"You're welcome. Maybe you're right and it's time for a change." She left him alone and headed to her bedroom after getting a trash bag of her own from the kitchen. It was a poor woman's luggage, but it worked. One by one, she tugged articles of clothing off the hanger, folded them, and then tossed the items into the large drawstring bag.
In the very back of the closet, underneath an old blanket, she found a shoe box. It hadn't been opened since she had left home. She'd hidden everything that reminded her of Kaden inside. After bringing it to her bed, she sat down and flipped open the lid.
On top was a picture of her with Kaden. He was grinning and had his arm around her shoulders. They were young, maybe fifteen. She ran her finger over the photo and smiled softly. Underneath, there was a leather necklace with a metal pendant in the shape of a wolf's paw at the end. Only it wasn't really a pendant at all. It was the piece of metal that had been heated in a fire and placed on the back of her shoulder to brand her Kaden Dakota's mate. It was a rare honor to be performed before the shift, but the coinciding of her birth with the future pack leader's had led to the marking.
Before she'd realized what she'd done, she slipped the leather cord over her neck. Mara moved to the mirror and stared at herself. The branding pendant hung low, nearly to her cleavage. Why does it feel so right when everything has gone so wrong? Why did no one prophesy the heartbreak and mistakes? She shook her head back and forth. Her hand went up and she held the wolf's paw in her palm tightly. Angry, she wanted to tug and rip the necklace from her, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead, she hid it inside her shirt and felt a strange comfort when the metal touched her skin once again.
This was going to be very complicated.
~*~
Both mother and son were up at the crack of dawn, one anxious and the other excited. It was strange for Marala to be up and not getting ready for work, but that was over now. For her son, she had given up her independence. The moment she had said she would go home, it was gone. Or was it when Kaden had walked back into their lives? No. Since the night she was born, she had never truly been free. It had only been a matter of time before the wolf called her home.
A knock on her bedroom door brought her back from the precipice of fear. He kept her going. Jak. She drew in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then exhaled. When she opened the door, Jak grinned from ear to ear.
"Ready?" he asked.
"I think so. The rental car should be delivered soon. Last chance to change your mind."
"Not in a million years."
Mara nodded in the direction of her bags of clothing. "Help me carry these to the kitchen." She grabbed one. Jak picked two up, but promptly dropped them. A photo on the nightstand had caught his attention. He studied it closely without speaking at first. It was the one of Marala and Kaden when they were young.
"You both look happy," he said.
Her heart ached a little. Her emotions were raw from all the old, unearthed memories. "Life gets complicated quickly when you do stupid things." Whoa. That came out more bitter than she'd intended.
He unzipped the front pocket of his backpack and slipped the picture inside. "I'm keeping it. I want to meet those people again someday. My parents before they let bitterness and anger take over."
She gave a short laugh. "You don't act like a teenager. I want you to know that."
"One of my teachers said I have an old soul." He shrugged and picked up the bags again, carrying them into the kitchen.
Mara followed. "Maybe she's right."
There were a couple of raps at the front door and Jak answered while Marala pulled a few hundreds out of her purse. She showed the man her driver's license. He traded the rental car keys for the cash. She turned around and looked at Jak. "Ready?"
"Yes! I'm driving." He gathered up everything he could carry, leaving Mara only with one small box and a trash bag.
"No way." She smiled and stole one last glance around her apartment. It was difficult to decide if she would miss the place or not.
"Dad said my driving was good," he argued, heading out the door, not even giving the place a last look.
Dad? That was quick, she thought, but understood. Everyone admired Kaden Dakota. Not her. No. She would find a way to keep herself in check in his presence. No more animal attraction weakness. This move was for Jak and nothing else.
~*~
Per usual, Taylor entered the diner with a smile, expecting to see his favorite waitress. Especially since he knew her absence the day before had not been because of illness. He was a little later arriving than usual. An early morning family photo shoot had taken longer than expected when the baby wailed for an hour straight. After that, he was thankful he didn't have any children.
"What can I get you?" the waitress asked, the same one for a second day in a row. More importantly, not his favorite. He wondered if Marala was avoiding him.
"No offense. You're a very lovely woman, but could Marala wait on my table please?" He gave the waitress his dashing smile and leaned back in a relaxed posture.
"It's against policy to disclose information about employees, but I don't think Mara is coming back. That's all I can say. What can I get you?" She smiled at him.
Taylor slid out of the booth, running out of the restaurant. He had the sensation of déjà vu and wondered if he was reliving yesterday. This time, the first cab he lifted his hand toward stopped.
He didn't know why he cared so much what Marala did, with whom, or where. She was odd and he didn't know hardly anything about her. But he wanted to. And with all the weird talk he'd heard the day before, he was none too convinced of her ex's sanity. Or hers, for that matter.
Jumping out of the taxi before it had completely come to a stop, he ran into the apartment building and up the stairs. Loudly, he banged on the door of apartment 406. When no one answered, he did a quick check of his surroundings and kicked the door in. No one came to check on the noise. Sounds of arguing, fighting, and destruction were common place in the building.
The apartment looked mostly as it had the night he'd made dinner. He walked into the living room, noting photos were missing. This caused him to rush to Marala's bedroom. He'd never been in it, so he couldn't say what exactly was gone or not. The closet. Taylor grabbed the tarnished knob and pulled the door open. It was empty except for the hangers and a couple of old shirts and a pair of jeans.
She hadn't owed him a goodbye or explanation. He knew that. Then again, he didn't owe her the courtesy of missing her either. There were plenty of women in the city with pie just as sweet.
Furious, he left the apartment and had a taxi drop him off at a massage parlor he frequented. The woman led him back to a private room. Getting a happy ending from the masseuse would help dull the regret of missing out on a relationship with Marala Dakota.
8
The high pack gathered around the large table in the meeting hall. The term meeting hall was used liberally, considering they sat at the poker table in the cabin that doubled as a man cave. There were four men other than Kaden. These elite wolves had earned the right to be leaders and protectors through ruthless combat with each other.
Levi Boone was the most troubled of them all because the weight of responsibility rested heavily on his shoulders. He had been in charge when the teen disappeared. His rank in the pack was no longer secure and all the other lycan knew it. Even though a close knit group, wolves always wanted to be at the top of the chain of command.
The biggest threat in the group sat to Levi's left. Nashoba descended from a long line of Choctaw Indians that lived in the Mississippi River Valley. As the oldest member of the high pack and the only pure-blooded Native American in the group, it was no secret he thought he should be the pack leader. Nash made women swoon with his perfect dark complexion, strength, and waist length black hair braided on each side. His disinterest in them only made the females want him that much more. He had one rule. He would not dilute the wolf bloodline of his forefathers by mating with a woman who wasn't a pure-blood like him.
Blake and Luke Hanson rounded out the rest of the group. The brothers, nearly two decades apart in age, could have passed for twins if not for their hair color. The youngest, Blake, wore his blonde hair short and nearly to the scalp so it didn't curl. Luke kept a similar style, only his hair was a deep brown. When they shifted, they were like night and day standing beside each other. Blake had tannish, bushy fur where Luke was sleek and dark. Neither had caused trouble during Kaden's time as leader, but you never could tell when a wolf would snap.