Chapter 17: Charlie

His eyes flickered with sudden interest that burned as he stared back at me. I looked away, too drawn in to risk looking at him now. "I see," he said quietly. "I take it you're new to their group. Seems counter-intuitive to building a familial bond throwing you to the wolves." Hips lips twitched. "Pardon the pun."

"How do you know I'm new?" I asked.

"Because, darling, I would've remembered you. Trust me," he said and my heart pattered irregularly. I frowned, forcing myself to focus. This was not normal, wanting to kill a guy and then wanting to kiss him all in the space of minutes. Maybe the stress was getting to me. Maybe I was desperate to cling to anyone who would listen.

Or maybe this guy could help me somehow. He clearly had knowledge of the pack. Maybe he could find a way to help me out of this mess.

"The alpha role is apparently only passed to the females in the line," I explained. "Some sort of law or tradition. My father—whom I just met yesterday—insists my sister and I compete against each other. Some sort of fight for the title. How can they expect me to fight my own sister? Especially when I know nothing about these people. She's been here her entire life, while I've been stuck in human-ville. I have no chance of winning and after meeting them, I realize no chance at ever being close either." I sighed. "Unless I can find a way to stop this, I think it's best if I just go."

"You speak of Regan Vuk?" he asked. "You're her sister?"

"Half-sisters, apparently." I wandered back over to him, suddenly aware that I'd been pacing—and that I'd just basically unloaded my entire situation onto this stranger, for no reason other than that he seemed trustworthy in a way that wasn't definable by words.

"Half-sisters. How intriguing," he murmured. His gaze sharpened. "And you think running away will solve your problem? That they won't come after you and force you to do this?"

My shoulders slumped. "No. I don't know."

"If there were any chance for a familial bond with them, would you stay?" he asked.

"Of course. I mean, aside from this crazy battle and … the other stuff," I said, realizing the arranged marriage was a whole other can of worms. One I didn't want to explain just yet. "I'd love to have a sister. A dad. You know, people like me."

"We all need to understand our roots," he said, nodding. "Where we come from is just as important as where we're going."

"Even if those roots are twisted up in outdated traditions and laws designed to limit your choices rather than expand them?" I challenged.

"No one said progress was easy," he said, and something in his words made it seem more personal than some repeated cliché.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"That," he said, his lips curving slightly, "is not something I should answer for you. But I think you already know."

His eyes flickered to something behind us and we both tensed. A second later, a small rustling sound reached my ears.

Crap, the pack.

I whirled back to mystery guy.

"Looks like our time is up," he said, and there was a note of regret in his words that made me flush. He was shifting his weight from side to side, and I could see that he was ready to bolt, but something made him pause.

"Wait," I said, extending my hand toward him. I'm not sure why. It's not like I was strong enough to hold him in place against his will—our fight had proven that. "You didn't tell me your name."

He turned back long enough to reach up and tuck a runaway strand of my hair behind my ear. His fingers were feather light against my cheek, but the tingling trail they left behind caused my breath to hitch. "Another time," he murmured close enough that his warm breath washed over me in a sweet cloud.

I blinked, inhaling. And then he was gone, with nothing but a swirl of leaves where his feet had stood to mark his presence.

The distant rustling grew louder, closer. I grimaced.

The vampire was right. Running away wasn't going to solve this. I had to face it, one way or another. But I wasn't going to do it while admitting I'd been roaming out here alone. Fighting off vampires. And I needed to heal my aching throat.

I called my wolf up and shifted just as the first werewolf appeared through the trees.

The tawny wolf growled when it spotted me. I growled back, determined not to be intimidated. Another wolf appeared, bigger and bulkier than the first. His fur was mud-brown and coarse, like he didn't worry much about grooming. He, too, growled and glared at me. They advanced slowly and my hackles rose.

I shifted my weight to my back paws, ready to flee or fight back if needed. A third wolf growled, louder than the first two, as it approached at a run. It stopped in between its pack mates and looked back and forth, snarling and yapping at them. The first two wolves backed away and lowered their heads, deferring to the newcomer. Something passed between them, some signal I didn't understand, and then all at once, they shifted.

The tawny one became Carter. The dark-brown one was Brent—my babysitter. The third wolf, the pretty brown one with the shiny coat and pink nose, was Regan—my sister. Figured. I'd all but felt the authority rolling off her the moment she'd appeared.

We both shifted at the same time, her form shimmering at the edges until, with a soft pop of air, we were both human again.

Regan shook her hair out. "What are you doing out here?" she asked me.

"Getting some air," I said.

Brent, even though he was back in human form, was sniffing the air and looking around. "I smell vamp," he said.

"Are you alone out here?" Regan asked. She was standing several feet away, with both guys flanking her, looking every inch an alpha.

I tensed. They did know about vampires. And they hadn't told me. I might be werewolf, like them, but that didn't mean I trusted them. Not like I had immediately trusted the vampire—despite our little fight. And I wasn't going to let them hurt him ... whoever he was.

I met her gaze squarely. "Yes," I said. "I'm alone."

"Huh," Brent grunted, clearly unconvinced.

Regan shot him a look before returning her attention to me. "Look, you can't wander so far from the house. It's not safe."

"Why not?" I asked.

Her eyes bulged. Behind her, Brent and Carter made matching sounds of disappointment. "Don't you know anything about vampires?" Regan demanded.

"No," I said, doing my best to look surprised. "Actually, I don't. In fact, up until now, I didn't even know they existed." It wasn't a lie, not technically.

Regan shook her head. Beside her, Carter muttered something I didn't catch.

"You will," Regan said grimly. Her tone left no doubt in my mind that whatever ill feelings my attacker had for this pack was mutual. "Come on, let's get back. I'll explain on the way."

I hesitated. An hour ago, I would've refused, and taken my chances with running. But now … The vampire was right. I could run away now, but it wouldn't change things. I had to face it head on, like the alpha I might become. And, win or lose, I had to fight for my family. I couldn't just walk away from this chance, especially knowing I might never get it again.

With that in mind, and one last look into the empty woods behind me, I let Regan lead me back.