Loren recognized the tale. He’d told her this story before.
“You have a sister,” she added, remembering as much.
He nodded. “Violet. I think she wanted to challenge Levi, but she wasn’t strong enough. She stayed as close to the territory as she could. The last time I talked to her was maybe a year ago. It’s hard communicating on the outside from this distance. When you’re driven out, you aren’t given money or a place to live. You have to make a living on your own any way you can. I came here because I’d heard rumors that Black Mountain was open to outsiders.”
“So what about him? McGoven—” Naomi seemed to whisper the name as if fearful he’d overhear. “He has a house. A job. Whatever he is, it doesn’t seem like he’s had it as rough as you have.”
“No.” Micha shook his head sadly. “I’d say he’s probably had it worse. I was never the strongest or the fastest, even around packmates my own age. But him? McGoven was poised to take over when the old Black Mountain Alpha died. Even though Lukka was his son and all.”
“What happened?” Loren asked, hoping he’d reveal more details than the last time he recounted this story.
Micha cast a wary glance toward the window. Then he shifted to face them. “I wasn’t around then. I only heard rumors. They say Bill was a born Alpha. He had more promise than most, and even Lukka couldn’t hold a candle to him. Lukas, the old Alpha, named him as his successor outright—which meant that when he died, there should have been no battle for supremacy. The pack should have been Bill’s to lead with no dissent.”
“But,” Naomi prompted. “What? Was he too bossy even for a bunch of wolves?”
“No,” Micha said. “I heard that after Lukas died, before Bill was accepted as Alpha, there was a breach on the territory’s perimeter. Hunters.” He shuddered as if the term referred to unspeakable horror. “They aren’t common, but they roam the territories sometimes, and they don’t care who they kill to make a point. I heard that they even kidnap people like us and torture them and run experiments.”
“Great,” Naomi said tightly. “Just great. I went from worrying about graduation, to worrying about creepy werewolf hunters. I’m sorry,lycan.”
Loren felt her eyes narrow. Bill must have educated her on his preference of the latter term.
“Well, to be fair, I’ve never seen any,” Micha admitted. “But in the attack that day, several people died. One of them was Bill’s own mate. After that, I guess Lukka accused Bill of not heeding a warning and allowing the attack to happen out of fear. That gave him the premise to challenge him for the position of Alpha.”
Naomi scoffed. “And Bill lost?”
No,a part of Loren growled even before Micha replied.
“No. That’s the thing. He didn’t contest it. He just declared himself a rogue and left. Whatever happened, he must have felt guilty enough to pledge himself to Lukka and remain on the outskirts. Around here, they use rogues to watch the wilder ones who can’t be trusted among human society unsupervised.”
Like Fred Connors, apparently.
“McGoven’s been out here for years. He never even tried to reinstate himself or return to Black Mountain. And if he truly means to challenge Lukka, well, that’s a big fucking deal. Pardon the language.”
“Why?” Naomi demanded, though Loren was just as curious.
“If he wins, he can take over the pack. To go from a rogue to an Alpha… That’s almost unheard of. He’d be welcomed back with open arms—if he could prove his standing fair and square, that is. Or he could earn the right to leave for good.”
“And then what happens to the rest of us?” Naomi snapped, crossing her arms. “We just get left behind or dragged behind him like baggage? Some of us didn’t sign up to howl at the moon for the rest of our lives. I need space.”
She stormed from the room while Micha stared after her sheepishly. “I forgot that you two aren’t exactly used to this,” he said.
Loren didn’t know what to say. In the end, she just shrugged. “We’ll get used to it.”
According to McGoven, they would have no choice. Sooner or later, danger would come for him again, and if they couldn’t keep up…
You’ll be killed,that inner voice said gruffly.
Micha seemed to pick up on the mood and said nothing else. Eventually, Loren spied him nodding off in the armchair by the window. While Naomi didn’t return, she could sense her stewing somewhere close by. Was that by choice? Or because she didn’t have permission to leave…
The thought made Loren’s head ache. There were too many topics demanding her focus. Rather than face them, she put on her boots and retreated to the one place that remained her refuge despite all the upheaval in her life recently.
The horses nickered warmly as she slipped inside the barn. If she wasn’t mistaken, she could sense that they missed her. Then she remembered how Bill had characterized their reactions to him—they saw him as a predator. With multiple creatures on the property who smelled the way he did, who knew how stressed they’d been?
Like always, they didn’t react negatively as she approached. She had felt a stubborn pride at that fact before. But now? It bothered her. If she didn’t smell like the others, did that mean she wasn’t like them either? Lycan, perhaps, but different somehow. Broken. Corrupted.
That’s why he’s been avoiding you,that voice whispered, louder, more persistent.You disgust him. You aren’t good enough.
It could have been paranoia…if it weren’t for the many instances of his behavior that seemed to bolster the fear. He seemed pained every time he touched her. Their kiss or any similar embrace had been followed by abject horror after. There was no way around it—he seemed to be fighting something within himself whenever she was around.