Chapter 13 NEW PACK
Samuel places the last of the bags in the back of his truck. My parents stand by the door, with my father bracing mum as she watches us with tear filled eyes. It is a mix of both happy and sad tears. Although she is happy that I am getting a fresh start, she is also sad to see me go. It is the same for me.
I have spent the last half hour, while Samuel was loading up, telling them goodbye. I have hugged and kissed them at least a dozen times. I was not sure they were going to let me go.
"Are you ready?" he asks, closing the tailgate and proceeding to my side of the vehicle. His hand rests on the door handle while he awaits my reply. He watches the brief exchange of emotions between me, my Mom, and Dad.
I smile at them and they return it just as happily despite the tears. They are truly happy ones. I lift my hand and give them a last wave goodbye with a slight movement of my hand while trying to convince myself that this is the right thing to do. I know that it is, but now, here in the moment, I find myself talking myself out of going, all for the sake of my parents.
Leaving them is hard.
Samuel places his hand on my shoulder, which brings me from my reverie. I turn my head to face him and offer a faint smile. He returns it with an encouraging smile.
He pulls open the door and waits, looking at my parents as I get in. Then he closes the door after I have settled in the seat.
The window is down and the sun is beating down, hot on top of us. The heat has already settled in the cab of the truck and suddenly the tank top and shorts I am wearing are not cool enough for this entirely hot day.
Samuel goes around the vehicle to his side and is next to me in only a few short seconds. The engine roars to life, startling me with the loud sound. I blush light pink when he grins at my slight jump.
He puts the truck in reverse and slowly backs from my drive way, being cautious of his surroundings. Glancing out the side view mirror, I watch as my home becomes smaller into the distance until it eventually disappeares all together, my mom and dad waving the entire time.
With my whole room packed into the back of the truck and my past behind me, I let out a sigh of relief. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
This will truly be a fresh start for me.
Samuel and I take turns fiddling with the old antique radio inside the truck. I am surprised it picks up any radio stations at all given its age. Out of the three radio stations it can pick up, two of them are older country stations, airing Jim Reeves, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and others like them. I remember, while spending time on my grandparent's farm as a kid, listening to these kind of stations while my grandpa worked on his vehicles. It isn't my taste, but it does bring back some fond memories.
We have been on the road nearly two hours when we decide to stop for some food. My stomach can't have been happier. Eating has not exactly been on my list of things to do today and I am now paying for it.
When he and I get out of the truck, I stick out like a sore thumb. I am not used to bigger cities. I can count on one hand how many times I have been to. The large buildings intimidate me. However, they don't seem to bother my travel companion nearly as much. It is odd how much he seems to fit in here.
Sitting in the brightly lit restaurant,waiting on our food, I am finally able to study Samuel a little better way than I had before.
His thick dark hair swooshes down over the right side of his face, almost completely covering his eye. It adds to his mysteriousness. His hazel brown eyes hold a certain level of intensity that draws me in. It makes me curious to learn more about him and that frightens me. My eyes travel downward and land on his muscular chest and arms. There is some kind of tattoo hidden behind his short shirt sleeve, over his left bicep. I quickly note how he excels in the looks and build department.
I blush when his catches me staring.
"Does something interest you?" he asks teasingly.
"Um actually, I was just noticing your tattoo." I lie.
His eyes travel down to where mine were studying the darkened skin and he shifts in his seat awkwardly.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to pry, it just caught my attention," I explain.
"No, it's not you. I'm sorry. It's just a touchy subject with me," he says, his voice returning to its normal tone.
The red haired waitress returns with our food and sets the plates down in front of us before refilling our beverages.
"Can I get you anything else?" she asks us, while stealing glances at Samuel.
I try not to giggle. She looks to be at least sixteen. She is human and isn't hiding her infatuation for him well. When he sends her a friendly smile she squeals and returns it, showing off her braces.
I think it was cute.
“No, thank you." he answers her, trying not to laugh himself.
"Okay, just let me know if you change your mind." She says, then quickly disappears from the table, Samuel chuckling after her.
"It seems you have some allure around here," I smile, amused.
He takes a bite of his burger and chews for a few seconds then swallows. "What do you mean?"
"Well, just now with the waitress and the hostess who served us earlier," I explain.
"Hmm..." he muses. "I guess I do."
I roll my eyes at his casual response. Please, he would have to be blind not to notice. I'm sure this happens often with him. How could it not? He was Samuel Jackson after all.
Watching him eat is increasing my appetite enormously and I look down at my pasta and wasted no time satisfying my hunger. It tastes just as good as it looks. I even burn my tongue in my eagerness to fill my stomach. He laughs at me and I glare.
An hour later it is starting to get dark out so we quickly finish our food and leave. He says we aren't far from his territory then.
Just outside of the city we turn down a paved back road and then turn down another that is graveled a while after that. At that point he says we are only a few miles away.
Twenty minutes later an insanely large house comes into view. Probably the biggest one I have ever seen personally. It is as over the top and extravagant as the mansions I have seen on television. It is definitely beautiful, My mouth is gaping at its marvel.
The three story house is breath taking. The twilight sky setting in the background makes the view picturesque. There are more windows on the mansion than I can count. A few pack members stand outside watching us as we pull up, a few with puzzled expressions.
There is a large garage off to the side that stands alone, separated from the house. When Samuel raises the garage doors with the click of a button on his key chain, I am even more in awe. There are a couple of sports cars, a motorcycle, and three solid black SUV's lined side by side. I look like something the secrets service would travel in.
My mind is reeling with one very significant thing on it.
Holey crap! He is rich.
"This is your house?" I gasp.
He chuckles as he parks the truck. "You seem surprised."
I am flabbergasted. "Are you serious? Look at the condition of this truck. What am I supposed to think?"
He shrugs, killing the engine. "I had to remain inconspicuous." He turns towards the other cars in the garage then back to me. "Driving any of these would have drawn too much attention to me."
"Yeah, someone might think you're a millionaire or something," I say, stating the obvious.
"Actually, it's the pack house, not just mine," he corrects me.
I furrow up my eyebrows in confusion. I know what the term pack house means. I really didn't think anyone used those anymore. "Pack house? You mean everyone lives here together?"
"More or less. There are some who prefer to live on their own. We have housing for them in a community in the wooded area behind the house. We're all very close in distance."
This is something completely new to me. My territory doesn't live in the pack house, leaving it entirely for our leaders. The pack members have houses that surround it. All business for the pack is handled in the home of the Alpha, seeing as it is the biggest house on the land and can hold all of the pack members.
"It must be nice to have so many people in one house, easy to communicate."
"It is," he agrees. "I keep my beta and third in command very close along with all the fighters. They occupy most of the rooms on the top floor along with me."
We sit silently for a couple of minutes, both of us taking in what surrounds us, until a very important question comes to mind.
"So, what's our story?"
He seems confused by my question. "What do you mean?"
"Who am I to you? What are we telling people? I don't know what they know."
He nods in understanding. "I called my Beta, after I left you to pack your things, and told him everything. In our pack we have full disclosure. I don't believe in keeping secrets. Secrets separate people, and if we are separated, we can't be a strong pack."
Well, that makes sense. I don't know what that was like having someone being so open and honest all the time. I always feel like our pack has its secrets.
"Okay, to honesty then. I like that."
"To them you're my mate and that's all that matters. They are just happy that I have found someone after Josephine."
His voice sounds a little strained at her name. Talking about her still affects him how thinking about Logan still affects me. It is hard to think of one of them without thinking of the other. After all, she was my mate's, mate.
He clears his throat and steps from the vehicle. "Come on, I'll introduce you to our pack."
That single word clicks in me and I pause whilst opening the door.
"Our." That word has more meaning now than it ever did. He is right; this will be our pack now. Well as soon has he takes it back again, it will. That is exciting for me and scary at the same time. I just hope they will accept me.
When he stops in front of me with his hand extended I break from my thoughts. I stare down at his palm facing upward waiting for me to take it.
"Unity," he says, answering an unspoken question. "It's important to me and the pack."
"Right," I answer dumbly.
I place my hand in his large one, the heat enveloping it. While he seems comfortable holding on to me, I am stiff. This is something new. He gives it a light squeeze and smile teasingly.
"Loosen up, we'll both have to get used to this eventually." He says.
I smile back, though it's mostly forced and I try to take his advice. I loosen up. I let my shoulders fall into their usual place and let out a long breath. He's right. I can do this.
I grip his hand a little tighter and nod to him. "Okay, I'm ready."
He seems satisfied and pulls me along next to him, away from the garage. The large house comes back into view and automatically I stiffen again. Anyone would feel nervous meeting another pack for the first time. Especially one they will soon call their own.
"It's alright. Trust me," he says.
Again I force myself to relax. He's right. This is his pack, and he knows them much better than I do.
A few of the members that are standing outside when we arrive are still there, only it seems now they have a few more people who have joined them. They all stare for a moment before dropping their heads in the presence of their Alpha.
"Alpha," they each speak as he walks past them. He nods to each of them in return. They all seem so formal. More so than my old pack did back home. They also seem to have a much bigger population, if his house was any sort of clue.
"Hello," a few of them greet me kindly. I am able to return the greeting to most of them just before Samuel opens the door and pulls me inside the house.
The first room we enter is foyer with stairs leading up to another floor. Then, to the right, is an arched doorway that leads into a living room. It is crowded with people. It almost looks like a house party except it is missing the beer and music. There has to be at least thirty people in the main room, making the large space look much smaller than what it really is. If there are this many people in this room I can only imagine how many the other rooms hold.
No one has noticed that we have entered the room yet.
"How many people are in your pack exactly?" I ask in amazement."Two hundred and fifteen," he replies easily. The number seems to just roll off his tongue.
My eyes widen in surprise. "That's almost double what my previous pack has."
"We are one of the biggest one's in the country. The last time I checked, we were tired for number three."
I huff out a breath of air in disbelief. And this is the pack I'm supposed to help him run? Is he crazy? This is a huge job.
"I'm gonna need you to trust me again," he smiles.
I think he likes seeing me panic more than he let on. The amusement on his face is very blatantly obvious.
Once he turns from me his expression turns more businesslike. He clears his throat rather loudly to gain everyone's attention. I am not prepared to meet the wandering eyes of the pack members that stare back at me. "Alpha," someone says, causing them to bow in respect.
When they raise their heads again every single eye is on me. I can feel the sweat forming between mine and Samuel's hands from the nervousness I feel.
He shoots me a 'remember what I told you' look, but that seems hard to do right now.
"As you all know I have been away for a while. I'm sure my Beta Dylan has filled everyone in on the reason why."
Just then a single person emerges from a connecting room and bows his head in respect of Samuel. Several people follow suit a short distance behind him.
"Dylan," Samuel acknowledges.
He looks between Samuel and me quickly, and then smiles at him in a way that seems to convey some sort of inside joke between them.
"Grace," he says, bowing again. I bow back in return."I won't explain everything to you again unnec
essarily, but what you have heard is true," he continues then squeezes my hand and looks at me. "This is Grace. She is to be my mate and your Luna by the next full moon." He announces.