Katya
Getting to my room, mom digs through my bag, grabbing me some clothes and passing them to me. It is an oversized shirt and some tights. Sniffling, I slip them on as she looks around the room.
She nods, glancing at me. "It's a nice room." Pulling my shirt on, I nod. She goes to say something but stops herself.
"What's wrong?" I ask when I see her lips purse, a sign she is upset about something.
Mom looks conflicted before her usual face slips on. Gone is my protective mother and in her place my biggest critic, I regret asking instantly as her eyes run the length of me in that judgy way of hers. "Why didn't you fight back?"
"I was naked!" I yell at her. What did she expect me to do?
"You made yourself look weak, they won't accept you if you look weak. You need to stand up for yourself," she scolds me, and all I can focus on is the torture I had to endure.
Why doesn’t she ever try to understand things from my point of view? I wait before answering. "And last time I did, I got in trouble," I tell her and she sighs, running her hand through her hair.
"You won't get in trouble, do what you have to, you need to prove yourself, Kat!” She snaps at me, and I blink at her, it always amazes me how she can flick between multiple personalities.
It is why I fear the woman so much. One minute she is adoring and loving, your best friend, alibi, confidant, the next your enemy, judge, and executioner. It irritates me, the one time I need her to be my mom and she reverts back to her cold exterior, the one she gives others, the one that holds the reputation. She can never stay in mother mode long enough for me to catch my breath.
"Alpha Ezra said no violence between Pack members, mom. You want me to lay low then you tell me to fight back. Which is it?" I snap back at her.
She takes a step toward me, her finger points at me accusingly. "You make us look weak, you are not weak. No daughter of mine can be weak, especially in your position," she says, her voice rising.
Burning hot anger shivers up my spine. For once, for fucking once can she lay the fuck off me? "In my position?" I scoff. "Just say what you want to say mom, spit it out." I am sick of her judgment. I am damned if I do and damned if I don't meet her expectations.
"Your life is going to get a lot harder, and you being a pushover looks bad. Your mate will have expectations and if you can't prove yourself-”
I toss my hands up in the air in frustration. "What are you talking about? I don't have a mate mom, I don't even have a wolf. I won’t find him even if I miraculously do have one. And mates are meant to love us, not shun us," I point out.
"Not all mates are equal Katya. You’re a weakness to any mate you get with for not having a wolf, so you need to show your strength in other ways before he finds out!" she screams but I have reached my limit today.
I am on the verge of snapping, so I point to the door. "Get out!" I order her and she stops her rant to stare over at me. "Get out, I asked you here as my mom and you can't even do that. Everything is about titles and strength to you. If you think I am weak then just go. I criticize myself enough. I don't need it from you too," I tell her, tears brimming in my eyes from my anger. Why can't she just love me and be a mother for five seconds without criticizing me?
"You don't talk to me like that! I am just trying to help you!" My mother's screech does nothing to move my heart.
"Get out!" I scream at her losing my temper, my voice rising louder than I meant.
She glares at me and is about to say something when the door opens.
"She asked you to leave. Now go," Alpha Ezra informs her coldly.
Shit! How much did he hear? Panic sets in and I hear my mother's heart rate spike as well.
"I don't know what you two are arguing about, but it is clear Kat wants you to go Shirley, so I suggest you leave."
I let out the breath I don’t even realize I am holding. My mother's mouth clamps shut. "I will see you at the Pack run," my mother says, kissing my head before walking out and past the Alpha. She leaves and he steps in the room closing the door.
"What happened? You two were fine downstairs."
I shake my head, knowing I can't tell him and he sighs looking at the now closed door.
"Your mother seems… strict."
I scoff that is not the word I would use. I had more creative words in mind, some that would definitely make a sailor blush. "She thinks I make myself look weak," I explain, before looking down at the floor and running my fingers through my damp hair. I rub my temples, trying to stop the building headache before it sets in place..
"She said that?" He snarls.
I look up at him with a heavy sigh. "Yes, she told me, my mate, when I find him, he won’t want a weak mate. That I need to prove myself or some shit," I admit.
It seems to anger him more. A growl escapes his lips, startling me. "Are you okay?" I ask him and he snaps out of whatever mood he is in.
"You're not weak, and no one should expect anything from you, Kat, especially your mate," he says.
"Well, I hope you're right," I tell him, knowing if by some miracle I have a mate my mother is right, it will be no ordinary mate bond when I won’t be able to recognize it.
We stand there in an awkward silence for a moment.
Mateo suddenly walks in clearing the awkwardness with his presence, and for once I am actually happy he barged in unannounced. The Alpha also looks relieved at his sudden appearance. "So which room are you putting her in?" Mateo asks with a grin, looking at the Alpha completely oblivious to the strange tension crackling in the room.
"I'm fine here," I reply and Mateo looks at me.
"Think the Alpha and I would be more comfortable with you upstairs closer to us," Mateo explains. The Alpha walks over and grabs my bag, not saying anything as he puts my few things in it, before throwing it over his shoulder. Looks like I’m not getting a choice in this.
Alpha Ezra looks at me expectantly and I sigh before following them. Mateo throws his arm over my shoulder tugging me closer and pushing his nose in my hair for a second, making me jerk away from the closeness. He is teasing, I get that, but no one ever gets that close to me. His eyes flicker to his wolf fleetingly before he smirks. "It will be like a slumber party where we can do makeup, comb each other's hair," he says and I elbow him, making him grunt before he laughs. "What, girls do that shit," he says and I raise an eyebrow at him.
"Well, I don't,” I chuckle at him.
"What never? Even the Alpha and I have slumber parties," he says, mockingly.
"Never been to one, what do you two do then?" I ask, wondering if they really do have sleepovers considering they live in the same place.
"Stuff our faces, watch TV. Not much to do when not working, it is boring in case you haven't noticed, sometimes we go to the whore-" he lists.
The Alpha growls at him, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"Sometimes we get rub and tugs from the ladies of the night," he says with a wink and an eyebrow wiggle.
The Alpha doesn’t look nearly as amused. He growls, deeper this time and sends Mateo a glare that would freeze the blood of anyone else.
Not Mateo though. He shrugs the warnings off. This guy was either seriously brave, or a total fucking idiot.
"You mean a prostitute?" I correct him.
"See she already knows what the place is, why get your panties in a knot, Ezra?"
I stare at him. "Why would you have to pay anyone? I'm sure there are more than enough girls in the Pack that would throw themselves at you for free." I had to admit, he is a striking man, him and the Alpha both.
Mateo chuckles and leans in close. "Why, Kat, it sounds like you're offering," he teases me with another wiggle of his brows.
The Alpha spins around on the stairs, and if glares could do damage, Mateo would be skewered multiple times over. Mateo puts his hands in the air at his taunting.
"That is not what I meant," I laugh.
"He knows that Kat, he is teasing, and to answer your question it isn't right to mess around with Pack members, knowing they have mates, so yes a brothel and a couple of girls who lost their mates but mainly brothels," the Alpha answers while glaring at Mateo.
"So human women?" I am a little shocked.
The Alpha growls at his Beta and I watch as both their eyes glaze over in a private conversation.
Mateo pats his shoulder walking past him up the stairs. "Always so tense," Mateo mutters. "I will see you later, Kat, for our slumber party,” Mateo says, sending me a wink.
"Damn fool," Alpha Ezra says, reaching down and grabbing my hand. He tugs me up the stairs but I don’t even pay attention to where he is leading me, I am too focused on the strange tingling sensation of my hand in his. He stops and clears his throat, making me look up at him. I pull my hand away from his.
"Sorry,” I say, rubbing my fingers in my palm, trying to stop the weird sensation that is slowly spreading up my arm.
"My room is next door. Mateo's is down at the end. it's the last door," he says and I nod, turning to look at the door we stopped at.
I open it and walk inside. The Alpha follows me in before stopping next to the dresser and placing my bag on it.
"Mainly this floor is empty unless we have a Pack Alpha visiting. There is a bathroom at the end, but it doesn't get used much because we have bathrooms in our rooms, so you don't have to worry about others coming in."
I chew my lip, not really wanting to remember the earlier shower incident. Still, something in me warms at the thoughtfulness. He is making sure nothing like that has a chance of happening to me again.
"Well, I will let you get adjusted to your new place. I will be in my office if you need me, I have things to prepare for the Pack run," he says. He walks to my door and pauses before turning back and coming to me. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phone, pushing it into my hands.
My mouth turns to ash. I don't know who this phone belongs to exactly, but from the hearts decorating it, I can make a guess. He scrolls through the videos and while I'm watching, deletes it in front of me.
I swallow. A weight lifts from me, but it's not over. "They," I whisper my voice thick. "They took photos too." How could I forget the clicks amidst their laughter?
"You can scroll and delete those if you don't want me to see them,” he offers, looking away.
"It doesn't matter," I whisper. "You already saw the video." I scroll through and delete every image of me before handing the phone back. "Thank you, Ez," I stop myself. I'd almost forgotten my place. "Thank you, Alpha."
It is brief, maybe just a second or a trick of the eyes, but he looks so happy, it takes me by surprise. "You can call me Ezra," he all but whispers. "You'll be safe here, I swear it, and I meant what I said. You decide how they are all punished, Kat. No matter what, I'll stand by your decision."
He's giving me too much power. Besides, nothing can change what has already happened. There will be no turning back time and making people forget what they have seen.
His grip tightens on my chin. That strange tingling warmth returns and follows along my jaw and over my chin. His thumb gently brushes just below my lips. His eyes are intense, I can't tear myself away.
I shake my head to escape.
He sighs and gives me a teasing smile. "I can always make them strut down the main street naked if you want."
I shake my head harder. "I could never do that, I'm not cruel. No, they'll forget, eventually," I hope.
He leans in close to me again. His eyes study me like I'm some puzzle he's trying to solve. They search mine. "Your mother thinks you're weak? What a fool. Most would want an eye for an eye for what they did to you. Showing mercy is not weak, it proves your strength, proves you are better than them," he chuckles softly, closer than ever before. "Better than all of us."
His lips brush my forehead so fast I think I imagine it. He lets me go and pulls away.
I glance away from him, unable to meet his eyes. "Are you sure you're the big bad Alpha I’ve heard about for years? The one everyone fears?" I tease.
He gives me a wane smile and shrugs. "The rumors are mostly true but Packs are family, I protect what's mine. You're Pack, Kat. Everything else doesn't matter."
"So you really killed all those people from the Blue Mountain Pack?" I ask, slightly horrified it is true.
"Yes, they hurt my Pack." He says it so simply.
"And your father? You really killed him?" I ask the question without thinking about it. How could I be so cruel? I mentally facepalm myself for my runaway mouth with all of its word vomit. I hold my hands. "Sorry, don't answer that." It is none of my business and far too personal to ask of anyone, let alone my Alpha.
He gives me another warm smile, one I don't deserve. "You can ask me whatever you want. I did kill him. He was never a good Alpha, and an even worse father."
I chew my lip trying not to ask anything else that could be seen as offensive or overstepping. There's so much I want to know, but I'm going to behave this time.
"Does that bother you?" he asks, tilting his head to the side.
"No, you had your reasons.”
He nods, before looking at the door. "I will see you at the Pack run, but I should go, I need to make sure the borders are still patrolled during the run," he explains, not that he has to. He is my Alpha after all.
“Okay,” I answer softly.
“5pm, Kat. and I will be telling everyone the Packhouse is off limits, you won't have to speak to them if you don't want to. I will see you at five,” he says, slipping out of the room.
Great, now I need to find somewhere to hide in the forest so I remain unnoticed.