing about him, except that I didn’t like him at all. My human instincts wanted me to run, but the wolf in me knew that running could make things worse. So I stood there facing this stranger in the middle of the night, waiting for him to say something else.

He put his hands up in the air, as if he were under arrest and said, “No problem. I don’t like leftovers anyway.”

Excuse me? Now I was pissed! Did he actually just call me leftovers? He might be a guy and a werewolf, but at that point, I was ready to kick his furry ass.

“You’re kidding, right? Look, I don’t know what you think you know, but you need to turn around and walk away,” I said taking a step toward him, trying to play the tough-were-girl part.

“You’re a lively little thing, aren’t you? I can see why Cade’s smitten with you. It’s really a tragic story, you and Cade. Very Romeo and Juliet-ish,” he said.

Knowing it was best to ignore his absurd comment, I began to walk home again, but I only made it a few feet before the psycho-were caught up with me, grabbed me by my upper-arms, and pulled me up against him. With his chest pressed firmly against my back, he inhaled deeply and whispered, “I wasn’t quite done with you, pup. If you run from me, I will catch you. And I won’t be gentle.”

His hot breath on my neck was causing the sick, twitchy feeling deep in my stomach to begin. I tried to focus on my breathing because I knew that if I changed right here in front of Dylan, he would too. I didn’t even want to think of all the bad things that could come of that.

“Come on baby, change for me. You know you want to. Let’s play,” he dared.

A rustle in the trees behind us averted Dylan’s attention. He pushed me away and turned around, only to find Cade rushing toward him with fury in his eyes.

“You wanna play, bitch? Come play with me,” Cade roared just before he pounded Dylan in the face, so hard that he fell to the ground. Immediately, Cade was on top of Dylan holding him down by his neck.

“Touch her again and I will rip your fucking throat out. Do you understand me, dog?”

Cade got up and told Dylan to get the hell off his estate. Without another word, Dylan staggered to his feet, changed forms, and ran off into the woods.

Cade and I just stood there face to face. I could tell the anger and leftover adrenaline was slowly fading from his body as he stared down at me. He didn’t say anything and neither did I. There was nothing left to say. Finally, I turned and walked home. I didn’t look back, but I knew that Cade would follow me until I was safely inside.

Chapter 34

Allison

“Hey, Al, get dressed. Let’s go shopping,” Aiden said through my bedroom door. Ever since the horrible “seeing my sister naked” incident occurred, he never, ever, enters my room without being 100 percent sure that I am completely covered.

“No! I don’t feel good,” I moaned as I turned over and threw my covers over my head. After getting lost in the woods and being ambushed by Dylan, the were-freak, I wasn’t feeling so hot, and the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Yes, but you can’t stay long. I’m dying here and would appreciate some privacy.”

Aiden walked in and sat at the end of my bed. “Alli, please go shopping with me. I have worn everything I own at least three times. It’s getting embarrassing,” he whined.

“God you’re such a girl,” I said from underneath my covers.

“Come on seriously. It’s snowing; don’t make me drive by myself. I hate driving in the snow. You know it freaks me out.”

I threw my blanket off and conceded, “You can be such a puss! Give me ten minutes, and you totally owe me for this.”

Eleven minutes later, I was walking down the stairs regretting my decision to join Aiden on a shopping expedition. “Let’s go if we’re going,” I yelled at Aiden, who was fumbling around in the kitchen.

“Okay, but Mom wants us to drop this off at Gram’s on the way,” Aiden said holding up the envelope.

“What is it?”

“No idea. Come on, let’s go,” Aiden said bundling up like it was forty degrees below zero outside.

***

Gram was sitting on her porch and Grandfather was pushing snow off the driveway with some kind of broom-shovel thing when we pulled up.

“God! I hope Dad never makes me do that. It’s freezing out here,” Aiden said to Grandfather.

“Puss,” Grandfather said under his breath. But I heard him.

“Hey, that’s what I called him,” I told him. Grandfather and I shared a quick smile before he went back to shoveling.

Gram walked down, and I gave her the envelope from Mom. She took it, but grabbed my hand and held it up to her nose. This was all too weird. She actually took a whiff of my wrist.

“Why do you smell weird? You kind of smell… ill. Are you feeling alright?” she asked.

“I’m fine, Gram. Really,” I said.

“Where are you two off to today,” Grandfather asked, without looking up from his work.

“I’m driving him to the mall. He doesn’t like to drive in the snow,” I said, which caused Aiden to shoot me with an I’m-so-going-to-kill-you-later stare. I knew he’d be pissed, but he did owe me, and I always collect.

Grandfather chuckled and Gram shook her head. Aiden just stood there and shrugged his shoulders. “Good gracious, Aiden, we need to toughen you up,” Gram said with a laugh.

“Well, see ya soon, okay,” I said. I didn’t know if I was supposed to hug them, or shake their hands, or just get in the car. I opted for getting in the car.

***

Why was I out of bed? When humans feel like the walking dead, they don’t go shopping. They stay in bed! But no, I was driving the bawl-bag to the mall, even though I felt like I have been run over by a Mack truck. Of course, I didn’t have a clue what was wrong with me. All I knew was that I woke up with a killer headache, and felt like I hadn’t eaten in days. And oddly enough, the last thing I wanted was food. Just the thought of it, made my stomach churn.

But nothing was going to stop Aiden from getting his new wardrobe, and ever since Mom bought the new car, he has been too chicken to drive in the snow. So here I was driving my
big
brother to the mall.

It took every ounce of energy for me to get out of the car and walk through the parking lot. I knew this would be no short venture being that Aiden was far worse than any girl I’ve ever met when it came to shopping.

It was no big surprise that he had to go into every single store even though his poor little sister felt like she was going to drop at any moment. After following Aiden around for a while, I found that sitting on the benches outside of the stores helped a bit. When Aiden waltzed out of Hollister with half the store tucked neatly inside a few trendy bags, I let him know that I would meet him in a half-hour at Macy’s. I was badly in need of some version of hot, sweet caffeine before I passed out.