Finding Home

Chapter Thirty Seven-Paige

Paige woke the next morning with a silly smile on her face. No matter how much she tried to control it, her face kept smiling. The night before with Nathan had been everything she had ever dreamed of. It was comfortable and easy and fun. He loved her and she loved him. She laid in bed and let herself bask in that simple fact for a while. He loved her AND she loved him. It was that simple, at least right now when she was laying in bed. Her chest felt light for the first time in ages, like a lodestone had been lifted off it. She breathed deep, letting her lungs get truly full for the first time in ages.

She opened her eyes, her room was brighter than normal. She checked her clock to see if she had just woken up later but it was her normal time. She sat up and swung her legs to the floor. She immediately felt dizzy and had to put her head in her hands. She took a few steadying breaths. What is that smell? It was the most amazing thing she had ever smelled. She sniffed around her room and found the dress she wore last night. It smelled like pine needles and cedarwood. It was heavenly. It crossed her mind as odd, since she didn't have any perfumes with those scents, not that she wore perfume often, but how else would the smell be there. Her head was pounding. She staggered to the door and down the stairs to the kitchen. Her mother and sister were all already there eating breakfast. She mumbled hello as she got a glass of water and some ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet.

"Looks like someone had fun last night." Sophie said with a smirk.

"Shhh," Paige said, "Not so loud." She looked up in time to see her mother and Sophie share a look.

"You and the Alpha have a nice time last night?" her mother asked.

"Mmm hmm," Paige said, putting her head down on the table, not able to commit to words yet.

Sophie snorted, "Looks like it! What'd he do? Get you drunk?"

"What? No! We only had a few glasses of wine," she said as she lifted her head from the table and the room swam. She braced her elbows on the table and held her head again. "He took me to Bella Luna, over in the human town. We shared a bottle between us but that's nothing."

"You guys didn't go anywhere after that?" Sophie asked.

Paige shushed her again. "Little voices, please. Little voices."

"Honey are you okay?" Her mother asked. "You don't seem well. Are you sure you only had a few glasses of wine?"

"Yeah, we only drank at dinner and then we went to an overlook and we danced. No additional alcohol."

"Well, you look hung over?" Sophie said much to loudly.

"Sophie!" Paige whined. Her mother crossed over to her and sniffed her. She could always sniff out whether Paige was sick or not. It made it almost impossible to get her mother to allow her to skip school.

"Hmm," her mother said, "I don't smell any alcohol on you but you don't smell like you usually do." This was one of her least favorite things about being human in a wolf pack. Others were always telling her how she smelled and thinking they knew something about her because of it. She put her arms on the table and rested her head on them.

"I'm just gonna wait here for the ibuprofen to do it's job, then I'll be okay."

"You should drink some water and eat something too." Her mother said. She refilled her glass and placed it next to Paige, she also gave her some toast and a banana. "Eat, you'll feel better."

"What's wrong with her?" Her father asked. He was standing in the door of the kitchen. Paige froze. She didn't see her father when she got home last night but remembered his look when Nathan took her hand. The look that promised another dressing down of why she was such a disappointment.

"She's not feeling well is all," her mother said. Paige stood and grabbed her water, banana, and toast and started towards the dinning room door. Her father was standing in the door that led to the hallway so she took the path of least resistance.

"Paige." His voice was hard.

"What?" She spoke flatly. She would not quiver before him anymore. She had forgotten the strength she had uncovered living on her own in the first few days she was here. Their last talk had brought out her rage again and her time with Nathan had brought out her fire. She would not quiver.

"We need to talk," he said. Anger was beginning to flow off him.

"No." She walked out the door into the dinning room. He blocked her as she made her way into the hall.

"Paige Wilson!" He began to raise his voice. She refused to flinch, refused to back down, even though her head felt like it was going to explode. She refused to let it show. "I've booked you a flight back to London tonight. You will be on it. You will stop whatever you have going on with the Alpha. You will leave and you will not come back. I will not have you making a fool of us. I will not have you making a fool of me."

"The only person making a fool of you, Father, is yourself. Excuse me, I have things I need to do." She tried to step around him but he blocked her way.

"I've spoken with the Alpha and-"

"Oh really," she said with a laugh, "You've spoken with Nathan? When?"

"When he brought you home last night. I told him it's best for everyone if you go."

"And what did he say to that?" she challenged. She didn't want to believe that her father would do something like this. He's always tried to control her, and when he couldn't do that he'd try to control those around her.

"Did he agree with you? Did he tell you to book me a flight?" She wanted to see if her father would actually go through with it. She wanted to see if he would actually presume to speak for the Alpha.

"He... He..." he wavered. Michael Wilson might be a self important male from a bygone era but he had absolute respect for the pack hierarchy. Speaking for the Alpha without authority or leave to do so was a serious offense.

"It doesn't matter what he said, you are my daughter, you live by my rules, you will OBEY ME!" he shouted. His shouting hurt. She started seeing spots but wouldn't back down.

"You're such a coward," she told him. "More concerned with your image and the power you think you get from it. We've already established that I stopped being your daughter six years ago. You can't order me to obey you as such when you've disowned me." Her breathing was becoming labored.

"Paige?" Her mother and sister had been watching from the door into the kitchen. Paige gripped one of the dinning room chairs for support. The room started to spin as her vision went blurry. She fell forward.

"Get Micah," she gasped out. "Nathan." She knew her father wouldn't want anyone to see her and might try to stop her mother and sister from getting help. She fell to the floor and looked at Sophie as her mother rushed to her, "Micah," she said again. Sophie could mind-link Micah. He knew what was going on, he would tell Nathan or his officers. Sophie nodded and her eyes glazed over. Her mother caught her head before it hit the ground. The last thing she saw was her mother's concerned face and her father's irate one before darkness consumed her.