The Alpha and the Mistake

Chapter 16

Ryder

I sat in the back seat of Harry's car, my knee bouncing with anxious nervousness. We headed to my

pack's territory to visit Brook. It was risky, but Brook's mom needed to see her and in all honesty, so did

I. I needed to apologize and fix this mess. I couldn't live with Brook thinking that I'm a monster. A weight

lifted off my shoulders when I saw the packhouse. I smiled when I noticed the unfamiliar car. I admit I

thought she might run off before we'd get here. I still had a chance to fix things.

At the door, my parents waited for us. "Welcome Harry and Nancy Ford, betas of the Black Mountain

pack. We are honored that you trusted your daughter to our care," Dad said.

"I'm just happy you found her and brought her here. I owe you a debt for this Alpha of the Blue

Crescent pack," Harry replied.

Dad offered him a smile, obviously pleased. In acknowledging the debt, Harry also acknowledges

Brook as his.

"Is she okay?" Nancy asked, her hands twisting the strap of her purse.

"She has a concussion, but this morning her symptoms improved immensely. You have a very strong

daughter Mrs. Ford," Mom said.

Brook's mom visibly relaxed. "Thank you, would you take me to her?"

"Of course, follow me." With a wave of her hand, mom invited Brook's parents inside.

I started to follow, eager to see Brook too, but a look from my dad stopped me. "Do you realize what

you're risking by being here?" he asked with an uncharacteristically stern expression.

"I'm sorry, Dad but I had to come. I really messed up."

"Yes, you did. You need to learn better control than that Ryder. This won't be the first time your

adversary will say something about your mate to get a reaction from you. You have to be the stronger

and keep your cool."

I nodded, knowing as much as I hated getting a lecture, he was right. I needed to be stronger. "I have

to fix this, and if Alpha Ryan finds out I'm here then I'll tell him I came here to visit with my injured mate.

That would be an acceptable reason for the violation,."

The right answer because the edges of Dad's mouth tilted upward. "Good. Now that's using your head."

Relieved, I let out a sigh and lifted my hand to run it through my hair again, but my dad grabbed my

wrist. "What is this?" Anger radiated from his face as he stared at the piece of plastic.

"My punishment for the fight. Both Mike and I got one."

Dad's lip curled in a silent snarl and he took a deep breath and seemed to deflate. "This is

unacceptable! The fight was stupid and reckless, but it doesn't warrant silvering. This is all too

convenient. He's now weakened you in his territory. My instinct tells me he is planning something."

"Framing me for Brook and her family's death," I told him and explained everything Brook had said to

me the day we met at the park.

"Would he really go so far as to murder his own because they found their mate?" Dad said, looking

stunned. "I'll have to meet with my counsel and figure what to do about this. But right now I want to talk

about your mate." I stilled. My mate? Why? Did she say something? Has she rejected me already? The

pain of that single thought made it hard to breathe. "Relax Ryder. I can read your thoughts in your

expressions. I only wanted to say that she's everything you told me."

"How is she dealing with being here?"

"She's suspicious, as expected, but she's not treating us like monsters. She seems to handle your

brother well enough, and Andy likes her."

A strange surge of jealousy hit me, although he was only talking about Dean and Andy, who had a

mate already and my best friend since fifth grade.

"But I have to tell you. It's not all fixed Ryder. Brook is adamant about leaving, and well, she knows

everything."

"Everything, everything?"

He nodded. "I had to tell her. Brook knew we weren't telling her something so I had to tell her the truth

or risk being thrown in the same group with your uncle and cousin."

"Okay, so how did she take it?" I never wanted, yet feared, an answer so badly in my life.

"Well she didn't go running into the night, so there's that, but I'm not sure she fully understands exactly

what it means. I believe she thinks that we'll force her into it, despite my assurances to the contrary. I'm

hoping her time around the others will help relax her. I have to warn you, Ryder, while she's a strong

young woman, what's happened to her in Black Mountain pack has affected her. You need to

remember that."

"Of course. I'll do what I can to make her feel safe."

"Good, now let's go see where Brook and her family are at."

We found them in the game room. Harry was playing a game of pool with Dean, Andy, and Marco-our

beta. Brook stood next to her mom.

"Hey Bro," Dean yelled at me.

Brook's eyes met mine, making my heart race, but she quickly looked away.

"Come over here and join us so I can kick your ass too," Dean said, waving me over.

Dad shot him a chastising glare but either Dean didn't see it, or he didn't care. Even though I didn't

want to play, I walked over to the table, taking the pool cue my brother held out for me. Maybe this

would help show Brook that I'm just a guy and not a monster. "Someday Dean that mouth is going to

get you in trouble."

His only reply was that cocky smirk of his.

The game didn't last long, and despite all the odds, my brother didn't beat us all. Nope, that was my

dad. He was downright awesome at the pool. "Well played," I told him and noticed Brook and her mom

were gone. Panic surged through me, but I swallowed it. They probably went for a walk or something to

eat. I needed to chill. I only had a look for her.

I set the stick down and was going to leave when my dad called me. "I need to talk with Andy for a

moment. Please see Harry at my office and introduce him to the council." I silently groaned. I wanted to

find Brook and talk, but orders were orders. "Yes, Sir."

The council consisted of Marco, our beta, Jayson our lead sentry wolf, Dr. Mathers the pack doctor,

Aaron, my grandfather and our acting elder, and Trevor our lead enforcer. "Ryder what are you doing

here?" My grandfather asked and everyone echoed his sentiment.

I explained my reasons for being here. All of them gave me knowing grins, they all had their mates and

knew what it was like, I guess. The council questioned Harry and myself for nearly an hour before I was

free and then it was time for dinner.

"Hey man," Andy greeted me as I walked into the dining room. He was with Kara, Beth, and Dean.

We shared a fist bump. "Hey, how's it going?" Noticing Brook wasn't with them.

"We're good. She's with her mom, and no, I don't know where they are," Andy said.

"Man, Ryder you are so lucky," Dean told me. "But to be honest, I've almost convinced her to come to

this side of the fence."

"You wish," I said, shoving him, ignoring the twinge of worry in the back of my mind.

"Please, Brook is too smart to fall for his lame ass lines," Kara said.

I nodded to Beth. "Hey, how do you like it here?"

"It's great. I really like it."

Good. After what I'd seen, I was going to talk to Dad. Perhaps there was a way to let her stay here if

she wanted. "Let's get something to dinner. I missed lunch." It felt so good being back here with the

gang. I didn't realize how isolated I was in Black Mountain until now.

After dinner, I decided to go to my room, take a shower, and get changed before trying to find Brook

again. I ran a hand through my hair, tired. I hadn't been getting a whole lot of sleep lately. Thoughts of

Brook had been keeping me awake, not that I was complaining. I opened my door, took a few steps

inside, closing the door before I noticed that Brook was there...and she was practically naked. My jaw

dropped as I stared at her in surprise.

She was in my room, and she only had a towel covering her, and that was wrapped around her waist.

Her back was facing me, but her arms were crossed over her chest as she looked at me in surprise. I

should look away, but it was easier said than done. With her wet stuck to her face, neck, and

shoulders, she looked like a Venus straight out of my dreams. She was beautiful, and only the bruises

still visible on her sides marred her perfection.

"Oh my God! You perv, get out," Brook shouted at me, grabbing a bottle of my cologne and threw it at Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

me.

I managed to duck in time to avoid it from smashing my face. My face burned with embarrassment.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"Get out," Brook insisted, tossing one of my trophies but this time I wasn't fast enough. It hit me on the

shoulder, and it hurt like hell. I glared at her, but before I could tell her to stop throwing stuff, she

demanded, "Don't look at me, you pervert. Get out, now!"

As she reached for something new to throw I started to fear for my life. The only thing in reach was my

bigger trophies with lots of pointy and sharp edges. I left, slamming the door, and took a breath. Damn

it! I was supposed to be reassuring her, and instead, I come off as some kind of creep. Seriously, how

could this get any worse?

A moment later the door opened, and she was now, thankfully, fully dressed. "What is wrong with you?

Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

Now that's not fair. "It's my room, and I didn't know you were in there."

"Right, of course. I'd expect a lame excuse like that from Dean, but I guess he's not the one I should've

been worried about."

A surge of possessive jealousy reared its head. "He hasn't touched you, has he?"

Brook sucked in a breath and backed up against the wall. Crap, I was doing it again!

I blew out a breath as I ran my hands through my hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, again. Can

we just start over?"

"Uh yeah, sure," she said, sounding a little wary still. I followed her back into my room where she

picked up the towel and tossed it into the basket.

"I mean it. I'm really sorry, especially for walking in like that. No one told me you were here in my

room."

Her face turned light pink, and she narrowed her eyes at me. "Why? Would've dropped in sooner?

Perv."

"What? No! And quit calling me a perv. It was an accident. You're the one walking around my

room...like that," I said, running a hand through my hair, the image of her near nakedness coming back

to my mind. I swallowed, too warm all of the sudden.

Brook started to snicker. "Dude, Dean's right. It's way too easy to get a rise out of you."

She had no idea. "You're messing with me?"

Brook rolled her eyes. "Obviously."