Running with Rogues

CHAPTER 27 - FOUR'S A CROWD

"You see that?" Bryn asked me through the link. "I've been getting vibes off him."

"What ... vibes, Bryn?"

He leaned closer to whisper aloud. "Y'know... Vibes."

I didn't know. I wasn't even sure I wanted to know. Outside, someone honked a car horn to tell him to move his ass. He ignored it, clearly intent on finishing the conversation.

"I do that all the time," I told him. "Sit on the counter, I mean."

"Yeah, but you're short. Just keep an eye on him for me, would you? Tell me if you see anything suspicious, like."

That would be difficult when I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking for, but it was always best not to argue with my cousin. "Sure, Bryn. I'll do that."

Satisfied, he slapped my back and headed for the door. "Peace, lads. See you around."

"Bye," we all chorused, with the notable exception of Hannah. At a glance, she looked as grumpy as usual, but I was starting to see the layer beneath that reflex irritation, and it was ... just ... miserable.

"You need the toilet?" I asked her.

"Not rea-"

"Yeah, I thought you might," I cut across, pulling her up by the arm. "Come on."

It wasn't a good idea to leave Hayden and Liam together. I knew that, and yet ... I didn't really care. Liam wouldn't start anything, and Hayden was probably under threat of being removed from the nice, warm house if he didn't behave himself.

I dragged Hannah all the way to the bathroom, and then I kept going. She must have been curious at the very least, because she didn't resist the manhandling. We ended up in a little study with only a desk and a couple of bookcases before I released her.

"What are packs like really?" I asked. I hadn't even known what I was going to ask her until that very moment. It was improvised, to be honest. I just wanted to get her talking.

"An awful lot nicer than living in the bloody woods - that's for sure," she snapped.

For once, I didn't try saying something clever. I didn't try smirking or laughing or brushing it off. Hayden had been easy. He was naïve and overly-friendly, and it had been absurdly easy to get on his good side. Hannah ... though. I reckoned I'd finally figured her out, and so I just stood there and let all my worry and unease about joining Silver Lake come to the surface.

And sure enough, she fiddled with her collar. There were two kinds of people in the world - the ones who liked to be looked after, and the ones who liked to look after others. Hannah was clearly the latter. "I don't know what to tell you, Eva. You'll hate it."

"I know that. Liam's been telling me some things, but he didn't exactly have the typical flockie experience."

"No," she agreed. "Silver Lake is not a 'typical' pack, but they have a lot of the same rules as we do. You can't talk back. You can't even look at someone with a higher ranking. And as a girl, you can't hold a position of authority unless it comes from your mate."

"You will," I pointed out dryly.

"Yes, I will. And do you have any idea how much groundwork that's taken? I still get shit from the guys every single day, and my pack is considered progressive where females are concerned. Hell will freeze over before Silver Lake does the same."

I wrinkled up my nose. "I thought everyone had to do what the Alpha said. If the Alpha says girls and gay people are cool, don't they just ... like ... listen?"