Chapter 5

I woke up in my bed. My light was off, but my door was open, and I could hear Tommy just outside, talking. It sounded like he was on the phone.

"This isn't about you and me. For fuck's sake, Harper needs you. Please, just get here." Silence as I guessed the other person he was talking to was speaking. "Fine, then I will see you soon."

Then I heard footsteps, and Tommy appeared in my room, holding a glass of water.

"Hey, kid," he said with a sad smile on his face. "You need to drink" he sat on the edge of my bed and handed me the glass. I sat up and winced. My whole body hurt like I had gone ten rounds with a gorilla.

"Yeah, you are gonna be feeling pretty sore, and you'll need more sleep," Tommy said.

"What was that, do you know?" I asked, and he nodded sadly.

"When Colton rejected you, did you accept it?" I shook my head. I was in too much shock to even think of it.

He nodded. "If you don't accept the rejection, then you are still bonded for three full moons," he said, and then looked uncomfortable. "What you felt last night..." I glanced at the clock as he said that and saw that it was 3 am. "What you felt was Colton with another woman." Tears welled up in my eyes again. He had dropped me and gone and found another woman. I felt sick.

"The thing is, kid, you aren't at full strength, and you can't just accept right now," he said. "You need to build your body back up to withstand the bond breaking completely. Otherwise, it could kill your wolf." I gasped, suddenly realising I had not heard from my wolf since after Colton had left. I tried searching for her but could only find the smallest of sparks.

"Is she gone?" I cried, and Tommy looked at me with sympathy.

"No kid, but you are gonna need rest until you can hear her again, and definitely no trying to shift, you understand?" I nodded in response.

The door opened downstairs, and I heard people running up the stairs seconds before Katie and Louise burst into my bedroom. Seeing them there looking concerned brought a fresh wave of sadness, and once again, I burst into tears.

"Oh my gosh," Katie cried, throwing herself onto the bed and hugging me. "It's ok, Harps, we are here." I felt Louise at my back as she joined in the hug, and before long, I was laid between them in my bed as I cried, and they both whispered soothing words.

Tommy stood at the end of the bed and smiled.

"Take care of her, girls. I got something to do." He started heading out of the door when Louise called him.

"Tommy?"

He turned back. "Yeah?"

"Don't do anything stupid." Tommy grinned, but even I could see the feral look in his eyes.

"Sorry darling, can't promise that." At that, he was gone.

Tommy

My car screeched into the parking lot of the pack house, and I jumped out. I was furious; I wanted to find that little shit and rip him apart. I could hear the music of the party still going. These things normally lasted till past daylight. I was normally one of the last ones left standing, or if I was in bed, certainly wasn't sleeping.

But not this time. Katie had come looking for me, telling me she couldn't find Harper, and she was worried. I played it down and told her I would look for Harper and to go have fun. That was when she pouted and mentioned something about Damien. She said he was flirting with her until one of his friends came over and mentioned Colton had bagged that girl, and then he suddenly wasn't interested. She was very upset about it, but I told her she had a lucky escape.

It was niggling me, though, Damien showing Katie attention, and then Colton and some girl. My wolf Brun was grunting at me to find Harper. I trusted his judgment. I had found Darren, my brother, and asked if they had seen her, but nothing. In the end, I had gone home to see if Harper was there. And the first thing I saw was Colton fucking Stokes, leaving my house.

And now, knowing what he did to my poor sweet niece. To humiliate her in such a way was bad enough, but to take her innocence under the cover of the fated bond was beyond words. I stormed into the hall, looking for Colton, when Darren saw me.

"Tommy," he called. I could tell both he and Linda, my sister-in-law, had drunk a fair amount. I guess the deal went well, and he had got his raise.

"Tommy, my little brother." He clapped me on the back. "Where have you been? Did you find Harper?"

"Yeah, she's at home with a headache," I lied. It wouldn't do to have them worry, and I knew Harper didn't want people knowing what had happened.

"Oh, no!" Linda said sadly. "And on her birthday, well, we'll make it up to her tomorrow with cake."

"Erm... yeah, sure," I grimaced. "Anyway, I have something to do. I'll see you at home." I needed to find that snake and smash his face in.

I left my brother and sister-in-law and went searching. It wasn't long before I heard the voices of the ranked elite. The jumped up little shits thought they were the kings in this town. I didn't care if Damien was meant to be the Alpha. The boy was as corrupt as his own father. I didn't care what they got up to, but bringing my family into their dealings was over the line.

I had gone out into the back gardens where it was mostly the younger crowd when I saw the usual gaggle of girls, and of course, at the centre were Damien and Colton, along with some other jock douches that hung off them hoping for praise. Seeing Colton's smirking face as he laughed and joked was enough for me to see red, and with a growl, I headed straight for him.

I had got close when I heard snippets of the conversation.

"Yeah, man, it was fucking amazing. The way she wriggled against me as I made her cum against the pain was one of the best-" I'd had enough knowing he was talking about my niece.

"You fucking bastard!" I snarled as I lunged at him, knocking him to the floor. I had surprised him and started pummelling into his grinning face over and over. I was dragged off by two of the guys, and they held me as I tried to get back to the smarmy little shit. He jumped to his feet, his face a mass of blood and his eyes shining gold.

"Tommy, Tommy, Tommy," he gloated before delivering a punch to my stomach, sending me gasping to the floor. "It's all very chivalrous of you to stand up for the little slut niece of yours." I felt a kick to my stomach, and pain radiated. "But she really wasn't complaining when she screamed my name as I fucked her tight little pussy." He bent down and whispered, "And if I want to do it again." Colton grabbed my hair, yanking back, and punched me in the face as someone else kicked my side. I grunted against the pain, knowing I was not only outnumbered but outranked. "If I want to fuck her again, I know I will make the slut scream again."

All the fury hit me at once, and I could feel Brun forcing his way out. I felt the shift before they had noticed, and within seconds, I had shifted into my snarling and very pissed-off wolf. I saw everyone take a step back as I narrowed my sight in on the little shit's throat and pounced. He shifted in time, and his dirty brown wolf rolled away from my attack before counter-attacking. I knew his wolf was bigger, faster, and stronger than mine, and he had me by the scruff before I could get out of the way. I rolled, knocking him off me, and launched at him again. I knocked him to the floor and was about to set my teeth around his throat when I felt the unmistakable power of the Alpha.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Everyone froze at the power radiating through the gardens.

"Colton, Thomas, STOP!"

We stopped at the Alpha command, unable to move. "Now shift." Pain ripped through me at the forced shift, and I was left panting, naked, and in pain.

Colton smirked at me as I heard the sound of his father on the approach. He knew very well that attacking a ranked member was punishable by exile or death and that I didn't stand a chance against the son of the pack Beta.

"Now, does someone want to tell me why my son is naked in the gardens?" he bellowed in his always too loud voice. Damien leaned over and said something to his father, who then turned his glare on me.

"Do you want to explain why you attacked the future Beta of this pack?" I glared over at Colton, who had sat up and was comfortable in all his naked glory.

"Might want to ask him what he did to my niece," I snarled. I remembered then that Harper had said that she didn't want anyone knowing they were fated mates. I had the feeling that it was more Colton that didn't want people to know. I grinned at him before I added, "Or should I say what he did to his fated mate?" Colton growled at me as a collective gasp went through the crowd.

There was a growl from Beta Eric, and I looked up and saw him glowering at his son. I looked at Colton and grinned again as he glared back at me.

"Party is over," the Alpha called. "Everyone, go home." The people immediately started moving to the exits like the compliant sheep they were. He then looked down at me. "Tommy, you can go home too." I looked at him in shock, but I wasn't the only one shocked.

"Wait! What the fuck?" Colton exclaimed. "He attacked me!"

"Colton, shut up," the Beta reprimanded him. "And get into the office now."

"But I haven't done anything wrong!" Colton snapped.

"Are you arguing with me, boy?" the Beta growled, and Colton shrunk back

"No, sir," he said quietly, and he pulled himself to his feet and stormed into the pack house. The Beta turned and stormed in after him, and the Alpha glanced at me.

"I trust you will say nothing of this, Tommy?" He phrased it as a question, but I knew the man enough to know it was a threat.

"Yes, Alpha," I responded.

"Good, give my regards to your brother." He nodded and turned and followed his Beta into the pack house. Damien was the only one left and went to say something, a sly smirk on his face.

"Damien, you too," the Alpha called back without turning, and Damien rolled his eyes but followed his father into the house.

I picked myself up and limped through the house to my car, stopping briefly when I heard muffled shouting coming from the Alpha's office. I grinned at the thought of the little shit getting his ass handed to him as I got into my car. I knew as well that I wasn't done with him either, as I started the car up and headed home.