Chapter 2: Starting Over

1 Year Later…

“HA!” I laughed as a dodged the blow and maneuvered away from the arms that sought to grab me. I dropped to the ground to continue to avoid the blows landing a few of my own in the meantime.

“Good, Mari. Don’t let me land a blow…” Mike yelled. “Move. Keep Moving…” He coached.

I got back to my feet and, as instructed, kept moving.

“That’s it. Focus.”

I continued to dodge each move Mike made and I could feel him breaking down, growing more tired with each swing at me.

I lunged at him suddenly, his eyes widening in shock before he could defend himself. He turned to run as if to escape, and I jumped onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck putting the most minuscule amount of pressure on his windpipe.

Seconds later, he tapped my arm and I jumped off his back beaming up at him.

“That is some serious improvement, kid.” Mike nodded appreciatively.

“Thanks.” I smiled, finally having gotten the upper hand. I doubted that surprise attack would work on him a second time, however. More training was necessary.

As if reading my mind, he looked down at me and rolled his eyes. “Don’t go getting cocky now, Mari. You still need to work on your attacks and on building up your strength. Your endurance can use some work also. We’ll have to start longer cardio sessions and long-distance runs. ”

“I know. Can’t I just have this little win for now?” I sighed and smiled at Elizabeth, Mike’s Mate as she brought food and drinks out of their cottage.

In the year or so that I had been living with Elizabeth and Mike, I only spoke to my parents about once a week. I eventually chose to stop calling my mother because no matter how many times I told her I didn’t care or didn’t want to know, she couldn’t help but feed me information about Damien and his mate. She thought they were adorable together and she often felt the need to tell me that I really should just get over it and come home. I’d feel better once I met my own mate.  I’d scoff and shrug it off and tell her I wasn’t ever coming back to that place, so she should stop asking. 

Even my brother, Mitch, unless he was calling for my mother rarely called. He had apparently begun taking over his duties as Beta, my dad having retired right around the time that I left. So he quite literally was spending the majority of his time with the person I had despised more than anything on the face of the planet. There really wasn’t much that I wanted to hear about his time with Damien, unless it was,  “...Hey Mari. Punched Damien in the face today.” …and I knew that would never happen…so it put a bit of a snag in our relationship. 

Living with Mike and Elizabeth had been amazing. They lived a very simple, quiet life, but I had grown to love it. She taught me about herbs and plants and how to forage in the forest for plants that were safe to consume. She introduced me to Mike, her mate. He was a really big warrior at one point in the pack he was from, but no one knew why he left or disappeared. We had never discussed it and I got the sense that he didn’t like to talk about it much. 

He had taken one glance at me and agreed to train me, saying that I needed to be able to defend myself. He taught me to use what I had in my favor. Which, at 5’2 and 110 lbs, wasn’t a lot. He taught me to use my stature to my advantage. I’m small and fast, which are about the only things working *in* my favor in a fight.

“Marina,” Elizabeth said, never calling me by my nickname, “Your brother is on the phone for you, inside.”  She handed me a sandwich on my way to the front door.

“...’lo?” I said into the phone, around a mouthful of a turkey sandwich. Wondering why he would be calling me in the first place.

“Mari? I have bad news.” He said, his voice sounding gruffer than I remembered from the last phone call.

“What’s up?” I frowned, he still seemed so serious. I perched on the edge of the sofa, listening to a long pause coming from the other end of the phone.

I heard him sigh and take a deep breath. He seemed really reluctant to tell me whatever it was that he had called for.

“Mom and Dad are dead Mari….” He replied.

“W-What? H-How?” I stuttered.

He sighed again, “Just come home Mari, please…. I can’t talk about this over the phone right now... We need you…

I sighed. The last thing that I wanted to do was go home. The thought of running into Damien and his mate gave me heartburn and put a sour taste in the back of my mouth. My turkey sandwich suddenly seemed to have turned to sawdust in my mouth.

I ran to the kitchen sink and promptly threw up.

Liz and Mike had come inside before the end of the call and rushed over to the sink. Where I was now standing, wiping my face with a paper towel.

“That must have been one hell of a phone call…”

“Yeah…” I mumbled. “...I...Uhm…he said that my mom and dad are dead...He said he couldn’t talk about it on the phone. He said they need me…”  I frowned at her, both she and I knowing what I needed to do.

“Well,”  she said, after a moment, looking over to Mike who was nodding. “I guess we had better start packing then.”

“We?” I asked. “You’re coming too?”

“Of course. I’m not sending you back there without some backup.”

The next morning the three of us packed our things into their SUV and started the long trek back to where I had come from. We hopped into the car and we were off. 

The anticipation bubbled in my stomach. So much had changed in the time I had spent away. For starters, I was no longer weak and I definitely wasn’t a pushover. If I didn't want to do something, I wasn't going to do it. Simple as that. So much time away had taught me to value myself and I’d never let anyone walk all over me again.

Elizabeth looked over at me, her eyes meeting my own, “Are you ready for this?”

I gave her a shaky laugh. “No. Not at all.”

Mike looked at me through the rearview mirror while driving giving me a comforting smile. He looked over at Elizabeth smiling at her and taking her hand in his own.  The bond that they shared was what every werewolf wanted in their lives. They had a partner, a friend, a lover… the other half of their soul, in another person. It was what I thought I would have with Damien. 

The trip took less time than I’d imagined it would. Though it was long enough that Natalia was practically begging to be able to run the last bit. She’d been on high alert since learning that we were going back.

Around five hours and a few minutes later we pulled onto a side road, escorted by some of the wolves that were guarding the perimeter line. These wolves were massive and I didn’t recognize a single one of them that was running patrol, which I thought was odd.

They emerged out of the woods, 4 of them, all huge, all in nothing but sweatpants. Trying to keep my gaze on their faces, I confirmed, I did not know a single one of these people. Odd, having grown up in the pack my entire life. Odder still, they did not seem to recognize me either.

“What is your business here?” One of them asked. He was clearly in charge. His build was bigger than the other 3, and he had a huge scar down his rib cage.

“We’re here to visit my family. My brother is the Beta.” I replied, looking at each of them again. They all seemed confused at my words.

The one with the scar spoke up again, “Beta Thane?”

“Who? Uhm, uh, No. Beta Mitch.” Since when did Damien have a Beta named Thane? I don’t even think there is a person in the entire pack named Thane…

Suddenly, a look of understanding crossed the scarred one’s face. “Go on through,” he said to us. He and the other men headed back towards the woods, presumably to shift back into their wolf forms and continue the patrol.

“That was weird,” I said to Mike as he pulled away, starting the winding path that would lead us to the center of town, and eventually to my old house. As we drove nearer to the center of town, I noticed more wolves that I didn’t recognize and more human faces that I know I had never seen before.

I vaguely remembered Damien mentioning something about another pack that needed help, so maybe they had finally joined forces. All of that was forgotten when we pulled into my driveway.

What awaited me outside of the car, looked nothing short of a warzone…Where my parent’s house used to stand, were embers and ash. Wooden beams that once held the frame of the house up now were charred to almost nothing. The earth was scorched as if the house had been left to burn down. 

My eyes went wide, taking in the scene before me, my brain going a million miles a minute. 

Where was Mitch? What had happened here while I was gone? Clearly, this house was uninhabitable. So where was I going to stay? I contemplated the hotel in town, but it really wasn’t somewhere I would recommend, let alone stay there myself. The packhouse was certainly not an option. Not as long as Damien and his mate were there. I was over it, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see them every minute. 

Two cars pulled up into the driveway, one of them I recognized as Mitch’s car. The other was a large black Range Rover, the windows tinted dark enough so you couldn’t see inside. The car parked next to Mitch’s, but no one climbed out of the car. Mitch and his passenger got out and made their way over to where I was standing, surrounded by the rumble of our former family home. Mitch shrugged his shoulders with a defeated sigh and looked from me to the SUV and back. He gave the people inside a nod and moved back toward his car. 

“Mitch…” I started but was cut off by the doors of the SUV opening. Climbing out of the car was one of the largest men I had ever seen in my entire life. His face was expressionless but he gave off an aura of power. 

He spoke first, nodding toward me. “You are Marina?” 

I nodded. “ …and you are?” 

“Beta Thane. The Alpha wants to see you. You need to get in the car.” He said, motioning towards the SUV. 

I laughed. “I’m sure he does. But I am not interested in seeing him, ever again. I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me what the hell happened here. What happened to my parents? To our house?” 

“...Mari…please don’t make this worse…” I heard Mitch practically beg from his car. “Please just go with them. See The Alpha. Answer his questions.” 

Beta Thane, I think he had said his name was, made a move to assist me towards the car, but I wasn’t interested. In a well-practiced move, I dodged his grab and twisted his arm behind his back. 

“Don’t.Fucking.Touch.Me.” I growled out at him. 

At that moment the passenger door opened on the SUV and what climbed out can only be described as the most gorgeous man on the planet. He was also quite obviously the person in charge. His aura was palpable, everyone baring their necks to him. I lifted my head up to his face, into his eyes.  His eyes were the color of liquid metal, and at the moment, they were looking directly at me, expectantly. 

“Would you kindly release my Beta? He’s generally good company and I’d hate to have to find another.” 

“Tell him to keep his hands to himself then, and I’ll happily let him go….Wait. Your Beta?... You’re the Alpha? That’s… you’re a liar!  Where is Damien? He’s the Alpha.” I looked over at Mitch who was sitting on the hood of his car with his arms crossed. 

“That’s what I’d like to know, Marina. Where is Damien?”  His voice was steely and his eyes went cold when he spoke Damien’s name. 

“Me? How the hell would I know? I just got here.” I rolled my eyes starting to wonder whether or not this dude was altogether upstairs when he snapped at me. 

“Awfully convenient don’t you think so? You disappeared without a word, I’m told. Haven’t been seen by anyone in the pack in over a year, not even to visit your own family. And now, all of a sudden, here you are.” 

“Are you serious?” 

“Extremely so. Get in the car. I have more questions and I’d like to ask them in my office.” 

When I made no indication of moving, he barked out a command at me, using his aura to make me comply. “Get. In.The. Car. Marina. Now.” 

I felt my knees buckle under the weight of his command, my ability to disobey dwindling by the second, and without much choice in the matter I found myself climbing into the backseat of the black Range Rover.