The Last King's Wolf

Fear of A Game

We left the next morning, and buckets were pouring earlier than expected. As we are driving, I hear Brody from the passenger seat, “Some poor soul is walking in this.”

A smaller figure in a black raincoat, purple boots and a giant purple umbrella makes their way along the roadside path. Even with all that on she has to be soaked. Then I see the backpack.

“Wait stop, that’s Ellie I think.”

Brody curses. “What the hell is she doing walking in this?”

Landon slows as Brody rolls the window down. “Ellie?” She looks up wide eyed. “Hop in, and we’ll give you a lift.”

She shakes her head. “No, I’ll ruin your car. I’m soaked. It’s only another mile away.” She starts walking again as everyone makes sounds of disbelief.

“Landon, I’ll get her.” I offer. I open the door and tell her, “climb in or I’ll get out and walk with you.”

Fear fills her eyes for a minute, and I see her glance around first. I hold my hand out. She finally takes it hesitantly. She folds the umbrella and sets it on the floor as we slide over, and she sits next to me.

“Thank you.” She says so softly and looks at her feet.

Landon is watching her very thoughtfully in the mirror. “It’s going to get really bad in a minute, so you shouldn’t be out in that Ellie.” True to his word it comes down even harder and the wind picks up. Brody’s brows are furrowed.

Theo is watching her from beside me. “Ellie, do you drive?”

“I know how, but I don’t.” She looks at him for a second and then looks out the front window. “It’s the big metal building up ahead on the right. You can park under the covered area in front. Everyone else is already here.”

Once we park, Brody hurries to open the door and she jumps out. She hurries inside and I frown after her. We follow in her direction and catch her talking to Harper. She is shaking her head and I see her head for a room off to the side.

We walk in and look around. The game room is impressive. There’s pool, air hockey, board game tables, card tables, a full kitchen, couches with a large tv.

After Ashley shows us around, she walks back to the kitchen, and I see Ellie emerge from the bathroom in different clothes. She walks to the kitchen, and I hear Harper ask, “Is four hundred too much, Ellie?” She shakes her head and grabs an apron.

Lydia calls out, “Does anyone have an aversion to spaghetti and meatballs?”

We all shake our heads no. I see Lydia and Ellie start making meatballs and the others watching before they join in.

Ashley sees us and says, “Lydia and Ellie are the only ones who can cook. They are trying to teach us so we don’t starve to death when we meet our mates.” Brody coughs loudly, and I know he is hiding a laugh.

“You won’t starve. You just might be eating at the packhouse for the rest of your life.” Ellie says quietly with an amused smile.

“Hopefully, a different packhouse.” Harper mutters lowly and Lydia elbows her quickly. “s**t, sorry, I didn’t mean…”

She is staring at Ellie, who shakes her head and smiles softly, but she doesn’t look happy. None of us would have heard her words if we didn't have Alpha or Beta senses. We all act like we weren't even listening.

Lydia adds quickly, “And who knows, maybe your mates can cook. It’s not unheard of.”

Beau is turned away trying not to laugh.

I see Brody and Landon frowning. We all caught that weird exchange with Harper and Lydia.

After that, they invite us to play games or watch a movie. After I see each of them follow their mates those bonds drawing them in, Brody and I decide to play pool. Ellie is setting up a chess board where the pieces had fallen over, and Walker strolls that way.

“Do you play chess?” He asks her and she nods. “Would you like to play?” He asks.

She sounds surprised and says, “Oh no, I mean, I should probably leave you all alone and go sit over there."

"Why?" Walker asks gently.

"Because I uh..."

Lydia intervenes from across the room, "Ellie is playing hooky today and was supposed to be doing something a lot less fun. She would get in trouble with Alpha if he found out. Actually, we all are. We had work to do but finished it early."

Walker quickly glances at us. "Then we don't need to mention today at all to him. Now would you like to play?"

"If you want to. Not many people I know play.”

He laughs, “I don’t know hardly anyone in our pack who plays. Only have one real opponent at home.”

I hold back a laugh; Walker is a chess expert. I turn back to Brody as he breaks first. I almost dropped the pool stick later when I heard her quiet voice: “Checkmate.”

We all swivel our heads to stare at Walker gazing down at the chessboard silently. Then I see him smile slowly.

“I’ll be damned. You beat me.” He chuckles. She doesn't say anything, watches him before going to check the oven. Walker is resetting the chess board.

“Ok, you beat the expert. Now I wonder if you can beat the chess master.” He tells her. She tilts her head curiously as she walks back over.

“Who’s the master?”

Walker glances my way. “Riley. No one’s beaten him in years.”

I silently chuckle and look at her. “Want to play me, Ellie?”

“Not sure I can play against a chess master.” She bites her lip. “But I can try.”

I hand my pool stick to Walker. He links me, “She’s awesome. Good luck.”

I sit down across from her, and she gestures for me to start. “Ladies first, I think.”

She shakes her head. “I won the last game. That means you go first.”

I nod and start. Forty-five minutes later, I frowned as she said, “Checkmate,”

Softly. I hear a pool stick hit the floor, and Walker comes over to check the board.

“She beat me.” Admiration fills my voice. I look up and catch the quick flash of fear. I frown at that as she covers it. “Ellie, something wrong?”

“Are you angry that I won, Alpha?” She asks quietly. Her discomfort is obvious. Walker stiffens up at her question. I smile at her.

“I’m glad to find a worthy opponent finally. Walker is the only one who ever challenges me. You up for a rematch later? I need to earn my crown back.” I tease.

She relaxes and smiles a little. “Sure, if you want to play.”

“Who taught you?” I ask curiously.

“My dad. He loved chess. I was the only one who would play with him. He was really good like you.” Sadness now. I don’t miss the past tense she uses. She gets up and the girls all go to the kitchen to finish lunch.

Walker links us all, “She was afraid of you being angry that she won?”

Landon comments, “Someone has scared that girl. Did you see her look around before she climbed in the car?"

Brody: “Yeah, I did, and I wanted to punch someone. She's looking like our victim.”

"I want to know more about Lydia getting upset earlier with Harper mentioning another packhouse. She seems anxious to get the hell out of here." I muse.

Beau: “They all do… If members are ready to bolt, who is usually to blame?”

Theo sighs, “Alpha Arrogant and his son Alpha Douchebag is where my money is going.”

They come back on Sunday night. We are supposed to start attending training sessions with them in addition to their head warrior.

We watch carefully.

Everyone agrees.

"Anyone going to mention the irregularity in their wolves?" Beau says softly.

"Yeah was wondering if you'd pick up on that." Theo mutters.

Landon: "Ellie and Lydia's wolves are weak. Ellie’s much more than Lydia’s. And Ellie's scent is mild. Like I can barely scent her out."

Walker: "I thought I was imagining that yesterday."

"No, Theo and I got it the minute we sat down with them."

"Even Harper's has something off." Brody adds.

"Add it to our list." I sigh.