Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve

Tyler Trip

The Ryders welcomed me into their cozy home, with Rowan at my side. We stepped in through the back door.

Caroline and I hadn’t exchanged a word since last night. When she got home, we just laid down and drifted off to sleep, each on our own side of the living room.

When I woke up, she was already gone, off on her morning run without me.

I was tempted to run after her, but something about the look on her face last night made me hold back.

I spent most of the morning waiting for her to come back from her run, but she never did.

Now, I caught her scent and felt a wave of relief. She must’ve decided to go home to her brother. I was just glad she was safe.

“Alpha Trip,” Rick greeted, holding the door open for us. “I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I was upset.”

“No need to apologize,” I said. “You had every right to be upset, Rick.”

Rick nodded slowly, his tongue tamed for the first time since we met. I felt a chill as I recognized the same look I saw on Caroline’s face last night in her father’s eyes.

“How is Mick?” Rowan asked, doing what I should’ve done the moment we walked in. I snapped out of my thoughts and put on a smile.

Rick nodded to himself. “Better, I believe. Better.”

“Can we see him?” I asked.

Mick Ryder’s room was filled with women. Mrs. Ryder sat by her son’s side, making him drink water and keeping a cool cloth on his forehead.

His mate, Libby, was sitting at the end of his bed, and Caroline was leaning against the window, her arms crossed and her eyes distant.

“Alpha,” Mick greeted, trying to sit up.

“Foolish boy,” his mother scolded, gently pushing him back onto his pillow.

His left arm was bandaged and his head was wrapped in gauze. It looked like both wounds had stopped bleeding.

“Mick,” Rowan greeted, nodding to Caroline and their mother.

“I suppose you want to know what happened yesterday?” Mick said with a nervous laugh.

“If you don’t mind,” I said.

Mick swallowed hard. “Beta Stellar approached me, said it would impress you if I started working with the humans.

“He knew how to get there and where to meet the mayor, so we talked for a bit, and then I left.”

Mrs. Ryder was seething. “Foolish.”

Mick sighed. “The mayor laughed me off and—”

“Did he do this to you?” Rowan asked, cutting him off.

“No,” Mick said, “it wasn’t him.” He touched the bandage on his head. “This was my fault.”

“Just tell them what happened,” Caroline said softly. I was caught off guard by the change in her voice. What had happened since our moment by the fire?

Mick pursed his lips. “Ryan told me the best way to connect with the locals was to go to a bar.

“I don’t drink, Alpha, I really don’t. But I had a few beers with some of the locals and I guess I wasn’t paying attention…”

“Go on,” Rowan said softly.

“I announced myself as who and what I was and the bar went silent. I didn’t notice the signs. Apparently…,”—he looked down—“it was an anti-werewolf bar.”

“Oh, Mick,” Mrs. Ryder said softly.

“A few patrons got angry and told me to leave. I tried to be diplomatic.” Mick’s eyes met mine before quickly looking away. “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“I would never ask you to risk yourself to impress me, Mick,” I said firmly.

He grimaced. “Maybe I was trying to impress myself, I don’t know.” I watched as Libby put her hand on his leg and felt a pang in my gut. “So, you tried to reason with them?”

Mick nodded, his eyes locked with Libby’s. “Yes. A few of the rowdier ones grabbed me and I fought them off. But I had been drinking and there were a lot of them and I’m not a fighter.”

“They overwhelmed you,” Rowan said.

Mick turned red. “Yes. I think someone hit me with a bottle and then I was thrown out. I stumbled my way up the mountain and…” He frowned. “I don’t remember much else.”

“If you can’t handle being the human ambassador, you can be their punching bag,” Han said from the doorway. I turned to Caroline’s other brother, not sure when he had arrived.

“Han,” Mrs. Ryder snapped.

Han just grinned and I understood how he had provoked one of my enforcers into punching him.

“I’m sorry, Mick,” I said, “you shouldn’t have been on Mt. Oaks before I had a chance to prepare you and do some recon.”

Mick scowled. “I understand that now.”

“Caroline and I will have to go there,” I said, more to myself than to the room.

“Absolutely not!” Rick exploded. “Not after what happened to Mick!”

Rowan growled softly. “May I remind you to whom you are speaking?”

“I’m to be the luna of this pack,” Caroline said, her voice distant. “It’s my job to do what needs to be done to ensure our safety.

“We can’t let the humans on Mt. Oaks hold a prejudice against werewolves that leads to assault.”

“No,” I agreed, “we can’t.” I met her eyes and we solidified our resolve. We would address the humans of Mt. Oaks.

“I should go too,” Mick mumbled, trying to sit up again.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Mrs. Ryder said. “I might not be able to tell your sister what to do, but you are still under my command, Mick.”

“I’m a fully grown—”

“Mick, you’re my baby,” Mrs. Ryder said, her voice choked with emotion.

Mick’s face turned a deep shade of red, and Libby had to stifle a laugh.

I glanced at Rowan, who gave me a subtle nod. “Mick, we appreciate your time. We don’t want to intrude on your recovery any longer. Get well soon, and then we can discuss your role in the pack.”

Mick looked downcast as we said our goodbyes. Han and Rick guided me out of the room, with Rowan trailing behind. I heard Caroline’s footsteps following us, and a knot formed in my stomach.

We regrouped in the living room, where Rick immediately started making demands.

“I want to be back on lookout duty as soon as possible. I should be on the front lines, Alpha. I should be working to keep this pack safe.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Caroline interjected, surprising us all. Her eyes were rimmed with red and shadowed with dark circles. The more I looked at her, the worse she seemed.

I tried to remember if she had fallen asleep before me last night, or if I had.

Rick’s jaw clenched. “Caroline.”

She turned her head away sharply.

I looked at Han, trying to gauge his reaction. He knew Caroline better than anyone; if he was confused, we were all in the dark.

“I’m not sure if your focus is what it used to be,” she said.

“My focus is fine,” Rick retorted.

Caroline’s eyes met mine, silently pleading. I cleared my throat. “I’ll need to discuss this with the luna, Rick. Your reinstatement has to be a joint decision.”

Rick opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. We all sat in silence until we heard the door to his study slam shut.

Caroline seemed to shrink once he’d left, retreating to the window to stare out at the world beyond.

I turned to Han. “Have you decided what you’d like your role in the pack to be?”

He shook his head.

I suppressed a sigh, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by this family. “What my beta did to your brother is inexcusable,” I said, my voice tight. “I’ll be promoting Rowan soon and his spot will be vacant.”

Rowan jumped behind me. “Trip—”

I locked eyes with Han. “Step up, kid, and you could be third in this pack. You’re smart, critical, brash. You have nerve, Han. Potential. Put it somewhere useful and you could go far.”

Han sneered. “You think I want to serve you?”

“I don’t know what you want,” I shot back. “I know you’re a lost kid looking for somewhere to belong.”

“You’re wrong,” he growled.

“Hanna,” Caroline called, her eyes wide.

“I don’t think I am,” I said. “I think you’re angry and I know what that’s like, Han. Make it work for you instead of against you.”

Without another word, I turned and left, striding out of the stuffy house to catch a breath of fresh air outside.

Rowan followed close behind, his thick brown hair flopping over his forehead and nearly covering his blue eyes. “Trip! Tyler!” I turned and he skidded to a halt. “Are you crazy? I can’t be a beta!”

“Why not?” I challenged.

His mouth was gaping. “I-I’m not strong enough… I don’t… I can’t—”

“What do you think you’ve been doing the entire time I’ve been back?” I said, grasping his shoulder tightly. “What do you think you’ve been to me since my return?

“Do you really think you’ve been my third while Ryan has been plotting against me? You’ve already been doing the job, Rowan.”

His eyes were shining with tears, his head shaking back and forth. “Trip…, I can’t—”

“If you don’t take the position, then no one will fill it, Rowan. You can go on pretending that you haven’t already stepped up but you’d only be doing yourself a disservice.”

Rowan pulled me into a firm hug, thanking me with an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm and emotion. I grasped onto him tightly, thankful for this one constant in my life.

I clapped him on the back as we pulled apart. “You need to give yourself more credit,” I told him. “Ryan will challenge me soon, and when I beat him, he’ll be exiled. The position is then yours.”

“Were you serious about making Han the third?”

I shrugged. “If he gets serious, then I’ll consider him.”

“Let’s go.”

We both turned as Caroline came striding out of her house. She had changed into jean shorts and a loose baseball tee. Her hair was perfectly curled and pinned back.

I was caught in those funny eyes when the sun hit them, wondering about the slice of blue in her brown iris.

“Go where?” Rowan asked.

“Mt. Oaks,” she replied.

I held up my hands. “There’s no reason to go—”

“We need to go now,” she argued.

“They beat up my brother. We can’t let them think they can hold that sort of power over us or Ryan’s conspiracies will prove to be true, they’ll start to think that they can attack and win.”

Before Rowan and I could say anything, Caroline started to walk up toward the pack territory.

“We’ll need to bring Sarah and Jackie: both are useful in a negotiation. Rowan will have to stay here and make sure the pack runs smoothly in our absence.”

I shrugged at Rowan and then jogged to catch up with Caroline, catching her hand in mine and trying not to take offense when she pulled away from me.

“Are you okay?” I asked. “You’re acting strangely.”

“You don’t know me,” she hissed back, her eyes darting to Rowan, who was standing to the side awkwardly. “My brother was attacked last night. How would you like me to act?”

“He’s going to be okay, Caroline,” I reminded her.

“That’s not the point!” she exploded.

“Okay,” I conceded, “let’s figure this out together.”

“We’re not mates!” Caroline spat out, her voice sharp and biting. “Why does it matter if we pretend we are?”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I shot back, “No, we’re not. If you were my mate, I wouldn’t have this damn headache! It would be easy because she loved me and we understood each other!

“But you, Caroline, I can’t make heads or tails of you!”

She turned pale, her body rigid. “Why did you ask me to be the luna?”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “How did we end up here? Last night, everything was fine! We agreed to work together, we… I thought…” I growled, my voice rough. “I can’t figure out why you’re acting like this.”

“Why did you ask me?” she asked again, her voice steady.

“Because I felt sorry for you,” I confessed. “I felt sorry that you were stuck with your crazy family because I remembered what you were like before.

“I remembered how you used to be so involved with the pack, how you were always the first to volunteer.”

“You pitied me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” I admitted, suddenly aware of the blazing sun overhead. “I pitied you because I remembered Liam O’Connor and I thought maybe you would understand what it’s like—”

“I don’t want your pity,” Caroline cut me off, her voice harsh.

“I don’t want to give it to you!” I shot back.

“All I’ve wanted from the start was to understand and to be understood, but you keep pushing me away, you shut me out, and you act like I can’t grasp the loss you’ve experienced—”

“And you don’t think I see the longing in your eyes when you’re talking to me but wishing I was her?” Caroline snapped. “You’re always comparing me to her, measuring me against a ghost.”

“Like you don’t do the same,” I scoffed.

Tears welled up in her eyes, stopping me in my tracks. “I don’t actually,” she whispered. “I miss him, all the time, but I don’t compare the two of you as if I’m trying to figure out if you’re worth my love!”

“Caroline—”

“I remember Del too,” she said, her hands trembling. “I remember how beautiful she was. I remember how kind she was, how graceful. Trust me, the comparisons aren’t lost on me either.”

“That’s not fair,” I said.

“It isn’t,” she agreed.

I took a step toward her. “Can we work this out? Can we figure out what to do next and—?”

“We need to deal with the humans,” she said, her voice curt.

“Okay,” I agreed. “After, we should think about whether you becoming luna is really the best idea.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back. I wished I could rewind time or vanish or just drop dead.

But the look on her face stopped me in my tracks, stealing any words of apology I might have said.

Caroline turned and walked away, her pace quickening until she was running. I didn’t move to follow; I was frozen in place by my own harsh words.

I struggled to breathe in the stifling heat, the weight of my words pressing down on my chest.

“It’s hard to forget about Del,” Rowan said quietly.

“That shouldn’t be her problem,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Tyler. I’m sorry for both of you.”

***

That evening, I was in a car with Caroline, Sarah, and Jackie, heading toward Mt. Oaks. Sarah was driving and I was in the passenger seat, with Caroline and my peacemaker in the back.

The car was mostly silent; the tension between Caroline and me seemed to discourage the others from speaking.

The ride was rough and uncomfortable as we descended Mt. Timbre and drove along the dirt roads that crossed the valley to Mt. Oaks.

The humans had settled at the bottom of their side of the valley, right at the foot of the sister mountain.

Sarah drove with confidence, but I could see the tension in her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and the stiffness of her neck and shoulders. She was nervous, and for good reason.

The last time the pack had interacted with humans, they had burned down our village and killed our family members.

“Trip,” Sarah said, her voice tight, “are you sure?”

I met Caroline’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “We don’t have a choice.”

Sarah nodded as we passed the sign for Mt. Oaks and drove into the heart of their small town.

I gripped the handle of my door as I watched the humans walking down the street, driving their cars, chasing after their kids.

It was hard to believe they were capable of such violence, but I had seen it firsthand.

The tallest building in the town was a three-story structure with a clock and bell tower. According to Mick, this was their equivalent to the alpha’s house. This was the town hall.

Sarah parked the car, and we all sat in silence, staring up at the imposing building. It had many windows on all three stories, and a neat, understated garden out front.

Only a few cars were in the parking lot, but I assumed that was more due to the time of day than a lack of activity in the building.

Caroline was the first to get out of the car. I followed her, with Sarah and Jackie trailing behind me.

The secretary jumped when we entered, her mouth working on a piece of gum as she painted her nails behind her desk.

“I’m sorry but we close at five to the public,” she said, trying to hide her bottle of green nail polish under her desk without smudging her wet nails.

“We’re not the public,” I said, forcing a smile.

“We’re from Mt. Timbre,” Caroline announced.

The woman swallowed hard as she picked up her phone, dialing a single digit. She held the phone between her cheek and shoulder, her eyes never leaving us.

“Yes, uh, hi, Mr. Moray… Yes, sir. I know, sir… Mt. Timbre, sir… Okay, sir.”

She hung up the phone and looked at us.

“Mr. Moray is busy and—”

“Call him back,” I ordered. “Tell him that I am Alpha Tyler Trip.”

The woman swallowed her gum in surprise before dialing again. “Yes, sir… Well, no, sir… Yes, sir… The alpha, sir…” She glanced at me. “Trip, sir.”

She hung up the phone and smiled. “Floor three.”

We all piled into the elevator, the silence heavy as it strained to lift us up three floors. Sarah made it clear she was ready to handle any physical threat that might come our way.

“Remember to be diplomatic,” Jackie whispered.

“That didn’t work out so well for my brother,” Caroline shot back, stepping out of the elevator.

We trailed behind her down the hallway to a hefty door with a silver plaque: ~MR. ELLIOT MORAY~.

Before we could knock, the door swung open.

The mayor was around forty, his black hair streaked with gray. His eyes were a light brown, his face covered in stubble, and a dimple marked his chin. “Alpha Tyler Trip,” he greeted.

I nodded. “Moray.”

He ushered us in and quickly took his seat behind his desk.

His office was similar to mine: grand but empty. I had expected more from the mayor of a human town; maybe more trinkets.

“I know why you’re here,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips. “One of your wolves came down from your mountain and got hurt.”

Caroline stiffened. “Attacked,” she corrected.

Moray frowned. “He was in a place that doesn’t serve your kind. I’m sure you understand their right to protect themselves and their property.”

“Our guy wasn’t causing trouble,” I said. “He didn’t draw any negative attention until his true nature was revealed.”

“Regardless,” Moray muttered, “my citizens have the right to protect themselves.”

“They bottled him!” Caroline nearly shouted. Jackie tried to calm her, but Caroline shrugged her off.

Moray’s smile didn’t waver. “Well, he’s a werewolf. They had to use some sort of weapon. They couldn’t have hoped to beat him in a fair fight, could they?”

“Moray, we can’t have our people fighting each other. That would lead to nothing good and would be a direct violation of the treaty—”

“What treaty?” Moray asked, still smiling.

“Excuse me?” I stammered, taken aback. “The treaty that ended the Feral War.”

“I didn’t sign any treaty,” Moray said, looking around the room.

“I don’t remember them asking for my signature when I was holding a rifle in one hand and a melee knife in the other.” Sarah’s voice was low and threatening, and Moray’s smile disappeared. “There’s the beast.”

“Mr. Moray,” I spat, “you can’t mean to say that you don’t abide by the treaty that our leaders signed to end over a decade of war.”

“I didn’t agree to anything, Trip,” he retorted. “I didn’t sign a damn thing and neither did the people in this town.

“Frankly, I don’t think your ~pack~ agreed to anything either. You seem capable of great violence.”

“I—”

“Weren’t you a soldier?” Moray asked.

I stiffened. “I served, yes.”

“As did I,” Moray declared. “But I was defending my race long before the Feral War. I was among the first humans to take up arms against your kind.”

“A Sun Warrior,” Sarah growled, her knees bending slightly as if preparing for an attack.

Moray laughed. “Yes, yes, now the name comes with such a bad reputation.”

I felt the hairs on my neck stand up. “Would you still consider yourself an active member?”

“Oh, yes,” Moray admitted, “but without the support we once had, we can’t afford to strike out against our enemies anymore. Not unless we are provoked.”

“And what would you consider a provocation?” I asked, my voice tight.

He smiled. “Perhaps a werewolf stumbling into one of my bars, starting a fight with my citizens.” He paused. “That would do it, I think.”

I felt a knot in my stomach. “Thank you for your time, Moray. I believe I understand where we stand.”

“I look forward to our next meeting, Trip.” My anger flared as he turned his attention to Caroline.

“You look a lot like the wolf who wandered into my town last night. Must be the red hair.”

Caroline growled softly. “Understand that we will also attack if provoked.”

Jackie shot me a stern look.

Moray raised an amused eyebrow, leaning toward Caroline with an interest I didn’t like. “Is that so?” he asked. “And what would it take to provoke the wolves?”

She pretended to think about it. “Maybe a group of humans attacking my brother in a bar.”

Moray’s smile made my skin crawl. “Perhaps we will meet again sooner than expected.”

“You should hope not,” Caroline snarled.

I grabbed her arm and turned her around. Jackie left with me while Sarah stayed behind to watch our backs.

“Goodbye, Mr. Moray.” Caroline didn’t resist as I pulled her along, her feet scrambling to keep up with my long strides.

Once we were outside, she pulled away, shaking me off with a curt growl. I let her go, watching as she stomped to the back of the car and sat on the bumper, her hands gripping the sides.

“Talk to her,” Jackie suggested. “Sarah and I will wait in the car.”

I took my time approaching the back of the car, only moving closer when she didn’t react. I sat next to her, looking up at the orange sky and the moon just visible above the setting sun.

“Something happened between you and your father,” I said softly, tensing when she did.

“And you’re upset about your brother.” I drew in a breath. “I haven’t made things any easier for you.”

“I’m sorry for how I acted in there,” she apologized quietly.

I shrugged. “I don’t think it would’ve gone any better, to be honest.” I paused. “Though I wish you hadn’t told him that Mick was your brother. I think you’ve made yourself a target.”

“Good,” she hissed.

“No,” I told her, reaching for her hand. She didn’t pull away this time, and a warm feeling spread through my chest.

“Not good. I...I don’t want...I can’t let anything...You have to stay safe because...The pack needs you—I need you—to be safe.”

Caroline’s lips twitched slightly. She squeezed my hand in return, her gaze open and sincere.

I was a bit clumsy as I lifted my other hand to cradle her face, savoring the sensation of her jawline and the soft curls that brushed against my knuckles.

“Caroline,” I said softly, “I want us to work.”

“I do too,” she whispered back. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you think otherwise.”

I leaned in, my lips parting as I focused on hers. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she tilted her head back, waiting for my kiss.

But just as I closed my eyes, the wind carried her back to me.

~How much do you love me?~

I pulled back, and Caroline’s eyes fluttered open. They weren’t the eyes of my mate, the eyes that laughed easily and sparkled with life.

They were the eyes of a different girl, from a different time, from a different version of me.

She squeezed my hand again. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice rough, but her words didn’t match the look in her eyes. “I understand.”

“When I remember her, it hurts like hell, but it’s a pain I crave. It’s the kind that keeps you going, even if just for a little while longer.”

Caroline nodded. “If you feel that pain, it means they’re still with you.”

I sighed. “I never understood why so many wolves die when their mates pass.”

Caroline was quiet for a long time.

“What’s our next move?” she finally asked, glancing over her shoulder at the towering clock.

“Maybe Ryan was right about these humans being a threat. I doubt a Sun Warrior will respond to diplomacy.”

I knew what we had to do next. I’d known the moment I walked into Moray’s office. “We need to call for backup.”

“White Wolves?” Caroline asked.

I shook my head. “I know a few others. Met them during the war.”

“Who?” Caroline asked, tilting her head curiously.

I just smiled.