The New Wolf Ch. 06

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lucas woke in the morning with a purpose. He sent Roxy down to start recruiting before jumping in the shower, ready to do the same. He would start with his men, get their guarantee then try and speak to the other fighters. He knew they would turn him down, but it didn't matter. All he needed was one yes. When he left his apartment James was walking down the hall towards him.

"The challenge will take place Friday evening," James said. "There's no backing out now. I hope you know what you're doing."

"What is best for this pack," Lucas replied.

"Tell me, do you lie so much you start to believe them yourself?"

Lucas smiled, he was getting under James' skin without even trying.

"One night alpha free and I feel fine. Letting go of you was the best thing I've ever done. I should have done it years ago."

"Enjoy it while you can. That alpha free feeling is what will start to drive you mad once I kick your ass out of here. If we even get to that point. My guess is you won't be able to get your ten percent and then the council member will kill you on the spot. Enjoy these last four days of life my friend."

"Do I look worried?" Lucas kept his calm perfectly.

James didn't respond before heading downstairs. Lucas worked with the man long enough to tell he was nervous. As soon as James was out of view Lucas let his cool demeanor slide away. Four days. It was not a lot of time. He needed to start searching for his eighth vote and find some time to train. He would make sure to punish Clara for speeding up his timeline once he got her back.

~*~*~*~*~*

"So are you getting sick of these road trips with me yet? This is the third one in four days." Clara looked out the window at the familiar scenery.

"Are you kidding me? Being Alpha is not as exciting as it seems. There's a lot of making other people happy and checking up on things. This has been like a mini vacation for me," David replied.

"I really am sorry. I made a mess of things," Clara said.

"I blame James," David said. "That's the problem with being so out of touch with the human world. He should have done a better job explaining your disappearance, checking e-mails probably never occurred to him."

"I don't even think there's a computer at the lodge." A pit in her stomach formed. She didn't want to be so close to her old pack or to the man who still lived there.

"I thought I would kill two birds with one stone," David said. "I packed up Marilyn's stuff to drop off. Don't worry, I spoke to James. They're meeting me in Laramie. I know you don't have the fondest feelings towards him, but I thought I would give you a heads up."

"He isn't a bad man. I don't appreciate what he did, but I know he had good intentions. Besides, his actions led me to you." Clara looked over at David and smiled.

Last night she wanted to tell him to sleep in the bed with her. She wanted to feel his skin on hers and wake up with their limbs tangled together, but she couldn't find the words. Instead she let him sleep on the couch. She thought it was for the best. At one point she woke up with a dull feeling in her chest that was too familiar. Lucas was having sex. It killed her that it wasn't gone completely. She didn't care or want to know what he was doing at all. If David had been there Clara would have asked him to mark her, just to make the ache go away, and even she knew that was a dumb reason to make such a serious decision.

"Did you vacation as a kid?" David asked.

Clara was disappointed he changed the subject.

"No," she replied. "My dad had to work a lot. Sometimes when he got a day off we would do some touristy thing. Statue of Liberty, Empire State building. When I left for Wyoming it was the first time I was ever on a plane."

"I've never been on a place. So you have me beat."

"Could you now? Take a vacation?"

"Sure," David said. "That's what I have Rodger for. Like most alphas I make members put in requests way ahead of time and never let anyone travel alone. I guess I've never wanted to travel with anyone."

"Where would you go?"

"Italy." David was quick to respond. "They have some amazing architecture. I'd love to see it in person."

She learned that David's construction background was not as mild as he made it out to be. He wanted to build things and thought learning from the ground up would be the best way. He imagined being an architect one day. Everything Clara learned about him made him more perfect. She was scared that as she was falling for him he was realizing she wasn't the one for him.

"What about you?"

Clara was glad he spoke again. They continued to talk about their dream travel plans. The pit in Clara's stomach almost disappeared completely by the time they arrived in Laramie. It was only a couple weeks since she'd last been here, but it felt like years. David parked the car in front of the small dinner and they walked inside.

"Clara!" Natalie yelled from across the restaurant. She started walking towards them. When they met half way she wrapped Clara in a huge hug. "Don't you ever do that to anyone again! I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere. I pictured terrible things happening to you. You have no idea what you put me through."

"I'm sorry. I really am, I wasn't thinking."

Clara could hear the tears in Natalie's voice and couldn't stop her own from forming. David was right once again; it was nice to know someone cared about you. Natalie pulled away and wiped her eyes. Clara did the same.

"Is this your kidnapper?"

"Natalie please meet David," Clara said.

"Alright, I understand now," Natalie said. "If you asked me to quit my job and move out of state I would have said yes too."

"It's a pleasure to meet one of Clara's friends," David said.

"And he's polite too? Let's have a seat before I faint."

The three went back to a booth. After Natalie got over her shock they dove right into conversation. The tears turned into laughter and Clara realized coming back wasn't so bad.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Don't bother," Gary said. "I like you Lucas. You're a little intense, and I don't know the whole back story or what actually happened with your mate, but you're an amazing fighter and an asset to the pack. I still won't be able to back you. I'm happy with James as the alpha."

Word had spread Lucas was looking for a vote. As predicted he had seven lined up, but so far most of the conversations had been like this. Some people ran away as soon as they saw him coming.

"James kept me and Clara apart. You haven't met your mate yet, what if he does that to you?" Lucas decided to try a new angle.

"Everyone knows you were sleeping with Roxy after you met Clara. Then you still made it clear she was off limits to every guy here. I don't think James had anything to do with that."

Lucas knew he should have been more discreet with Roxy. He debated on arguing how confused he was, but didn't think that would help his cause.

"You want my advice, take it back, apologize to James and move on with your life." Gary walked away.

The disrespect that came with the striping of the beta title irked Lucas. Gary was a nobody and never would have spoken to him like that before. He tried to shake it off. It was too easy to think about punishments for people if he became alpha, but that seemed to mean disciplining the entire pack. Even Lucas knew that wouldn't win him any favors.

He went to search out another vote when he heard James' voice carry from the front door.

"We'll be back in about two hours or so." He was talking to Lucas' replacement.

"Are you sure you don't want to send me?" The new beta replied.

"No," James said. "With everything going on I could use some alone time. Marilyn wants to see her old pack member too and I'd like to show her around Laramie a little."

Someone from Clara's pack was in Laramie. Something James said the other day was still hanging heavy on Lucas' mind. Clara being marked, that couldn't happen. This was an opportunity to make sure of it. Lucas would find the person and send a message back to her. James was no longer his alpha, so he wasn't forbidden from leaving. The only thing he couldn't do was harm a member of this pack. That had nothing to do with members from other packs. He would send a message back alright. One Clara could never misinterpret.

After waiting five minutes Lucas grabbed the keys to one of the trucks. Nobody noticed as he walked down to the car port and turned the engine over. He made the forty-five-minute drive into Laramie, the whole time imagining the pummeling he would give Clara's pack member. For a while he debated on killing them, but he still needed a messenger. Sending a black and blue wolf would be enough to scare her into delaying a marking if that was what she had planned.

When he came into town he spotted James and Marilyn parking the van. He kept out of view as they walked into a bar on the main street. Lucas pulled into a spot a few yards away and kept his eye on the door, waiting to spot the pack member. He couldn't believe his luck when down the street came the blond haired alpha. His rage started to boil. That man stole his mate. He was going to kill him.

As he exited the car and headed towards the red rage was pushed aside by reality. He had too much riding on this. If he killed or harmed another alpha the challenge would be suspended. He would be put to death and never get Clara back.

When her name came to his mind he swore he got a whiff of her sweet scent. Then he remembered what James said. Clara was with that alpha prick. He scanned the street and headed in the same direction the blond man had come from. He stared in the windows of all the stores and his heart stopped beating when he came to a small diner.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

David checked the time on his phone.

"I have to meet my friend really quick," he said. "Clara do you want to come?"

"Let her stay with me," Natalie said. "Please. We're having too much fun and I might never see her again."

David glanced at Clara. She looked so carefree and happy. He regretted agreeing to meet James so soon.

"Alright." David slid out of the booth. "I should be back in twenty minutes. Then unfortunately we should hit the road."

"Why not stay the night? You can crash at my place."

"No way," Clara answered. "David was nice enough to change his schedule to get me down here today. I don't want to highjack his week."

David gave a shrug. He knew Clara didn't want to stay, but had no problem taking the blame for her. He leaned down to give her a kiss and was surprised when she moved her face towards him. Their lips met and even though it was quick David still felt a jolt. She had never initiated a kiss in public before. Even though he wanted to beam at her, pick her up, spin her around, and cover her in kisses he stayed reserved. She wanted slow and steady and that was what he would give her.

He left the diner and headed down the street to the bar James would be at. He walked in and recognized Marilyn and James right away. He expected new birds in love, but instead saw a stressed out frazzled couple. Marilyn spotted him first and rose.

"David what are you doing here? This hardly seems worth an alpha's time."

"I had some other business in town," David said. "You two look like you've seen a ghost. What is going on?"

James rose and shook David's hand. He could sense the change in them, they were both marked. He couldn't begin to guess what was responsible for their duress.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"He is a real winner. You did well." Natalie took another sip of her coffee. "What's wrong?"

"Do you...do you think he's into me?" Clara knew the question was dumb.

"No," Natalie said. "I think he's in love with you. You should see the way he looks at you. I can't believe he left you alone for twenty minutes. It looked like it killed him to leave you. Why would you even ask that?"

"The more I get to know him the more perfect he is. I don't understand how someone like that can want someone like me."

"Honey, you're a lovely person inside and out. I think guys are lining up for miles to get your attention. You never noticed how much you got hit on when we used to go out for drinks after work? I felt like a buzzard waiting to catch whatever you tossed aside."

Clara let out a laugh. She did need to work on her self-esteem.

"So how else is work? What's new?"

"Everyone was in a bit of a frenzy over your disappearance," she said. "They'll be pleased you're going to continue your work from a distance. I'm not thrilled about sending art to a PO Box though."

"Send me an e-mail when you ship it and I'll go get it right away. We live too far off the mail route."

When Natalie suggested Clara do some work from South Dakota and David agreed she wanted to squeal with delight. Natalie said nothing would come until next semester, but Clara was thrilled to keep using her degree, even if it were only a little.

"So now that he's gone give me all the dirty details. What is the sex like? I'm guessing amazing. How could it not be?"

Clara felt her cheeks turn red.

"That good?" Natalie said. "Well wait a minute to tell me I'm going to run to the bathroom. I want every little detail you can give."

It was the best of her life. Clara was starting to think her being in heat had nothing to do with it. She let the memory take over her mind and got a rush of excitement. In a quick motion someone slid into the booth pushing Clara to the corner they threw their arm around her.

"Why hello my little lost mate. Did you come back to me?"

Clara's eyes went wide with terror. She was trapped. A hand grabbed her chin and forced her eyes to meet Lucas. He smiled down at her and she felt sick to her stomach. His touch did nothing but repulse her. The eyes that once mesmerized her only make her shake with fear. She thought about her determination not to be a victim, but was taken too off guard to put up any form of defense. He dropped his head to her neck and sniffed.

"You've been a very, very bad little mate," he said. "That heat was meant for me."

"Get away from me." Clara wasn't sure the voice came out of her body.

"I should drag you out of here and make you mine right now," he said. "Too bad for me there are too many humans around."

"Leave me alone." Clara couldn't think of anything else to say. He lifted his head back up and locked eyes with her.

"You belong to me. We will be together soon."

"You're insane." Clara looked away and hoped Natalie would hurry back from the bathroom.

"Your friend looks like a nice girl. It would be a shame if something happened to her."

"Threats won't work. I won't be yours."

"Clara, Clara, Clara, you don't understand. You already are mine. I have things in the works. We will be together again soon."

She tried to push against him, but he grabbed her wrist and started squeezing. She pulled away, but his grip so too strong.

"If you even for a split second think about giving yourself to the pretty blond alpha I will make it my goal to kill his entire pack and every human you've ever came in contact with. Do you understand?"

Clara let out a stifled cry as he tightened his grip. He dropped her wrist and slid out of the booth. She cuddled her heart hand and wouldn't look up, certain he was going to lift her kicking and screaming out of the diner, humans or not.

"It was so nice running into you like this Clara, we will have to catch up again soon."

Clara saw Natalie slide back into her side of the booth.

"And I think it would be best you didn't mention seeing me to David. Since he's not my biggest fan."

She heard him walk away, but couldn't shake the feeling he was standing right behind her, watching her every move.

"Who was that? Did you have a secret stash of super-hot guys here or something?"

Clara forced every ounce of strength she had to the surface.

"Is something wrong? Who was that guy?" Natalie asked.

"Nobody," Clara said. "I'm fine. Just missing David."

The concern fell from Natalie's face. Clara didn't know how long she could keep up the charade, so before Natalie could ask a question she decided to make sure the woman stayed talking.

"Tell me about your love life," Clara said.

Natalie started chattering away, but Clara zoned her out. Lucas' threats meant nothing. As soon as David got back she would tell him. Then David would tell James and Lucas would be punished. Clara smiled, promising herself she was still safe and would never have to return to Laramie again.

~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

Touching her sent electricity flowing through Lucas. He commended himself at the restraint he had shown. A large part of him wanted to take her right then and there, but he had too much in the works now. Once he was alpha she would be his.

Lucas sat in the truck far enough back he wouldn't be noticed by James. It didn't take long for the two alphas to leave their meeting. He watched as they moved what he assumed were Marilyn's belongings between vehicles. There was no reason an alpha had to come for a task this trivial, and why would he bring Clara back here? Lucas snorted. They were both so dumb. Then enlightenment hit. Clara must have wanted to come. He thought her scared act was a little over the top. She wanted him, or at least to be close to him. There was no other explanation.

The group split up. James and Marilyn walked down the street while David went back in the coffee shop. Lucas gripped the steering wheel hard when he saw them walk out. David had his hand on Clara. Nobody should touch her but him. Lucas kept himself calm, after Friday he would get Clara back, punish her for her transgressions, but then show her how loving he could be. Clara would never want another man again. When the two wolfs got in the car and drove off Lucas restrained himself from following them. He spotted the human they were with and kept to his plan.

He opened the car door and flagged her down before she got in her car. She stopped and checked him out, then tossed her hair to the side. Lucas knew it wasn't going to take much to charm her.

"Did Clara leave already?" Lucas asked.

"You just missed her by about thirty seconds."

"Shoot, you wouldn't have a way of getting ahold of her would you?"

"I thought you were friends. Don't you have her number?"

"She told me she got a new one but I forgot to take it down," Lucas said. "Any chance you could give it to me?"

The woman looked a little hesitant, so Lucas reassured her.

"After she left out of the blue her landlord gave my wife some of her things. We're neighbors."

"You're married?"

"Four years now." Lucas pointed to his finger. "I've never been one for jewelry, drives my wife nuts. She is going to kill me when I tell her I ran into Clara and didn't insist she stop over. I guess there's some pictures of Clara and her father, my wife feels responsible for returning it."

The hesitation vanished. The woman pulled out her phone.

"Are you ready?"

"I don't have my cell on me, would you be a peach and write it down?"

"Not a problem." She reached into her car and squiggled some numbers on a piece of paper.

Lucas took the note and slid it in his pocket.

"Thank you. Now my wife won't totally kill me when I get home."

"Did you guys know Clara well?"

"Yes. We were close."

"I was so worried about her, but she seems really happy don't you think?"

"Sure. Thank you, have a nice day." Lucas started walking away.

"Wait, if you're her neighbor how did you meet David?"

"Excuse me?"

"You said don't tell David you saw me. Clara said they met when she went out of town a few weeks ago."

"David and I go way, way back." Lucas got what he needed and now this conversation needed to end.

The woman looked confused, but Lucas wasn't about to set her straight. He waved goodbye and went back to the truck. The afternoon wasn't a total waste, but he hoped Roxy worked her magic and found him the one vote he needed.