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Everyone brought food and drinks with them, like a big potluck block party, and the festivities carried on long into the night. Kelly enjoyed the energy of the group, but that had changed when Ryan and Hayley came as a couple. The two had behaved like the alpha pair, but Hayley wasn’t Ryan’s mate and therefore she wasn’t the alpha. Kelly was his mate and as the years went by the gatherings served as a reminder of Ryan’s refusal of her and their bond. Kelly wasn’t sure what was worse, Ryan’s actions, or the rejection of the pack that had followed.
The lycan community was built on power and instinct and although they were also human, it was difficult for a lycan to ignore their nature. As if they sensed Ryan’s denial of her on a subconscious level, the pack lost trust in her and began pulling away from her until she was nothing more than background noise in the group, easily overlooked and forgotten. Their reaction made her cold and bitter. Now she spent as little time with them as she could, without causing issues for her parents who were still immersed in pack life and the politics that went along with it.
They were the only ones who didn’t treat her that differently, but even they seemed to sense something was wrong. Kelly suspected it was their family bond that kept them from following through on the urge to distance themselves from her as most of the others had.
Kelly brushed away the single tear that slid down her cheek as she squeezed her eyes shut.
***
Her sadness lingered when she woke the next morning, but it wasn’t as consuming as it had been the day before. Kelly pushed it away from her thoughts, choosing to focus on the day ahead instead of wallowing in her melancholy mood. It was a hard task to achieve while she battled with the lethargy that seemed to be a constant companion.
All she wanted to do was shut herself away from the rest of the world and sleep, but she refused to give in to that urge. She pulled herself out of bed and brewed a pot of coffee. While she was waiting for that to finish, she began pouring over her research into the declining birth rates in the pack.
Kelly wanted to compare the birth rates in the Coldridge Pack to the rates in the other packs, as well as their decline but she didn’t have access to their records. It made it nearly impossible to spot trends or narrow down a timeframe for when the decline had begun.
Gaining access to the records would mean requesting permission for them from Ryan and she felt too raw from the day before to do that yet. She could ask Jace. The council would have records from the other packs. If she went through Jace she wouldn’t have to see Ryan at all. That felt like the coward’s way out though, and Kelly wasn’t a coward.
Sometimes she wished that Ryan would man up and send her away since he didn’t seem to want her but that was self-preservation, not cowardice.
She made a notation about wanting the check the rates among the other packs so that she wouldn’t forget and continued reading. She’d been at it for over an hour and her eyes were starting to burn and water as she poured over the fine print. Needing a break, she stood and stretched, cringing when her muscles ached and popped.
Kelly sighed, it had been so long since she felt healthy and well that she could barely remember what it was like. Her stomach rumbled, deciding that she’d done enough research for the morning and that it was time to eat. She grabbed her coat and headed to Crossings. It was one of the only restaurants in their small town. With a population of just over fifteen hundred people, it was hard to go anywhere in Fortsford and not see someone you knew.
The fact that the pack made up about three percent of the town’s population didn’t help either. Kelly pulled her scarf tighter around her neck seeking shelter from the cold wind. They might have had their Ostara celebration welcoming spring the night before, but winter still had a firm foothold in the area and wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
Normally Lycans didn’t feel the cold the way humans did, but Kelly shivered as the wind picked up. She was thankful that Crossings wasn’t far from her house, because by the time she’d made the ten-minute walk she felt frozen.
She grabbed a table in the corner, knowing that sitting there she’d blend into her surroundings better. She ordered a soup to help her warm-up and a BLT then settled into the booth to wait.
“All the leaders are sending candidates. Apparently, since things didn’t work out with Hayley it’s open season on Ryan.” The conversation from the table behind hers caught Kelly’s attention and was like a hot lance through her heart. Unable to tune out the rest of the conversation as the two women behind her laughed Kelly threw down money for her meal and rushed out of the restaurant.
Ignoring the cold Kelly made her way to the lake. It was her favorite place in their community. The majestic blue-green water never failed to soothe her during times of stress. This early in the season the water was still frozen and not even the serene atmosphere could bring her any solace.
It had been horrible watching him date Hayley and she wasn’t sure that she could watch the parade of women the other packs would send through the Coldridge territory. She couldn’t stand the thought that he might date one of them seriously.
He would have to send her away then. Even he wouldn’t be that cruel. Would he?
RYAN TRIED TO summon the excitement he believed he should feel at the prospect of finding his mate. It was an old tradition for the packs to send their most powerful eligible women to unmated alphas and his brother had warned him of the council’s plans, but he wasn’t excited.
Just the thought of the whole process made him angry. He wouldn’t find his mate this way. He wasn’t sure how he knew he wouldn’t, but he was sure that it would be a futile and painful effort.
Lycans were a highly sexualized race often ruled by their baser instincts and desires, but the prospect of a meat market of women wanting to bed him made his wolf even more forlorn for his mate.
“Jace call it off. Tell the council I’ll find my mate on my terms. I don’t need them to play matchmaker.”
“What can it hurt? You’ve been moping around and closed off since Hayley mated. If you retreat into yourself any further I’m not sure you’ll be fit to lead the pack. We need you strong mentally and physically brother.”
Ryan wouldn’t tell him, but he was more closed off since Jace mated with Sara not since Hayley mated. It was just too difficult to share such a close bond with his twin brother now that he was able to sense his joy since finding both of his mates. Ryan hated to admit it but he was jealous of Jace for finding what Ryan wanted so badly for himself.
Jace was a rarity within their pack having mated in a triad with both a man and woman. Ryan hadn’t heard of someone being able to have multiple mates, but their trio seemed to work and Jace was happier than Ryan could remember ever seeing him before.
“I’m serious Jace, tell them to call it off. I don’t need a bunch of strange women fawning all over me. It’s bad enough that our women behave that way when they don’t think I realize it. React the wrong way to a stranger and it could cause a war with the packs and things are just starting to calm down between us and the Yellow Claw pack. We don’t need to go looking for trouble.”
Ryan ended their call his anger rising as he realized that he hadn’t gotten through to his brother at all. The council would send potential mates whether he liked it or not. He just hoped that he could keep his wolf in check enough to keep the peace.
CHAPTER THREE
“You need to get out more. Have some fun.” Her mother eyed her with a critical gaze. “You’ve lost weight are you eating enough?” she looked pointedly at the mess of papers spread over the kitchen table. When she moved forward to start cleaning up the stacks Kelly held out a restraining hand.
