The Xoe Meyers Trilogy (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series) (24 page)

Lucy shook her head slowly. “Too weird.”

“Tell me about it. Now what’s the plan for Lela?” I glanced at the grandfather-style wall clock that hung above where the TV used to be. It had luckily survived the TV’s death with only minor scorching. It was just past 6:30.

Lucy’s gaze followed mine to the clock. “I don’t know. Just hear her out I guess. Max should be here soon. He wanted to be here before Lela.”

A fast, obnoxious knock sounded at my front door. Speak of the devil.

“Come in!” I called.

Max opened the door and came striding in, shutting it gently behind him. He shucked off his light blue fleece to reveal a long-sleeved orange and yellow plaid shirt over faded jeans. Max is only about 5’4”, and his sandy blond hair, and pale green eyes, are complemented by skin that would be densely freckled if he lived somewhere with more sun. He came and squeezed between Lucy and me on the couch, then turned to Lucy. “So what’s this all about? You were so cryptic on the phone.”

Lucy shrugged. “I told you all that I know. She wanted us together before she’d say anything.”

Max looked grumpy. He often reminded me of a sullen elf, though I’d never say it to his face. He looked back and forth between Lucy and me. “I don’t like this. I don’t understand why she’s still in town.”

I had no time to placate Max, because another knock sounded at the door. This time, I got up to answer it. I walked quickly to the front door and opened it, trying to put up a front of confidence. Lela was outside in dark-wash jeans and a lavender cable knit sweater, standing a few feet back from the door as if she was afraid that I’d attack her. Given our past, her chances were about fifty-fifty.

Lela has long dark hair like Lucy’s, but Lela’s is more dense and slightly wavy. I still couldn’t quite place her ethnicity, but her deep olive skin and exotic eyes were gorgeous none-the-less, sparking jealousy in all members of the female persuasion wherever she went, I’m sure. Yet, she was tall and willowy like me, so I couldn’t hate her entirely. We curve-challenged girls got to stick together.

Behind her stood a man I didn’t know, looking slightly more confident than Lela. He had nondescript brown hair, cut close to his scalp, that blended into his tanned skin, only a few shades lighter than the hair. I placed him around Lela’s age, which I guessed was 22 or 23. The last time I saw her she’d been in wolf form, so I’d never gotten the chance to ask.

The stranger was wearing the universal bad-boy uniform: black leather jacket over white t-shirt, and black leather boots covered by faded jeans. He aimed a crooked flirtatious smile at me. I mistrusted him instantly. 

I stepped back from the door and gestured for them to come inside, which they did after a moment’s hesitation from Lela. I shut the door and left Lela and the mystery man standing while I cleared the wrapping paper and ribbons off the loveseat. I put them in a pile on the multicolored patchwork rug that dominates my living room floor. Lela stepped forward slowly.

I sat back on the couch with Max and Lucy and gestured to the loveseat. “Have a seat.”

Lela walked around the far side of the loveseat and sat down, folding her delicate hands in her lap. She then proceeded to stare at said hands and not say a word. The man came to sit casually beside Lela, slumping in his seat as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

I looked at Lela, confused. “Well?”

Lela finally met my eyes. “I have a proposition for the three of you.”

A proposition? I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this. She had fallen silent again so I waved my hands in a ‘go on’ gesture.

Lela took a deep breath and let it out, her full lips trembling slightly. “I think we should form a pack.”

“Really?” Max asked, at the same time as Lucy said, “What?”

I was too stumped to speak.

Lela elaborated. “If we have a pack, we’ll be safe. If another rogue wolf like Dan comes through and tries to bother us, we can call the Pack Coalition for help.”

“The Pack Coalition?” Lucy asked at the same time I asked, “We?”

Lela was gaining confidence as she spoke. “You remember Abel, Dan’s old pack leader? Well, he’s also the leader of the Western Pack Coalition. The leader or alpha of each pack attends three Coalition meeting per year. They get together and discuss any news or problems, confirm pack size, and fill out paperwork for any new pack members.”

“How do you know all of this?” I asked.

Lela brought her gaze back to me. “I traveled to Utah to talk to Abel, shortly after the Dan incident. I wanted to get my facts straight before I approached you.”

Max squinted thoughtfully. “So, what you’re saying is that if we form a pack, we’re protected by this Coalition thingy?”

Lela nodded excitedly. “Pretty much. I mean, we have to do our part too. We pay dues, and if a wolf comes into our area and needs help, we have to help them, just as they would have to help us if we were in their area, which leads me to Nick.” She gestured to the smiling man beside her who gave me a sarcastic wave in return.

“I met him a few weeks ago in California, while I was on my way back here,” Lela went on. “He’s basically in the same situation as the rest of us: no pack, easy picking for any rogue wolf trying to recruit underlings.”

“This all sounds great,” Lucy announced with a smile, surprising me. “Ever since the Dan incident, I’ve been constantly looking over my shoulder for the next rogue wolf to come and try to take Max and me away.”

Max was nodding excitedly. “I agree. I’m in.”

I looked at Max and Lucy like they had sprouted second heads. “You’re seriously going to trust her, just like that?”

Lucy had the grace to look slightly embarrassed while Max answered. “She helped us before when she could have just run off, and she was just as much a victim as any of us.”

I glanced at Nick, wishing I didn’t have to speak in front of him, but unwilling to wait until Lucy and Max had already agreed to something they might regret. “What about him?” I asked. “You don’t even know him. He could be another Dan just waiting to pounce.”

Max turned and narrowed his eyes at Nick. “That’s true . . . but there are three of us and one of him.”

I shook my head and retreated from the conversation. It really wasn’t my choice to make.

Sensing my defeat, Lela smiled from ear to ear. Yet, there was something I still wasn’t getting. I had a feeling I didn’t want to know the answer, but I couldn’t help asking, “So why did you want to talk to me?”

Lela’s smile faltered slightly. “Well . . . we need an alpha.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And?”

“And we need you to be that alpha,” she said quickly, still fearing my reaction. Hit someone in the head with a fireplace poker one time and they never get over it.

I closed my eyes in frustration. I had enough problems to deal with, demonic and otherwise. I did not need wolf ones. “Why can’t one of you be the alpha? This has nothing to do with me.”

Before Lela could answer, the oven timer went off. I held up a finger to delay her answer further so I could get up and get the pizzas out of the oven. I left them on top of the stove and went back to sit in the living room again. As I sat, I twirled my hand to end palm up in Lela’s direction, sarcastically signaling her to answer my question.

Lela shifted in her seat, looking slightly embarrassed. “We don’t qualify as alphas. None of us is strong enough.”

I huffed out my breath in confusion. “And I am? I’m not even a wolf!” I was up and standing in front of Lela before I even realized it. I made myself stop and take a deep breath to keep from losing control. My temper was beginning to get ridiculous. Just another wonderful thing I could thank my dad for.

Lela waited a moment for me to calm down before she continued in the soft type of voice that’s perfect for talking to crazy people. I’d been hearing that voice a lot lately. “You killed Dan,” she began, “who was technically a pack leader, even though he was rogue. It qualifies you.”

“Max helped,” I said weakly as I let myself drop back down onto the couch. Max had thrown a can of gasoline on Dan to prevent the fire I had started from going out.

Lela shook her head. “Abel credits the killing to you. He’s the one that has to approve our alpha. He approved you, and
only
you.”

“What about
Nick
?” I asked snarkily, causing his annoying smile to falter.

“Doesn’t qualify,” Lela answered matter-of-factly, ignoring Nick’s annoyed expression. I had a feeling Nick didn’t enjoy admitting that a girl might be more powerful than him.

Lucy and Max turned to me expectantly.

I didn’t like that Abel wanted me to become a pack member. The money in the mail was weird enough. It was beginning to seem like he had ulterior motives, though I had no idea what they might be. I took a deep breath. Best not to think it over too much. I’d only talk myself out of it. If Max and Lucy
really
thought this would make them safe, then I wanted it. “I’ll do it.”

Lela squealed and leapt off the loveseat onto the couch to hug me awkwardly. “Thank you,” she whispered, and I realized she had started to cry. I couldn’t blame her; she’d had a rough year.

I patted her back awkwardly, not really sure what to do. Finally, she pulled herself together and climbed off me. She stood slowly, wiping at her eyes with the lavender sleeve of her sweater. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”

I forced a smile that was probably more of a sneer. “Sure. Down the hall, first door on the left.” I pointed to show her the way.

As Lela started toward the bathroom, Lucy leaned across Max’s lap to pull me into a hug, which pretty much forced Max to join the hugging too.

Lucy ended the hug and settled back into her seat and smiled. “I feel so much better. No more worrying.” Lucy paused for a minute, then went on, “and thanks Xoe. I know you don’t want to do this.”

I felt the fake smile fall from my lips. No, I did not want to do this. “Let’s not get too excited yet. We still have to find out what forming a pack actually entails.”

Nick sat silently, taking it all in with a slightly bemused smile on his face. He obviously didn’t know me very well to be so at ease. I met his smile with one of my own. “I’m not in the business of trusting people these days,” I began. Just to make things clear, if you betray me or my friends, I’ll kill you.”

So it was an empty threat, but wiping that smile off his face brightened my mood considerably. And who really knew how empty it was? These days I was never sure of much, especially in concerns to myself.

Lela came back out of the bathroom as I was smiling sweetly at Nick. She sat back down on the loveseat. After taking in Nick’s sick expression, she slowly turned to me. “I, um, have all of the paperwork for us to fill out. Then all we have to do is go to the next Coalition meeting. Normally only Xoe would need to go, but Abel wants us all there for the first time.”

I hadn’t had a chance to think about the Coalition meetings. “Where are the meetings held?”

Lela shrugged. “The Coalition chooses a different state for each meeting, so that some pack leaders don’t have to travel more than others. The next one will be in Utah with Abel’s pack.”

I cringed. “So I have to travel to these meetings three times a year?”

Lela shook her head. “You can send a member of your pack as your proxy to two of them. You’re only required to physically attend one meeting per year. I’d be happy to go myself to the other ones.”

“But I’m not eighteen,” I argued. “Can I even buy a plane ticket?”

“I’ve already started looking for a job. I’m willing to foot the bill for travel, and for pack dues. I’ll buy the ticket for you. It’s worth it for me.”

Good to know, though it wasn’t really the money aspect that concerned me. I was going to have a heck of a time convincing my mom to let me fly somewhere without her. “When is the Utah meeting?”

“The end of January. I’m not sure of the exact date.”

I sighed. That was
soon
. I had the travel money from Abel’s payment, but I’d keep that to myself for now. I wanted as little involvement in all this as possible. Plus, going to a pack meeting was bad enough without having to pay for it. The only remaining problem was what to tell my mom so that she’d let me go. Lucy would have even more trouble than I would. I turned and raised my eyebrows at her.

Her eyes were pinched with worry. “I’ll figure it out,” she said, understanding my silent question.

I let it drop. I didn’t think it likely that she’d ‘figure it out,’ but I couldn’t stop her from trying. My thoughts were interrupted by another knock on the door. 

I sighed heavily and got up to answer it, wondering who it could be now. I opened the door, then slammed it closed again. My dad was outside. A quick, loud knock sounded at the door again. I considered just walking away, but grudgingly re-opened it. I took in my dad for the second time in the day and in my life, waiting patiently in his pale green sweater and dark gray slacks. It had gotten dark, and the sweater was a little thin for how cold it was outside, but he seemed unfazed by it. I raised my eyebrows in question and waited for him to explain his presence.

“We need to talk,” he said simply.

I sighed loudly, making sure he took in my exasperation. “Kinda busy right now . . . ”

“This cannot wait,” he replied sharply, brushing a strand of his blond hair out of his face in agitation. “You may be in danger.”

I squared my body to face him defensively. “Are you threatening me?”

He sighed, and it sounded so much like my sigh that it gave me goosebumps. “Not in the least, but we need to talk.
Now
.”

I knew I was going to regret it, but I stood aside and gestured for him to come in. He gave a startled nod, as if he hadn’t expected the invitation, then stepped into my house, leaving the door open behind him. He looked around my living room, as if he were taking in every little detail. His eyes stopped on Lucy, Max, Nick, and Lela. “These are your potential wolves?” he asked.

My eyes widened. “How did you know?”

He shrugged and said simply, “Abel is a friend. He informed me of his plans to involve you in his world.”