Forbidden Passion

Chapter 4- Life in the Pack

Liz POV

I peered out the window as the plane made its descent into the Denver airport. The Rocky Mountains loomed ahead, and I had to admit that I never grew tired of the splendor of a mountain range. Whether it be Huallpa’s village in the Andes, the Alps of Switzerland, or the Rockies, I loved seeing the mountains from the air.

The plane taxied on the runway before sitting for a bit. That was fine with me. I was in First Class and was perfectly comfortable where I was. The humans were restless. I suppose having so few years of life makes every second of time feel important. As for me, I didn’t mind when things took a little more time. I liked to enjoy each moment as it came.

The plane sat on the runway for thirty minutes before it rolled up to the gate. First Class was dismissed first, and I entered the terminal to see a familiar face.

“Daddy!” I cried, reverting back to being a little girl every time I saw him. His face lit up, and he opened his arms to receive me. Some passengers smiled at the exchange, while others looked surprised. My dad did look pretty young to have a child as old as me, but with all the modern beauty technics of the day, not to mention his unusual red eyes, most people made assumptions about him and didn’t bother figuring out how old he was, not that they would even be close.

“My Liz! How was your trip, huh? Did you enjoy your tour of Europe?” He asked as he took my carry-on bag from me and wrapped his other arm around my shoulders lovingly in another side hug.

“It was magnificent, Daddy! I learned and saw so much! I can’t wait to go back!” I gushed, regaling him with the highlights of my six-month stay in Europe, a gift for graduating early and with honors.

“It sounds like you had an unforgettable time. Your mom and I missed you terribly. As much as we’re glad you had that time, we’re even happier to have you back,” he told me as he side-hugged me again and kissed my hair.

“Thanks, Daddy. It’s good to be back. Are Teddy, Bethany, Bianca, and Roscoe here too? I mean, not at the airport, but at the pack house?” I asked excitedly. I was ready to see my siblings again. I bet Roscoe had gotten so big now! Toddlers grow so fast!

“Of course! We wouldn’t leave home without them,” my dad quipped with a smile. My parents are the best. I hoped they have lots of kids. Bethany and Bianca are twins that they adopted. Long story there, but they saved the babies from a horrible, abusive rogue's home and raised them as their own. Both girls are 8 years old now and happy and carefree, as children should be. Teddy is closest in age to me having turned 15 years old while I was away. Roscoe is the baby of the family. He’ll be 3 on Christmas Day.

Dad and I made our way through the terminal, got my, like, 100 suitcases, and headed for the car. When we stepped outside I inhaled the mountain air with pleasure. October is beautiful for mountains. I hope I see snow. I saw other people bundling up and realized it’s probably cold outside, but true to my nature, I can’t feel it. A black, sleek car was waiting for us, and we piled the suitcases in the deep trunk before hopping in the cab and heading toward the Rocky Mountain Pack territory. Dad called Mom to let her know we were on our way. I was beyond excited to see my mom and my siblings again, but I had a lot of trepidation about the Rocky Mountain Pack. Namely, would Ash recognize me? Would I even see him? Would he find his mate? Would it be me?

My heart fluttered at the thought of him approaching me with an adoring look on his face, reaching out to take my hand, lifting my chin, kissing me gently. Of course, in my mind his face was whole and normal. More like a Phantom of the Opera kind of moment with a masked and mysterious anti-hero that everyone is rooting for who is really a sexy hunk under his mask with mild deformities that didn’t affect his allure in the slightest.

I sighed as I stared out the window. I had last seen his bandaged face in the hospital soon after the attack. I’m sure it doesn’t look now like it did then, with bloody bandages wrapped completely around his head. I felt so awful for him and so scared of whatever unknown force had hurt him like that. My parents had contacted everyone they knew to try and find clues as to who could have hurt him like that. He was just a child. The person or monster, really, meant to deform him permanently. How heartless.

My dad engaged me in conversation now that he had hung up with Mom, and I told him about all the wonderful people I had met, places I had seen, history I had learned, and memories I had formed. I talked to him the whole trip through the crowded interstate and onto the rugged mountain roads. Two hours after leaving the airport, we finally arrived at the pack house. Alpha Josiah, Luna Emily, my mom, and my four siblings all came out of the pack house to greet us. I jumped out of the car and ran to my mom, embracing her tightly before hugging each of my excited siblings. Teddy had gotten taller and was almost taller than me. Roscoe was proud that he could use the potty now. Bethany had a crush on one of the young pack members, and Bianca declared that she didn’t need a man and was going to travel the world like me. Laughing, I was pushed into the pack house by my mom who was going on about something in the pack house. Then I was surprised to see Alpha Alexander, Luna Heather, Uncle Michael, and Aunt Carly all sitting in the commons area of the pack house with their respective kids running around.

“Uncle Alexander! Uncle Michael! What are you doing here?” I asked in astonishment.

Uncle Alexander stood up and grabbed me into a hug. He was showing his natural age. Though wolves age slower than humans, they still age. He was in his mid-40’s now, after all.

“Hey, kiddo! Good to see you! We were invited to bring Katelynn here. She’s running around here somewhere,” he laughed. Katelyn is his youngest daughter, but she’s a year older than me. She obviously hasn’t met her mate yet.

“I can’t wait to see her!” I told him with a huge smile. I hugged Aunt Heather next and then turned to my favorite goofy uncle who always made trouble. He also wasn’t young any longer, being in his early 40’s.

“Uncle Michael, Aunt Carly! So good to see you!” They both embraced me in turn. “So why are you here?” They only had sons, and the older ones were already mated.

“You think I’d miss a chance to party? Never!” Michael laughed.

Carly shook her head and smiled, “don’t listen to him. Emily invited us because we’re all like family. We all want to support Ashton with this big event.”

Of course. People would be coming from all over, bringing their unmated daughters to try and pair with an Alpha’s son, not knowing how scarred he is. Emily must want to soften the blow on Ashton by surrounding him with loving, understanding people.

After chatting with all my family, my dad swooped in and declared that even vampire hybrids get tired and must sleep. I gratefully bid everyone a good-night and went to my guest room that I am sharing with the twins and Katelynn. I collapsed on the bed and closed my eyes, letting the jet lag take me into a deep sleep.

I heard crying. A man crying. Glass shattering. Curses being uttered. A roar of despair. I felt stabbing pain and overwhelming grief. I opened my eyes and tried to come into focus. The sobs of the man faded into silence. Only the gentle breathing of three other girls in the room could be heard now.

I sat up and shook my head, fully awake. It was just a dream? It had felt so real. I touched my face and found that my cheek was moist. I must have been crying for the mysterious man. How odd.

I got out of bed and went over to the glass doors that led out onto a small balcony. I pulled at the door and found that it opened easily and silently. Good. I slipped out and stared into the night. It was beautiful and clear and cold. I glanced back at the sleeping girls, pulled the door closed, and disrobed. Then I shifted. Sheba was always happy to let me use her form but keep my own conscious. Sometimes I let her use my body with her conscious. We had a good trust system going.

I stepped up onto the railing and leaped off, doing a full somersault in the air before opening my wings and taking flight. I soared over the pack house and took in my surroundings, looking for anything that might be interesting. The moonlight cast a gleam that looked like a reflection on water, so I headed there, hoping to see a pretty waterfall. As I neared it, I heard unusual sounds. I slowed down and hovered for a moment before realizing that it sounded like someone was breathing heavily. I didn’t want to surprise anyone and end up getting attacked, so I soundlessly descended near the water, using it to cover any sounds my wings might make as I descended.

I landed lightly on the strong branch of an enormous tree and spotted a man doing push-ups.

It must be a bored patrol biding his time, I thought. I was about to leave when I heard him speak.

“Stupid party.” Grunt as he heaved his body back up from his push-up. “Stupid mate.” Another grunt. “Stupid me for having any hope!” He then collapsed onto his stomach, gasping for air from the intense exercise.

I felt mildly curious, though I had a feeling I knew who this person was. I continued to sit and quietly observe him. I hadn’t seen him in years. He certainly had the build of a powerful man.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position and propped one elbow on his knee, catching his breath. He looked around, then, as if he felt someone’s eyes on him and then shook his head.

“Nobody’s here. Quit being paranoid. You’re alone. You’re meant to be alone. You’ll always be alone.”

He pushed himself up to his feet and trotted over to the water that had caught my eye, cupping his hand and drinking from it deeply. Despite the cold night he cupped both hands and splashed his face and ran his hands through his brown hair, wetting it down to where it almost turned black.

I continued to watch him silently. My angle had not allowed me to see his full face yet. He was tall and muscular. His jogging pants accentuated his nice round butt. His shoulders were broad, and he had large hands and feet. His stature was impressive and fitting of an Alpha’s son. His brown hair was disheveled and hung loosely to the nape of his neck. It looked like he must cut it himself as it stuck up in weird places.

I had been openly staring at him, admiring his fine build, and he felt the eyes of someone on him.

“Who’s there?!” He yelled, looking around and taking an aggressive stance. He seemed to sense that the eyes were not on the ground and lifted his face up to look into the trees. I froze as I finally saw his face. That once-cute face that I thought was quite handsome even at 10 years old.

I had to use self control to not gasp aloud at what I was seeing now. His face was drooping on one side. His mouth was in a perpetual downturned state on his right side. His eye bore four large scars of a claw that had dragged across it. His eye itself wasn’t damaged, but the scarring around it was frightening. The claw scars reached around his head to his ear, which had pieces missing. The top of his ear was missing, and part of the lobe was at an unusual angle.

He was terrifying, and I knew who he was the minute I saw his face. This was Ashton. My Ash. My childhood friend. He was freshly mangled the last time I had seen him, but I could see exactly what that monster had done to him now. Sadness welled up in my heart, and I grieved for him as I gazed down at him.

"I said, who's there?!" He yelled up into the trees. Should I reveal myself? No. He has never seen my beast form, and I'm not going to jump out of the trees naked and act like I'm casually enjoying a midnight stroll. It's better if he doesn't see me yet.

I closed my eyes to cut off the connection with him. I waited a few seconds and opened my eyes again. Sure enough, he was looking around in confusion.

"Probably an owl or something," he mumbled before going back to working out. Grabbing a low tree branch, he began to easily do chin-ups. I didn't dare to watch him any longer and silently flapped my wings and flew up and away. Below, Ashton paused as he felt a breeze swirling around him. He decided it had indeed been an owl and continued his rigorous workout alone.