Red Ridge Pack 1 Pack of Lies (22 page)

Chapter 53

Kendall

I pulled into my driveway, turned off the engine, and sat in the car. I wasn’t ready to go inside. I knew what I’d be forced to deal with once I opened the front door, and to be honest, it terrified me. An angry mother was one thing, but my mom took it to a whole other level. She will look at me with shame in her eyes, but only for a moment before she lays into me and tells me how this is all my fault. How I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, pretty enough. How I wasn’t strong enough.

I never have been.

Resisting the urge to pull out of my driveway and never look back, I gathered up my cell phone and purse and headed toward the front door. I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself that I could handle whatever she threw my way before I walked into my own little hell-on-earth.

She was waiting for me on the couch, drinking red wine. God only knew how many glasses of wine she had treated herself to before I wandered in. Not even bothering to look my direction, Mom asked, “So what did you do with the little tramp?”

Completely flabbergasted, I replied, “What?”

“Come on Kendall. I’m not an idiot, though I am quite surprised. I didn’t think you had it in you. I just hope you don’t screw this up like you do everything else.”

Dropping my purse and keys on the console table near the door, I tried my best to appear innocent. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Mom. Maybe you’ve had a bit too much to drink.”

Comments like that always got her blood boiling, and as soon as it came out of my mouth, I knew it was a mistake. She put her half-empty wine glass down on the end-table and shot me her famous death-to-Kendall look.

“Mom, I didn’t…”

“You didn’t what dear? Mean to be a complete and utter bitch? Too late for that.”

Her words slurred together a bit, which told me she was probably working on her third, maybe her fourth glass. She wasn’t ready to hang her head in her soup just yet, but just buzzed enough to make this encounter as difficult as possible. If I’d waited another hour or so, she would have been passed out on the couch, and I wouldn’t have had to deal with her.

“Kendall, I know you’re involved in the Wright girl’s disappearance, so just tell me, how are you planning on screwing this up even further? Obviously, you’re too stupid to pull off something like this by yourself. I just hope your partner in crime knows what he is doing.”

I didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know whether to confess or not. She’d most likely tell me what a dumbass I was and try to take over the whole situation. No, I couldn’t tell her.

“Mom, I had nothing to do with it. I have no idea what happened to her,” I lied, trying to ignore the fact that she could always see right through me.

Picking up her wine glass again, she smiled smugly and said, “Sure… I guess I should have known you didn’t have the balls to take matters into your own hands. You’re as worthless as your father.”

I couldn’t help but resent her. I wanted to hate her. But I didn’t hate her. My heart betrayed me, as usual. I have spent my entire life trying to please her, and just once, it would be nice if she didn’t look down on me; her worthless daughter, who couldn’t do anything right.

I was groomed since birth to be the most beautiful, the strongest, the most popular; the girl most deserving of the future alpha’s love. It never mattered to her what I wanted. It had never been about me; only about finding her way back to the top.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t have found the right words to say anyway. Nothing I said was ever what she wanted to hear. Even when I tried my very best to be the daughter she expected me to be.

I turned away and headed for the kitchen, but she didn’t hesitate to follow me.

“We weren’t finished here, Kendall Avery Stuart.”

Without looking in her direction, I said, “I don’t want to talk about this, Mom. Allison is missing. This could be a good thing, you know. I could get him back.”

Slamming her glass down on the counter, Mom slurred, “You better find a way to get him back. Whatever it takes Kendall. You know I am counting on you. We need this.”

I wanted to tell her how desperate she looked. How pathetic she was sitting back guzzling wine when that was the very thing that got us into this mess. I wanted to tell her that she was an awful bitch for pressuring me to get with Cade all these years, just to raise her status in the pack. Just because she married for love, and it screwed everything up, shouldn’t mean that I shouldn’t have the chance to find someone to love; someone who would love me back.

Instead I said what she needed me to say. “I know Mom. I will figure this out.”

If only Dad could have controlled his impulses. If only Mom hadn’t tried to cover it up. I could have been living my life for me and not for her. But no. The sad truth was that my dad was a raging alcoholic who ended up “accidentally” killing a human, and my mom was so worried about her rank that she tried to sweep the incident under the rug. Now, Dad’s gone and Mom’s lucky she wasn’t kicked out of the pack as well. And poor little me was barely old enough to walk when everything went to shit.

Now, it was left up to me to make things right.

I pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and told my mom goodnight. She didn’t respond until I was almost out of earshot.

“You know, if you tricked him into knocking you up like I’d told you to, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

I kept walking straight to my room. There was nothing more to say.

Chapter 54

Cade

I followed her scent through the woods and down the trail that led to the lake. I hated that her delicious scent was now tainted with the stench of fear. I should have never left her alone. I should have been able to protect her. I should have stood my ground with my father. But I didn’t. It’s my fault that she was scared and alone. In the distance, I could barely make out the pier, our pier. I ran closer to the edge of the water, trying desperately to find her.

Finally, I did find her. Down at the end of the pier. She appeared to be alone, but from the way she was shaking and staring off to her left, I knew that she wasn’t. Without thinking, I took off down the pier running as fast I could. The pier seemed to be growing, getting longer and longer with each stride I took. She was now even farther away than when I started. Suddenly, a figure came out from the shadows, grabbed her around the waist, and pushed her toward the water. I froze. I just stood there and watched as she was thrown into the freezing lake.

***

I woke up in a cold sweat, screaming. It took me a moment to remember where I was. Last night, after chasing Allison’s scent around in circles for hours, I was too exhausted to go home and face my father. So I went back to the Wright’s house. Someone must have known that I would be coming here, or maybe they left the door open in case Allison came home on her own. Either way, I was relieved to find the door unlocked and was able to get out of the cold. I probably should have slept on the couch in the family room, but I didn’t. I don’t even remember walking up the stairs, or opening the door to her room, but I woke up in her bed, wrapped in her scent.

“Hey man, you okay? I heard you screaming,” Aiden said as he busted into Alli’s room.

I felt embarrassed, being caught in Alli’s bed, even though she was not here with me. It still felt awkward. The situation became even more humiliating when Mr. Wright came in with a cold rag in one hand, and without a second thought, said, “Good morning guys.”

“Good morning, Mr. Wright,” I said getting out of Alli’s bed.

Mr. Wright put his hand on my shoulder and told me that it was okay and that I should stay put. Then he put his hand on my forehead, which made the situation stranger. I had seen mothers and fathers do this to their children to see if they had a temperature, but being a werewolf, no one had ever done that to me.

“I heard you come in last night. Man, you are still burning up. Here, take these,” he said.

“It’s okay, Mr. Wright. I don’t feel that bad, plus I don’t think they will work on me,” I said waving off the small white pills.

“That’s what Lillian said, but it’s just some aspirin. I don’t see how it can hurt. You never know until you try.”

I took the aspirin and walked to Allison’s bathroom to get a cup of water. I was willing to try anything to feel better. And judging from the look of my reflection in the mirror, I needed to. By the time I came out of the bathroom, both Aiden and Mr. Wright had left.

***

It may have been kind of odd, but it was also comforting being at the Wright’s house this morning, and honestly, I think the aspirin might have helped a little. I was feeling better, if only slightly, by the time my search party met up. The plan was to search the opposite side of the lake today, which included the Wright house. So, we all decided that we might as well start right there.

Searching through Alli’s stuff was just too much for me. It was difficult seeing people touching her personal belongings, even though they were my pack mates, and I’ve known them all my life. I found the note that I slipped into her locker asking her to meet me, in her nightstand, and it made my heart throb. It was then that I decided to take a break and get some fresh air.

I was sitting on the porch talking to Aiden about what’s next in the search when Gage pulled up in his car.

“Hey man, how are you holding up?” Gage asked as he walked over to me and shook my hand.

“I’m hanging in there, man. Hey, have you met Alli’s brother, Aiden?” I asked.

Aiden walked over and shook Gage’s hand, “Oh yeah, we’ve met. What’s going on?”

Gage pointed to his car and said, “Gotta get my car searched. I wasn’t home yesterday when you guys came by, so I thought I would bring the car to you.

It sure would be nice if everyone on the estate was as understanding and accommodating as Gage. I would bet my life that Kendall’s not going to come driving up so that we could take a look in her car. I guess I still looked a bit worn out because Aiden stepped up and said, “I got this one.”

I walked down to the end of the driveway and stood there just staring out into the woods thinking about Alli. I hoped that she was at least somewhere inside. She hated the cold and it has been getting colder and colder as we got closer to Thanksgiving. And with the way the wind was picking up, it looked like a winter storm was on the way.

A strong blast of wind blew in from the north and what it carried with it caused chills to come up on my arms and my nose to twitch. I smelled Alli and her scent was strong. I followed my nose to the source of the smell. I was shocked to find that it was the trunk of Gage’s car.

Stunned, I stared down into the trunk. It looked just like all the other trunks that we searched with one exception, my damn alpha ring. My ears started ringing, my pulse quickened, and my vision tunneled. I wanted Gage’s head on a stick, and I wanted to be the one to rip it off. Immediately, people were on me trying to hold me back. Gage looked terrified, and he sure the fuck should have been.

It took both of Allison’s parents to calm me down enough to find out what Gage knew. Gage told us that he had let his friend, Dylan, borrow his car. Dylan, the asshole who was following Alli in the woods. The one whom I warned to leave my estate and never look back. It was time to find that bastard… and kill him.

Chapter 55

Allison

My senses came back to me slowly, and it took me a minute to remember where I was. With my brain still in a bit of a fog, I cracked my eyes open just wide enough to see who was with me, scared that Kendall might inject me again with whatever the hell she used to knock me out the first time. Who knew for how long I was out. It could have been the next day; it could have been three days as far as I could tell.

I saw Dylan sitting in the living room watching television, and he appeared to be alone, so I sat up and looked around, hoping to spot the vile Kendall used to drug me. My movement caught Dylan’s attention, and within no time, he was at my side staring down at me with a wicked grin.

“Slept well?”

“What the hell did she inject me with? That’s so not cool,” I said as I rubbed the tender spot on my neck where the needle had gone in.

“Yeah, to be honest, it kind of shocked me too. She doesn’t mess around, does she? Don’t worry though. It’s nothing that will hurt you. Her uncle keeps the shit around in case they need to tranquilize any unruly werewolves. That’s what she said, anyway.”

He looked around as if to make sure no one else was listening, leaned in, and confided, “Kind of makes you wonder what really goes on at this place, huh?”

Unsure of how to respond, I just sat there staring at him in disbelief. My entire body ached, and more than anything, I wanted to get out of the bed, but that wasn’t going to be an option being that I was tied to it. Without any other option, I lay back and tried to get comfortable, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, it began to throb too. I clinched my eyes shut and reached up to massage my temples. Little beads of sweat started forming on my forehead, and I knew that I must have a fever.

Dylan came over, put his hand on my head, and asked, “Hey, are you alright? You look like hell.”

The sound of his voice made my head pound even worse, and suddenly, it was painful just to speak. “My head hurts. Can I get some water or something? Is there anything to eat in this place?”

He backed up, staring at me in deep thought, then finally spoke, “Yeah, sure. Let me go take a look around.”

I knew he was most likely contemplating whether or not my sudden illness was from the drugs or from being apart from Cade. Surely, he was wondering how much longer they had to keep me around. The longer they kept me here, the riskier their little plan became.

Hearing Dylan banging around in the kitchen, I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing slowly and deeply in and out. Shooting pains, throbbing pains, stabbing pains, you name it, they were present, and seemed to be spreading. Without warning, my stomach clinched, and it felt like a knot the size of Texas was invading my body. If I wasn’t tied up like a chick in a bad skin-flick, I’d curl up in a ball and pray for the pain to stop.