Chapter 19: Chapter 19

EVERLEE

Leaving Harlan pained my wolf, but not as bad as it did me. The look on his face twisted a knife into my heart. He didn’t want me to go, but what choice did I give him?

None. None whatsoever.

I couldn’t imagine if the shoe was on the other foot. How would I react? How would I handle seeing him with another she-wolf? My heart hurt just thinking about it.

The excitement around campus drew my attention away from my heartache as I neared the courtyard. There was a home game this week, and everyone was excited for it.

Part of me wished I were going, but I’d promised Rage I’d come to his pack house. The suitcase waiting on my bed said I was ready to go, but the brick in my stomach protested.

“Go Werewolf U!” someone screamed from the other side of campus, making a group of she-wolves laugh.

Rage stood next to a pillar on the front steps of my dorm room. I hated that he looked like a dream. That ebony hair, and icy blue eyes. It was all so unfair. It only added to the desperation of my wolf.

“You ready to go?” he asked, stepping out of the shadows. “My Jeep is running over there. Do you need me to grab your bag?”

The excitement he held attached to me and made me smile. It nearly erased the break in my heart at leaving Harlan behind. “Yeah. I’ll run up there and grab it,” I said, starting up the stairs.

Rage grabbed my waist and hauled me over his shoulder. I yelped like a fifteen-year-old, and laughed as he marched us passed the RA, and up toward my room.

Bryiar was busy getting ready with her new friend sitting on her bed. She lifted a blonde brow at us. “I’m using the room tonight, guys. Don’t think about staying up here and having it out all night long.”

Rage swung me down to my feet. “You didn’t tell her?” he asked. “I’m Rage, by the way.”

Bryiar took his hand and turned to stare at me. “Um, I’m going to his pack house for the weekend.”

Bryiar’s eyes rounded, and her mouth curled into an O. “Oh, ~well then~, go on then, girl. We are going to the game tonight. This is my friend, Kelly.”

Kelly waved shyly, finding a string on Bryiar’s comforter more interesting.

“Hi, Kelly,” I said. “Yeah, I’m just grabbing my bag, and we’re heading out. Maybe you can hang out with Harlan at the game.”

She gave me a ~yeah right~ look. “~Okay~,” she said sarcastically. “I ~won’t~ be doing that, but you two be careful. Text me when you get there. Don’t forget your charger.”

I grinned. “Okay, Mom. I packed it. See you Sunday.”

Bryiar gave me an ~oh yeah~ look when Rage turned his back and fist pumped into the air. I hid the urge to dig my charger from my bag and toss it at her head.

Rage nearly dragged me toward his Jeep, tossing my bag into the back, he helped me up quickly, and then raced around to the driver’s seat.

He turned and smiled at me.

That boyish grin of excitement for me to officially meet his pack was something a she-wolf dreamed of.

“I brought you a pillow,” he said, jabbing his finger over his shoulder. “It’s a four-hour drive. I made sure my phone was fully charged, and I’m giving you free reign over the radio.”

Leaning forward, I pressed my mouth against his, silencing the onslaught list of things that only made me want him more. He accepted my kiss, and when I pulled back, he blinked twice.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“For being perfect,” I whispered, sitting back against my seat.

He started the engine. “I’m hardly perfect, Ever. If I were, I’d be able to push passed the gnawing feeling of dragging you into the backseat and taking all of your clothes off. I’d be able to accept that we need to wait.”

I chuckled and watched as we drove by the football field. “That just makes you a wolf, Rage. ~No,~ that makes you a male.”

***

We rode two hours before we pulled over to grab some burgers. Rage seemed excited to show me the hole-in-the-wall restaurant with awesome burger and fries. It was good, and I found myself licking my fingers well after I finished my fries.

“How often do you come home?” I asked stretching my feet out in the floorboard.

He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. A distant look crossed his face. “Not often, to be honest.”

“Why is that?” I turned to face him. His hair blew in the wind, and the humid air felt like Heaven against me.

I loved living in the south on a summer night.

The breeze was perfect.

“My dad,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “He isn’t the nicest guy to be around. I try to stay away. I miss the pack, and my mom. It’ll be nice to see them, but he is harsh on me. He expects a lot.”

I curled one of my knees up to my chin and played with my shoestring. “What’s he hard on you about? Becoming the alpha king one day?”

“Yeah. There is a lot to it, and I know that, but he doesn’t think I’m ready for it.”

“I’m sorry.”

Rage glanced over with a twinkle in his eye. “Don’t worry about it. This weekend isn’t about me becoming the alpha king. It’s about introducing you to the pack. I can’t wait for you to meet my mother.”

I grinned to hide my nerves, but Rage caught on quick. “What’s the matter?”

I shrugged. “I’m nervous. What if they don’t like me because I’m a hybrid? You come from a traditional pack.”

Rage interlaced his fingers with mine. “I’ve already told you not to worry about it. Forget about Samantha. She’s just a jealous she-wolf. My pack is traditional, but they are also very traditional in the sense of our mates. Whoever you are fated to is meant to me. We’re meant to me, Ever.”

We were meant to be.

But I was also meant to be with Harlan, and there couldn’t be two.

These two dominant wolves wouldn’t allow it.

I wanted to pick just one.

Two was complicated.

Two was one too many.

“You’re right,” I whispered, my gaze catching the upcoming turn. There was a giant sign, similar to one you’d see on a ranch that said, MIDNIGHT in ebony-black letters.

“Welcome to the Midnight Pack, Ever. My home.”

I sat up onto the edge of my seat and curled my fingers around the worn leather. Rage turned down the dirt road with fields on each side, magnolia trees lining the long driveway.

The house that sat at the end of the long way was ranch-style, not like the castle I’d grown up in. It was truly southern. Horses were in the fields, with a few cows, and bulls.

It wasn’t what I expected, at all.

Rage parked in front of the house and turned to face me. “This is the main house. The house where any unmated wolf lives, my parents, and siblings. It’s where I was raised.” He pointed around the house. “In the back fields are the houses of the mated wolves, and their families. No one is forced to live in the pack house, though, we like newcomers to get acquainted to the pack. There is a gym behind the house with a pool, and we use the gym for coronations. It has a dining hall attached.”

“It’s beautiful, Rage. It’s so…different from what I expected.”

“What did you expect?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

I shrugged and tucked a strand of hair. “I grew up in a castle. In a lycan kingdom. They are very different than this.”

“I’ve been to a few,” he said. “Definitely different.”

I swallowed and glanced at the house, seeing someone’s silhouette in the open front door. “Who’s that?”

Rage turned off the engine. “My mother. She’s anxious. Come on. Let’s pull the Band-Aid off.”

I cringed when he got out and walked around to help me down. I felt his mother’s eyes on me, and I imagined her walking out with a hatchet, chasing me away from her baby boy.

Rage grabbed our bags and guided me toward the front door. I felt my feet wanting to slide against the dirt to stop me, but I forced myself forward. He chuckled into my ear, sending goosebumps down my spine. “Stop it, Baby Girl. You’re fine.”

The screen door opened, and a beautiful blue-eyed blonde walked out onto the porch. She was a stark contrast to Rage, despite the eyes, but just as friendly. “Darling,” she said, opening her arms wide. “We’re so excited to see you.”

Rage nudged me forward into her arms, and I sank into a motherly hug. It was the first time I’d been away from my mother for this long, and I enjoyed the touch of it.

“I’m…nervous to be here,” I blurted out.

She pulled back to look at me, a sly smile pulling at her mouth. “Well, at least she is honest, Rage. I can basically taste the sweat dripping off you, honey. Calm your horses, Sweet Girl. You’re welcomed here.”

I chuckled nervously, and Rage ushered me inside. “Let me get a good look at you,” she said, spreading my arms out wide.

A blush crawled up my neck to my cheeks.

“Stop it, Mama,” Rage said. “You’re embarrassing her.”

“I. Am. Not,” she said as if she was offended. “The girl is gorgeous, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re just perfect luna material.”

My wolf loved the sound of that coming from the current luna, but I knew deep down I hadn’t made my choice.

“Mom!”

“Stop it, Rage,” she hissed. “I know you two have a sticky situation,” she said, pinching his jaw. “But who could say no to this face.”

~I mean she does have a point,~ my wolf mumbled.

I smiled, because it was true, but I let my shoulder relax. This woman was down to earth, and I liked her already.

A heavy wooden door swung open from the end of the long hallway, and Rage’s dad, the alpha king, walked out. “Come on down here, son. Your mother can get Ever settled. We need to have a chat.”

My blood turned to ice at the deep baritone of his voice, and the way Rage’s back stiffened. Was he afraid of his father?

I didn’t think so.

I thought he was afraid of disappointing him.