Fighting the Inevitable (37 page)

Millie stared at her
friend, hearing her words and trying to take them in. She watched
Rhianna rise and head over to the coffee machine and begin to make
coffees. Her thoughts turned to Jared, and how he had swiftly
become important to her. She’d been running from him for weeks,
knowing instinctively that the moment she surrendered to him things
would never be the same again. She just had no idea they would be
so extreme.

Could she be as accepting
as her friend? What Annie said made a certain kind of sense. Could
she look past the labels and just see the people involved? Jared
wanted to change her into a wolf, too, yet Rafe’s change had been
so horrific. He’d barely managed to survive it. What if something
like that happened to her? What if she agreed to it and she didn’t
really want it? What if it didn’t work?

She looked up when Rafe
wandered into the kitchen. “Caleb’s keeping Jared entertained for
the moment,” he said with a warm smile for her, as he sat down.
“You’re having a bit of a hard time about all this, Mills. It’s
understandable.”

“
I’m scared,
Rafe,” she swallowed hard. “You’re one of the gentlest people I
know, and this wolf stuff almost killed you.”

He smiled and reached out
and took her hands in his. “It’s because of my nature that I found
it so hard, Mills. You’re a lot stronger than I am. You’re feisty
and tenacious, two very good attributes to make a perfect wolf. The
only question you really have to ask yourself is do you love Jared
enough?”

Millie looked at him and
then turned to look at Rhianna, as she headed back to the table and
sat down on her other side. She reached out to clasp her own small
hands around their joined ones.

“
Who would
have thought we’d get the chance to sit like this together again,”
Rhianna said with a small smile. “Our lives have changed so much in
the last few months. Just because things are different, it doesn’t
necessarily mean it’s a bad thing, Millie. You’re still in control
of your life. You still get to make the decisions on how you live
it. There are just a few new variables you get to mull over as you
decide what you want to do.”

She smiled at Millie
before she turned to her brother. “Did I tell you I was opening a
bookstore, Rafe? Well, I was supposed to be until you turned out
not to be dead. Jared gave me a lot of money, like an insurance
policy. I was going to use that for the bookstore, but I suppose I
probably should give it back to him now.”

Rafe laughed and shook
his head. “The money’s yours, Annie. You were never meant to know I
still lived. It is what the pack does for the bereaved families.
Just because you know the truth that doesn’t negate the pain and
heartache you and Millie have both been through. Jared won’t accept
the money back, so you go ahead with your dream, sis. You deserve
it.”

Rhianna smiled a big
smile and nodded at Rafe before her keen, lavender eyes turned back
to their troubled friend. “Millie named the bookstore for me. Why
don’t you tell Rafe what you named it, Mills?” Her tone was light
and full of innocence as she regarded her friend.

Millie blinked at her
very slowly, and then, looked back at Rafe before her head swung
once more in Rhianna’s direction and a slow smile started to curve
her lips. “Create your own Happiness Bookstore,” she finally said
in an awed tone, as she looked at the petite redhead, whom she’d
once thought was the most fragile woman on the planet, with a
completely new level of respect.

Rafe laughed, his brown
eyes twinkling, as he looked at his two little sisters, because
Millie would always be his sister just as much as Rhianna was, no
matter what Jared said about lack of shared bloodlines. Rhianna was
sitting there with an expression of carefully cultured innocence on
her face, and Millie was staring at her with such a stunned
expression on hers.

“
What?”
Rhianna asked, with a shrug when no one spoke for a long
time.

Millie suddenly laughed
and threw her arms around her friend. “Oh, you are so good, Annie,”
she laughed. “Sitting there like little miss innocent, pretending
you didn’t just lead me by the nose right to where you really
wanted me to go.”

Rhianna hugged her friend
back warmly. “I only helped you get there a little sooner than you
would have, Mills. You would have done it yourself, once you got
over your natural tendency to overthink things.”

Millie sat back and
reached for her coffee, taking a long sip as she looked at her
family. Rafe was a wolf now and Annie…well what was Annie going to
be? “Annie, are you going to become a vampire?”

Some of the light died
from her friend’s eyes though a smile remained on her lips. ”Caleb
and I have discussed it today, so yes it is open for debate. It
won’t bother you both if I do? I mean…all this Weres and vampires
don’t like each other crap?”

Her brother and sister
stared at her in shock for a second, and then, both reached for her
hands. “You’ll always be our Annie, no matter what choices you
make,” Rafe answered for both of them.

Rhianna sighed with
relief, knowing that at least one hurdle was crossed. Smiling, she
rose from her seat. “Best get back to the boys then; they’ll be
wondering what’s keeping us so long.”

Rafe headed out of the
kitchen after gathering up the coffees on a tray, leaving Millie
and Rhianna to follow behind him.

“
Thank you,
Annie,” Millie said, quietly. “You’re turning into a right little
Sage with your words of wisdom.”

“
I just like
fixing things,” her friend laughed, as they re-entered the sitting
room.

Jared was immediately at
Millie’s side, staring down at her with concern for a moment, and
then, slowly relaxing when he saw her untroubled expression. “You
okay, baby?” He hugged her close to his side.

Millie nodded. “I just
had a few things to work out. Everything is fine now,
Jared.”

He smiled his relief and
kissed her on the top of her head. “We need to get moving. There’s
a lot to be done before the meeting.”

Millie gave Rhianna
another quick hug and then slipped back into Jared’s embrace,
because she really had no other choice. The man couldn’t seem to
keep his hands off her.

Rafe left with Jared and
Millie to head over to the compound. His Alpha and his mate were
sharing loaded glances every now and then, and he felt a growing
sense of unease the closer they got to compound. He had no idea
what the proposed meeting was about, but he had a feeling it was
going to be something important, and he could tell his Alpha was
worried about it.

“
Jared, you
want to clue me in about this meeting?”

“
I’ll tell
all the betas together. I’m going to need you all at my side
tonight, Rafe. I know I’ll have your support on what I want to
discuss. You’ll understand why after I speak to the betas. In the
event things get ugly, I want you to get Millie out of there, as
quickly as possible. I know you’ll keep her safe.”

Rafe’s unease grew, as
Millie turned to look at Jared. “I’m not going anywhere without
you.”

Jared sighed, the sound
deep and loaded with exasperation. “Millie, if things turn ugly the
last thing I’ll need is to be worrying about you. If I tell you to
leave, you will go with Rafe immediately.” His tone was firm and
brooked no argument.

Millie was going to argue
with him, but his face was set hard, and she knew she would be
wasting her breath. One glance behind her told her Rafe would be
just as immovable. He may not know what was going on, but her
safety would be as paramount in his mind, as it was in Jared’s. She
sighed in resignation and folded her arms crossly over her chest.
Stupid macho male crap!

~~~~~

Jared watched his betas’
faces, as he concluded their briefing as to why he was calling the
pack meeting. There were ten men crowded into his large study.
Millie was sitting in his office chair with himself on one side and
Rafe on the other. To say the betas were stunned was an
understatement. Each man wore a shocked expression, but he couldn’t
detect any outright disapproval. He slowly roamed his eyes over
them and waited for some response.

Pete was the first one to
speak. He was the shortest man in the room at just five foot nine,
and he was overly sensitive about his height. His stocky build made
up for his lack of stature when in wolf form. “Boss, the old timers
are going to go ape shit,” he said, doubtfully. “I was amazed they
voted yes to Rafe’s sister being allowed to know about us. This
might be a step too far for most of them.”

There was a murmur of
agreement around the room, as the betas looked from one to another.
Aaron seemed to be the least worried, but then he always seemed to
find something to smile about, no matter how dire a situation was.
“It might not be so bad. Half of them have never mated, and this
would give them the opportunity. They may surprise us
all.”

Jared sighed. “That’s
what I’m hoping for. I’m going to need you to fan out around the
room and stick close to some of our less tractable friends, just in
case any of them lose it. The children will be present, and I don’t
want any of them accidentally hurt. I take it none of you have any
issues with this proposal?”

Each beta gave him their
support. He looked to Rafe last. The tall man was deep in thought,
but he smiled widely when his Alpha’s eyes met his. “You know I
don’t have any objections.”

Jared frowned slightly.
“Rafe, you do understand this cannot apply directly to you and any
of the others who have technically ‘died’,” he asked with a touch
of concern.

Rafe nodded. “I know
that, Jared, but it will only be for a while, maybe a generation or
so, and then I can once more go out among humans again. Millie will
be here, and I can visit with Annie any time I want to. That’s
enough for me.” He took a deep breath and looked at Jared
intently.

“
Rafe Armand
is dead, as you’ve pointed out. It’s my wish to take the pack name
if you have no objections?”

Jared blinked slowly in
surprise. Did Rafe know what he was asking of him? His eyes swung
to Aaron, who had been the big man’s teacher in all things pack
related. The stunned expression on the blond man’s face echoed his
own and, then, his head turned to look at his Alpha, and he shook
his head, signalling that Rafe had no idea what he had just asked
for.

Jared turned back to Rafe
and pursed his lips thoughtfully. He had always liked the big man,
right from the very first moment he’d met him. He had worked hard
to keep him sane, until he could come to terms with his new life.
He supposed Rafe had been the start of the changes to pack life,
too. For some reason, Jared had connected with the big man in a
way, which had forced his hand to make decisions he would never
have made.

Rafe had no idea what he
was asking of Jared. He had no idea that he was unconsciously going
to elevate himself into a position he probably wouldn’t want. The
question was, did Jared want the change in status? Rafe was
Millie’s brother and the bridge between the pack and the less
militant local vampires. He was most definitely an asset to the
pack in many ways.

Jared stared at him a
moment longer, and then, he suddenly smiled broadly. “Welcome home,
Rafe Hanlon,” he said quietly and the slight tension still in the
room evaporated, as the betas welcomed Rafe back to the pack with
obvious pleasure.

“
Okay, let’s
go get this meeting over and done with,” Jared announced, and they
all filed out of his home and down to the meeting room.

The betas fanned out
among the gathered community with Rafe following Jared to the front
of the room. Jared positioned Millie to his right, which was
closest to one of the exits. Rafe stood to her other side and ran
his eyes carefully around the room.

There was a lot of
murmuring going on. The meeting was unscheduled; therefore, it was
attracting a lot of speculation. A few of the females were eyeing
Millie up speculatively, particularly Loretta who was probably the
closest to an Alpha Bitch the pack had without actually being one.
She had been Jared’s preferred bed partner, and therefore Rafe
marked her as one to watch when the meeting started.

The room quickly settled
down, when the Alpha stood to talk. “I’m glad to see everyone could
attend,” Jared began with a smile. “I know you are all curious as
to why I have called this impromptu meeting.”

“
Does it have
anything to do with the human woman?” Loretta asked, her tone cold.
“Has the Alpha finally decided to mate?”

Jared’s cool blue eyes
locked with hers and a muscle jumped in the side of his jaw, his
teeth clenching at her snide tone. “This is Millicent Cooper, and
yes, Loretta, she is my mate.”

There was a ripple of
voices around the room, and all eyes turned to stare at Millie
intently, which began to make her feel uncomfortable. Now, she knew
what it was like to be an animal in a zoo.

“
You’re not
mated yet, and she’s still human, so why is she here?” Loretta
persisted, glaring hard at Millie. “Surely, you didn’t call a
meeting just to tell us you had found a mate? I know it’s been a
long time coming, Jared, but it hardly warrants a full bloody pack
meeting to announce it.”