Scum (Book 2)

93. Command

Chey’s POV

After assuring Miguel, Dyson’s mate, that I wasn't ‘flirting with my smile,’ and promising to allow him to ‘dress me,’ we were given the address to a dojo about an hour's drive away.

We were told the next fight is in a few days, and while I’m excited about the potential, I'm worried about what could be waiting for us.

I haven’t run into trouble since I moved, so maybe werewolves in the city are fundamentally different, but I don’t want to take that chance when I’m only just beginning to like my new life.

“Alph- I mean, Chey…-” Marrissa is learning not to use titles and to be a better cook, but she’s struggling, and she's already given herself food poisoning. “Internal temperature of 150 degrees? Right?”

“It’s 160 for our species, but the placement of the thermometer is wrong. Always put it in the thickest part of the meat, or you won’t get an accurate reading.” I don’t know what I said, but the woman starts sniffling, and without Jett around, I won’t know what to do if she has a full-on meltdown. “Please don’t cry. You’re getting better.”

“I’m so happy to have met you,” the woman randomly says, throwing her arms around my neck because it's the only way she can hug anyone right now. “In my old pack, the alpha was so evil that people feared making mistakes. That question could have gotten me killed.”

“That bad?” I don’t like hearing stories like that because an alpha is supposed to lead and protect, not fearmonger.

“I hated being there, but dying was the easiest way to leave that place. Even the alpha’s children were afraid of him.”

“He had kids?” Being hugged during this conversation is a little awkward, but if it prevents tears, I’m not moving.

“Many; and the worst was his daughter, Porsha. She…- Chey?” I didn’t mean to pull away, but hearing that name flooded my mind with feelings I’ve only just been able to ignore. “Do you know her?”

“I’m not sure, but a 'Porsha' is the reason I was expelled from my old pack.” I was expecting pity, but Marissa gets angry and ends up promising that she’ll help me get even as soon as she gives birth. “Do you really promise?” This is the first time she has ever agreed to help me with anything regarding Alpine, and I’m excited about potentially finding another person willing to kill for me.

“I promise. Just don’t tell Jett because he'll have to babysit."

“But he already promised to stand by my side.” Now, Marissa looks conflicted, but after thinking about it for a while, she makes the only logical decision for a woman who’s expecting.

“I guess I’ll have to stay home, but we'll need more than just us.”

“Then help me find people.” A familiar rush fills me, and it’s only then that I realize that what I’m feeling is the issuance of a command.

I’ve felt it a few times in the past, but I always mistook it for an adrenaline rush.

“Yes Alpha. I will find you the help you need.” I trust Marisa, but if I’m going to start taking being an alpha seriously, I need to do more, starting with the two members I already have.

“Now, tell me about the people you’re hiding from again.”

Liam’s POV

Once a rogue's information has been sent in, it takes a little over a week for their image to be uploaded into a secure database, but the process for having it taken down is much more difficult.

Proof of capture is often a requirement, and if we submit documents that claim the information was ‘accidently’ uploaded, it could open the pack up to an investigation that we don’t want or need.

Alpine is in good standing with the council, and we would like it to stay that way because we’re sure that if they look hard enough, they’ll find something, and we'll lose the ability to apply for grants and other improvement initiatives the council oversees.

Aside from that, now is not the time for me to be focused on an investigation, and at the same time, I can’t even admonish Kelvin because I technically gave him permission to do what he did.

The good thing is that not everyone has access to the database Cheyenne is listed on, so the Lively family won’t accidentally find out and revamp their efforts to find a new pack.

I don't know how he’s doing it, but my father has been able to calm them. However, Dallas recently quit his job using his wife's pregnancy as an excuse, and before that, Mrs. Lively stopped scheduling herself the day I found out that Chey was mine.

I guess that they're planning to live on whatever savings they have. On the other hand, they could be trying to force my father’s hand into letting them go.

If they stop paying their mortgage, just like anyone else in this pack, they’ll lose their home, and we can’t force them to move into a general housing space.

We’ve never had a situation where an entire family was unhoused, so maybe the Lively family thinks something like that will compel us to allow them to leave, but they don’t even have a car anymore.

In the beginning, I was livid after finding out where it 'went,' but as time passes, I realize that Chey might still be alive because she has the means to move around, and even now, the thought that she’s okay is all that keeps me going.

The only reason I haven’t been able to use the vehicle to track Chey down is because it was never registered in Dallas’s name, and despite her mother telling her to give her brother the car, Chey is the legal owner.

In another 'shocking' revelation, I found out that it was my own gamma who gave Cheyenne the idea to make things formal. Oddly enough, it was the same day that I kicked her out.

I'm sure there was a motive behind it, I just haven't been able to find one yet.

Kelvin's still Porsha's closest ally in the pack, seconded only by his father, who has to help her assimilate into life as a pack member.

She went through the assessment process, and was fined for her transgressions while still in the probationary period.

Typically, the amount of money needed to cover those sorts of penalties is unobtainable for the average wolf, but Porsha isn't average, so she paid them, and has started her probationary period over.

If she fails again, the fines will be doubled, but if she fails a third time, we can expel her without warning.

Sadly, what that means for me is that I have to put up with her presence, but like Chey once said, this pack doesn't revolve around me, so I have to play by the rules of my ancestors to show people that I've learned my lesson.

I just wish that I would have had this maturity before I made the worst mistake of my life.

Chey’s POV

We made the hour-long drive to the dojo, and I'm shocked to see that it's in a well-lit and very legit looking area, almost like the gym where I fought Leanne.

"I'm not sure we can get into this place, Mari." I don't blame Jett for his skepticism.

Already we see people walking up to the entrance and showing their phones, but we don’t have anything to prove that we’ve been 'invited.'

“Please babe? Let’s just see. Alpha Chey and I will wait for you in the car.” I know Marissa means to send her mate alone, but I'm not about to lose the only real ally I have.

"That's okay. I'll go myself." Ordering the pair to stay behind, I make my way toward security, whose face recoils in what I assume is confusion. "Sorry, I haven't quite learned how to control 'it' yet."

"Oh… Okay. I was wondering who was bold enough to claim this territory as their own with the alpha not too far away." I chuckle, feeling like everything I know about our species is wrong.

If we were back home, I likely would have been punished, and sometimes I catch myself thinking that it was better for me to have been expelled before it became an issue.

"So… I don't have an invite."

"Then I can't help you."

"But I came a really long way, and between you and me, there's a pregnant woman I'm really afraid to disappoint."

"Your mate?"

"No, just my pack member and friend."

"You lead your own pack already?"

"Umm… kind of, but there's only three of us."

"Cute; but I still can't help you." I'm not really into the whole idea of putting a working man on the spot, and this isn't the time to flex when I don't know anything about anyone.

"Thanks anyway!" Smiling at the man, I wave goodbye, not wanting to create hostility where there’s none, but I turned and bumped right into someone I never thought I'd see again.

"Ah… Mrs. Lively. Not a shock to see you here." I can intuitively tell the woman I'm speaking to isn't just the lady from the Gambling Authority, she's the alpha of this area. "I'm sorry, I remember you, but I don't know your name."

"Alpha Franchelle Clark." I extend my hand, but the woman doesn't take it. "Quick question: Is there any particular reason you're marking my property?"

"None at all." I awkwardly chuckle, rubbing the back of my head in guilt.

"You don't know how to stop yourself from doing it, do you?" There's no reason to pretend to be an all-knowing alpha when I'm not, and I wouldn't have learned about something I never knew applied to me. "First, you need to focus on reeling in your scent. You may not be doing it on purpose, but it's an irritant to me."

"Any pointers?"

"Try imagining that your body is a vacuum." I didn't mean to, but I ended up laughing until I realized that the woman was serious.

"Sorry." Without closing my eyes, I take a long deep breath and exhale as slowly as possible, which seems to be working… I think. "Better?"

"It'll do for now, but for the sake of safety, you need to practice."

"I can handle myself in a fight."

"I'm aware, but there are some fights you may not even realize you're having." I can tell the woman is speaking from experience that I probably don’t have, and don’t want to have.

"Want to teach me how to avoid it?”

“Not really, but I feel guilty toward you.”

“Why?”

“Alpha Arlon was my cousin.”