Chapter Ten - The Kiss

The Kiss

Liam's cold glare meets Roland's. The two stare at each other in silence, yet I can't help feeling there is a conversation going on between them. After a moment Roland nods and Liam releases him from his icy gaze.

"Good morning everyone," Liam greets us all.

Both Samuel and Roland stand, bowing their heads briefly in what I assume is a sign of respect. I continue to sit, glaring at Liam and shoveling a large bite of syrupy waffle into my mouth.

Scowling at me Liam walks to the head of the table and takes a seat. "From now on, Abigail, you sit beside me."

"Why?" I ask stubbornly.

"Because that is where you belong," Liam answers curtly, picking up a plate and dishing himself food.

"According to you," I grumble.

The twins exchange a look, a mischievous gleam in their eyes, before re-taking their seats just as Jin enters. He doesn't so much as acknowledge there are other people in the room, piling food on his plate and eating in silence at the other end of the table.

I'm surrounded by weirdos.

You should feel at home then.

Good point.

"How's your neck?" Liam inquires gruffly, drawing my attention. His eyes are fixed intensely on my mark.

Feeling self-conscious I take my hair and pull it over my neck. "It's fine."

Liam's eyes narrow with clear irritation. I meet his gaze defiantly. "I see," he finally states tightly.

I decide to ignore his obvious attitude. Instead I ask carefully, "Since my door was unlocked I assume this means I can leave?"

"No, you can't," Liam answers, looking me straight in the eyes. His gaze is piercing and I find myself squirming in my seat.

Damn it. Obviously, there is no escaping. I just have to accept that this is my home now.

We belong here.

At least until Liam's wolf grows bored of me.

He will not.

What does that mean?

We are his mate. He will never let us go.

Liam seems to disagree.

He denies his wolf. But not for long.

A trickle of fear creeps down my spine. I don't like what my wolf is insinuating and frankly the memory of Liam's wolf frightens me. I don't know if I will ever forgive his wolf for binding me to them against my will.

Not wanting to dwell on my fears I decide to switch topics. "Isn't this a big house for just the four of you?" My tone is tinged with anger but I can't keep the bite from my voice.

"The rest of the pack are still moving," Liam replies. "The force squad will live here. The rest will find homes in town."

"How many?" I ask around a bite a sausage.

"The Shadow Pack has thirty members."

I perk up at that, generally curious. "Is that a lot?"

Pouring himself a glass of water Liam shakes his head. "Actually no, we're one of the smaller packs."

I can't tell if that's a good or bad thing. "Why are you called the Shadow Pack?" The three of them exchange looks, Roland and Samuel with strange smiles on their faces.

"Because you never see us coming," Samuel informs me. "And when you do it's too late."

"Oh..." What were they? Like the ninja's of werewolves?

"Our pack is unique," Liam offers. "Our members are...what normal packs would consider rejects. They were all exiled from their family packs for one reason or another. They are all unique, and that frightened their old pack members. And yet, we've been able to form an elite group. One that is feared." There's no pride in his voice as he tells me this, only fact. "I've worked tirelessly to make this pack strong and respected."

A werewolf pack of rejects. How ironic.

Told you we belonged.

I swallow another bite of sausage. "You all must be close."

Roland is the one to answer me. "We are. Very much so. We are a family."

A family. I wonder what that's like. To be loved and cared for by such a large group of people. "Do you always eat together like this?"

Samuel gives me a kind smile. "On Sundays we eat breakfast together. It's tradition."

"Wait? It's Sunday!?" I gasp. Nearly a week has gone by since that night in the woods. "I have school tomorrow."

"You're not going," Liam responds absently.

My eyes widen. He can't be serious. "What?"

"You will not be going to school," he says casually, as if it's no big deal.

"It's my senior year!" I protest. "I have to go!"

"Abigail-" Liam begins.

"Don't Abigail me," I cut him off snappily. "This is my education we're talking about."

Liam's jaw ticks. Not good. "Do not interrupt me."

"Then don't be unreasonable," I bite back.

Roland lets out a low whistle while Samuel gives me a look of warning. Jin continues to eat his breakfast completely uninterested.

Leaning back Liam taps a finger on the table. "That is enough."

The hell it is. "I understand that I'm...a member of your pack. And I won't try to escape again. But I have to go to school."

"And if people wonder where you've been what will you tell them?" Liam asks harshly.

I drop my gaze, my heart suddenly feeling empty. "No one will even notice that I was gone," I reply softly. It's the truth. And it hurts. When did I become so lonely? "Besides, shouldn't you be more worried about the police investigating Noah's death?"

I can see the anger in Liam's eyes. "The body has been buried where no one will ever find it. As far as the police are concerned he ran away." His tone is hard and without remorse.

"You buried him?"

"Actually, I did, chère," Roland admits.

Oddly, I feel sad about that. Noah may have been a bad person, but he had a family. A family who would never know what happened to their son.

He got what he deserved.

Cold.

You have no idea.

I'm not sure I want to either. "If Noah isn't a threat then there's no reason to keep me from school. I wont tell anyone what happened. I promise." When there is no reaction on Liam's face I switch tactics. "Please. This is important to me."

Liam stiffens, his eyes flashing briefly. "What did you just say?" His voice is lower, rougher. More like his wolf. Memories of the night he marked me replay in my brain. The more I begged the more exited his wolf became.

My heart beats faster at the memory. "Please," I repeat softly.

"Say that again," he orders huskily.

I have to swallow the lump in my throat. "Please."

A strange gleam shines in his blue eyes. "Please, alpha."

He seeks our submission.

Damn him. My eyes dart around the table. Roland and Samuel are watching me intently. Jin is still in his own world, scooping more eggs onto his plate.

Turning back to Liam I finally whisper, "Please, alpha."

Liam is silent for a long moment, never breaking his intense stare. Then he lets out a slow exhale, a shudder passing over him. "Very well. But Jin will be attending with you." At this Jin's head shoots up, his dark eyes widening as they focus on Liam in obvious annoyance. As if reading his mind Liam states, "You're the only one of us that can pass for high school. I know it's not ideal."

Jin's black gaze focuses on me. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, feeling the brunt of his anger. Then he stands stiffly, increasing the volume on his headphones and walking out of the room.

Just great. The scary mute feral werewolf is pissed off at me. "Why does he have to go?" I ask.

"I can't be sure you wont try to run away," Liam says. "And because he can keep you safe."

"Safe from what?" I scoff.

Liam's face turns dead serious. "You bear my mark. The mark of an alpha. That means any dominant werewolf not a member of this pack will see you as something they can kill as a challenge to me."

Kill?

My hand presses against my throat. "Oh." I can't think about that. I'm still in shock over the whole werewolves are real and I'm a half-breed thing.

"And we have other...concerns," Liam adds begrudgingly.

"What concerns?"

"Nothing you need to worry about right now," he drawls, exchanging a look with Roland and Samuel.

His response is frustrating - he's purposely keeping something from me - but I decide to save that argument for another day. I have a favor to ask and I don't want to ruin his mood. "When you buried Noah..did...did you happen to find my clothes?"

Samuel stiffens while Roland lets out a little growl. I give them a confused look, not sure what the issue is.

They know what Noah tried to do. It upsets them.

Did that mean they care about me? Warmth floods through me, filling my chest. It's a pleasing feeling. A happy one. And it's something I haven't felt in such a long time. Not since my parents died.

We are part of the pack now. We are family too.

Even if we are Liam's so called pet?

That does not matter to them.

How does my wolf know all this?

Before I get an answer Liam tells me, "Your clothes have been cleaned and are upstairs for you."

"My jacket too?" I ask with far too much hope.

Liam raises a brow. "Your jacket too."

I relax, feeling better than I have since this whole ordeal started. "Thank you. Umm...can we go to my apartment later?"

Liam frowns. "Why?"

"I can't wear the same thing everyday. I need my clothes."

"I'll buy you more," he dismisses.

Why does he have to be so difficult? "All of my stuff is there. I have family photos, things I want to keep."

"Abigail-" Liam starts.

"I can take her," Roland cuts him off, giving me a wicked grin.

Liam growls, giving the other wolf a death look. "I will take her after breakfast."

Roland shrugs, tossing me a wink.

A smile spreads across my lips. Two victories and it's not even noon yet! "Thanks."

Liam gives me an odd look before shaking his head and turning his gaze away from me. We eat the remainder of our breakfast in silence. Then I hurry upstairs to dress and meet Liam outside by a black Mercedes SUV.

The air is crisp and cool. I can almost smell snow. Shutting my eyes for a moment I let the cold breeze blow through my hair. It feels so good. And the smells...

"Abigail," Liam's voice snaps me back to attention. He's holding the passenger door open for me, his eyes burning as he stares at me.

I climb inside with a blush, fastening my seat belt. He shuts the door behind me before rounding the car and taking the driver's seat. As soon as the driver side door closes I'm engulfed in Liam's scent. It invades me and my body responds instantly. I feel achy and far too hot.

I just stop myself from groaning. I need to get a grip.

As we drive I keep my gaze out the window. The ride is silent but strangely it's not uncomfortable. This is the longest I've spent with Liam and I'm glad that for once he isn't snapping at me or being argumentative.

I use this time to come to grips with my current situation and with all that's happened. But there's one worry that eats away at me. It seems foolish but it bothers me nonetheless...

As we near my apartment I finally break the silence. "Do you hate me?"

"What?" he asks, glancing over at me with genuine surprise.

Taking a deep breath I say in a rush, "You said half-breeds were the lowest of the low. And now your wolf wants me for his mate. So, I figure you must hate my guts right?"

Scowling, he grates, "I don't hate you, pet."

My stomach flutters. I should not like the way he calls me pet...but I do. The way he says it doesn't sound like an insult. It sounds like a term of endearment. "Then what is it? Why wont you accept me fully as your mate?"

His grip tightens on the steering wheel. "Because I can't. It would destroy my pack."

"Why?"

"An alpha's mate is queen of the pack. The queen binds the pack together. Nurtures it. Makes it strong. It's an important position. If other packs were to find out that my queen is a half-breed..." he trails off, a growl of frustration in his throat.

"So, it's to protect your pack?"

"Yes," he replies roughly. "I am the alpha. My sole purpose is towards my packs well being. I can't destroy everything we've worked so hard to build. Everything we've scarified. All because my wolf made a rash decision."

Ouch. "Why do you consider your wolfs decision rash?"

"He saw you. He wanted you. Seems pretty rash to me." Liam looks over at me, his face solemn. "As I said, my wolf is all instinct."

I think on that for a moment, rolling it around in my brain. Roland said the pack was close. A family. Can I really hate Liam for wanting to protect his family?

I can't. I would have done the same.

"You must have been really disappointed when your wolf picked me," I finally whisper.

"I wasn't," he replies, his voice taking on a hard edge. "I felt many things, Abigail. Disappointment was not one of them."

I don't respond, tears pricking my eyes at his words. We park in front of my apartment shortly after. Once again, I have to fight to get the damn door open, cursing under my breath. Liam rolls his eyes, gently maneuvering me to the side and pulling it open with the slightest yank.

"Thanks," I huff, stomping inside. Liam follows me glancing around with a scowl. As we walk up the stairs to my apartment I frown, there's an eviction notice taped to my door with big red letters. One week late and the bastard landlord is throwing me out.

Liam pulls off the notice with a raised brow.

"My landlords a dick," I say by way of an explanation.

"Fair enough." As we enter my apartment I hear Liam suck in a breath behind me. "Jesus Christ, you lived here?"

I flush, imagining what he must be thinking. Compared to Moorwood my apartment looks like a hovel. "Yes."

He looks around, lips pressed into a thin line. "It's freezing in here, don't you have heat?"

"The radiators broken."

"Your landlord should fix that," he snaps.

"I've called him," I admit, shamed faced.

"What a jackass." Liam is clearly pissed as he runs a hand through his hair. "You are never living like this again."

I blink up at him and blush. "It's not that bad..."

"You deserve better than this," he states angrily. His words give me a thrill. "Just get what you want so we can leave."

"Okay."

I go to my bed and pull out a couple of boxes from underneath. Opening my hope chest I retrieve the photo albums I want. Then I pack away the things most important to me - a blue glass bottle my father and I found hiking, a box of my mother's jewelry, an old family photo of my grandmother. Once done, I look around my apartment, trying to decide on what else I should bring.

"Do you need anything else?" Liam asks.

"Just my clothes," I say.

"I told you I'd buy you more," Liam replies with boredom.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are extremely difficult?" I ask, irritated by him once again.

Liam smirks, his fangs glinting between his lips. "No one else has ever dared."

I flush. "Oh."

His eyes move to my neck, as if drawn like a magnet. Swallowing hard, I cover my mark again with my hair.

Liam hisses in a breath. "Don't do that."

I freeze at his tone. "What?"

He stalks over to me, his eyes dark with an emotion I don't understand. I walk backward instinctively, the backs of my legs hitting the edge of the bed. He traps me against the mattress, his warm hand cupping my chin. "Don't ever hide my mark from me, Abigail."

I stare up at him. His eyes. Intense burning flames. Desire coils in my stomach. "Liam..."

"Don't," he groans. "I know what you want."

"I can't help it," I whimper.

He stiffens, a harsh sound deep in his chest. "You will be the end of me," he snarls. Then his lips are on mine and my body explodes with heat.