Talons

Chapter 53: The Call

Rhea’s POV

Although I specifically told my parents I didn’t want or need anything other than what they had already given me for my birthday, they found a way to get me a car. They first transferred the ownership documents to Raven, who sold it to me for one dollar.

Even if the council were to investigate it, they could only sanction my sister financially, nothing more. She is a member of the Claw pack, but her rank is little more than honorary. If our father were still alpha it would be different, but there is not much weight in being the alpha’s sister unless someone else is looking to improve their lineage.

Mike taught me how to drive, and now that I have my license it makes it easier for me to go to self-defense classes. Lorrie may be human, but she is cruel and unusual. She makes me spar against her son Braylen, who is older than Brent and Brice and just as big.

I hold back in my strength because I don’t want to give myself away as supernatural, but I pay close attention to technique. Their mother used to be an MMA fighter, and she claims that she took down her husband in her prime. That is encouraging to me because, like his son's, the man is huge.

After a particularly difficult training session, Braylen walks me to my car. It's late, and his fiancé insists that I never leave the studio alone after dark. We usually make small talk about school during the five-minute walk to the parking lot, but the normal routine is interrupted by a call from Mike.

He is drunk at a party and has asked me to pick him up. Braylen is human, but I swear he has some wolf in him because he clearly heard the request and is disgustingly shaking his head. He was a senior in our school when Mike was a freshman. I don’t have the details, but Braylen is no fan of the man.

I ask Mike to send his location to my device because the directions he is giving me are terrible, but before I can tell him I received it, Braylen snatches my phone from me.

“Why don’t you grow the hell up and leave the girl alone?” he says into the phone. “What kind of man asks a seventeen-year-old to come get them from a party this late at night?” I don't hear what Mike says, but I can guess based on Braylen’s response. “This is the man who is taking care of your girl when you aren’t.” My eyes widen and Braylen hangs up the phone. “That ought to sober him up,” he says.

I glance behind Braylen and see Georgiana, his fiancé, walking toward us with an expression that says ‘really?’ on it. She was already approaching when Braylen snatched the phone, and as a very secure woman, she isn’t worried about her fiancé’s statement at all.

“I feel sorry for our future daughter,” she says playfully, and Braylen uses the opportunity to tease her about it. “Mention anything about a clock again, and you won’t get any tonight.” Braylen makes a zipper motion against his lips, and I chuckle.

Sylvia and I want what they have. Braylen has told me repeatedly that getting injured early in his career was the best thing that ever happened to him. Georgiana’s father was the physical therapist that treated him, and she was a resident in the clinic.

The two hit it off, and have been together since, which isn’t long, but they are already engaged, and their wedding is slated to happen just before the football season begins.

“Do I even want to know what that was about?” Braylen recaps his rendition of the story to Georgiana, and I shrug, unable to add any changes to his account. “B sweety, I don’t think-” My phone starts ringing and we all know it’s Mike calling.

“I should probably go,” I say, slightly embarrassed.

Mike’s POV

I was drunk and needed a ride home, but now I’m pissed and need a drink. I’ve called B three times since whatever man she was with jumped into our conversation. I dislike that she is ignoring me, so I turned off my phone to stop myself from calling again.

I don’t know what she wants me to do to prove myself to her because I'm all out of ideas. If I get drunk, I call her, and if I’m bored, I call her; all to avoid sleeping with someone else.

I feel like I’m being played by B, which is odd, because everyone thinks she is being played by me.

“Why aren’t you answering your phone?” I hear, and I turn to see B wearing oversized workout gear. I exhale deeply as I stand, realizing that she was at Miss Lorrie’s place and the man I spoke to was probably Braylen.  

He and I have never gotten along, which wasn’t a major issue because he was on his way out while I was coming in.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” I say, pulling B into me. She never stinks, so it isn't gross to hug her even when her skin is sticky.

“Well, I’m here now, and I have class at seven.” I wince as I start to think of how inconsiderate it is of me to call B knowing that her schedule is packed. 

She is taking another summer of classes off, so she has loaded her schedule in such a way that I don’t even know how she finds time to sleep.

“Does it bother you when I call?” I ask, wanting to know if my assumption is correct. Her face becomes pensive before she answers, and I’m worried about what she is going to say.

“It would be nice if you didn’t drink so often,” she replies, and my heart thumps in my chest.

“I can do that.”

Colton’s POV

My father calls me into his office and starts rambling on and on about my younger cousin, Holly. I have met her once when we were young, and from what I remember she was incredibly headstrong and annoying. 

Apparently, not much has changed, because she is being shipped to our pack to be placed under my care due to the mess she is causing. She has challenged my grandfather for the alpha title twice, and under werewolf law, he cannot deny her a third time.

I don’t think my grandfather would kill the only surviving child of my late uncle, but I know Dolton will. The last time we spoke, he made it clear that, cousin or not, if Holly challenges him, he will take her down.

In an attempt to diffuse the situation, my mother has arranged for her niece to come to the states to spend two years training with me to prepare herself for her challenge with Dolton. I know that is complete bullsh*t, but my cousin bought it, and she is scheduled to arrive soon.

“I don’t understand why this is even an issue. Isn’t she the rightful heir to the pack?” My father laughs because he thinks I was making a joke, but when he realizes I’m serious his expression changes.

“Female alphas lead to the destruction of the pack,” he says, and I find myself wanting to call him on his bullsh*t, but I can’t. There is a difference in strength between men and women and the same is true for werewolves.

Take Mandy for example; if she were an alpha, she would probably have a financially stable pack that is very well educated. They would likely only be as strong as she is, and while she is not weak, she is no alpha. 

She only ranks within the top twenty female fighters of our pack, and that’s because she doesn’t see the need to be the strongest. That is not a quality an alpha should have and not that it’s a solely feminine thing, but women tend to use their brain more.

I decided to take the day easy because I feel like my cousin is going to be a handful. Orlin has already been on edge and while I’m able to hold him back, he has been getting agitated easily.

I get to my own office, which is on the floor below my fathers, and I find Jessica waiting for me. She looks worried, and as someone who isn’t a complete jerk, I find myself growing concerned.

I ask her if she is okay, and she tells me that she thinks her heat is about to come. I immediately take two steps back. I want no part in her heat or anyone else’s, so I ask her to confine herself to her room until it passes.

She doesn’t listen, and tries to hug me, but I catch her arms. Orlin growls in my mind, and I try to tell Jessica that she is dangerously close to having him take over.

I don’t know what it is, but Orlin has been urging me to keep my distance from the woman.

The last time she and I were together, he went completely dormant, and when I asked him about it, he said he was bored. 

Later that night, I called Gale to my room, but the same thing happened. That time, Orlin couldn’t use boredom as an excuse because I had been staying away from Gale for the sake of Jessica’s parents, yet he still went AWOL.

Going against my own better judgement, I pull Jessica into my office, telling her that this will be the last time she and I are together until her heat comes and goes. 

She has been in heat before, so she knows the sensations telling her it's near and I don’t smell her, so I know it hasn't started yet.

As soon as Jessica steals a kiss from me, Orlin retreats. I feel weaker without him around, and I struggle to keep balanced as she jumps to straddle me.

I reach for a condom, but Jessica tries to stop me; again. I remind her that I don’t want children, which is not true. I want a family of my own, just not with her, and while I could have said that; I really dislike making her cry all the time. 

I enter her and barely feel it, so I flip her so that her back is flat on my desk instead of her belly, but still nothing. I stop before I end up hurting her trying to feel; again.

“I’ve been summoned,” I lie. “You should leave.” Jessica looks at me weird, but she doesn’t protest.

As soon as she is gone, I reach out to Orlin, but he doesn't respond.