The Wolf's Prey (23 page)

"He won't wait
dad. He'll come get me himself if Liam doesn't bring me back." I
argue. I know he's my father, but this is still new to me. The fact
that he thinks he can stop me from leaving is really making me
angry.

"I'll protect you
from him. Don't worry about that." He tries to sound assuring. I
don't need protection from Lennox. What is he talking
about?

I scoff. "I'm not
worried about my mate hurting me." I respond, stunned he'd think
so.

"You're not his
mate. The claim isn't recognized." Andrew interjects, walking into
the room. "And I'll back your father."

"If either of you
touch my mate, I'll never speak to you again." I reply, emphasizing
mate.

"Does that mean
you're going to leave with Liam?" Jessica asks.

I shrug. "I need
to talk to Lennox."

"Jocelyn, he told
me himself he wasn't going to wait for you to be ready." Dad
states, walking closer.

"Like I said, I'm
aware that he won't wait. I still want to talk to him and I still
consider myself Lennox's mate." I say pointedly, looking at Andrew.
I see him start to smirk and he stops himself before it becomes a
full-blown smile. I narrow my eyes and refuse to look away. I know
it is a sign of disrespect towards another alpha, but I'm done with
him disregarding my relationship with Lennox.

"So feisty."
Andrew chuckles.

"I'm not feisty.
Feisty is Jessica's job. I'm pissed off." I point out
unhappily.

"I think the term
for Jess is bat-shit crazy." He mutters.

"Hey!" Jessica
yells at him and throws a glass of nail polish at his
head.

I walk away going
towards the bathroom, not needing to hear them argue. I know
they'll be able to hear my conversation but I don't want to talk to
Lennox in front of them. I open the door and close it behind me. I
hit send and it only rings once before Lennox picks up. "You better
be in the air within the next five minutes."

"Hey, it’s me." I
say, relieved to hear his voice.

"Are you leaving
now?" He questions.

"No, I wanted to
talk to you." I reply.

I can sense his
tension by the way he's breathing. "I need you to come home right
away."

"I know your mark
was rejected. I know it will only take when I'm pregnant." I
state.

"Then you
understand what I’ll need to do." He replies
unapologetically.

My heart starts
to hammer in my chest. "I'm not ready for that Lennox." I say,
breathless.

"It's the only
way."

It's not the only
way. I could stay here, but it would possibly start a fight between
my father’s pack and his. Do I want to do that? The answer is no,
but I don't want to start a family just to be fully mated. It
doesn't seem right and I know he's not thinking clearly. If I go
back I could possibly convince him to wait, then again I may fail
at that. I know I'm not prepared to be a mother. I'm more than a
few years from being ready for that. "We can wait." I
suggest.

"No." is his
immediate reply.

"I won't leave
your territory." I negotiate.

"We'll discuss it
when you get here. I can’t think about this without you in front of
me. I can't be reasonable right now."

"Okay. We're
leaving soon."

"I'll be waiting
at the airstrip." He replies ending the call. I sigh and walk out
of the bathroom hitting Jessica on the forehead with the door. I
roll my eyes at her and Marta giggles.

"I'm going back."
I say to my dad. Who is for some reason already shaking his head
no.

"He'll have to
wait. I heard you say you're not ready and until you're eighteen he
can't claim you without my blessing. I refuse to give it." He
states, firmly. Dad turns to Liam. "Go back and tell Lennox he will
have to wait until she's eighteen.

"Tell him he has
competition. Whether the fight is on my soil or his." Andrew
speaks, crossing his arms. Andrew just challenged Lennox for not
only for me but his territory as well.

"Andrew." dad
says, shaking his head. "That is not something I need right now.
Lennox is our strongest Ally."

"I know what he
is. I'm not changing my mind." He responds almost
harshly.

"I choose to be
with Lennox. I'm leaving." I speak up. I won’t let him start
anything with Lennox over me. I want to be with him, we can work
this mark and mating thing out.

"I'm doing what’s
best for you." Dad says, his eyes begging for me to
understand.

"Whether Lennox
kills Andrew in two months or if I go now, it won't matter. I won't
be ready to start a family in two months any more then I am today.
What will keeping me here for two months accomplish? Lennox and I
will figure this out together, but if you want to keep him as an
ally you better let me go. I have no doubt he'll be coming for me
with your blessing or not."

I can see dad is
torn and fighting with his sense of duty as my father and the
logical part of him telling him me staying here will only anger
Lennox and get Andrew killed. Andrew is a strong alpha but nothing
like Lennox. This could turn out bad for him. He could potentially
lose both Andrew and Lennox.

"Dad she's right.
Two months won't do anything but make Lennox mad that you kept his
mate for two months. "

"She's not his
mate." Andrew corrects coldly.

"She is choosing
him. She said it, listen to her." Jessica snaps.

"I'll only let
you go if he agrees to wait until you're ready. You may even change
your mind in the two months you're away from him." He
reasons.

I can't believe
what I'm hearing. I'm choosing to be with Lennox and he's refusing
to let us be together.

"You're making a
mistake. I can calm him down he'll listen to me, he's more likely
not to listen me now then in two months. I thought you wanted
Lennox mated to one of your daughters?"

"I do. I'll talk
to him. If he agrees to wait I'll let you leave. If he refuses I
won't." He must see my rage because he adds. "I want you to see it
from my point of view. I haven't gotten to protect you from much. I
have to step in when I know he is going to force you to mate with
him. I can't have it, Jocelyn. He can't do that to you, he can
wait."

"You should try
to see where I'm coming from too, dad. He is my mate and you're
keeping me from him. This has nothing to do with you. I don't need
you to step in when it comes to Lennox and I."

He turns away
from he and opens the bedroom door. "One day, you may thank
me."

"Never." I
respond, tears falling down my face.

*******

Listen up !

I haven't talked
to my father in four days. That's how long he's kept me here away
from Lennox. I know my anger is bothering him, but he's not
budging. After dad forced Liam to leave his territory he also has
refused to let me talk to Lennox until, "Lennox calms down." He
says. Only I know that won't work on Lennox, giving him time will
only make him angrier.

I can only
imagine how mad Lennox is with my father and I can't wait to talk
to him. I have gotten to know Lennox pretty well and his temper can
get the best of him. I don't want him to start a fight with my dad
over me. Even though I know its inevitable, Lennox won't wait much
longer.

Even though I
know Lennox won't wait for me to be ready to start a family, I
still want to be with him. I'm still hoping I could convince him to
mark me every few days to keep our physical connection. My biggest
fear is his refusal because his claim over me won't be "official".
I'll still be seen as unmated to other males and he won't like it.
However, he is the alpha. If I agree not to leave his land until
I'm truly mated to him, he might give in.

I brush my hair
back into a ponytail not caring what I look like. I throw on a
large dark grey off the shoulder tee with black leggings and black
ballet flats. Its officially my first day at the local high school.
Last night I was informed I was to start school today. After
finding out I was starting classes I was mad, then I realized Marta
will be there. More importantly, Marta will be there with a cell
phone. My cell was taken away and my father ordered everyone to
refuse my request to use theirs.

At least my mom
is on my side of things, she's not talking to my father either. I
walk downstairs to the kitchen almost running into my father as I
round the corner to go into the kitchen. Avoiding looking at him I
back up quietly and walk around him.

"Jocelyn." He
says, as I walk away. I stop walking and turn slowly, waiting for
him to say what he has to say. "Listen, if anything happens at
school today go to the front office and report it. I'll have
someone come get you."

"What's going to
happen? Its school dad. She's not going to get shanked in the
hallway." Jessica says, almost making me laugh. I turn back around
and walk into the kitchen picking up an apple and grabbing a water
form the refrigerator.

"I packed your
lunch. It's already in your book bag." Mom tells me from the
table.

"Thanks." I
reply.

"Are you excited
about going to school?" Jessica asks, jumping in place and bumping
my shoulder. I give her an, 'are you kidding me look'. "Oh, yeah.
Well, I always wanted to be the new girl at a new school. You know?
No one knowing you, everyone talking about you kind of
thing."

I can't help but
crack a smile. "Yeah, I love being the center of attention. Cant
wait for people to talk about me behind my back."

"Excuse me. I
forgot you're not a normal teenager with a yearning to be
popular."

"Nope." I
agree.

"Are you going to
at least let me introduce you to my friends?"

"Nope." I shake
my head adamantly. I know Jessica, any introductions to her friends
is bound to get embarrassing at some point.

"Stop being such
a boob punch." She states, unhappily.

Mom bursts out
laughing at Jessica's description of me being a "boob punch" and I
giggle with her. "I'm not trying to be a boob punch, I just know
you'll say something embarrassing and I want avoid getting to know
anyone. I'm going to keep my head down and hope I make it out
alive. I hear that school is full of sharp objects and violent
shifters ready to shank."

"Fine, be lame."
She pouts as Josh and Jason come into the room.

"Finally, we've
been waiting let get out of here." Jessica complains to them and
hands me my backpack.

"What's the rush
I haven't ate?" Josh complains.

"The rush moron
is that school starts in fifteen minutes. Lets go." Jessica orders.
I follow them out to Jessica's red Hummer. I gather that my father
likes the big vehicle, I think that's all they own. Of course,
being so deep in the woods without paved roads it's smart to have
the bulky vehicle.

I sit in the
passenger side and the twins are in the back seat as Jessica backs
out of the driveway and into town. I grab the "Oh shit" handle
above the door a couple times and yell, "Break!" more then once.
Jessica is officially the worst diver I have driven with. It takes
less then ten minutes to get to school since Jessica ignored more
then one speed limit and several stop lights.

After she parks
in the parking lot, I gladly get out of the car and start walking
towards the school. "Wait up! I'll show you to the front office so
you can get your schedule." Jessica offers.

"I'm meeting
Marta at the entrance. You don't have to come unless you want
to."

"I do. I want to
see if we have lunch together."

Seeing Marta
waiting by the entrance, I give her a small wave and walk faster.
"Hey, that's for waiting."

"No problem. Lets
hope we have some classes together." She says, smiling.

"We better." I
mutter, walking through the doors. A couple people look our way but
generally most are too busy with their morning rituals and talking
to their friends.

Then I hear
Jessica yell to everyone, "Yo, listen up! This is my sister! Mess
with her and you mess with death. Understand?" I feel my cheeks
redden and dunk behind Marta who is laughing with Josh and
Jason.

"Thanks so much,
sis." I say, sarcastically.

"Just doing my
duty." She puffs proudly. We start walking again and I notice we've
gained a lot of attention thanks to Jessica. I smile at a few in
apology before we make it to the front office. I open the door and
walk in as the receptionist behind the counter smiles at us and
holds out my schedule.

"You must be
Jocelyn. Here is your schedule and locker number and combination."
She states, nicely.

"Thank you." I
reply, taking the paper, only to have it immediately ripped out of
my hand and inspected by Marta and Jessica.

"We have lunch
hour together!" Jessica squeals happily.