Willing Sacrifice (10 page)

I went in through the front door and straight up to my room. The others were already ready for going out so I had the bathroom to myself for once. I vowed that if I was ever Alpha again, this time for longer than a few days, I was going to have another bathroom built.

The room was hot and moist from all the showers, but it smelled sweet and flowery like any house with too many women sharing a bathroom does. The small countertop was absolutely covered with make-up and styling products, perfumes and cooling curling irons. I looked up into the foggy mirror and wiped some of the steam away. I blinked at my reflection and though the girl looking back at me wasn’t smiling she did look better than just a few days ago. I attempted a smile but I wasn’t one of those people who could fake a smile very well; it felt too much like lying.

I showered quickly and snuck into Sarah's room in search of a shirt. Everything was a wash of squashed colors crammed together and there was hardly enough room left between hangers to see what kind of top I was looking at. Finally I pulled a light scoop neck sweater off the pole. It was black and the neckline was wide enough to fall off one shoulder. I grabbed a matching pair of baby doll shoes and a pair of skinny black Levi’s. I brought everything to my own room to change and put on my make-up.

My face was still paler than normal, which made sense considering the stress I had gone through in the last few days. I pushed aside my self-pity and blushed my cheeks lightly after I finished with the mascara and eyeliner. I stood back and looked at my reflection in the long, full length mirror screwed to the back of my bedroom door. I shrugged when my reflection failed to shift my mood. I knew I looked good, but something in my face made me feel more dangerous than pretty.

I trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen and everyone stopped eating except for Robert. At first I thought it might be my shocking appearance... good or bad, but then I remembered the rule about dominants being the ones to eat first.

Robert looked up at last and grinned broadly. "Ah, the dark princess has arrived."

I looked at the other girls and realized they were all dressed in shades of bright happy colors pastels. They looked like skinny Easter Eggs with hair. "I'm in a dark mood, Alpha." I took my seat and began eating the food that was already in my plate.

"And why would that be, sweet Sugar?" He pressed. "It’s my birthday... isn't that a day for celebration?"

"That remains to be seen, Alpha." I answered back without much enthusiasm.

He grinned and took a bite of his own food in response. "Give me time, Sugar. It’s only been a couple of days."

"So how old are you anyway?" I asked rudely.

"He's certainly young enough to get the job done. How old was your dead husband again?" The redhead was starting to get on my nerves.

"I believe the help is supposed to be seen and not heard. If I come up with a question easy enough for you to answer, I'll be sure to direct it to you." I looked at her and waited only seconds for her to bow her head averting her glance while she thought about a comeback.

"If I'm the help, what exactly am I doing to help you?" She sniffed and threw down her fork indignity when another girl giggled at her.

"I believe you're keeping my side of the bed warm until I'm ready to reclaim my throne."

Kyle choked out a mouthful of steak and burst into a throaty laugh.

She stood up and locked eyes with me. "I'm making your side of the bed hotter than you ever could."

"We all have a special talent, don't we? But bragging about being a slut is a little beneath me. So, if you want to continue this conversation you're going to have to do it on your own."

Her eyes didn't leave mine for a few seconds too long and I stood up slowly placing my napkin neatly beside my plate. "Do you realize why Jack left a woman in charge of his pack?" I didn't wait before continuing. "It’s because I beat all the girls and the only thing left to do was to start beating the boys, so unless you want me to rip out your pretty red hair and choke you to death with it, I suggest you sit down and shut-the-fuck-up."

She looked as if she had come up with the courage to act on my invitation but Robert lifted a finger and cleared his throat. "Sit down, ladies. Tomorrow if you both feel there is no easy resolution to this little cat fight, you may have your little battle, but tonight is a celebration and we will treat it as such."

Fire burned up my face and Kyle and Sarah looked at each other and shook their heads in my direction. When I still didn't sit down Sarah surged to her feet and knocked Donna off hers, with a heart-stoppingly beautiful right hook. "He said ‘sit down’, bitch."

I clapped a hand over my smiling lips; having never really seen Sarah in action, I was shocked into behaving and sat down quickly still covering my smile.

Robert moved to surge to his feet but I clapped a hand on his forearm and shook my head. I had made it quite clear earlier that day, that Sarah, Kyle and Brian were mine to protect and the warning my gaze held was just enough that he settled down again.

He leaned over putting a possessive arm across the back of my chair and whispered in my ear, "Sugar, you are racking up quite a debt with me."

The promise in that one statement nearly had me running for the door but I held my ground. If I was going to play with the big dogs I had to play harder. "And your condescending temperament is making payment of that debt nearly impossible to endure without gagging." I hissed back smiling sweetly.

That got me another grin. "I thought you'd like that." He said sarcastically. "That's a little trick I call, ‘deflecting the anger,’ and I see it worked."

"But are you willing to pay the toll of being the one to warrant my anger with your little trick?" I whispered back in his face.

"Your anger is short lived, because it burns white hot. I think as long as I stay on your good side for the rest of the night, you may forgive me." He kissed my ear gently before turning back to the table and pushing his empty plate away, effectively ending the meal for everyone else except me at the table, but he had ruined my appetite so I pushed my plate away as well.

Within minutes the table was cleared away by two of the lower ranking girls in the group. This was something I had easily gotten used to in the past couple of years. A higher ranking member in the pack didn't have to bother with things like cleaning, cooking, yard work or babysitting, all the things I had done way too much of over the course of my lifetime. It was the job of a higher ranking pack member to protect and watch over the lesser members, but they pulled their own weight in other ways. I was one of the few people in a pack that understood what they did was just as important as what the stronger more dominant members of the pack did. This group of people seemed normal from the outside, but everything about them was so foreign. They didn't believe in things like equality or fair treatment of all. They believed and lived by the rule that only the strong survived. Which I thought was a weird rule for a species that was knocking on extinction’s door.

One of the girls I didn't see or hear of very often took Brian up to bed while we congregated on the front porch before leaving.

I drove alone in my car. I was still calling it my car and the Alpha hadn't said otherwise so I was going to drive it as long as possible before he figured me out.

I left the house last and followed far enough behind the rest that I didn't see the red glow of their tail lights on the twisting camp road that surrounded the lake. It was quiet in the car except for the sound of the engine and I reveled in it for the few short minutes I had alone. There was something to be said for the chaos in which we lived though... It didn't give you too much time to think.

We pulled into the already packed yard of the bar. The people who were outside ran in quickly to alert the others that the guest of honor had arrived.

I looked at some of the less familiar license plates on some of the cars and realized they had been traveling all day to get here, and some of the cars even had rental plates, meaning some packs had flown in for the new Alpha's last minute birthday bash.

"Ready Sugar?" Robert put a hand low on my back to guide me towards the entrance.

I looked at the hurt faces of some of the other girls and stopped walking. I suspected some of these visiting packs were theirs and to be the one to walk in on the arm of the champion Alpha would be a great honor to their family packs, "Why don't you just parade us all in on leashes?" I snapped.

"Still mad?" He joked.

"In fact, I am still mad... so you're just lucky it’s your birthday." I crossed my arms and started walking away.

"Whoa," He jogged up beside me and cut me off. "Hey Sugar, it is my birthday. Come in with us?"

"I want to go home." I stated flatly. "I hate parties."

"You're not going home." He said, one second before throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me towards the bar.

"Let me down." I kicked uselessly. I knew of a sure fire way to get down but I would end up on the ground and this was Sarah's shirt.

"I gave you an opportunity to make your entrance with a little dignity but you had to play hardball." The bastard even stopped to open the door for the other girls before walking inside to a loud cheer from the people awaiting his appearance.

I hung my head and hid my face behind a thick curtain of my hair until he dropped me down gently on my feet, and then there was no more hiding. There was a second cheer for the conquering hero when the crowd realized he had brought the fierce and dangerous Sugar in on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You're going to pay for that one, Alpha." I growled out through gritted teeth.

He smiled and tweaked my chin.

"Sugar?"

I turned to the deep voice at my back and had to look up, and up and up before I saw a face attached to an enormous body laced with muscle and a tight tee-shirt. "Max?" I asked, totally shocked to see the once nerdy teenager had finally filled out... a lot.

He picked me up in a bear hug and nearly squeezed the life out of me. I hugged him back enthusiastically. I was really happy to see he was doing well. He had been an orphan Jack had picked up along the way and though he would never be an Alpha, he was smart enough to be a pack doctor, which was very important when you consider the circumstances we face on a daily basis. It’s not rare for one of us to get into a fight that can break bones or worse and going to the ER for things like that can raise a certain amount of attention if it happens too often and never mind things like blood tests.

He set me down and backed away a step lowering his gaze to someone standing behind me. "Sorry Alpha." He apologized to Robert.

I looked at Robert and rolled my eyes. "He's just a boy." Robert narrowed his eyes at me. "Max is eighteen and by human standards alone that makes him a man."

Max blushed darkly. "See you later, Sugar."

I smiled as he turned to leave then countered on Robert again. "He's still a boy to me."

"Sugar, listen closely when I tell you, he doesn't see you in the same light you see him."

"He's not like you." I snapped. "Grabbing any piece of ass he can get his greedy hands on."

"Really?" He pointed over my head to a not so dark corner in the room where Max had a girl his age pressed up against the wall with his face buried in her neck while she giggled happily, cheering him on. "Sex is the only thing on a male werewolf's mind until we're ready to find a mate." He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Then it’s sex and finding a mate."

"What if she's not ready to find a mate?" I countered.

He shrugged, "She'll come around."

"Why would she?" I crossed my arms stubbornly.

He put his hands on my waist and lowered his face to mind. "Because there is nothing better than sex with someone you love."

I snorted and rolled my eyes, but that was just to cover up the little flutter of butterfly wings in my stomach.

"You don't believe in love?" He grinned.

"I have to be honest with you and admit that was a great line but the only thing love brought my last mate was an early grave."

He brushed my hair back over one of my ears. "It won't be like that the next time."

"Are you clairvoyant too, great Alpha?"

"No, I'm just optimistic." He turned his attention away from me and started greeting guests one by one.

I walked over to the bar and ordered a milkshake.

Gage came and sat beside me with a drink of his own and from two feet away the smell of alcohol burned my nose.

"Sorry about what I said earlier." He mumbled before looking at me.

"Me too, but it was honest. I shouldn't have baited you like that." I said swallowing a whole lot of pride in order to get that out.

He sighed deeply, "I wanted to; I want you to know that. I know it doesn't mean anything in our current situation, but if things were different... I shouldn't be talking about this, it’s just that I'm used to getting what I want," He smiled, "And for the first time I really want something and I can't have it. That's why I've been so out of it." He finished off his whiskey and put the empty glass down on the bar.

I didn't say anything. Before this I wasn't sure if he loved me or hated me and to hear that he didn't hate me made things worse some how.

He chuckled without humor. "It weird really, I've never wanted to protect anyone so badly in my life." He spun the glass and left before it stopped turning. I watched it ’til it did finally stop its rotations, scared that if I looked up everyone would see the guilt on my face.

I held up my hand until the bartender noticed me. "I'll take a beer." I pushed my still full milkshake away.

The cake came out a few beers later and I was surprised at how nice it was. I was expecting some huge sheet cake with vanilla icing and some candles, but it was a pretty three tier cake with chocolate frosting and I smelled a hint of cream cheese and honey. The bartender placed it on the center of the bar and lit the one candle on top and stood back while Robert locked eyes with me before blowing it out. I took another deep drink of my beer after another calming breath.