Wolves Den

Chapter 8

Dane

Remi was quiet, looking out the window next to me. Every now and then I would see her shoulders or legs twitch and I knew it was because her wolf wanted out. When we finally stopped at the gas station she looked at me and smiled softly. "I'm going to the bathroom. Do any of you need anything? Food, drinks?" She asks.

"Dr pepper." Parker tells her.

"Airheads." Nico says, not looking up from his phone.

"Guys she is not your errand girl. Get it yourself." I scold.

"She offered!" Nico defends himself.

"It's fine." Remi tells me. "I don't mind." With that she gets out.

"One of you needs to go with her and make sure she stays out of trouble." I give Parker a look. He sighs but gets out and follows her in.

"Your lucky man." Nico says suddenly from inside the car. "You have a mate, and she's your true mate, and she's smoking hot." I growl. "Calm down, I'm just stating facts. But for real man, you're lucky. She's honestly a great gal." I snort.

"Okay for one, don't call her gal, this isn't the 19 hundreds. And second, You'll find someone for you too man. Someone just as great." Just as Nico goes to say something Remi and Parker walk out each holding a plastic bag.

"Okay." She says getting back in. "Nico your airheads, Parker Dr pepper, and Dane an ice cream." She hands all of us our stuff.

"You didn't have to get me anything." I tell her, getting back in the car.

"But I did, so suck it up." She laughs. I smile and open up my ice cream, taking a bite.

"Thank you." I say between chews. She nods and goes back to looking out the window, her legs bouncing up and down.

"Nervous?" I ask as we pull out of the gas station. She looks at me with confusion in her eyes.

"Why would I be nervous?" She asks. "Jen is practically my sister."

"You just seem nervous." I comment. She goes quiet for a moment.

"Jen and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember. She knows everything there is to know about me and now I have to lie to her." She shakes her head in disgust. "I just don't like it. Plus I have this really strong urge to go for a run."

"That's just your wolf. She'll calm down soon, you're just a new shifter so it's harder to control her. I'm surprised you've lasted this long." I tell her.

"Barley." She breathes. My hands twitch, wanting to grab her hand and comfort her but I don't.

"It'll get better." I repeat.

"Turn left in 4 miles." The GPS yells, ruining the moment.

"So Remi, tell us about your childhood." Parker suggests. I throw him a look in the rear view mirror. "If you want to." He adds, glancing at me nervously. Remi leans her head back against the seat and closes her eyes for a moment.

"I was born in Concord, California. My parents at the time worked for some big banking company. They Paid pretty well, had good hours, they couldn't have asked for anything more." She pauses and for a moment I think she's not going to go on. "I also had an older sister named Isabella. She was four when I was born."

"Had?" Nico repeats. Remi swallows loudly.

"She died when I was eight. She and I were outside running in the forest, our favorite place to be, when she thought it would be a great idea to climb a tree. I was supposed to tell her if the branch looked dead or not but I wasn't paying attention and she jumped on a branch that was weak. She fell, broke her neck. Died before the paramedics ever got there. My parents blamed me for taking away their favorite child." This time I can't help but grab her hand. "A few months after she died my parents got fired and we lost our house. Now they're professional ass holes."

"And Jen comes into all of this how?" Parker asks.

"She was there for me when my parents weren't. She was always there. Then when her parents decided she needed to have better standards for herself I was there for her. We've always looked out for each other." She tells him.

"The only one of us who can relate to that is Dane. He lost a sibling as well." Nico announces. A breath catches in my throat and I shoot him a deadly look that he whimpers at.

"Really?" Remi asks, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Yeah." I whisper.

"What were they like?" She questions.

"His name was Seth. He was Stella's twin. Females don't survive through the first trimester unless they have pups in the womb with them." I tell her. "That's why my dad had to bite you. The pack will eventually need an heir and with no females that can't happen."

"How did Seth die?" She presses. I let out a long breath.

"Our pack was attacked by Creek. He tried to take Stella but Seth attacked and injured him badly enough he had to leave. But not before Creek cut out his heart. Werewolves can survive a lot of things but not that." I tell her.

"We finally have something in common." Remi tried to laugh but it was strained. The rest of the car ride is quiet. Remi looks out the window, her arms continue to twitch every now and then but she handles it well.

When I pull into the hotel parking lot Remi perks up. As soon as I park the car she unbuckles and gets out with the rest of us right behind. Just before we enter the building she spins around and looks Parker and Nico in the eyes. "If either of you so much as breath on Jen the wrong way I'll make your world a living hell then kill you."

"Yes ma'am." They both say. I chuckle and put my arm around Remi.

"Let's go get your friend." She eyes my arm but doesn't push me away which I take as an invitation.

"Slide your hand down any further and you won't have one." She warns, narrowing her eyes at me. I nod and move my hand back up.

"Remi!?" A voice yells across the room when we enter.

"Jen!" Remi calls back. A small teen girl appears from behind the counter, eyes red and puffy with shed tear stains. "Oh my gosh, Jen!" Remi shoves out of my arms and bolts behind the counter hugging the girl so tightly I almost thought she'd break. "Are you okay? Did your parents hurt you?" Remi puts both of her hands on either side of Jens face and looks deeply into her eyes.

"I-I'm okay." Jen whispers. "The lady here gave me a cleaning job and a free room until I was able to get help."

"Oh god." Remi whispers, hugging Jen again. When Jens looks our way she freezes.

"What are they doing here? They went missing the same time you did." Jen states warily.

"They're not bad people I swear." Remi assures her friend. "I live with Dane and his family now. And so will you."

"Are they the ones who attacked you?" Jen asks in a low voice, I'm sure she thought I couldn't hear. Remi's eyes flash towards mine for a moment before she shakes her head.

"No."

"Then why are you living with them?"

"Because I can." Remi laughs. "Plus anywhere is better than home."

"Your parents got rid of Duckie and Rex." Jen tells her. Remi tences for a moment.

"They're better off somewhere else." She says finally.

"Anyways." Jen says suddenly. "You've changed? You're more muscular. Have you not been eating? You're skinnier too. And your face looks more defined. And your hair looks a little longer and fluffy."

"New shampoo." Remi replies quickly. "Now let's get going. You look like you haven't slept in days and I have lots of questions."

"You and me both." Jen sighs.