FULL NOVELXO Chapter We've Got A Problem
With wide eyes, I looked at him and asked, "And what message would that me?"
“Your pack in Georgia is on limited time and if you don’t give him what he wants, he will take over.”
I felt the color drain from my face as the realization of what he said hit me. Could these attacks have been Anderson’s doing? Was he the one who was sending prowlers here as a warning to me, that if I didn’t submit to his request he would take over my father's pack?
Anger rippled off of me in waves and the scared little wolf before me began to shrink in his spot as I stalked towards him with Aubrey on full display. I tried to wrangle her in but the threat of someone even mentioning an attack made her lose it.
“Well I have a message for him, I will never be his and if it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he'll get.” Shifting into my amber wolf, I was quickly pushed to the back of my mind as Aubrey completely took over.
Before I came here, I wouldn't have given the man before me a chance to speak before I tore his ass limb from limb but since I started training with Bishop, I learned to hold back my emotions and wanted to reason with him first. Aubrey had other plans though and when she felt she had been backed into a corner, she had no choice but to come out fighting like an animal, no pun intended.
Before he had a chance to shift, Aubrey was on him like a wildcat, tearing and scratching at his flesh as he screamed in pain beneath her. I tried to make her stop but it was like she had blocked me out and wasn't going to let me free until the worthless scumbag was dead.
It didn't take long before he went limp and she stepped back watching as he took his last breath, blood pouring from his body like a river making puddles around us. She stood there, her paws drenched in the aftermath of her savage attack as she glared at his body.
I could faintly hear voices around us but without her acknowledging them, I couldn't tell who they were.
"SHIFT! NOW!" The unmistakable command from our mate made her retreat as she lowered her head in submission and quickly threw my human body forward. I laid there naked in a pool of the prowler's blood, shaking from the experience she just put me through when I felt him scoop me up and hold me tightly against his chest.
Sobbing, I surrendered to his warm, soft touch and hid my face in his shirt as he shouted to everyone around us to lock the perimeter down. I don't know how he got us down the mountain or even remember making it back to the pack house but when he placed me into the shower under the warm stream of water, I realized where we were.
He removed his clothes and slid in behind me, careful not to awaken the beast who had just tore a man apart like it was nothing. He took the soap from the shower and lathered his hands before rubbing my entire body down and cleaning me off. He massaged shampoo into my hair then let the water wash off the dirt and grime from my shaking body. Then he grabbed a towel and dried me off before picking me up and bringing me to the bed.
Laying me onto the sheets, he pulled the covers over me and kissed my forehead before putting on his clothes and getting into bed with me.
"Bishop..."
"Shhhhh. We don't have to talk about it right now. I think you've had enough excitement for the night. Close your eyes and get some sleep."
"But I thought you were patrolling tonight? Don't they need you? And what about the town meeting?"
"I have everyone out on the border and there are no other prowlers in sight. Besides, you need me more and we rescheduled the meeting for another day when we have more information about what's going on." He pulled me close to him and wrapped me in his warm embrace.
My eyes closed and soon I was enveloped in safety. I still don't know what happened to make Aubrey so defensive but I needed to get a handle on it. I've never lost control of her and I wasn't about to let it happen again.
I woke the next morning still perplexed with my wolf. She had no reason to do what she did and yet I felt no remorse for actually doing it, which frightened me even more. What if she started making a habit of this and hurt someone we loved?
"This mate bond is a real bitch, isn't it?" Bishop said from behind me.
Turning over, I looked into his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, I really should learn how to block my feelings."
"Don't that's how I knew something was wrong. If anyone's to blame, it should be me. I never should have let you go alone."
"Bishop, this wasn't your fault. I wanted time to myself and I just thought going to the waterfall would clear my mind but then that wolf showed up and..." Not wanting to go into too much detail about our encounter, I gave him a vague account of my afternoon. "He just stood there, growling and snorting, like he was teasing me that he was just beyond my reach. Then Aubrey took over, she willed me to go through the trees that you told me not to go through and we found the climbing wall. Before I knew it, I was watching this viscous event unfolding and there was nothing I could do to stop it."
My hands began to tremble at the thought of not having control of her animalistic vengeance on that man.
"Red, she felt threatened and she did what she was born to do, kill or be killed. She wasn't going to let anything happen to either of you."
I nodded my head in agreement but still not convinced it had anything to do with our instincts. Although, his reason was enough to ease some of my angst and I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. "Thank you."
I could tell he wanted to say more but I knew he felt if he pushed the subject right now, I would just try to deny it and pretend it wasn't a big deal. I still didn't plan on telling him what really happened, not now at least, and that made Aubrey growl in my head.
If you would stop being stubborn and just tell him, things would get better.
Ignoring her remark, I stretched my achy body then got out of bed to take care of some personal needs while Bishop got dressed and said, "When your done, come downstairs to my office. We will be meeting with Winston and the elders to talk about last night."
A lump formed in the back of my throat at the thought of having to recap the fight but I knew it needed to be done if we were going to do anything about it and stop them once and for all.
Gotdamn, Aubrey is fierce. Do you think she overreacted by letting her anger for Anderson take over or do you think she had ever reason to kill him? But now that he's dead, so is her secret?
So does anyone think Anderson is still a good guy? Or did you always know something wasn't right with him? Let's just hope he wasn't serious on his promise because if so, Ember's old pack is about to be in a world of trouble.
Will she finally come clean with the problem, especially if it is true that Anderson is behind all of this and she could stop it just by telling Bishop and letting he and the pack take care of it?