Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
I watched as Dr. Hyder scribbled down a list of five names. When he handed the list to me, I was surprised. “These are all West Mountain pack members.”
“No, those are all FORMER West Mountain pack members. Lsuggest you talk to them about why they left.”
***END OF FLASHBACK*** Week three I spent tracking down the wolves on the list that Dr. Hyder gave me. I have now talked to three of the wolves, and I have two more wolves to go. Once I am done, I will head back to West Mountain. Maybe. I admit, I am sort of curious what stunt awaits me. Maybe I will go just for fun.
(James POV) It was now the end of the third week since leaving Hawaii. I have traveled to five different states in the United States, and I have met with all five of the wolves that Dr. Hyder suggested I talk to. Unfortunately, after that much traveling, Luke and I were exhausted. But, more than that, we were feeling. incredibly frustrated. Although the meetings with the five wolves confirmed for us that there are, or were, serious problems at West Mountain Pack, we felt only somewhat closer to figuring out exactly what those problems were. Interestingly, each wolf on Dr. Hyder’s list had very different circumstances: -Brandon was 33 years old and now lives in Florida with his mate and two young pups. He left West Mountain Pack eight years ago. Kelly was 27 years old, single, and lives in Texas. She left West Mountain Pack shortly after her 20th birthday. -Lynda was 60 years old, divorced, and now lives in Kansas. She left the pack four years ago. -Eric was 40 years old, married, has one young daughter, and now lives in New York. He left West Mountain Pack shortly before Stephanie died. -Dorothy was 92 years old, widowed, and now lived in Oregon. She left the pack almost eight years ago. For the life of me, I could not figure out what these five wolves could possibly have in common. At first glance, the only potential link that I could see was that four of the five left the pack in roughly the same two-year period. Despite the lack of similarities, however, each conversation ended up having similar key elements: the wolves were frustrated with my parents; they felt strong anger and bitterness towards Stephanie, Margie, and/or Sheila; they had a lot of sympathy and gratitude for Lily; and they strongly wanted to avoid being reminded of whatever it was that had happened to them in the past. For example, take the conversation that I had with Brandon: ***FLASHBACK*** “Why are you here?”
Brandon asked me bitterly. “I would like to find out why you left West Mountain Pack.”
“My family and I are never going back there. If that is why you are here, you can leave,”
he said adamantly. “I do not want you to come back. I just want to understand why you left.”
“As if you care.”
I was shocked by how hostile he was. “I do care. I would not be here if I didn’t.”
“You expect me to believe that? Your parents did not care what was happening eight years ago, so you can hardly expect me to believe their son cares now.”
I looked at Brandon in confusion. “You told my parents why you left?”
“No. I TRIED to talk to your parents. As soon as I started explaining what happened, they cut me off and told me that I needed to talk to Margie.”
“Why would you need to talk to Margie?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“But… what did they tell you was the reason?”
Brandon ignored the question. “Why are you really here, James? What is it that want from me?”
“I already told you. I just want to understand what happened and why you left.”
“Bullsh&t. You probably just want to make sure that I am not disparaging your precious mate. Well, if so, do not worry. It has taken my mate and I a long time to work through what happened, but we did. We have healed. The last thing I want to do is talk about that horrible incident again. You can sleep easy; your mate’s reputation is safe.”
“What does Lily have to do any of this?”
“I am referring to Stephanie.”
I was taken aback. “Lily is my mate, not Stephanie. And… Stephanie was killed by rogues over six years ago.”
“Oh. I did not hear about that. We cut off most news from the pack when we left. Our families give us updates on how they are doing, but they know better than to talk to us about anyone in pack leadership. Rogues you say?”
I nodded. “I wish I could tell you that I am sorry, but I am not. It could not have happened to a better she-wolf,”
Brandon added sarcastically.
“Did Stephanie do something to you?”
Brandon checked the time on his phone. “Sorry, James, but my mate and pups will be home soon. You need to be gone before they get here. I do not want you to upset my mate.”
“I don’t want to upset her Brandon, I promise. I just want to understand.”
“Just seeing you will upset her. You and your parents no longer have any say over our lives. Please leave.”
“Tell him again that we are mated to Lily,”
Luke suggested in the link. “Brandon, please. I am here because I am trying to fix things. I want to make things better, and I want to make things safe for my mate. My real mate, Lily. Not Stephanie. Lily. I cannot fix anything if no one will tell me what happened. Brandon’s face suddenly softened. “Your mate… is Lily? As in, Beta Robert’s youngest daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. And you are okay with that?”
“More than okay. “Is she okay with being mated to you?”
“I am working on that part.”
“How… how is she doing?”
he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “She is okay,”
I responded as I silently prayed to the Moon Goddess that I was telling the truth. “Please tell her…. please tell her that we said thank you.”
I looked at Brandon in confusion. “Brandon, Lily would have only been 12 when you left the pack. What could you possibly be thanking her for?”
“You really do not know, do you?”
Brandon asked. “No!”
I exclaimed. That is why I am here. I need to figure out what happened.”
Brandon sighed. “She tried to stop it. She was the only one who tried to stop it.”
“Stop what, Brandon?”
Just then, we heard the garage door open. “My mate is here. Please, James, just go. Please.”
This time, I did not fight him on leaving. I could tell I was not going to get much more out of him, especially now that his mate and pups were home. ***END OF FLASHBACK*** By the end of the fifth meeting, I was ready to pull my hair out. I had absolutely no idea what could have happened to explain the hostility I was getting. One thing was becoming increasingly clear, though: what Stephanie and Sheila did to Lily was only the tip of the iceberg. At one point as I was wracking my brain, trying to put the pieces together, Luke reminded me of what Alpha Brett said the night that he broke the alliance with our pack: “…Red River Pack will never condone the abuse of females and other vulnerable people. In addition, our pack considers the mate bond to be sacred, and we condemn any and all who would use that bond as a vehicle for torture. The information that my uncle shared with me this afternoon is sufficient for me to conclude that West Mountain Pack’s values no longer align with ours, and that they have not aligned for some time.”
My gut told me that Alpha Brett’s words were directly linked to what caused the five wolves and their families to leave the pack. But how? What could Stephanie and Sheila have possibly done? Neither of them were old enough to find their mates before Stephanie died. And how could they have done it right under my nose? Whatever it was, why would my parents ignore it? Why would they tell pack members to talk to Margie? And how was Lily involved? Nothing made sense, but once again, I knew that Dr. Hyder was telling me that I needed to find out. As much as I hated his riddles and (mostly) hated his son, I trusted him. It was time to head back to West Mountain. Not for my father, definitely not for Sheila, but for me and for Lily. But first, it was time to let Luke out for a long run. We had a lot of built-up tension that we needed to release.
(Joey POV) I have been assigned to guard the packhouse ever since we got back from Hawaii. I am grateful for the post, because it gives me a good perspective on what the higher ranked wolves are up to. Unfortunately, I am starting to see things that worry me…. as in, a lot of things. I mind-link my mate. “Babe, something is going on. Something big.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sheila has been prancing around the pack house happy the last few days. HAPPY. Why would she be happy?”
“Have any wolves discovered their mates recently?”
“No.”
“Anyone have surgery lately?”
“Not that I am aware of.”
“Has she been to the care home?”
“No.”
“Anything else out of the ordinary?”
“No, except that Sheila’s mom is spending a lot of time here too. They have also had a tailor here measuring Sheila for a dress of some kind. Oh…. and today they have been looking through bridal magazines with Margie and Jane.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yeah….”
“Oh, Goddess. Joey! Why didn’t you say that first?!? They are planning Sheila’s wedding! We cannot let them force James to marry that b&&ch!!”
“Maybe they plan to marry Sheila off to someone else?”
“Like who?”
“Me? Aiden? I don’t know.”
I heard Jessica growl through the link. “Not. Funny.”
“Believe me, Babe, the thought of marrying anyone other than you makes me nauseous. And the thought of marrying Sheila makes me want to…. I will not finish that sentence. But maybe there is another explanation.”
“No, there isn’t.”
I did not reply right away. I knew my mate was probably right. She usually is. Of course they want to marry James off to Sheila. This is what we have been afraid of, and what we have been working to avoid. I rubbed my neck. “Look, Babe. Sheila and James will not get married. We will think of something.”
“Okay. I trust you, Joey. Have there been any sign of James?”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?