Chapter 87

Renee’s POV

“That wasn’t so bad was it?” I ask Eric as he holds the door open for me as we leave Donna’s office. Eric lets out a huff of air like he’s been holding his breath the entire time we were in there, and maybe in some way he was.

Maybe for a different reason than Eric, but I also feel lighter, like a load is off my shoulders. We were really able to lay everything out on the table and examine our feelings as though or hearts and brains were in surgery.

“It could’ve been worse,” Eric finally answers. We cross the parking lot to our car. It’s a peaceful early summer day and the sun is bright, it doesn’t seem like a day where deep feelings are gutted.

“No one cried,” I mention talking about myself. Though I did think Eric would maybe tear up at the mention of his mom passing but he spoke about it as though it was no different than discussing weather.

“To be fair today was mostly paperwork and general background,” Eric states.

“This is true,” I admit. “Next session there may be tears,” I half-joke.

“How long do we plan on doing this?” Eric asks as though he isn’t sure he really wants to know the answer.

I pull open the passenger door of the white sports car and pause before sliding onto the heated leather seats. “Until we know every little thing about one another,” I tell him with a big grin.

“Sounds wonderful,” Eric says sarcastically referring to my non existent intention of putting a number on the amount of sessions we’ll have. “What if we got to know one another organically? Through dates and conversations,”

I fake a yawn. “Boring, besides,” I pat my rounded belly. “We’re on a time crunch,”

Just then a bowl sounds in the distance. It’s far away but nonetheless reaches our ears and causes the fur in me to stand up. I look at Eric who’s eyes are locked in the direction of the call. “It’s Andrew,” he says and quickly gets in the car.

“Don’t you want to howl back?” I ask confused as to why I’m buckling my seatbelt when we both know transforming and running on all fours would be quicker .

“Not here,” Eric says and doesn’t explain why as he grips the steering wheel and cuts into traffic with the tires screeching, but he doesn’t have to. I already know why.

I bite my tongue from commenting on his pride. He doesn’t want Andrew to know we were at a therapists office so instead he’s delaying his response. He just better hope the call isn’t anything serious.

I can’t get comfortable in my seat. Not with my wolf awakened and the urge to response and transform is persisting. Andrew calls again. This time there’s an urgency in his tone. Eric’s jaw is clenched and he interweaves through traffic.

No one else on the road can even hear the call, it’s a signal for members of the pack only. So, they lay on their horns and curse at us thinking we’re trying to be flashy in our new sports car.

When we’re thirty minutes away from the office, Eric rolls down his window. The wind comes rushing in and throws my hair straight back. Eric sticks his head out the window and howls deep from within his belly. Electric jolts through my veins.

“There,” Eric says pulling himself back in. “At least now he’ll know we’re coming,”

“Good,” I say feeling only slightly relieved.

We zip down the hallway and don’t slow until we reach the area where Andrew called from which is somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Eric stops the car at the entrance of a hiking trail, a puff of smoke from the hot tires skidding across the dirt engulfs around us.

Eric practically leaps out of the car and I move quickly behind him. “Wait in the car!” He barks but I’m already outside. “There could be danger,” he says in a low voice as his eyes scan the forrest.

The sun is tucked behind some tall trees causing the temperature to drop. “There you are!” Andrew calls stepping our from behind us. I nearly jump in my own skin. “What took you so long?”

“What’s going on?” Eric asks ignoring Andrew’s question. Andrew quickly understands that he’s going to go unanswered. Andrew nods towards the woods. Without a word more, Eric pulls me near him and we follow behind.

Fifteen minutes later I’ve already broken out into a sweat. We’re deep into the woods now, far off the set trail. Squirrels rustle in the leaves and climb the trees as to get away from us. They probably aren’t used to hikers being in this area.

“We have an issue,” Andrew says seeming completely unaffected by the challenging make-shift trail we just embarked on.

We stand in a triangle formation. “What did you learn?“ Eric asks making it apparent that I’m the only one totally clueless.

“Learn about what?” I ask wanting to be filled in.

“I asked Andrew to follow Mia to her vacation out of the country,” Eric explains, saying vacation loosely.

“Why would you do that?” I ask as my mind quickly works to find an answer, coming up with not one that I like.

“You said you were worried she would retaliate,” Eric says like his request of Andrew was therefore obvious. And this is why we’re in therapy.

I rip my index fingers to my sweaty temple, unsure of how to respond.

“Well, you had good reason to worry,” Andrew says pulling the conversation back to his news. “She may not have had a plan set originally, but now she does.” Andrew says and I feel my blood get cold.

“Start from the beginning,” Eric commands. Andrew nods.

“I learned where she was flying to,” Andrew starts and glosses over exactly how he learned that but I figure the less we know about those details the less criminally involved we are. “Funnily enough, I recognize one other name on that flight list,” Andrew pauses. “Your father,”

Eric shoots his eyes back at Andrew who simply nods.

“I put together my disguise and my charm. I’m able to secure a meeting with him and act as though I’m interested in joining an established pack,” Andrew says to showcase how he buttered up Eric’s father with compliments so he would easily accept Andrew and disregard any suspicions that might arise from a lone wolf trying to enter a pack that’s basically dying out.

“So, he lets you go to London with him,” Eric states like he can’t believe how idiotic his father could be.

“I think he thought having someone young with him as he approached Mia would better his appeal,” Andrew explains and Eric waves him off. From an Alpha stand point, it’s a mistake.

“So, you pretend to be interest in joking his pack, he invites you to London with him, then what?” Eric says. I step closer as Andrew recounts his findings.

“Well, he doesn’t tell me why we’re going to London but I figure its not just a coincidence that Mia is also going to be there. So, as excepted we locate her and Dan asks Mia to join his pack,” Andrew says and I’m not sure I heard him correctly.

“Why?” I ask, stating the question I know we’re all thinking. Andrew shrugs his broad shoulders. “Ultimately to take down our pack,” Andrew looks between Eric and me. “He said you two being together hurts his legacy,” Eric growls.

“He’s mad I didn’t merge the packs when he he asked. His own pack his dying off that’s why he wanted me to join his, to carry out the family name and I said no. He’s ruined his own legacy,” Eric says moving away from our formation, moved by fury and agitation.

“So, what's the plan then?” I ask for Eric’s sake. We need to take action.

“We fight them,” Andrew says.