Chapter 26: Twenty Three

Gill

"Tobyyyyy, wake up! I made lunch!" I pouted and shook Toby's shoulder. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes, and smiled up at me.

"Lunch? What time is it? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" He sat up and stretched. He held his arms out in front of him and did the little grabby hands thing toddlers did when they wanted to be held. I rolled my eyes, but stepped closer, climbing onto his lap.

"We were up late last night, you looked tired. Also you look super cute when you're sleeping."

"Well someone thought we should watch the first eight seasons of The Simpsons in one sitting." He wrapped his arms around my waist. I hadn't left the pack house, apart from going to school in almost two weeks, so we'd been binging a lot of TV.

"Shhhhh. Details don't matter." He rolled his eyes and held me tighter, puckering his lips. I gave him a small peck.

"So...you made lunch?" I smiled and nodded eagerly. I'd also been watching a lot of cooking shows and have been eager to try a ton of new recipes.

"It's not much. There wasn't a lot in the pantry or fridge. But I made BLT's! And I made this weird sauce thing that I saw on TV and I can't pronounce the name of it but it's really yummy!" He smiled and kissed my cheek.

"It sounds delicious, love. Why don't we go eat, and then you can make a list of all the food and ingredients you'd like while I take a shower, and we can go to the store together." I nodded eagerly and climbed off his lap. I took his hand in mine and pulled him off the bed. We made our way to the kitchen and I shoved him into one of the dining chairs before grabbing our plates from the counter, setting one of them in front of him.

"It looks great, baby." I smiled and sat beside him to eat. We finished fairly quickly, and not to brag, but it was pretty good. I gave Toby a kiss and grabbed his plate when he was finished.

"Hurry up and shower, I want to goooo!" He laughed and made his way down the hall. I put our dishes in the sink and found a small note pad in one of the drawers, alone with a pen, slowly making my list. It wasn't long before I heard a sharp and rushed knock at the front door. I frowned and set down the pen. I made my way to the door and looked through the peephole, only to see Andrew with tears running down his face. I gasped and quickly opened the door.

"Drew? What's wrong?" He looked up and let out a sob.

"Gilly...he found her. Noah found his mate. I didn't know where else to go I just...I don't know who else to talk to about this so I just ran here, I'm sorry." I frowned and pulled him inside, hugging him tightly.

"Gill, who's at the- Drew? What's wrong?" Tobias stood in the hallway with wet hair and new clothes on.

Drew gave me a pleading look and I nodded.

"Hey, Toby. Can you go to the store alone? I left the list on the counter. And get like a shit ton of junk food too." He frowned.

"Uh, yeah sure. Is everything okay?" I nodded.

"Hey Drew, why don't you go sit on the sofa and I'll be over in a bit. I'm just gonna talk to Toby for a second. Don't worry, I won't tell him." I whispered the second part.

"You can tell him...just don't tell him who..."  I nodded and pulled away, dragging his feet over to the sofa. I went back into the kitchen to grab the list and followed Toby out the front door.

"Gill, what's going on?" He asked as soon as we stepped into the hallway.

"He has a huge crush on someone and he just found out that he found his mate, so he's feeling a little heartbroken right now. We're just gonna eat ice cream and cry and probably binge sad movies." Toby frowned and nodded.

"Okay, just call me if you need anything, okay? I'll try to be fast." I smiled and hugged him tight.

"We will. And don't forget the junk food. It's essential for curing heartbreak. That's what me and my dad did when my mom left. And then I did it after the thing with Travis. Though it doesn't really work as well when you're by yourself."

"Okay, just don't get sick. I love you." I stood on my tip toes and pressed my lips against his softly.

"I probably will. I love you too! And please, be safe. Those psycho hunters are after you just as much as they're after me." He sighed and nodded.

"I'll be careful. Maybe I can convince Jax to come with me. This looks like a long list, I could use the help." I laughed and kissed him again.

"Good, here's the list. Text me or call me if you get confused." He gave me an odd look.

"Why would I get confused?"

"Do you know the difference between baking soda and baking powder, other than the name?"

"Uh...there's a difference?" I rolled my eyes.

"Just call me, okay?" He nodded and kissed me for a third time, took the list, and headed off. I made my way back inside and headed straight for the freezer, pulling out a pint of ice cream, then retrieved two spoons from the dishwasher.

"So, Toby's really boring and only has vanilla right now, but I'm sure he'll pick up more." Drew looked up at me with his sad, watery eyes.

"Ice cream?" I smiled and nodded, plopping down beside him on the sofa.

"Essential for curing heartbreak. I also told him to get a shit ton of junk food." He cracked a small smile and took one of the spoons.

"It sounds like you know this from experience?" He sniffled.

"My dad and I did this when my mom left. We were both sad and miserable for a long time and we saw these teen girls do it on TV so we decided to try it, and sure enough, we were sort of not miserable after. And also I had a boyfriend a few years ago back in New Mexico. It didn't really end well and so I did it alone. Didn't work as fast that time." He sighed.

"How can I be heartbroken if I wasn't with him though? Like, I hardly knew him. I mean I knew him enough, obviously. But we never hung out unless doing patrols or training counts. I've never had a conversation with him that wasn't about tracking, or taking out rogues, or anything else pack related. How did I let myself get so attached? I'm so stupid! I should've just waited until I met my mate." I shushed him and shoved the pint of ice cream closer.

"Drew, you're young. I may not know as much about what it's like being a werewolf, but I do know quite a bit about having crushes, and I know you usually don't get to choose when or how they start, or who they're for. They just sort of happen on their own. It doesn't make you stupid for falling for him. It makes you human. Well I know you aren't actually human, but you get my point."

"I know, I just... I wish I would've just tried to move on at least. Save myself some of this embarrassment." He took a bite of the ice cream, finally.

"Growing up human, you have no clue about any of this whole mate stuff. I mean, people talk about soulmates, but that's just the kind of thing people say in any relationship they get in, whether they believe it or not. There's no inner wolf to tell you when you've found the one, you figure it out on your own. You have to navigate your relationships and your crushes on nothing but how you feel, and sometimes, it ends in heartbreak. I know this sounds cheesy, but everything happens for a reason. My mom and dad met and fell in love and adopted me. They ended up not being soulmates and that did end in heartbreak. But without that, I wouldn't be here with you, now would I? And I would have never met Toby, or at least not as soon as I did." He gave me another sad smile.

"Thanks, Gill." I smiled back and took a big bite of the ice cream.

"Of course, Drew. I'm always here for you."

"I'm really glad you met my brother. You make him really happy. And it's nice to have another big brother. Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, but he's not very good at stuff like this. At least with me he's not."

"Of course! I'm an only child, so it's cool to have a little brother." I smiled at him and cuddled up to his side.

"So, this whole heartbreak remedy cannot be effective unless we binge watch something that will make us cry. The Notebook is a classic, though overrated. Honestly, I think we should steer clear from Nicolas Sparks in general. Disney might be good. It can be sad, but there's always happy music too."

"Disney is fine with me." I grabbed the remote from the coffee table and we eventually settled on Coco. I took the now empty ice cream container and set it aside while Drew pulled the throw blanket from the back of the sofa, draping it over the both of us as we slowly began the healing process.

Tobias

"Dude, I don't know what half this stuff is." Jax whined, pushing the cart down the aisle. I laughed.

"Neither do I, but Gill wants it, so we're not leaving until we find all of it." Jax groaned and grabbed something off the shelf, putting it in the cart.

"How is he, anyway?" I shrugged.

"He's doing alright, I think. I know he's scared and he's getting a little stir crazy being locked in the pack house, but he knows I'm only doing it to protect him." He nodded.

"And Ivan? He's been staying with your parents, right?"

"Yes, he's been there for about two weeks now. He comes to visit Gill in the apartment too. He's also been visiting Maya a lot too." Jax smiled.

"That's great. They both deserve to be happy."

"Definitely," I agreed. "I mean, Maya is human just like him, and she was pulled into this world when she found her mate, only for him to get killed by a hunter when they finally have their first kid. And of course Gill's mom just abandoned him and Ivan. They may not be mates, but they'll be great together." Jax put another box of something I'd never heard of in the cart as I scratched it off the list.

"Ricotta cheese is next. Hey, something I've actually heard of!" I said triumphantly, making Jax roll his eyes.

"And Gill knows what to do with all this stuff?" I shrugged.

"He's been watching those shows a lot. He's cooked something almost every day just from what he can find in the apartment, and sometimes he'll sneak to the pack kitchen too. Everything's been delicious." He nodded as we made our way across the store.

"Excuse me, Sir." I asked politely, as there was a man blocking the shelf we needed. He apologized and stepped aside, allowing me to quickly grab what we needed.

"Okay, so now we just need some fancy bread and a few herbs and we're good to go." Jax announced, reading the list beside me.

"Shopping is exhausting." I laughed and nodded in agreement as we located the aisle. Jax suddenly froze and looked over my shoulder. I gave him a quizzical look.

'The ricotta guy is following us. It might be nothing, but this is the third aisle I've seen him in.' Jax warned through the link

'There are a few warriors wandering the store. Link them and let them know. Let's just hurry and get everything so we can leave.'  I picked up the bread and dropped it into the cart. Thankfully, the herbs were in the next aisle and it was the last thing we needed, so we quickly made our way over.

'He still following us?' Jax discreetly glanced behind me.

'He sure is. He's not alone anymore. There's a woman, tall and blonde, and another man. Bald, angry looking goatee. Oh shit, the bald guy has the crescent tattoo. They're hunters, or at least he is.'  I growled through the link, quickly grabbing all the herbs from the list.

'Did you link the warriors?'

'Yes, there's two at the exit and four outside.'  We quickly walked to the checkout, the three stalkers following behind.

'Okay, good. When we get out to the car we should drive away from town, but stay away from the pack house. We don't want them following us right into our land. Plus there's probably more here.'  Jax nodded and began scanning our items at the self checkout, while I stuffed them into bags. I pulled out my credit card and handed it to Jax while I loaded all the bags into the cart.

"Let's get out of here." Jax said simply, giving back my card and the receipt. We rushed out of the store, well aware of the three figures still following us. I felt my heart calm slightly when I saw a few of our warriors outside.

'Alpha Tobias, a lone hunter has been captured at the northern border. He's in the dungeon and is requesting to speak with you and you alone.'  One of the guards linked me. I growled lowly. Some nerve these hunters have.

'Why didn't you kill him right away?'

'He wasn't attacking. He walked right up to the border line holding a gun, but he dropped it and put his hands up as soon as he crossed and just said he wanted to speak with you. The only reason we know he's a hunter is because he said he was.' I frowned. Before I could respond, I noticed the three people climb into a large van and drive off. I switched to talking to the warriors who were there with me, and Jax.

'Change of plans. Half of you, follow that van and make sure they go nowhere near the pack house. The other half. Make sure there aren't others here ready to follow us as well. I need to get back to the pack to handle something.' Jax looked at me strangely as we climbed into my truck after loading up all the groceries. I switched back to talking to the guard, letting him know I was on my way.

'What is going on?' Jax asked through the link.

'There is a hunter locked in the dungeon requesting to speak with me. I have no clue what about.' Jax frowned and nodded.

'Just be careful. This might be a trap.'

The rest of the ride back to the territory was silent. I told Jax to take my truck back so he could take care of the groceries and check on Gill. We both climbed out and he got into the drivers seat, driving away. I nodded at the two guards at the entrance of the dungeon. There were a few more hiding in the trees, just in case there was an attack, and also a few inside.

"Good afternoon, alpha." One of the guards greeted. I had to admit, it felt kind of odd with everyone referring to me as alpha, even though I hadn't yet received the title. The two guards opened the door for me, where I was greeted with two more, one of which was Peter, the one who had told me about the hunter.

"Right this way, Alpha." I followed him down the small hallway, ignoring the glares from the few rogues that were locked up. It was rare we locked up any trespassers, as they usually attacked first, so we just killed them right away. In the off chance there was a rogue who didn't attack, and just unknowingly crossed the border, they're captured and interrogated, just to make sure there was no ill intent, and then they're warned and released, or sometimes even welcomed into the pack if they were just looking for a home. My father was a firm believer in not taking another life unless absolutely necessary.

"The prisoner is right through there."  Peter stepped aside, gesturing toward a large metal door. I nodded and thanked him before pulling the heavy door open. There was a figure sitting in a metal chair, his legs and arms locked in chains, his hands resting on a large table, with an empty chair across from him.  He was looking down at his shoes, a simple pair of white tennis shoes, different than the customary black boots hunters normally wore. In fact, he didn't look like a hunter at all.

"I've been told you wanted to speak with me?" The figure shifted in his chair before finally lifting his head, looking at me in the eye.  "Levi?" My eyes widened and a bubble of anger began brewing in the pit of my stomach.

"Tobias, please listen to me. I'm not like them, okay? I swear, I'd never hurt any of you." I snorted and stepped closer to him.

"Right, and I'm just supposed to believe you? Any other time, and I might have. But now, when my people are being attacked. When my own mate has been attacked, and you just happen to show up right in the middle of it. Are you really Holly's mate? Or is that some sort of undercover work?" He shook his head rapidly.

"No, I swear. Holly is really my mate, please just let me explain. If you still don't believe me after, you can kill me or torture me or lock me up, or whatever it is you normally do." I studied his face for a moment before I  sat down in the empty chair.

"Fine, talk." He nodded and began speaking.

"Okay, well first thing you need to know is that hunters can either be born into the job, or recruited. We have large groups, called clans, much like your packs. My father is the head of our clan, which meant when I was born, I was meant to join him, and eventually take over for him, except that's not what I want. Ever since I was little, my father would drill it into my brain that you were all vicious killing machines. That you'd attack and slaughter anyone who crossed your path, and that you all needed to be exterminated. I wasn't allowed to go on these hunting trips until I turned eighteen, as I was finally fully trained. It was then on my first trip that I realized we were the monsters. He cornered this small little wolf, a little boy. He shifted and begged and pleaded. He was so scared, and I just watched as my father pulled up his gun, ready to shoot, when a bigger wolf tackled him to the ground. When my dad was busy trying to get the bigger wolf off of him, I told the boy to run and get help. Ever since then, on every hunting trip I've been on, I've tried my best to help out the wolves we were supposed to be hunting. A few months ago, we got an invitation from an alpha with the opportunity to take out an entire pack. My father took it, and we moved here. The man that attacked your mate was a part of our clan. The arrow in your side, the she-wolf outside your mate's house...it's all our clan. My father started questioning my loyalty, so he stopped telling me things. I didn't know any of that would happen, otherwise I would have warned you. Whenever he meets with the alpha, I'm sent away. All I know is that he has a spy somewhere here. That's how he knew about Gill, that the two of you would be at the lake, everything. I know he's planning an ambush, with the Alpha's pack. He never told me when exactly, but he said he wanted it done before you and Gill took over as alphas." I took a moment to process what he'd said. We were right about the traitor theory.

"But you have no clue who the spy is, or the alpha? You've never seen them face to face?" Levi shook his head. "And why come to me now?"

"They're going to attack again soon. I don't know who is the target, or when it's happening. I just overheard a few of the clan members talking about it, so I ran here right away. They've probably realized I'm gone now, so they might do it sooner. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt. I don't want Holly to get hurt..."

"Does she know? That you're a hunter?" He shook his head.

"No. I told her the only reason I know about wolves was that I had a friend who was part of a pack before I moved here." I thought about it for a bit before making my decision.

"You may be released. You can take refuge in our pack, however you will be monitored at all times. You are not to be left alone with any member of my pack, including Holly. Every phone call you make, I'll know about. Every person you talk to, I'll know about. If anyone from your clan contacts you, you tell me immediately. If I find out you are going behind my back in anyway, I will not hesitate to lock you up. And you will tell no one of this. Not even Holly. I need to find this spy."