Silent Shadows

The voices around me sounded far away. I was still hovering in that place between sleep and awake, curled up on my side as I listened to the voices.

“Arin really did a number on her.” A voice said near my head.

“Matt told him to do something; he did it. He’s been sitting out there for an hour, he feels so bad.” Another voice said.

“At least the kid can stay.”

“Matt said it was only for a little while.”

“Matt may be alpha but he’s not cruel. You heard her say that suckers got her parents. I bet she hasn’t even had her first shift yet.” There was a pause. “She’s just a kid.”

“You’re such a sucker for a pretty face.”

My body began to wake up, and I struggled to stay asleep. I was pretty sure when I woke up it was going to hurt. And it did. A lot.

I felt like I’d been run over by an 18-wheeler. Two of the guys were sitting next to the bed I was lying in. One had a blood soaked rag and was cleaning my face. The other was just studying me with deep blue eyes.

I focused on the one who was currently digging fabric into a cut on my face. He had dark hair standing up at odd angles in the back and hazel eyes. Two scars sliced through his left eyebrow. As I tried to focus my eyes on him, it occurred to me that he had gentle eyes. It was a strange thing to think about someone, but there was just something good about him.

“Go tell Arin she woke up.” He said to the other man.

“Where am I?” I asked, my voice hoarse and raw.

“Welcome to Chateau de Pack, kid.” He finally stopped scraping at my face with that rag.

“Who are you? And don’t call me kid.” I sat up slowly, feeling my back protest to the movement.

“I’m Danny. That’s Jimmy, and I think you’re familiar with Arin.” Danny said, hooking his thumb over his shoulder at the blue eyed man and the guy who’d beat the snot out of me.

“Sorry about that.” Arin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Alpha’s orders. We had to make sure you weren’t some princess who would faint the first time someone threw a punch at them.”
“It’s beat the shit out of Ronnie week.” I muttered, shifting slightly against the pillows. As I readjusted my legs under the blankets, I realized I could feel the sheets against my bare legs. I lifted the covers and peeked under to see that I’d been stripped down to my underwear and the t-shirt I’d been wearing. I dropped the covers, my face flushing bright red. From the corner of my eye I noticed Jimmy fidgeting uncomfortably. He must have noticed me checking under the covers.

“So, your name’s Ronnie?” Arin blurted, changing the subject away from the fact that one of them must have stripped me.

“Yeah.” I reached up to feel for cuts on my face. There were many, and they stung when I pressed them.

“I didn’t think you’d hit the ground so hard.” Arin scuffed the toe of his Converse against the floor.

“I look like I went three rounds with a meat tenderizer, don’t I?” I asked, wincing as I brushed one particularly deep cut.

“It’s not that bad.” Jimmy said. “Come on, I think Matt wants to talk to you.” I just blinked at him. “Oh! Pants.” He handed me my dusty, bloody jeans and I yanked them on, ignoring the pain in my…everything.

I followed Jimmy down the hall to a large room with a wall of bookcases. The alpha, who I assumed was Matt, was sitting in a leather arm chair. For a place that had to have been in the middle of nowhere, this place was pretty swanky.

“Sit.” His voice was definitely alpha. I obeyed, even though I wasn’t part of the pack yet and bound to obey.

“What’s your name?” It wasn’t so much a question as a command to identify myself.

“Ronnie Bellamy.”

“James and Kate’s kid?”

“Yeah.” The memory of that night rose up, nearly making me double over in pain. I shoved it away and rubbed at my arm, if only to have something to do with my hands. They’d stitched up my arm. I could feel the neat stitches under the bandage they’d wrapped around it. Matt looked over my head at Jimmy and he left quietly, shutting the door behind him.

“I don’t want to take you in.” Matt said bluntly. “But you’re wounded. You won’t last the trip back down the mountain, if you could even find your way down. So until you heal, you can stay. But you’ll have to carry your own weight.”
“My dad sent me here for a reason. I think he wanted me to join.” I quailed involuntarily under the angry look he shot me.

“We don’t have females in this pack. You’re a liability.” He stood up, clearly signaling the conversation was over.

“Didn’t you have Arin fight me to see if I was strong?” I shot back. I hadn’t come all this way to be turned away.

“Yeah, and you got your ass kicked.” His eyes were changing. Not a good sign.

“I escaped from suckers five days before. I drove two fucking days straight and I hiked the next three. I was wounded. Give me a fair fight and I’ll prove myself.” I was right up in his face, which was either stupidly brave or bravely stupid.

“I’ll think about it.” He didn’t seem happy about saying it. “Go.” Jimmy was in the hall a few feet away and he walked away without a word when he saw me. I trailed after him like a lost puppy into a large living room. My back jolted with every step I took.

“So what’s the verdict on the kid?” A man with brown hair that brushed his chin and dark eyes was asking Jimmy when I entered the room, hesitating on the threshold.

“She stays until she’s healed.” Jimmy shook his head. “You got some balls, kid. She talked him into letting her fight again when she’s healed.” Arin smiled at me from his spot on the couch.

“What’s your name kid?” The green eyed guy from before asked.

“Ronnie. Ronnie Bellamy.” I mumbled. I ached all over and all I wanted was some hot food, a bath and a bed.

“I’m Zacky. That’s Brian, Johnny, and Jorel.” He pointed out the others as he said their names. My stomach rumbled and everyone laughed.

“You need to eat kid.” Jimmy poked my side and I winced.

“Bruised ribs.” I muttered through gritted teeth. He patted my head gently and even that hurt. Probably the impact of my head hitting the ground at some point or another.

“Let’s see if we can feed you.” Danny seemed like he was most comfortable with me around. Arin was mostly apologetic, Jimmy I had a feeling was the beta, and the others were wary. He led me into a big kitchen and started digging in the pantry. “Do you like macaroni and cheese? Cuz that’s pretty much all we got right now.”

“I’m not picky man.” My hair felt matted with blood and dirt when I tried to run my hand through it. I sat in silence while he set the water to boil. “I can cook it if you want.”

“No, it’s okay.” He didn’t turn from his spot at the stove. “How’s your head?”

“I feel like I got run over, but aside from that I’m just fuckin peachy.” I could smell myself, that’s how dirty I was.

Matt wandered in while Danny was adding the noodles. He spotted me sitting there and he wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“Go get her a shower. She stinks.” He muttered to Danny. I almost kissed his feet I was so happy. Danny led me down the hall to a bathroom and he was just about to leave when I stopped him.

“Uh, my clothes look like they should be burned. Can I borrow something?” I said, looking at my scuffed shoes. He vanished out the door and came back with a pair of basketball shorts and a clean shirt. “Thanks.”

I stood under the showerhead for a full minute, watching the water run muddy red down the drain. It took a long time to comb the mats out of my hair but I felt better by the time I was done. There was no blow dryer in the bathroom, as to be expected with a house full of men, so I did the best I could with the towel and tied it up with a rubber band I found lying around.

When I emerged from the bathroom, the food was done and the rest of the pack was sitting at a large table eating. I was nearly asleep while I ate, barely paying attention to the conversation around me. I had my head propped up on one hand, my other hand mechanically guiding the fork from my plate to my mouth.

“Where is she supposed to sleep?” I heard Jimmy ask Matt. “I think someone’s gonna have to double up.”

“No. She won’t get any special treatment because she’s a girl. She can share with someone or sleep on the floor.” Matt really didn’t seem to like me. Or maybe he’s testing how tough I am.

“I don’t mind sharing.” I managed to mumble out.

“Anyone willing to offer up?” Matt asked. There was a long awkward silence before Danny piped up.

“I’ll share.” He said. “Come on, you look like you’re gonna pass out right here.” I nodded wordlessly and put my dish in the sink before following him.

His room was the one I’d been in before when they were treating me. I didn’t bother looking around, just crawled under the covers without a word. I must have been asleep before he even left the room.