Liz had walked into the clearing in time to see Willard Cates lying on the ground caught in a trap and Tyler Creed standing over him with a gun before he shot the Alpha in the head. His body slumped to the ground. Liz's eyes raised to see Tyler's doing the same and staring at her. She did the only thing she could think of, she bolted. She ran as fast as she could in human form. She was about to flip when Tyler caught her. The two fell forward, Liz hit the ground hard face first, Tyler's weight on top of her.
"I've been planning this so carefully and waiting so patiently but you Donner's always have to ruin everything.” Tyler growled in anger. He grabbed a hold of both of her hands and tugged her up and the back of her body rested against the front of his. Then she felt the cold metal barrel of a gun pressed to the side of her temple and his breath in her ear. "I could kill you so easily but then that nosy uncle of yours would start poking around even more than he's going to and cause all kinds of problems for me."
"So what are you going to do?" Liz asked not even attempting to hide the fear in her voice.
"You and I are going to make a little deal. You're not going to tell anyone about what you saw and I won't kill you or the ones you care about. I will know if the pack finds out. And if they do, I will one step ahead of them. I'll kill your parents and after I'm done, I'll go back to Roswell. I will find that human you were screwing and I'll rip his throat out."
Liz's anger overrode the other emotions she was feeling, and she jumped into action. She leaned forward and with all her strength she flipped him over top of her. He landed on the ground in front of her and she pounced on him. She started hitting him but he quickly grabbed her wrists and twisted them behind her back. They now sat with Liz straddling him and he leaning up enough to hold her arms behind her. If someone had walked up they could have mistaken the whole scene as one of two lovers instead of two people in the middle of a power struggle. “You are a feisty little one aren’t you? All kinds of fight in you, do you carry that over when you’re in bed?”
“You’ll never know.” Liz growled.
“I bet you do. You know as much as I hate your family I might just make an exception to satisfy my curiosity.” Tyler insinuated. Liz was shocked when she felt the wetness of his tongue touch her cheek as he lapped up to her cheekbone. She used all of her weight to push herself backwards and break the hold Tyler had on her hands. She got up quickly but didn’t run knowing he would just catch her again. Tyler only looked at her and laughed. “Perhaps now is not the best time. We should be getting out of these woods before the body is found, I’m sure someone heard the shot.”
Tyler grabbed her arm and started pulling her away. When they reached his car he let her go. “You better run on home. But remember what I said.”
Liz only nodded and Tyler sped away. She couldn’t believe what she had agreed to. But she had to keep her family and Max safe.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Thirty minutes after Liz returned to the house Uncle Matt got a call that there had been a body found out in the woods. An hour later the whole pack knew that Willard Cates was dead. According to all official records it was a hunting accident but everyone had their own theories. Sophia left to go be with Luke to offer him comfort.
Two days later the funeral was held. The whole pack turned up for the services, the church was packed. Liz sat with her family a row behind the Cates. As Liz sat through the service she felt worse and worse, the feeling of Tyler’s eyes on her didn’t help. But she refused to meet his gaze.
After the funeral services they went to the Cates. As they made their way into the house they looked around and saw all of the older males, Tyler in the middle of them, talking in the sitting room. It was obvious they were discussing who the next alpha should be. Liz could hear her Uncle as he said, “The sharks come out when they smell blood in the water.”
The three Donners searched out Luke who was staring out one of the back windows of the house. Sophia walked behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He seemed to relax at her touch and he turned to face them. “Hey guys.”
“Hey man. How are you?” Michael asked.
“Fine I guess. I mean I just buried my father. And as I’m standing here, in the next room there are males arguing who is going to take his place. And I have no doubt in my mind that one of them killed him so they could take over.”
Liz couldn’t sit there anymore. Luke’s words had hit her wit another wave of guilt. “I’m going to get some air.”
Liz pushed her way outside to the Cates’ backyard. It was a gloomy windy day. Liz let the wind blow across her face trying to clear her thoughts. It wasn’t working. She hated knowing that she could relief a little of Luke’s suffering by telling him who had killed his father. But then her own parents and Max would be put at risk.
“Want to tell me why you’re acting so weird?” Michael asked from behind her.
“It’s a funeral Michael. People do tend to act a little upset when they are at funerals.” Liz said refusing to look at him.
“True, and you’re usually the one going out of your way to make them feel better. So why did you hightail it out of there while we were talking to Luke?”
“I just needed some air.”
“You’re lying Liz.”
“No, I’m not. Just drop it Michael. Okay?” Liz said as she turned to look at him. Michael just nodded and went back in the house. As he did Liz could see Tyler had been watching them and had heard them. He smiled slightly at Liz, nodded his head to her and turned back to his campaign for Alpha.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Later that night, Liz made her way to Michael’s room. Uncle Matt was at the station and Sophia was still at Luke’s. She knocked lightly on Michael’s door. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah,” She heard him grumble
Liz opened the door and saw her brother lying on his bed, tossing a baseball up in the air before catching it again. She walked over to his bed and caught it in midair. Liz knew she needed to talk to someone or she was going to go crazy. She trusted Michael more than anything. “I want to talk to you, be honest with you.”
“What about?” Michael said getting interested. He knew his sister was hiding something and he wanted to know what it was. He had never seen her as edgy as she had been in the last few days.
“You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone. Please Michael, promise me.” Liz pleaded.
Michael could see the seriousness in her eyes along with desperation. “I promise, what is it? What’s got you so spooked?”
“You remember the morning Mr. Cates was murdered?”
“Of course I do, it was only a few days ago. You and I talked then I went inside to catch a few hours sleep while you went for a walk.” Liz could see the understanding come into Michael’s eyes. “You saw something didn’t you?”
Liz lowered her eyes so that she was intently staring at the floor; “I was just taking a walk, thinking about Max and how much I miss him. Then I heard someone yelling for help so I searched for the source until I reached a clearing. That was when I saw Mr. Cates in a trap with Tyler standing above him.”
Michael jumped off his bed so fast Liz almost fell off of it as the mattress shifted. “I knew that son of a b*tch had something to do with it. I just knew it.”
“Michael, sit down.” Liz ordered. “There’s more I need to tell you and you pacing is making me dizzy.”
Michael tried to control his anger and sat back down. When he did Liz continued. “I stood there for only a few seconds before I took off. I ran as fast as I could, I knew that Tyler would come after me but I had to try and get away. I didn’t make it. He tackled me,” Liz could tell that her brother was getting even more upset. “He told me that he would just kill me but Uncle Matt would look into it too much so instead he wanted to make a deal with me.”
“What was the deal?”
“I wouldn’t tell the pack that he had killed Mr. Cates and he wouldn’t kill our parents or go after Max. I knew he could and would do it so I agreed. Ever since he’s been watching me including earlier at Luke’s house. When I pissed you off, I saw he was behind us and saw he had seen the whole thing.” Liz explained. “Now you see why you can’t tell Michael, not Luke or anyone. If you do then it’ll bring a lot of danger.”
Michael wanted nothing more than to go to Tyler’s house and rip out the other wolf’s throat out. He was threatening the people he cared about. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” Liz said thinking of Tyler’s actions in the woods with disgust.
Michael saw her cringe when she said no and knew something else had happened. “Liz, you said you’d be completely honest and I can tell you’re holding something back.”
“It’s nothing, just Tyler being Tyler.” Liz said unconvincingly.
“And I know what that means. So why don’t you tell me.”
“Michael, its no big thing and it’ll just piss you off even more.” Liz said.
“Liz…”
“Fine.” Liz said defeated. “When Tyler told me the deal I got pissed and started to fight him. When he got the upper hand he said that he thought I was feisty and wanted to know if I carried it over in bed. And that he would might put aside how he feels about our family to find out.”
Michael’s jaw clinched in anger but he knew blowing up was the last thing that Liz needed right now. He pulled her close the best hug he could to make her feel better. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to let him touch you. And as for everything else, we’ll figure something out.”
Part 36
(Inspired by and some lines from Leader of The Pack)
The next couple of days were dangerous times as the pack picked a new leader. Several of the contenders did die of mysterious circumstances. Well as mysterious as a poisoned drink and a pitch fork could be. The pack especially the Donner and the remaining Cates, were nervous. The only contenders left were Tyler and an older man Liz didn’t know. But Liz heard that the older man was going to drop out of the running. Despite having most of his attention focused on becoming Alpha, Liz knew Tyler was still keeping an eye on her. He came into the diner often usually sitting in Liz’s section. He never mentioned anything to her, his presence was enough for her to keep her mouth shut.
On the Friday after Willard Cates was killed, the Wolf Lake Brewery held a stockholder’s meeting in the lounge of the Lodge to elect a new chairman but in reality it was a meeting to choose the new Alpha of the pack. The diner was closed since it was used for the banquet but Liz and Sophia still had to work. They had already been there for several hours helping to set up when Michael and Matt showed up. Liz could see how uncomfortable Michael was in his suit but he looked nice. Too bad Maria couldn’t see him but she had chosen to stay home that night.
Michael made his way over to the booth that Luke was currently occupying and sat down. Ever since Liz had told him about what had really happened with Willard Cate’s murder he had understood why Liz had been so uneasy around Luke. It was hard looking your friend in the eye. “Hey man.”
“Hey.” Luke answered absently as he watched Tyler where he was standing across the room. Michael couldn’t help but wonder if he suspected Tyler, it wouldn’t surprise him if he did, most of the pack did. But no one had any prove to call him on it. Well except Liz.
The longer Michael watched Luke the more he thought it was something more, “Luke, what’s up with you? You’re acting all jittery.”
Luke took one more glance at Tyler before saying, “Not here. Come on.”
Luke casually got up and made his way back to the diner kitchen; Michael followed him unsure of what was going on. Once back there they saw that Sophia and Liz were also back there. Michael could see Luke visibly relax. “Luke, you’re killing me here. What’s going on?”
“I wanted to tell you out there but I couldn’t. I’m being watched.” Luke stated.
“Why?” Liz asked.
“They want to make sure I don’t go anywhere.” Luke explained.
“Luke what are you talking about?” Sophia asked. “Who?”
“Whoever is trying to be alpha, pick one. After the election do you really think they are going to want the male heirs of the former alpha to live?” Luke explained.
Sophia, Liz, and Michael stood shocked for a minute. Although they had been amongst the pack for the last few months there were still some things they didn’t know. Sophia moved next to her boyfriend wrapping her arms around him, she was scared for him. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to have to leave town, it’s either that or die.” Luke stated.
“Where are you going to go?” Michael asked.
“I don’t….” Luke trailed off as the kitchen door swung open revealing one of Tyler’s men. “Tyler wants to speak to you Luke.”
Luke knew there was no argument so he released Sophia and headed out. Michael followed him wanting to offer his friend support but was stopped by two more of Tyler’s men. He stood and watched as the first man and Tyler cornered Luke in a close booth.
Liz looked over and saw tears in Sophia’s eyes. She wrapped an arm around her cousin in support. “It’ll be okay.”
“Liz, I don’t want him to leave but I know he can’t stay here either, I don’t want him to be killed.” Sophia practically sobbed. “I don’t know where he’ll be or if he’ll be safe. He’s never even been out of Wolf Lake, how the hell is he going to know where to go?” Liz just held on to Sophia, comforting her as an idea came into her head.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
With his keen wolf hearing Michael could easily pick up what Tyler was saying to Luke a few feet away from him. He was accusing Luke of avoiding him since the funeral especially that night. Luke just told him he’d been busy. The idiot who had fetched Luke snickered and commented that he was surprised Luke had even showed up. Luke said nothing only stood up and climbed out of the booth. He walked towards Michael and the two headed over to the counter.
They were still sitting there when they saw Sophia come out of the back and walked behind the counter. Michael had no idea what she was doing but seemed to be looking hard for something. A few minutes later, Sophia tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to grab Luke and go back into the kitchen. Michael could see something was up so he nodded. He waited until Sophia was back in the kitchen before he leaned over to Luke and whispered, “Sophia wants us back in there. I think something’s up.”
They waited until they knew no one was watching and snuck back into the kitchen. When they did they saw Sophia and Liz anxiously waiting for them. “It’s about time, Liz wouldn’t tell me what was going on until you two came back.”
“Lower your voice Sophia.” Liz stated. She turned to Luke, “You have no idea what or where to go when you leave do you?”
“Not really, figured I’d head east until I felt like stopping.” Luke stated. “Why?”
“Because I think I know of someone who can help.” Liz explained.
“What?” Luke asked amazed that Liz was helping him. Sure she had before but this was a little bigger than giving him advice.
“I said I know of some place safe to go but I’m going with you.” Liz stated. Then when she saw Luke was about to say something she added. “There is no argument here. I either go or nothing.”
“Fine.” Luke said.
“Sophia grabbed me the master keys. After the vote, we can sneak out the back door. Then she’ll lock it so no one can follow. Then it’s to your car and we’re gone. No stopping at your house, you’ll just have to wear what you’ve got on.” Liz said.
“I’ve got extra clothes in my car.” Luke said absently.
“You two should head back out front, everyone will be looking for you. Liz, I need to talk to you.” Michael said before grabbing her arm and pulling her farther into the kitchen before letting loose what he wanted to say. “What do you think you are doing?”
“I’m trying to help Luke, your friend so he doesn’t get killed what do you think I’m doing?” Liz asked.
“I think you’re feeling guilty for what you know and trying to make it up to Luke, not to mention find a way back to Max.” Michael commented. “That is where you were going isn’t it?”
Liz lowered her eyes, her brother knew her too well. “So what if I go to Max? If I can get out of Wolf Lake shouldn’t I go to him?”
“Roswell is the first place they, especially Tyler, will look for you once it’s discovered that you’re gone. This time they will kill you as well as Luke. Probably Max too.”
“That’s why we’re not going to stay in Roswell.” Liz explained. “Kyle’s dad has a cabin on the state line to Texas that I’ll take Luke to. Then I’ll call Max and have him meet us there.”
“So you’re just going to show up out of the blue after disappearing without saying a word, being gone for months, with some guy that he doesn’t know and expect him to not be wondering what the hell is going on? You know he’s going to have questions.” Michael stated.
“Then I’ll just have to give him answers won’t I?” Liz practically yelled at him before rushing by and out of the kitchen.
Part 37a
Matt saw Luke and Sophia coming out of the kitchen and could tell his daughter was upset. He look to see that Luke had his arm wrapped around her shoulders so he hadn’t done something to her. Although Matt had gotten used to the relationship he was still weary of them, he wasn’t sure if Luke wouldn’t hurt Sophia. He decided to check on her himself. “I’ll be right back V.”
Vivian Cates nodded as he headed off. He had been by Vivian side all night trying to make sure the meeting didn’t get out of hand. Matt made his way through past the pack members over to where the kids were sitting. “Luke, I need to talk to Sophia, alone.”
Luke nodded and got up and went over to where his mother, Ruby and John were talking but kept his eyes on her. He talked idly with his mother who he knew was as nervous as him.
“What’s wrong sweetie?” Matt asked Sophia. He was surprised when he saw the anger in her eyes when she looked up at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She said angrily.
“Tell you what?” Matt asked confused.
“That Luke’s life is in danger.” Sophia stated. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you. But I want you to know I’m doing my best to make sure that there is no violence here tonight.” Matt apologized and explained.
“Well if you hadn’t distanced yourself from the pack then maybe you would have had a better chance of doing that.” Sophia said angrily. “It would be a contest on who would be Alpha.”
Matt knew what she was getting at. “Sophia you don’t understand.”
“I do understand. You did it because you promised Mom I would have a normal life. Well I don’t, I flipped. You couldn’t stop it, it happened and I am a member of the pack. And now that you still won’t stand up to your responsibilities I’m going to loose two people I care about.”
“What are you talking about?” Matt asked.
“Luke and Liz.” Sophia lowered her voice. “Liz offered to help Luke get out of town so he wouldn’t be killed, which is more than you’ve done.”
Sophia turned on her heel and walked away from her dad after her last statement and went back to work. Matt watched her go while he was trying to figure out what to do. He couldn’t take over as Alpha, he had been out of the loop too long and he didn’t want it. But maybe he should if only to keep his daughter and family safe. His gaze flicked over the room and saw Luke talking to his mother. Vivian had suggested to him early in the night for him to marry her and take over the pack, to ensure their children’s’ safety. But he couldn’t do that, he still loved his wife even if it had been over eight years ago. As he continued to watch Luke talking to Vivian an idea struck him, before he could think much on it he heard Sherman Blackstone announcing that the meeting was about to start. He saw everyone began moving into the lounge and finding their seats. Blackstone went up to the podium, “I call this meeting to order.”
When everyone was quiet he went on, “First and only order of business tonight is the election of the new chairman. I open the floor to nominations.”
“I nominate Tyler Creed.” One of his men nominated with one of his other men seconding it.
“Big surprise there.” Michael whispered to Luke who nodded. They were positioned near the back so Luke and Liz could easily slip out after the vote.
“Do we have any other nominations?” Sherman asked. He hoped someone might nominate Matt, although he was in self imposed exile, Sherman still thought he would make the best candidate for Alpha. Especially since it seemed that Tyler was the only candidate so far since many of the contenders had been killed off already.
“I have one.” Matt announced. All eyes turned to look at him giving him their full attention. “Now it’s a little unorthodox so hear me out. I nominate Vivian Cates.”
The four teens by the door looked at each other in shock while the lounge was filled with a deafening uproar but they were able to hear one voice above all of the others, Ruby Cates Kanin. “I second the nomination.”
Again there was more uproar now that it was known that the older of the only two white wolves favored one opponent over the other.
“Females cannot lead the pack.” Tyler argued.
“Vivian Cates has been the wife of an Alpha for almost twenty years. That has exposed her to the exact duties she would be taking on herself. In the past she also has conducted business on Willard’s behalf. She knows what is needed to run the pack.” Matt argued back.
The noise got so loud that Sherman had to bang his gavel to bring back order. “If there are no more nominations I say we put it to a vote. Tyler Creed or Vivian Cates.”
The votes were passed out to the adults and they set about voting. Luke, Michael, Liz, and Sophia watched on ready to go ahead with the plan if Tyler won. The votes were passed in and tallied up. The four waited with baited breath as Sherman walked back up to the podium, “I have the final vote. And the winner is…..”
Part 37b
“I have the final vote. And the winner is…..Vivian Cates.” Sherman Blackstone announced. Vivian’s supporters started applauding as she moved to take the podium. Liz, Sophia, Michael and Luke all relaxed. Sophia hugged Luke thankful that he wasn’t leaving. Liz watched on. She was happy for them but felt the disappointment that she wasn’t leaving to go to Max. She didn’t give up that she would see him again but knew that right now wasn’t the best time to try and escape. Vivian would have to prove that she could handle being Alpha so she would be strict. If Liz tried to make a run for it and got caught, her punishment would be severe.
Liz looked over where Luke and Sophia had walked over to where his sister and her husband were. She looked at Ruby. She knew why Ruby had seconded the nomination, she had done it to protect her brother. Liz felt like she was a lot like Ruby, she loved her family and would do anything to protect her family plus she had fell for a human. Maybe she should talk to her some time.
Liz snapped out of her haze when she felt Michael’s arm around her shoulders. She looked up to see him looking at her with concern. “You okay?”
She leaned her head against him. “I guess. I’m glad that Luke is safe and that Sophia won’t loose him.”
“Yeah, she looks happy.” Michael said trying to comfort Liz. They were soon joined by their Uncle who pulled Liz aside. “Sophia let it slip earlier what your plans were.”
Liz’s eyes widened. “That’s why you nominated Mrs. Cates isn’t it? So that Luke would be safe and we wouldn’t leave.”
“That and I couldn’t stand the thought of Tyler being the alpha.” Her uncle commented. “And although what you were going to do was not the smartest thing, I do admire what you were doing for Luke.”
“Well it wasn’t for completely selfless reasons.” Liz admitted.
“Your parents will be proud when they hear.” Matt stated. They moved over to congratulate the new Alpha and finish up the rest of the meeting.
Part 38
Max sat in his room on his bed reading one of his books for school when suddenly a gust of wind blew open his window. “Great.”
He put down the book and got up to shut it when he saw someone standing out side of it. “Liz.”
He could hardly believe it when he saw her standing there. Liz smiled at him; she looked more beautiful than the last time he had seen her if that was possible. He felt his heart melt. He had missed her so much his heart hurt. He barely heard her ask, “Are you going to make me stay out here or are you going to invite me in?”
“Come in,” Max said anxiously holding out his hand. She took it and he helped her inside but instead of letting her go he pulled her into his arms, hugging her close. “Where have you been?”
“Shush,” Liz said putting a finger to his mouth. “It doesn’t matter, it just matters that I’m with you.”
Their lips met hungrily practically devouring each other. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he pulled her closer to his body. They wrapped themselves tightly together with their arms as Max started walking back towards his bed. The two fell on to it as Max moved his lips down to her neck. It was then he heard the sweetest words come out of her mouth, “I love you Max, and I’ll never leave you again.”
Max sat up quickly, waking from his dream. Like the other ones he had had since Liz had disappeared it was so realistic like she was here. It always took him a few minutes before he realized that it was all a dream. But despite how much he wanted her to be, she wasn’t. He could smell his mom cooking breakfast and decided he should hurry up so he could head into the kitchen. He jumped in for a quick shower as he thought over what had been going on. His search for Liz and Michael had led him to a lot of dead ends. Hell since he had found that their birth certificates were fake he realized that Parker was probably not their last name at all. So he was searching for two people that he didn’t even have a last name to go by. That made the search even more difficult. And he hadn’t found anything on them since his dad found those certificates.
Max’s life over the past few months consisted mostly of work and school. He would be graduating at the end of the year, which was in a week. His friends knew there was no way to break him out of his funk and drug him out sometimes. But they never pressured him to date. The girls at school left him alone with the exception of a new girl named Tess. She was blonde curly haired, the exact opposite of Liz. She had tried to worm her way into Max and his friends’ lives but no one liked her especially Max. Kyle had made a mistake and said that Tess looked similar to Ava, a joke that ended in him getting the silent treatment for several days. Max had finally put his foot down and told Tess to leave him alone. He ended up having to go to the school officials to get her to leave him alone. Now she only glared at him from afar.
He got done with his shower and rushed to the kitchen for breakfast. His mom was at the stove; Isabel and his Dad were at the table, his dad reading the paper, Wall Street Journal, as per usual. “Morning.”
“Good morning Max.” They chimed.
Max sat down at the table next to his dad and his mom plopped a plate full of food down in front of him. He smiled his thanks as she kissed him on the top of his head before heading back to the stove. Max dove into his food, he was starving. Once he was about half way done he came up for air.
“Uh, Diane listen to this. ‘Successful Pacific Northwest Brewery elects first female Chairperson ever’. What do you think about that?” His dad said.
“That’s interesting, read the article.”
“Wolf Lake Brewery located in the town by the same name in Washington elected its first ever female Chairperson in a vote on Friday night at a stockholder’s meeting. The former Chairman, Willard Cates, was killed in a hunting accident the week before and his widow, Vivian Cates was elected to take over. It is the first time in over a hundred years that the brewery has been in business that a woman sat at the head of the company.’ That’s about all of the article since it goes into the history of the brewery.” His dad stated.
“Well they must have been stuck in the last century, “ Isabel remarked.
“There’s a picture as well. According to the caption it was taken the day after at her home much to her chagrin.”
Max looked next to him at the paper his dad was reading and looked at the picture. There was a woman in her late thirties, early forties smiling at the camera. There were several guys around her, one even looked to be around his age. He stared at the people when he saw something in the background or more like someone. He snatched the paper away from his dad so he could look at it closer.
“Max. Your father was reading that.” His mother scolded.
“Sorry Dad. Isabel look at this picture.” He moved to sit next to his sister.
“What about it?”
“Tell me I’m not imagining this but who does that look like?” Max asked.
Isabel looked at where Max was pointing and gasped, “Oh my God. It is.”
The two kids continued to look at the picture in silence as their dad finally decided to see what they were looking at. He was shocked to see who Max was pointing at. The person was in the background and the reprint of the picture looked a little hazy but it was definitely Michael Parker.
Part 39
Liz ran through the woods. Twisting and turning underneath the underbrush. Darting under and between fallen trees, as she fought to keep the speed going. It had been tense this past week since the meeting, everyone settling into the new leadership. Luke’s position though didn’t change. He was still the leader of the teen wolves with Michael and Sean by his side. ‘Sean.’ Liz thought. Things had been strange between them. Ever since that night in the woods they hadn’t really talked. Liz had finally figured out that Sean wanted to be more than just friends, despite what he had said before. She was mad that he had just became friends with her because he wanted to get her into bed. She was glad she knew the truth. When Maria had first found out she had given Sean a tongue lashing that the whole town must have heard it.
Although Tyler was out of the run for Alpha, he was still a threat to Liz. So she had kept her mouth shut and waited to see what he would do next. He had made suggestive comments to her that made her want to throw up and watched her constantly. She knew he wasn’t happy with the outcome of the vote, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he would do about it. He had a lot of ambition to be Alpha.
Liz reached the shore of the lake and trotted up to a rock that jutted over it. She sat there and watched as the sun began to set. It was beautiful. She couldn’t figure out which one was more beautiful, a sunset in the desert or one in the mountains. She should tell Michael that he should come up and paint it. He would do it justice, just like the one she had in her room of the desert.
Remembering she had plans with her brother she quickly left the lake and headed to her Uncle’s house.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Max drove along the wood bordered highway. After seeing the picture in the paper Max knew he had a clue as to where Liz and Michael had disappeared to. He waited until after graduation before even approaching his parents about his plans. Once he was graduated he knew they couldn’t stop him. He was eighteen after all. So the night after the ceremony he had sat down with them and told him his plan. He was going to Wolf Lake to find them. He had done his research, knew it was a small town and should be easy to find them. Isabel had wanted to go but since she was underage their parents had said she couldn’t plus she still had a week of school since she hadn’t graduated yet. They hadn’t wanted Max to go but like he had figured they couldn’t stop him. So he had thrown a few bags into his jeep and set off north.
He glanced over and saw he had entered Wolf Lake limits. He had made good time only stopping last night to crash for some much needed sleep. He found himself energized by having a possible lead on where Liz and Michael were. A song he recognized as one of Liz’s favorites started to play so he cranked it up.
Come to me now
And lay your hands over me
Even if it's a lie
Say it will be alright
And I shall believe
I'm broken in two
And I know you're on to me
That I only come home
When I'm so all alone
But I do believe
That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly you won't give up on me
And I shall believe
And I shall believe
Open the door
And show me your face tonight
I know it's true
No one heals me like you
And you hold the key
Never again
would I turn away from you
I'm so heavy tonight
But your love is alright
And I do believe
That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly
You won't give up on me
And I shall believe
I shall believe
Max was so caught up in his memories of Liz and the music he almost didn’t see the two animals before it was almost too late. He slammed on the brakes and managed to stop from hitting them. He looked at them in shock, not ten feet ahead of him were a solid white wolf and a black and gray one. They seemed to study him, the white one lifting its nose up into the air in the effort to try and smell him before taking off into the woods. He shook the haze that had settled into his brain from the unusual experience and pressed on the gas pedal. He drove a little more carefully on his way into town.
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Sophia and Luke watched from the bushes and the Jeep moved farther and farther away from them. They headed towards Luke’s car and flipped into human form and dressed then Luke hurried to drive Sophia home. He didn’t want to get on the Sheriff’s bad side.
As they drove down Main Street, Sophia saw the same jeep that had almost hit them but it was the driver that really caught her attention. She could make out his face easily. Luke looked at Sophia who was still staring at the vehicle. “What is it?”
“I need to go home.” Sophia said.
“What’s got you so spooked?”
“Luke, you have to promise you won’t tell your mom.” Sophia pleaded.
Luke felt somewhat hurt but her statement. “You know you can trust me.”
“I need to talk to Liz. That guy is here looking for them.” She said pointing to the jeep.
“How do you know?”
“I recognized him. Liz has all kinds of pictures of him. He’s her boyfriend.”
“Shit.” Luke said. “It’s Ruby all over again.”
“It won’t take long before the whole pack knows he’s here. I need to tell her before she finds out some other way.”
Luke nodded and driving like a bat out of hell they didn’t take long to get to the house. They rushed inside and found Liz and Michael laughing at some movie they were watching. They saw the seriousness in the new arrival’s faces and Liz asked, “What is it?”
“We were out for a run when this jeep almost hit us…” Sophia started to explain.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Liz asked worriedly.
“We’re fine. But that’s not what Sophia needs to tell you.” Luke said.
“When Luke was driving me home we of course drove by the lodge. Out front we saw the same jeep and I saw the driver, it was Max.”
Michael’s eyes widened in shock as did Liz’s. “Max, you mean my Max.”
Sophia nodded. “I’m positive it was him. He looked like he was going to go in and get a room.”
Before any of the three could stop her, Liz was out the door.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Liz ran as quickly as her human legs would carry her. At the moment she didn’t want to be a wolf, she wanted to be a human. The thought of Max being so close spurred her on. She wanted to get to him. As she ran, one of her brother’s favorite songs played in her head.
I woke up in a dream today
To the cold of the static / and put my cold feet on the floor
Forgot all about yesterday
Remembering I’m pretending to be where I’m not anymore
A little taste of hypocrisy
And I’m left in the wake of the mistake / slow to react
Even though you’re so close to me
You’re still so distant / And I can’t bring you back
Liz knew most of the rooms at the lodge were empty so she walked around snooping into the windows until she found his room. When she did, she saw the love of her life for the first time in months.
It’s true / the way I feel
Was promised by your face
The sound of your voice
Painted on my memories
Even if you’re not with me
I’m with you
You / Now I see/ keeping everything inside
You / Now I see / Even when I close my eyes
He was as handsome and gorgeous as in her dreams and memories. He had striped off his shirt so he was only wearing jeans and socks. The low light caused Max’s tan skin to appear to be glowing amber causing Liz heart to race more than it already was. She remembered everything about his skin, how he tasted, his scent and the softness of his skin.
Liz jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew who it was before he even spoke. “I know you want to but it’s safer for him if you don’t go to him.”
“I know, I just had to see him.” Liz told her brother. “I miss him.”
“I know you do. I miss him too, he was a good friend.” Michael admitted. “Come on, we better get out of here before he sees us.”
Liz looked at him one more time before she let Michael pull her away. He led her to the parking lot where she saw Luke and Sophia were waiting by Luke’s car. The four got in and headed back to the Donner house. Once there they got out of the car but Luke held Liz back. “I just thought you should know that if he starts poking around, the pack won’t tell him anything. They’re not going to let him find you.”
“They won’t hurt him will they?” Liz asked.
“It depends on who he goes to. But most won’t. I suggest you lay low though, don’t let him see you or he will be in danger.” Luke stated. “You might tell the Sheriff that Max is in town. That way he’ s not surprised if Max shows up at the station.”
“Thanks Luke.” Liz said before turning and heading inside.
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