Keeping My Pack (10 page)

“
Is there a reason you’re pulling at me, or is this just another nervous habit of yours?” He asks, his brow lifting and his mouth set in a look of amused annoyance.

I bite my lip and feel my cheeks heating. “I wanted your hoodie.” I shrug. He laughs lightly as he pulls the jacket off and places it around my shoulders. I quickly put my arms through the sleeves and zip it up as far as it goes. It’s huge for me, but it feels like armor to me.

Grandfather clears his throat again. I turn my body to him and make myself meet his eyes. Eyes that look like mine, I notice. “If it’s really up to me, then I say they need to die.”

Remy sits forward in his chair, clasping his hands together. “I know this must be hard for you, Kitten…”

“
No, it’s not hard at all. Besides what they did to me, they almost killed you and Tristan. I don’t know about all this wolf stuff, or if there is a death penalty, but uncle and Adam do not deserve to be in this world any longer. Uncle is cruel and unfeeling, Adam wanted me as his mate and was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen, including working with uncle. And there was another man in the room that was trying to steal my eggs from me, my future children.” I explain, my tone leaving no room for argument.

“
I agree that their punishments should be severe, but are you sure you want their blood on your hands?” Grandfather asks me.

I look down to my lap, picking at the seams of the jacket sleeve. I shrug my shoulders. “If I have to do it myself, then I will. And I want it done in front of the rest of your wolves, so they know not to go after my family again.”

Kellan’s hand closes over mine gently. “We’d never ask you to do that, Kitten. I’m sure Maksim can arrange for that to happen; you won’t even have to watch.”

“
I want to watch. I need to.” I whisper.

“
Look at you! A great leader already. Ivaskov blood definitely runs through your blood. The treasonous assholes will serve as a warning not to mess with our new Princess.” Grandfather claps happily, a smile plastered on his face.

I frown at him, thinking he’s a little too happy over the death of his own son. “I don’t know if I could’ve forgiven them for what they did to me, but I think I would have tried. The message I want to be sent is never to go after the guys. That, I will never forgive.”

Grandfather cuts his hand through the air. “Either way, it will be done. I’ll arrange for the whole pack to meet at the pack house in Colorado within the week. Albert, start spreading the word immediately.” He nods to the man sitting next to him.

My body stiffens as I recognize him. “You.” I choke out.

“
Yes, my Princess.” The man bows deeply as he pauses on his exit from the house.

“
You remember him from when you were in the basement?” Kellan asks me.

I nod my head, still staring at the man. “And from the dining room,” I say.

“
What dining room? What happened in the dining room?” Logan demands to know. I shake my head, refusing to answer and daring the man to answer as well. He’s the man who told me to be quiet, the one who pointed out the knife on the table when I was struggling with uncle and Adam. The only person who didn’t turn away from me.

Albert continues on his way, and the room is left in silence after our weird exchange. To change the subject, I ask a different question. “Why is everyone calling me Princess and why did you,” I look to grandfather, “say I was the leader of the pack?”

The subject change is welcomed, but I’m filled with nerves and agitation as Remy explains that I’m the lost princess of the Ivaskov pack. So I guess grandfather helped them rescue me not because I’m his family, but because they needed me as a leader, or my mate I guess, whatever that means.

I let them tell me everything, starting with what they did to find me, to when they met grandfather, what happened after they got here and what was said when I was recovering. I don’t say a word. I stare at Maksim the whole time, wondering what was wrong with the people I came from that made them so cold-hearted and unloving. Was I like them? Would I toss my child into a dumpster and leave her to die? Would I abuse a niece because she was powerful? Would I kill my own brother or only admire a granddaughter because having her around benefited me?

“
Can we go home now?” I ask Remy, interrupting whatever grandfather was going on about,

The subject of my stare looks back at me, a frown in place. “Your home is with your people, your wolves, in Colorado.” He tells me.

I shake my head slowly. “No. It’s with the men who cared for me without asking anything in exchange. I already have a home, with them.”

“
Kitten…” Remy says my name softly. “We should probably talk about this before you dismiss them entirely. You’ve been through a lot and have learned a lot today, you don’t have to decide now, but know that whatever you chose, wherever you go, we’ll go too.”

I think over his words for a few moments before I decide that my head hurts, and I’m done with today. “Fine, we’ll talk about it, but I want to go home, for a little while at least.”

Grandfather splutters. “The pack will want to meet you…”

I cut him off. “And they will, maybe. I need some time to think things over, and I need to talk about this with my family.” I emphasize the word family, looking for any reaction from Maksim, but there is none.

He frowns harder and crosses his arms over his chest. “That’s something else we need to talk about. Your name. Kitten is not a proper name for a wolf princess, let alone an Ivaskov. Katerina would be better suited for you; it would explain the nickname and your grandmother was named Katerina.”

“
I already have a name and its Kitten. It’s a name I’ve earned, and I’m keeping it, suitable or not.”

“
You
earned
it? What does that even mean?” He scoffs.

I sigh and close my eyes, leaning my head back against the couch. “If you knew anything about me, you’d know that I was first raised a cat by a mentally challenged woman. You’d know that I was left alone my entire life up until I met Ash and Tristan and the others. I took care of myself, taught myself everything I know and ignored the rest of the world. But you don’t know that because you don’t know me. You’re just part of a family that decided I was trash.”

“
Well…I-I didn’t…” He started.

“
It doesn’t matter. Now, if you’d excuse us, I want to leave. Unless you plan on making me a prisoner like your son had?”

Maksim looks confused and angry, but he gets to his feet and brushes off imaginary dirt off his pants. He meets Remy’s eyes and jerks his head to the door. “A word?” He asks him between gritted teeth. He stalks off, slamming the door behind him.

“
Well, that went smoothly. The rest of you get packed up and ready to go. Jace, make the arrangements, something private. I’ll be back in a few.” Remy instructs before following him outside.

I sit patiently as Logan tries to untangle my messy hair. Jace offered to start on my bangs while he did the back. I feel like a gross monster in front of these perfectly styled boys. Tristan had brought in a platter of cheese and crackers for me to snack on while I was to be poked and prodded, but the sight of it alone had my tummy upset. Great, wracking sobs came out of nowhere and took me by force. The guys instantly went on alert, and I tried to explain what had me so upset, but it is hard to manage through all of the never-ending crying. After my explanation of why the sight of food caused such a reaction in me, my boys wore expressions of horror, heartbreak, and sadness. Tristan’s generally cheerful and soothing features transformed into something I can only describe as murderous rage and was enough to scare me into calming myself. He had closed his eyes and breathed deeply for what seemed like forever, and when he opened them again, the look was gone, replaced by a look of determination. He instructed Jace and Logan to move to either side of me while he sat in front of me on the bed and offered me a cube of the cheese from between his thumb and forefinger. I shook my head at first, Adam’s voice ringing in my head, telling me if I eat, he gets to touch me. Tristan laid his forehead against mine and whispered so low I couldn’t understand the words, but the soothing effect his voice had over me was there, as was the electric sparks from earlier. My eyes closed of their own accord and I just listened to him. Eventually, I felt the slide of the cheese over my lips, and my tongue flicked out to taste it on instinct. My mouth flooded with saliva, my body telling me I really wanted that bite of cheese, and Tristan’s voice was convincing my mind that no harm will come to me if I eat it.

I opened my mouth, taking in the small bite of food and chewed it slowly, moaning deeply as the delicious flavor washed over my taste buds. Then. The tears came again.

“
Oh, Sweetie.” Tristan sighed brokenly.

I shook my head quickly, offering him a smile as well. “It’s not that, I promise. It’s just so good.” I hiccupped, giggling at my ridiculousness.

Tristan smiled too and offered me another bite with his lean fingers. Logan and Jace resumed their brushing, and we fell into companionable silence. I felt odd at first, knowing I was being fed like a baby but accepted his offerings anyway. Somehow, him offering me the food instead of me reaching for it myself made it easier. I’d be embarrassed once my belly was full for the first time in months.

“
There you go Doll, pretty as ever.” Jace states as he sits back and Logan fluffs my hair. I blush a little at his compliment but tell him thank you. He turns his cheek and leans closer, so I give him a quick kiss, blushing further. My emotions are all over the place, and it’s hard to remain calm. Just this morning I was being stabbed to death, and now here I am, being taken care of again by the people I cherish most in the world. It feels unreal, and I’m still waiting to wake up any second, broken and bleeding on the cold, concrete floor.

Remy steps back into the small house and scrubs a hand over his red hair. “So, we ready to go then?” Logan asks through a mouth full of crackers, getting a few crumbs on Tristan, who just brushes them off with a roll of his eyes.

Remy scratches at his eyebrow with a thick finger. “I suppose we are. Though, I’ll be escorting the prisoners to the pack house before I return home, along with some of the soldiers we brought with us. If you don’t mind, Kitten, I’d like to kill them as quickly as possible, and I’d like for you not to have to witness it.”

“
Okay,” I answer him, even though it wasn’t a question. I’m not sure if I really want to watch that anyway. I just want to be done with them.

“
Okay.” Remy nods. “I promise to do the job myself; they will cause you no more harm. I will only be a few days, but when I return, we’ll uh, well, we’ll have some guests.” He states reluctantly.

“
Guests,” Ash repeats with a raise of his brow.

“
Maksim agrees that Kitten needs some time to recuperate, but he’s asked for himself and Albert to stay with us as guests so he can get to know his granddaughter and for Albert to tutor her, and us, on wolf policies and politics. Even if you choose to walk away from it all, Kitten, you can’t control what others do, and the Ivaskov pack will still look to you to lead them, it’s in their nature.” Remy explains with a shrug.

“
And you thought this a wise idea?” Finn asks warily.

“
I do,” Remy states confidently. “The rest of us either had to choose to leave our families or were chased away from them. Kitten has an opportunity that none of us had, and I think she should be given the chance to know her family. I won’t force the issue, but he’ll be around if she changes her mind.”

“
I understand,” I told him, meeting his eyes. I saw no judgment in them; he really did just want me to have the option.

“Right then,” Logan jumped to his feet. “Let’s blow this joint!”

Kellan

T
he first few days back home were interesting, to say the least. To the ignorant eye, Kitten appeared to be just fine. She smiled when she was supposed to, laughed when she was supposed to and was around people when she was supposed to. When she thought no one was looking though, her gaze would drift away, and she’d shut down. She swayed between being too busy with lessons with Finn and yoga with Reed and car maintenance with Ash, to locking herself in her room for hours, lying in bed where sometimes we could hear muffled crying.