Chapter 2

But since I have this wonderful opportunity to annoy her, I grasp it. “You seem really interested in it,” I say to her sarcastically. “Mateo signed me up for it,” she mutters, confirming my suspicion. “And besides, it gets me out of the house. Oh, take the next left,” Kat points her finger at the road. I follow the directions she gives me in silence. We drive for a while until she points out a decent-sized house and tells me to park my car in the driveway. “This is it?” I ask, studying the house. I take in the overall setting. The house reminds me more of a cottage, not a home. It has cottage-style gardens all around it and if that’s not enough to convince me, the building is an actual cottage - the location adds the final straw. Located just on the outskirts of the town. Kat opens her door and clambers out. I quickly follow her and walk the small path leading to the house. Even from afar, I can hear the chatter of women and their partners inside the building. As I open the front door and walk inside, the place smells heavily of lavender. The scent hits me so suddenly that I almost lose my balance because of how overwhelmingly powerful it is. Once I scan the surroundings, the little water fountains and a huge room catches my attention. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the owners of the building have gutted the house to open it up. A dark-haired woman walks over to us. Her hair is cut in a bob, which reminds me of an unsuccessful bowl cut attempt. Her eyes land on me, and she stops in mid-step. “My Queen,” she acknowledges Kat, while still eyeing me. If this is her attempt to be subtle, I wonder if I should point out how obvious she’s actually being. “Alpha,” the woman nods her head to acknowledge my presence and returns her gaze to Kat. She’s clearly beyond confused, and a part of me really wants to remind her of her place, but I can’t do that - it might upset Kat. “Mateo couldn’t make it. So, this is Andrei, my brother.” Kat grins and places her hand on my shoulder, shaking my body a little. “Oh, you brought your brother with you?” The woman drags out. At this point, she’s not even trying to act low-key, and both Kat and I notice how strange the woman thinks my presence is. Now I wish Derrick was around just to see her reaction to him coming here with her. So what if my sister needs me during whatever red-faced breathing class she’s taking? As if anyone has the right to tell the Queen who she can ask to tag along or not. This isn’t weird, not at all. As much as I fight against the urge to remind the woman where she stands since she can’t stop staring at us, I lose my patience and take a step closer. “Don’t make it weird, lady, just show us where to go,” I snap. Kat instantly nudges me with her elbow. I glance down at my sister and raise an eyebrow. “What? She is the one who is making things weird. I don’t need some stuck-up lady to look at me like I am some creep, getting his jollies off on pregnant women.” I explain the reasoning behind my thoughts, and I say rather politely. “No. That’s not… Wait what?” The woman stutters and gives up once I turn my gaze back to her and smirk. I would love seeing her explain herself now. Her shoulders slump and she sighs in defeat. “Oh, never mind, just take a seat. Kat will show you where to go,” the woman sighs, rushing away from us. I almost feel bad for making her uncomfortable. Almost. Kat sits on a yoga ball in the center of the circle the women and their partners had formed. I find a spot near her and sit on the floor. While I struggle to find a more comfortable position, Donnie growls in my head, clearly unhappy to be here. He doesn’t understand anything, so I shove him back. Although he still resists, he finally settles down when I remind him a couple of times, that we are doing this for Kat, and he can’t be the selfish fuck he usually is. Mostly, the class is made up of breathing exercises, just the same as Kat described in the car. However, when the woman grabs a remote and flicks on a flat-screen TV, a few of the men present groan. My face twists up in disgust as a birthing video plays for everyone to watch. The women have mixed reactions watching the birth. Kat is fascinated by it as she sits between my legs, mesmerized. Some are downright horrified, and one man manages to faint even before the video gets to the gruesome parts. A low chuckle escapes me as I think how great of a birthing partner the fainting princess will be. If he can’t even handle a video, how will he handle the real thing? The woman that runs the meeting fans him with a piece of paper, while his mate looks like she is about to murder him for fainting. I shake my head, turning back to the video when a hand pats my chest, making me look up to see Mateo. Thank Fucking God! “Thanks for bringing her,” he says, and Kat looks up at him with a big grin on her face. The view is somewhat bittersweet. I’m happy for my sister, but watching her light up at seeing her mate just reminds me about the hole in my own chest. I watch her a little longer until Kat leans forward and lets me get back to my feet. Leaning down, I kiss her cheek and step aside to let Mateo take my spot. “I will ring you later,” I promise Kat. Before I can walk away, Mateo grips my forearm and squeezes it in a silent thanks. He then turns back to Kat and I slowly back away from the fuss. Mateo has always been so patient with her. He's always eager to do what Kat wants. She even had him show up at my home a few days ago for a cucumber. Kat was craving them, and he drove over to my pack to get her one since the shops were out. Poor guy has himself wrapped around Kat’s finger, and he doesn’t understand that. No, scratch that, Mateo is more than happy to be where he stands. Now, I make sure to drop some cucumbers over there every time I visit, since we grow most of our stuff anyway. “Thank God, watching that shit, I nearly contemplated turning gay,” Donnie whines as I almost drown in laughter. I hide my amusement and shake my head at my wolf. I leave the place with an extra hop to my step. I’m more than happy to spend time with my sister, but now that Mateo is there I can leave her and can go out and hunt down another rogue. I lost the only distraction I had keeping me from needing it. The urge for their screams to drown out the wails of my pack. I need to see their dead faces instead of hers. To do anything to get the image of what they did to her out of my head if only for a few moments of peace. Once I return home, I get out of my car to see one of my pack members waiting at the door of the packhouse. His fear is so strong I can smell it from afar. The stench enrages me. They don’t need to be scared about anything. Nothing and no one is getting in or out of this pack, but all of them are still too afraid to go about their normal lives. How am I supposed to feel if even my pack members refuse to act normal? “Alpha?” he greets, baring his neck. His blonde locks fall in his eyes as I approach him. His green eyes are fearful when I step in front. “What is it, Clay?” I ask, annoyed. I know they hear the rogues screaming, but they have no reason to fear me. It isn't any of them strapped to the table. “A few of the unmated wolves want your permission to leave," Clay stammers, focusing his gaze on his feet. “What for?” I watch his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “Speak, I haven't got all day,” I snap, annoyed he is wasting my time. “They want to go in search of their mates,” he says so quickly that his words jumble together, and he stutters. If there is anything I hate more than rogues, it’s showing weakness. My pack isn’t weak, and none of the pack members should pretend to be that way. “Why do they need permission to do that?” I ask, genuinely confused, and he drops his head. Is the question too complicated? Why would my people ask for my permission to find their mates outside the pack? Not like they can find them here unless they suddenly switched sides and, by some miracle, find their mates within each other after a lifetime of growing up together? “We just thought to tell you… Since we lost Luna-” I cut off his words, a loud growl tearing out of me. I don’t notice how fast I move until my hands are around his throat. I’m not sure if it’s my doing or if I can blame Donnie. As I add more pressure to his neck, his hands clutch mine and his eyes widen in horror.