A Month with Werewolves (The With Werewolves Saga Book 1) Page 5

  Emmett leaned back in his chair, digesting all that I had asked. Perhaps I should start splitting that last question up, since Devon had the same confused reaction.

  “The detainment process is definitely rough, but necessary. Unlike most of the other guys in here, I didn't much mind the vasectomy. I mean, sure, having kids would be great, but I hate condoms, and being fixed lets me fuck whoever I want without having to worry about getting them pregnant. Besides, inside the reservation you don't have to worry about STDs.”

  “So no one inside of the reservation has had STDs?” I cut him off, a bit curious about that one.

  “Well, there was this one guy who had herpes, but he died.” Emmett shrugged.

  “How'd he die?”

  “He was killed during one of the shifts. Sometimes we get a bit rowdy,” he replied nonchalantly. Now I was even more relieved that I wouldn't be staying for the full moon. The werewolves sounded dangerous.

  “Sorry for interrupting.”

  “It's alright.” He thought for a moment. “When I was introduced to the reservation, there were only eighteen other people here. The reservation was a lot smaller, only one hundred acres instead of one thousand. The government has gone above and beyond to make sure that we have enough roaming room for when we shift. I mean, you've got to imagine that fifty-three horse sized wolves need a lot of room to roam.”

  I was happy that the government had done at least that much, especially since they weren't working very hard towards a cure.

  “The place has improved a lot over the years,” Emmett continued. “Most of the buildings that you see today weren't even here. In fact, it was run a lot like a prison. We lived in basic efficiency units and basically just worked, ate, and slept. But then things got better. More people started coming onto the reservation, and there was a huge funding grant. That's why the place is as big as it is now.”

  My main questioning was over, but there were still a few more things that I was curious about. “Were you an alpha from the beginning?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “In the beginning, we didn't have hierarchy trials. The only time there was such a thing as alpha or beta or omega was during the shift. And hell, we didn't even know who it was. When we turn into wolves, we lose everything of ourselves. The animal takes over, and the man is completely gone. Apparently, some strange phenomenon takes over where we use pack formation when we shift, but no one is aware of it except for the compound faculty that monitored us. At the time, this other guy was alpha.” Emmett paused. “It wasn't until a few years after I got here that the compound started doing the hierarchy trials.”

  “Oh?” I was a bit surprised.

  “Yeah. Originally, it was a reward system to help cut down on employment expenses. Instead of having guards stay inside of the reservation to monitor us all the time, they decided to give some trust over to the residents. We decided to have some fun with it by naming the power ranks alpha and beta.”

  “And what about omega?”

  He grinned. “We made that up along the way. I mean, if you're going to have alphas and betas, then you have to have omegas too, right?”

  “It seems a bit cruel,” I admitted, thinking of how Devon was deprived of all the luxuries that the other werewolves were entitled to. “I'm surprised that the reservation goes along with it.”

  “They do, to keep the peace, and to give us a sense that we've created our own way of life inside of the reservation.”

  “You said that you and Rick toss the alpha title back and forth. It would make sense that if the same group of people shared the high titles, then there would be a similar group of people that passed around the omega title.”

  Emmett looked thoughtful, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was remembering how he had told me that no one stayed omega for long. Logic would disagree with that, if what I had said had been correct.

  “There's a bit of a difference with omega,” Emmett told me. “Once someone is an omega, they really don't want to do it again. The omega will usually work really hard to make sure that he or she doesn't end up omega again.”

  It made sense, but I still had my doubts. “Where do you think Chris will place in the hierarchy trials?” I questioned curiously, thinking of the shaggy blonde-haired boy who was the newest member of the pack.

  “I'm not sure. The guy certainly looks strong, but I haven't talked with him enough to gauge his level of intelligence. No one has ever taken an alpha or beta position right out of the gates, so I imagine he'll fall somewhere in the middle. I definitely don't think that there's any threat of him being an omega though.”

  It was a strangely comforting thought. I could imagine that being an omega from the start would only make Chris hate living on the reservation even more. He obviously detested life on the reservation as things were.

  “Well, I think that's all I've got for you.” I straightened myself, flipping my notebook closed with a sigh of relief that the interview was over. For some reason, I felt incredibly uncomfortable being alone with Emmett. His eyes had been looking at me differently ever since the front door had closed behind us, a strange mix of contempt and desire.

  “If you ever want to get out of your suite or away from Devon, you're more than welcome to come visit my anytime you want,” he offered as he led me to the door.

  “Thanks,” I replied politely. “I'll keep that in mind.”

  The air was cool and crisp outside, washing away thoughts of Emmett's inappropriate sexual comment as I stepped further from his house. To be honest, I didn't want to end up there alone again and would avoid it at all costs for the rest of my stay on the reservation. Now I would begin seeing Emmett's true colors, I was almost sure of it.

  When I reached the steps leading up to my suite, Chris was sitting on the stairwell, staring down at his feet, completely lost in thought. A blush immediately went to my cheeks at the sight of him, and I chastised myself for being so happy he was there, especially when I knew that he probably just wanted to borrow some of my job points to get a soda. My shoulders slumped slightly at the thought, but it was what it was.

  “Hey you,” I tried to sound cheerful, drawing Chris's dreamy blue eyes up to meet mine.

  “Hey.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the same as he had the first time I had found him there, quickly pulling himself to his feet and moving to the side of the stairs to allow me to brush past him.

  “Did you want another soda?” I asked, wondering if it was even worth the bother to go inside and drop off my notebook. After what Devon had told me about thinking that someone would come into my room to look at it, I hadn't let the thing out of my sight.

  “Oh no,” Chris said, letting his gaze fall to the floor. “Emmett told me that they'll have sodas with the pizza at the celebration tonight. I just . . . kinda didn't want to go alone.”

  This surprised me a bit. Chris did his best to avoid most of the people inside of the reservation, including me. Even if he had finally decided to start coming out of his shell, why would he want to hang out with someone who was only going to be at the reservation for a month? Shouldn't Chris want to be spending time with his own kind so that he could get acclimated to being a part of the reservation?

  I decided not to over analyze it any further. Besides, the more that Chris hung out with me, the more comfortable he would get with me, the more likely he would be to open up about what had happened between him and his fiancé. There was a reason why Chris was at the reservation and she wasn't, and I wanted to know it.

  “Come on in.” I led him inside. Before I could even close the door behind us, he was sitting on my loveseat, staring at his hands, strands of sandy blonde hair obscuring his eyes. “Are you nervous about tonight?” I asked, holding onto my notebook when I sat down as if I was scared Chris might try to look at it.

  “A little,” he admitted. “I don't much like crowds.”

  “It will be a good opportunity to meet everyone inside the reservation.”

  “Maybe a g
ood opportunity for you. You're only going to be here for a month. I'm going to be here for a lifetime. I'm fairly certain I'd get to meet them all eventually even without the celebration,” glumness was apparent in his voice.

  “They're just trying to make you feel welcome.”

  “I'm pretty sure they're more interested in the food than welcoming me.”

  I sighed, not knowing what else to say on that front. “Devon is coming over in a little while to escort me to the celebration. Have you met him yet?”

  “No, but I've heard a lot about him.” A sarcastic smile curled the edge of Chris's lips.

  “He's a nice kid, and I think you two would really get along. He shares a lot of your views about this place, I'm sure.”

  “I imagine so, considering that he's the omega. I wouldn't think that waking up every morning to a shit sandwich would make someone like this place.”

  “Are you even going to give this place a chance? I mean, this is your home now, and if you know that the government isn't working very hard on a cure for the lycanthropy disease, then you should also know that you're stuck here. This is your life now.”

  His eyes shot up to meet mine with a look of pure scorn. “It must be so easy for you to say that, knowing that you get to leave here in a month.”

  “I'm not your enemy.”

  Guilt flooded Chris's expression, and he quickly turned away. “I know. I'm sorry. This is just . . . really hard for me to cope with.”

  “I know. I didn't expect it would be easy.”

  There was a knock on the door and little question in my mind as to who it was. Devon looked as eager and excited as usual. The tension from earlier was completely erased from his face, though he seemed a bit startled when he glanced past me and saw Chris sitting on my loveseat.

  “Oh, am I interrupting an interview or something? I'm sorry. I can wait outside,” Devon said, taking a step away from the door.

  “No. Come on in. Devon, this is Chris. Chris, this is Devon,” I introduced them to each other before reclaiming my seat, forcing the two of them to sit together on the loveseat.

  “So, you're the new guy? I mean, of course you are. I saw you sitting at the table with Emmett and Rick and Ms. Raveen during lunch. That's how all the newbies start out,” Devon addressed Chris nervously.

  “Yup,” Chris replied.

  “Um, I know it's hard right now, but it will get better, you'll see,” he gave encouragement.

  “Did it get better for you?” Chris looked Devon square in the eyes, taking him by surprise.

  Devon simply stared at him for a moment, his mouth agape before he finally turned his gaze to the floor. “Well, it is what it is, you know?”

  Chris grunted in reply, and for the next five minutes, we sat in complete silence. I decided to go over the notes that I had taken during Emmett's interview while Devon picked on his nails, and Chris stared at the floor in thought.

  “Well, should we go?” Devon finally broke the silence. “I think the compound staff would like to talk to you a bit before the celebration begins,” he addressed me.

  “Alright.” I nodded in reply, and the three of us stood and headed for the recreation room and a night of festivities.

  When we got there, the compound staff was still setting up the tables with refreshments. I was surprised to see John Edward among them, the compound coordinator who had given me a tour of the outside of the reservation when I had first arrived. His face broadened into a smile as his eyes landed on me, and he immediately approached us for greetings.

  “How has your stay been so far, Ms. Raveen?” John asked, his pale gray eyes looking down at me from behind round framed glasses.

  “It's been fine.”

  “And you, Chris, how are you settling in?” he acknowledged the newest pack member.

  “It is what it is,” Chris replied with a pinch of distaste, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was mocking Devon for what he had said earlier.

  “Devon, good to see you.” John nodded to my other companion before turning his attention back to me. “Is everyone treating you well?”

  “Everyone has been very nice to me.”

  “No problems?”

  “Nope. None so far.”

  “Well, I usually don't come to these events, but I thought I would come this time to check up on you. I'll be around for the hierarchy trials as well, just to make sure that everything is still alright.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “Hello, Mr. Edwards,” Emmett's voice came from behind me, and I turned to see him walking up to shake John's hand as if they were the best of friends.

  “Emmett. I just stopped by to make sure that you weren't giving Ms. Raveen a hard time.” He smirked at his playful joke.

  “I wouldn't dream of it,” Emmett laughed, and for the first time, I could sense the falseness of his sincerity.

  “Well, if all is good, then I'll be on my way. Oh, and Ms. Raveen.” John grabbed me by the arm, gently pulling me a few steps away from the boys. “I know that this is kind of short notice, but everyone is so curious about you here that I thought it might be a good idea if you made a little speech. Perhaps talk about how your report will help to make their lives a little better. You know, something to give encouragement.”

  While I didn't like the short notice, I nodded in agreement. Morale was a bit low for some of the werewolves, especially the ones that knew more about what was actually going on outside the reservation. Hopefully, my report would help to make things better for them, though I didn't want to promise anything.

  “I'm sure I can come up with something,” I replied finally.

  “And let them ask you a couple of questions. This is exciting stuff for them, you know?”

  “Alright.”

  “Thanks for being a good sport.” He patted me on the shoulder before taking his leave.

  Emmett stepped up beside me, startling me for a moment. “I didn't expect to see him here, but I suppose it only makes sense. He wants to make sure that we haven't scared you away yet.”

  “It's very nice of him to come check on me.”

  “Well, are you ready for the libations? The party will be starting in about thirty minutes. Better get set up at the table of honor.” He placed his hand on the small of my back, urging me toward a set of picnic tables at the back of the room that had been pushed together to form a single long row. I grimaced at Emmett's touch, but did my best not to show my discomfort. Everything in me hoped that he was just a touchy feely person and that his actions didn't mean anything more. Still, memories of Emmett's inappropriate comment during our one-on-one interview had me on edge around him.

  “Chris,” I called back before turning to Emmett. “He'll be sitting with us, right?”

  “Yes” He nodded, though he didn't seem to care that he had stolen me away and left Chris and Devon standing alone. Thankfully, Chris came when I called him, leaving Devon to find his own seat with the female omega.

  Chris and I sat side by side while we waited for the recreation room to fill up, and Emmett went to the door to greet people as they entered. Apparently, welcoming people to the celebration was part of his job description as alpha. His face was an ear to ear smile while he shook hands with each werewolf as if they were all something special to him. I couldn't help but wonder how many of the werewolves actually loathed him. Surely, there was at least a good handful.

  It quickly became clear that Chris had social anxiety disorder. He kept his face down and raked his fingertips across the tops of his legs. By the time the room was halfway full, Chris was even rocking back and forth a bit.

  “Hey,” I whispered to him, sliding one of my hands on top of his. Instantly, Chris steadied. “It's going to be alright. I'm here with you.”

  “Thanks,” he replied, and I was surprised when he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

  Despite having already seen most of the werewolves in the cafeteria during mealtime, it was interesting to observe the diversity of the pack. We
rewolves came in all ages, sizes, and colors. One man looked to be nearly ninety, and there was a young girl who couldn't have been older than fifteen. Over half of the werewolves were Caucasian, with a quarter of them being Hispanic, a handful of African Americans, and only two Asians.

  And then a man walked through the door, captivating my gaze. His skin was a strange color of bronze, as was his short shaggy unkempt hair, and he had the most stunning light green eyes that I had ever seen. Emmett greeting him, but the man said nothing in reply. He simply walked past as if the alpha wasn't even there. Then, he raised his eyes, and they honed in on me with such an intensity that I felt the need to look away. This man, I had never seen inside of the reservation before. I was certain of it.

  Soon, the recreation room was full. Compound staff in gray jumpsuits finished setting up the food and beverages. The guards took their stations on either side of the door. And at exactly five o'clock, Emmett walked to the front of the room to address the crowd.

  “Welcome, members of the Blackfoot pack,” he began. “As most of you know, we received a new addition to the pack a few days ago. His name is Chris Abbot, and I'd like you all to give him a warm welcome. Chris, please stand up.”

  As Chris released my hand and did as he was told, the rest of the werewolves twisted to look at him, clapping and offering smiles of acceptance. He nodded politely before quickly sitting back down.

  “You can't sit down yet,” Emmett told him, and the room erupted into laughter at his joking tone. Chris was up in an instant, looking across the room at Emmett, deadpan. “Tell us a little about yourself. Maybe something that no one else knows.”

  For a moment, the room was silent as Chris struggled with what to say to the onlookers. My eyes drifted over the crowd, but they always seemed to return to the bronze stranger. I tried not to look directly at him but kept him in my peripheral vision instead. He seemed to have no interest in Chris, staring at me all the while.

  “My name is Christopher Abbot, and I hope to become a productive member of your society,” Chris said. It wasn't what Emmett had asked for, but I felt it was good enough. The poor guy was scared to death.