Jadie didn’t realize that when Lincoln said they were going on a hike, it meant they would be trudging over twenty miles deep into the woods, far away from any form of civilization. If she didn’t have a wolf, she would have been scared out of her mind.
“How much further is this place you’re taking me?” She asked as her surroundings all started to look the same after a while.
Lincoln chuckled and jumped over a small stream. “It’s not much further. We’re almost there.” He reached one of his hands out to help her over without slipping on the wet rocks. She took it and carefully found her footing on the other side before they continued on.
They ventured deeper into the woods until the sound of flowing water distracted Jadie from her sore feet and growling stomach.
“Don’t worry. We can run back in wolf form. It’s just better to be fully clothed in case humans are around.” He chuckled
Lincoln helped Jadie slip her sweatshirt over her injured shoulder when they returned to the pack house. He was eerily silent the rest of the trip home, on guard from the slightest noises around them.“Lincoln?” Jadie tried to get his attention, but his mind was elsewhere. The two silently walked through the back door of the pack house, Jadie wincing in pain when she accidentally bumped into the door frame.Lincoln froze and looked over his shoulder at her with a foreign emotion. “I’m fine. Just clumsy.” She assured him. It was already starting to heal anyway, just not as quickly as she had hoped due to her situation.He just nodded and continued to walk deeper into the house. Jadie followed him to his final destination, his office, and stepped in so he could close the door behind them.It was almost like he was moving on auto pilot, his mind too focused on whatever he was thinking about to understand what he was doing or whe
Jadie shrunk into her seat next to him. Listening to how cruel her brothers could be was hard, but Lincoln was more important at the moment. She would deal with Jack and Jeremy later.“Ian appeared out of nowhere. We overheard my dad talking about rogues testing our borders, but none were brave enough to come deep enough to be caught.” He snarled and gripped his hands into fists. “When Jack saw him, he grabbed James and started to run away. Ian knew exactly who I was because of my father, and he wanted some kind of payback for losing his land to the new expansion my father had just sent through. He decided that instead of taking his land back, he would end his pack altogether by killing off his successor.”Jadie reached over and grabbed his fist in her hand, squeezing tightly to try and comfort him so he could continue.“They cut me down and took their turns beating and tearing me apart with their wolves until I was completely unrec
The pack members in that area were just as friendly as the last. The last stop they had planned was a surprise that Lincoln had.The ground dropped off over a steep cliff, overlooking Lake Superior. The water crashed against the earth, carrying some of the dirt and sand with it.“This is part of your territory, too?” Jadie asked in amazement. The water was clear enough to see a sunken boat at the bottom of the lake, fading from the erosion of the water.“It is. And trust me, it is a lot deeper than it looks.” He nudged towards the edge of the cliff and sat with his legs dangling, his hands resting in his lap. Jadie carefully slid over next to him and looked out over the fading horizon.“It’s peaceful here. There aren’t many places like this back in California, and they’re definitely not within our borders.” Lincoln just nodded, listening to her as she spoke of her home. “We had trees and wild ani
The night was long for the both of them. When Jadie thought her torture was finally over, it came back about an hour later with more intensity. Lincoln sat awake all night, feeling useless as he just listened to her struggle and squirm on top of her blankets.Around six in the morning, once Jadie was finally able to sleep peacefully, Lincoln got a mind link from his father.‘I need you to meet me at the northern border. Now.’ He lifted his large head from his paws and lowered his ears. The tone in his father’s voice was serious, making his mind wander as he gave Jadie one last assuring look over his shoulder. He slipped out the door and pushed it closed quietly before padding down the stairs and out the back door.The pack lands were eerily quiet as he strode to the border near the cliff he had taken Jadie to the day before. There was a small area of land that was open to rogues next to it, but it was usually because of the way it was
Her first class was in an hour at the local college. She was starting with basic fundamentals until she figured out what she was planning to do after. As she made it through her first day of mainly introductions into the courses, Lincoln locked himself away in his office, not allowing any visitors. He couldn’t clear his mind of the image of the young pack member mangled on the earth’s floor. It brought back the same feeling of fear and weakness that Lincoln always fought to ignore. He trained harder and longer as he aged to make sure he could never be in that kind of position ever again, but now that Ian was coming back around, it was as if all his skills would disappear and leave him as that same terrified child once again. His office door flew open, and Wilson waltzed in as if he was welcomed. “Go away.” Lincoln growled, gripping his tousled hair in his fists and keeping his gaze on the mess of paperwork across his desk. Wilson ignored his demand an
The next day, Lincoln met Jadie at the same spot after her schooling with a grin. “Ready for training?” He asked, chuckling when she threw her head back with a groan. “No.” She complained dramatically. “Let’s get it over with.” He draped his arm over her shoulders and shook his head. “That’s the spirit.” He teased sarcastically and led her out to the training grounds where the females were already beginning to train. Jadie dressed in preparation for this before she left that morning. She wore a plain pare of black leggings and a green t-shirt with her school’s logo. Lincoln waved Kyra down from across the field. He jogged in their direction, raising his eyebrow at Jadie. “Alpha.” He bowed respectfully to Lincoln and turned over to her. “Ready to get started?” Jadie let out a deep breath and shrugged. “As I’ll ever be.” They set her up inside on the rubber mats with Kyra standing opposite her in a fighting stance. “I’m going to show you co
Jadie’s eyes widened at the sight of her family making their way across the grounds. Her father had a bright smile on his face, and her mother was close to tears. Both her brothers seemed to be on edge, and Lincoln became ridged at their presence. “What are you guys doing here?” She asked, jumping into her father’s arms with a tight squeeze. She didn’t realize how much she had missed his hugs until now. Jack and Jeremy joined in, tightening their grips around the both of them. “We thought we would surprise you.” Gerald mumbled before setting his daughter back on the ground. Kristine stepped forward and smoothed Jadie’s hair down. “You should really thank Alpha Lincoln. It was his idea.” Jadie raised her eyebrows and spun around towards a silent, emotionless Alpha. His eyes were staring off at nothing in particular, clearly lost in his own mind. She rushed forward and hugged him around the waste making her family’s eyes widen in shock. “Thank y
Jadie woke up early the next morning feeling lighter than she had in a long time. She quickly got dressed and went to find her family.Jeremy was asleep in his bed, Jack sitting up on the couch scrolling through his phone. Her mother and father were getting dressed in their room, planning to meet her downstairs for breakfast.“Wake up, we have food to make!” She shouted in the younger of her brothers’ ear. His eyes shot open as he winced in pain from the volume.“Why would you do that?” He groaned, pulling the blanket over his head. Jadie rolled her eyes and ripped it away from the foot of the bed, leaving his whole body that was only covered by a pair of shorts exposed to the cold morning air.He hissed and sat up, giving his sister a glare. “Fine.” He growled, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and slowly making his way to his bag that held all his clothes.Jack remained silent by the door, waitin