I unlocked the supermarket’s door before heading back inside to turn off the remaining lights and leave. I didn’t stay to close up often, but it was the end of the month, and there was a lot to do, including payroll.
When I heard the door slide open as if someone had entered, my lips parted to yell we were closed, but I smelt Colin.
Sure enough, he was standing before the door and dressed in a black coat to his knees.
“Colin,” I grumbled. “We’re closed.”
“I can see that,” he replied while looking around. “I’m here to see you.”
The first few days following Kaleem’s altercation with Jackson, I was secretly on edge, and I believed Dad was too. We waited for Colin to show up and say he’d changed his mind about being civil, but he didn’t turn up.
I also hadn’t seen Jackson in town for the entire week, neither the twins nor Adronus. Now that Colin was making an appearance, that earlier unease was returning.
“See me?” I asked. “Why?”
He stepped to the left, his hands clasped behind his back. “My mom was from this town,” he answered, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “She was born here, raised here, and so were all the wolves in our family right down to you and me. Everything started right here in this town, on the territory you’re on now.”
He turned to face me and tilted his head as he usually did. “My Dad didn’t only betray me when he got another wolf pregnant and not long after mom died. He betrayed the pack and the integrity of our family.”
Integrity? Colin wouldn’t know integrity if it sat on his face!
I said nothing, however. There was a point to this little retelling of the past, and I wanted him to get to it so I could go home to my mate. Kaleem had promised to cook for me tonight, and I wouldn’t miss out on that.
“I know all of this already, Colin, so why are you here?”
“Kaleem’s territory is partly mine, Diana. It’s ours too.”
I shook my head, understanding why he was here. Colin was greedy and entitled, and it was never going to change.
I’d hoped he wouldn’t go down this road again, the same route that led us out of town before. I’d thought he’d learned his lesson, which was one reason I’d chosen to speak with Kaleem for the pack to return.
We weren’t safe out there, but I’d thought Colin wouldn’t start this nonsense again.
Kaleem’s territory wasn’t his or mine, for that matter. Silverdawn Pack was here long before Colin’s line came into being. While my grandfather had lived in peace and let go of a pointless feud started by his ancestors, Colin decided to carry on the twisted beliefs of the past.
“Colin, let it go. Whatever you’re thinking about doing, stop.” I walked away to take up my handbag. “You cannot and will not claim Kaleem’s land and pack. You don’t have the forces to do what you did before and even if you did, move on, Colin. Goddess, are you really this single-minded?”
“Single-minded?” he repeated. “Pack’s flourish on prime land Diana and…”
“And because of you, we never found that after you fucked our lives! Actually, we already had prime land, and we just returned to it, but it’s not enough for you, just like before. You dragged us from town to town! You allowed Jackson to do whatever he wished, and you both ruined the pack!” I pointed at him. “No matter what Grandpa did, you destroyed our pack, our bloodline, and you know it!”
His face was turning red, but what was he going to do? I wasn’t in his pack anymore for him to attack me as he saw fit.
“You’re entitled and greedy, and Jackson’s worse. You know it, don’t you? He can never be Alpha because he’ll do an even worse job than you, and our line will end as fast as it was created.” I shook my head. “The first new bloodline in centuries, and it simply came into being and then blew away like the dust, and that’s on you.”
“The same will happen to you, no one will remember you, Colin, and if they do, you’ll be known as the Alpha that killed an entire line. Dad would have taken care of the pack. He would have made us what we should be, a respected family, but I think you know that.” I bent my head to the side like him. “But you hate him. You think Dad took everything from you, that Grandpa loved him more and that he was better, so you’ve done everything to beat him down. You try to control everyone, so you have no one, not even Jackson. He’s only scared of you, just like you wanted.”
I pointed to the door. “Leave Colin and go do whatever you want, but when Kaleem kills you, Dad will pick up the pieces and do what you couldn’t, save the pack.”
The joy of finally telling Colin everything I always wanted to say was indescribable. What did he think would happen with him showing up and throwing around his delusions? Did he think I’d take his side and fall for his rubbish after all this time?
Sure, Kaleem’s land and pack were larger than ours and always were, and the larger the pack, the more its status rose among the wolf community. That was why Kaleem’s members were so well off apart from their hard work. Kaleem and all the alphas before him worked to build the pack up, to secure their place in the world, and all Colin wanted was the riches without the work.
Colin wanted to come in and claim the throne when he wasn’t worth it.
He walked away without saying anything but stopped at the door. “You haven’t spoken to your father all day, have you?” I frowned when he looked over his shoulder and then turned to face me. “You can call him, but he won’t answer. He’s at the Bluemoon Pack and maybe not entirely at his own free will.”
“Colin,” I growled while stepping forward, my fangs elongating. “What did you do to my Dad?”