The Blood Pack (book one)

Chapter seven

~Cassy~

My bed was comfortable but I just could not seem to sleep. My mind was too active. I thought of Sannna and how guilt I felt for leaving her. I thought about alpha Ash's rejection in front of all those alphas. His seeming one eighty to f*****g my brains out in the shower, showing me his dominance. To my realization that is all it was, asserting his dominance. And then I thought about Liam's sick words. He was right. My pack didn't want me. My father didn't want me. Alpha Ash didn't want me.

I shook my head. I needed to get my head in the game. I could not show these new wolves my belly. I got dressed in jeans and a vest top and slipped on some trainers and headed downstairs. My nose helped me to find my way to the kitchen. There was a small woman running around, flipping and frying and buttering. I stepped closer. "Can I help?" I asked.

The poor girl jumped half a foot in the air. She whirled and her eyes bulged before a look of recognition went across her face. "You must be Cassy." she said. I could sense her wolf and it made me smile. She reminded me of Sanna.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh don't be silly. I'm Jen by the way. I do the cooking." Her chest puffed up with pride and I could understand why. The food smelt amazing. "You sit and I will bring stuff over when it's ready."

"Thank you Jen." I said sitting at a random chair around the table. "So this pack is pretty small huh?" I looked around the table at the ten place settings.

"Yeah but we are pretty tight nipped. My mate Josh is an enforcer along with Luke and Jonny. Theo is the Head enforcer, Trev is out tech guy, Ste is our beta and obviously Ash is our alpha." I looked around the table confused.

"That is eight. I thought there were nine members." I recounted checking my tally.

"Oh and there is Cara. She… Well she just sort of floats around." Jen said with distaste. I really liked her already.

"Ahh. The naked girl. Yeah." I said dryly. Jen slammed down the frying pan.

"Again! That girl needs to sort her head out." I swallowed hard. Okay maybe she wouldn't be my fan if she knew it was me screaming the house down last night. I didn't notice as she moved around the kitchen and stood beside me. "Don't worry. She keeps trying to get the Alpha to make her alpha female. That won't happen."

"What the alpha does or does not do is none of my business." I said, surprised at the conviction in my voice. Jen just squeezed my shoulder in the way that Sanna does sometimes and went back to cooking. She reappeared a moment later with a cup of coffee and placed it in front of me." Thanks. Are you sure I can't help? I feel like a third wheel here."

"Fine. You can butter the toast." I smiled at the restraint she showed, giving up some of her kitchen control. I got up and started to butter slice after slice of toast. It reminded me of when I used to help my mum when I was little. Soon me and Jen were laughing at tales she was telling me about her mate Josh and some of the other guys. It must have been awe inspiring being part of the head alphas pack. But also a bit like being lost in a crowed. I understood why someone like Jen would want to spread her wings. Submissive wolves can get smothered in a pack like that.

I was telling Jen about Sanna and her beautiful garden and ability to help plants grow and how amazing it is, when suddenly small arms shot around me. I froze mid buttering. "I knew you loved my Green thumb." I froze, no it can't be. I turned to come face to face with my best friend. My arms shot around her and I pulled her in tight. "I missed you sis." she murmured.

I pulled back and looked her face all over. It was her it really was her. I pushed her playfully." I've only been gone one night you soft cow." she giggled taking a step back.

"You missed me too, you crazy bitch." she said pushing me back, not moving me an inch but the love was there.

The three of us burst in to conversation. I was right Sanna and Jen were so similar. They blabbed on and on about themselves and then Sanna started telling stories about me. She told Jen about my training her wolf to withstand commands from dominant wolves. "You can do that?" Jen asked jaw popping open.

I shrugged taking the toast to the table. "Ye. It takes a while and she still has to submit to a dominant alphas, just like I do, but dominant males who aren't alphas can't get her to do shit." I said laughing at the memory of the guy in the bar. "And they hate that."

"I bet they do." my head whipped up to see Ste and two guys come in. One went over to give Jen a sweet kiss.

"You must be Josh." I said going over and offering a hand shake.

"Yep. Glad to see Jen banging about me again." he jokingly said causing her to whip him playfully with the kitchen towel and shoo us all out of the kitchen.

We all went back to the table I pulled Sanna into the seat next to me and a wolf I didn't know, sat on my other side. I took in his bone structure and measured his wolf. He was dominant but no where near alpha. He was lean but still muscular. He had mid length dark hair that swept to one side. "Trev I take it." I said offering my hand.

"Yeah, please to meet you." he said taking my hand. "How did you guess?"

"You have the tech look. You remind me a bit of Tom from my old pack."

"Nah." Sanna said taking a sip of my coffee. "He has more confidence than Tom."

"Yeah true." I said taking in the way that Trev held himself.

"I gotta go relieve Luke on gate duty, I'll see you later." Josh said, giving Jen a quick kiss before going. They were a fantastic couple, I could tell.

Two wolves came in, one from the gate last night and one that I hadn't met yet. Again I sensed there wolves and took a stab." Theo." I said to the large muscled man. "And Jonny." I said to the slightly smaller but no less muscled man.

Ste laughed. "You're good at this."

I shrugged. "I can sense their wolves. Can't you?" I asked a bit worried after the question left my mouth. Jen started to put food on the table as Theo and Jonny sat across from me.

"Not as strong as you can apparently." He said with a smile and I relaxed slightly.

That was short lived as soon Cara came in wearing a belt, which I think was meant to be a skirt and a boob tube. She sat down next to the head of the table, which did not go unnoticed as the males looked at me confused and I just shrugged. "Who is she?" Cara rudely asked pointing at Sanna.

"I'm Sanna." Sanna said with her usual cheer.

"You here to f**k the alpha next are you?"

Sanna blushed. "What? No. What are you…" She gasped and turned to face me and whispered very loudly. "You slept with alpha Ash?"

Please world, swallow me hole. In response I just let my head fall on the table. "Thanks Sanna." I mumbled into the table.

"Everyone heard you. You weren't exactly discrete." Cara chirped in.

"Enough!" god that sounded like my father for a second. When I looked up from the table Alpha Ash had a face of thunder. Without a word he walked to the head of the table, picked up his chair and carried it to the other end. Wow. Subtle. Cara just crossed her arms and hmphed.

"So Sanna." Trev said next to me. "You got my message okay last night?"

My head whipped round. "You invited Sanna?"

"Well I…" He started, but I was so thankful I pulled him into a hug. A growl rumbled from the head of the table and before I could react, my chair was picked up and he moved it to the head on the table next to him. Wow, even more subtle. What the hell? Everyone already knew we f****d and now… God knows what they thought.

I linked Sanna and told her to come sit next to me and she ran around the table quickly taking the seat next to me. After a second of awkward silence Alpha Ash spoke. "I asked Trev to invite Sanna." I looked at him confused. "I wanted you to feel more comfortable." he shrugged.

"Thanks." I said awkwardly. Soon Luke came in. Well it had to be Luke as he was the only one I hadn't met yet. "Luke." I simply said in greeting.

"Cassy." he simply said in return, taking an empty seat. Jen had told me that Luke was a man of little words and so I didn't push for more.

Jen placed the last plate on the table and then we all delved in. It was like feeding time at the zoo. I quickly piled Sanna's plate first knowing what she liked and knowing that she would be too shy to help herself. When I went to grab my plate to fill it, it was already in front of me filled with a bit of everything. I looked at it confused and then I looked at Sanna. I was so busy filling her plate that I didn't look at mine. "alpha Ash." She linked me and my head whipped round to see him just shrug.

Talk about mixed signals, a male filling a females plate was like feeding her. It was a mate thing to do and we were not mates. I sighed, more confused than I was last night. I took a bit of one of the sausage and the meaty taste burst on my tongue. A small moan escaped my lips. "Jesus Jen. Wow. I love you. Leave Josh and mate me." she giggled sitting at the table next to Theo and Cara. "Seriously. You have to teach me. I can just about make pop tarts."

Sanna laughed. "You can't make pop tarts, you almost burned my kitchen down."

I took another bite, groaning. "That was the toasters fault. If I could cook like this, I would never need to make pop tarts again."

Jen smiled a sweet shy smile. "Jesus we get it. You love Jen. Get a room." Cara said in a bitchy tone.

"Excuse me." she could say what she wanted to me but she did not go after my friends. "What crawled up your ass and died? It seems to be hanging out." I said leaning back and taking in her belt skirt.

Everyone seemed to hold in a laugh, which made Cara even madder. "You think you're all it because alpha Ash f****d you once. News flash, he has f****d me too and it was more than once and I had him purring like a kitten."

"Aww hun. The difference is that I don't give a f**k. You practically have steam coming from your ears like a kettle that's over done." I gritted back.

"Oh yeah. Well, we will see if you give a f**k when you hear him screaming my name at the top of his voice."

"Oh. Is that why you have your beaver hanging out? I thought it was a fashion statement." Sanna burst out laughing and everyone else looked a bit confused.

"Beaver?" Cara asked, looking puzzled.

"You know your beaver. Your snatch, your muff, your minge, your lady garden, your cunt, your p***y, your punched kabab, you wizards sleeve…"

"Ewww." Cara said shooting to her feet. "Are you going to let her speak to me like that alpha?" she asked, begged Alpha Ash, her eyes immediately taking on puppy dog appeal. Oh boy.

I braced myself for my usual telling off. Saying how a female, especially an alpha female, should be all lady like and grace and not use such language. Instead when I turned to meet alpha Ash's eyes they danced with amusement. "I was actually wondering how long she could keep going with the list."

"A while." Sanna answered, before going back to chuckling against my coffee cup.

"I do not have to stay here and be insulted." She huffed and stormed out of the room. That is when everyone erupted in a howl of laughter. I went to take another bite of my sausage when small arms wrapped around me.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Jen pulled back a little. "That was the best thing I have ever seen."

I chuckled. "No problem. I have a feeling that was only the debut showing." I finished my sausage in one bit. "You want to thank me, could I have another cup of coffee please. Sanna seems to be enjoying mine too much to share." I joked poking my fork at the half empty cup in Sanna's hands.

She just shrugged. "Sisters share." she whined.

"Key word, share." I quipped forking some eggs into my mouth.

"No worries. Another coffee coming up." Jen said, practically skipping to the kitchen.

"Where's my coffee?" alpha Ash asked with a pout as Jen placed mine in front of me. I took a sip, groaning at the caffeinated goodness and then when I put it down alpha Ash quickly picked it up and took a big slurpping gulp. "No worries. I'll share." he said with a wink.

I shook my head. I couldn't seem to have a cup of coffee this morning. After that conversation came easily. The enforcers debriefed us on the packs upgraded defenses and training schedule. I say us, it was more for alpha Ash, but I listened intently. It was interesting the differences between this pack and my father's pack. They had formal briefings, where everything was recorded. Here it seemed to flow much more naturally and I admired that. Then Trev went over contact that they had had with other local packs about forming alliances. I chewed on a piece of bacon listening to their plans.

"May I make a suggestion?" I said grabbing my now almost empty cup of coffee before alpha Ash could finish it. He grunted at my quick steeling of the coffee cup and nodded. "Most packs around here form alliances to secure their borders and prevent inter pack conflict. You already have my father on board, meaning that he will already be advertising the alliance and the strength of it on the wolf Web yes?" I directed to Trev.

"Yep. He has updated his page stating our alliance and also that we are closely linked with the Moonblood pack through blood." I couldn't help but notice alpha Ash grimace at that. I understand that he wanted to do this on his own back, not on his blood relation.

" Well the other packs in the area will be quick to want to ensure that you and my father do not band together to start to take over the other local territories. I say wait. See who comes to you and what they offer. If you start contacting all the packs offering alliances, it will make you look weak, like the alliances are needed to protect your pack. If you act like the alliances are of little consequence at this time but that you accept those offered, with you being the major beneficiary of them, then you will slowly look stronger and stronger so that even the larger packs in the area feel an alliance is needed to keep the peace. " I forked the last of my food into my mouth and sat back in my seat." Just a suggestion. "

Everyone's eyes swiveled to alpha Ash, he seemed to be chewing over my suggestion." How long do you suggest we wait?" he asked, obviously not liking the idea of sitting on his thumbs.

I shrugged, mulling it over. "I know some of the smaller packs don't have a designated tech, so they only check the wolf Web once or twice a week. I'd say wait a week. If no one comes forward go for a big fish, but that will cost you. You don't want to spend a lot of time and resources getting all the small packs onside. If they don't come to you, you will have to try and bag an alliance with one of the larger packs for the others to come to heel. "