Alpha Without a Pack...

Chapter 12

                                            Colton

I was fairly certain Bowen wanted to kill the girl by now but the confused look on his face didn't match up with his usual aggression at such a blatant challenge to the pack. "You good Bo?" I voiced softly to him once the others had followed the strange girl to the dining room. "My wolf just did a complete 180 turn around from wanting to bite her to wanting to scent mark her, all because she touched my arm. I have no idea what just happened and I don't know if I'm mad or curious with this girl." He growled softly back to me. "So no skin to skin contact then, thanks for the heads up." I snorted to help lighten the mood, it seemed to work considering he shook off his confusion and was back to the cool and collected alpha male in an instant. 

I followed him into the dining room to see my younger brothers posted on either side of where the strange but gorgeous brunette girl was sitting. She was talking to Jason while he and Daniel keyed in on her like she was the only one here, the others were listening intently too, even if she didn't realize it. "So how did you come to live in our small town home?" I voiced as I sat directly across from her, receiving glares from my brothers and a tilt of the head from the girl in question. "That's kind of like me asking why all twelve of you live in the same house even when you aren't related." Her tone was amused as a few panicked looks shot through the younger members.

 I continued to hold her gaze as I challenged her confidence, even as the silence dragged on she still only raised her brows at me, not backing down in the slightest of ways. "Well a lot of us grew up together, and it is cheaper living together than on our own." I answered slowly as she puzzled over my words with a nod. "True. Alright I'll bite. I moved here because I got a chance at my dream job working at the sanctuary and I didn't have anything worth staying for where I came from." Her shrug does nothing to hide the weight of truth behind her words, and I can't help but frown at the thought of her being alone out here. 

"What about your family?" Simon asks from my left and she turns to focus her gaze on his when I send him a look to keep quiet, he really needs to learn how to handle human emotions better. She sits in place studying him with a calculating look I don't know how to interpret and he seems to realize his mistake under her scrutiny. "You certainly get down to the personal stuff quick don't you?" She sighed out as Simon started to stutter out an apology, for some reason my wolf wanted to curl up next to the young girl and offer her any protection and comfort that he could, now I was starting to understand Bowen's confusion myself.

                                           Simon

You know when your brain is telling your mouth to shut it and it just won't listen, that was the problem I was having right now. Who asks a complete stranger something so personal when she clearly gave a cue that the answer wasn't a good one? Me, myself and I apparently because I'd had done just that without even flinching. "I'm so sorry, I didn't, I'm not..." I blundered out an apology and watched that curiously cute tilt of her head again. 

"Relax, it's fine. It's not taboo or anything, I just don't dwell too much on the past. My parents died when I was little and I got out of the system as soon as I could, I've also come to learn that family is relative. Those h*** hounds of mine you hate so much are two thirds of my four legged family and they are a heck of a lot better than the other ones I've known." Her tone is cold as she holds my gaze. I catch a flash of something in her eyes before it disappears, leaving me to wonder what it meant. "I didn't mean to upset you." I whisper out my apology once more, my wolf is whimpering at the thought of having caused her pain after her kindness towards us when I'd been terrified of her pets.