Unbound (Bound To You sequel)

NINETEEN - I Need You

A/N: So as some of you might have noticed I've reworked things a bit and taken down a few chapters. This means (for those of you that were caught up) that we've gone back to before Megan and the gang goes to St. Claire's packhouse. Also, Megan agreed with James on the plan to kill St. Claire, rather want to make peace/ just try to figure out what he knows (because really that was a kind of stupid plan and I'm not sure why I wrote so many chapters after I realized that myself.)

NINETEEN

"So the plan is? Walk into St. Claire's compound and challenge him?" I asked. That could be a problem. That wasn't how things were done these days. Not how my dad wanted them done. And like it or not my dad was Alpha of Alphas.

"Yes," James said, following Dante's car out of the hotel parking lot.  We'd all decided to head to Dante's apartment to get some supplies and regroup, hotels not being the safest or most private places for what we were up to.

"I think the new rule is you need my dad's blessing to issue an alpha challenge," I said, wishing I'd paid more attention to my father's politics. "Besides, you don't want the Montreal pack, do you? If you challenge St. Claire and win, they'll become yours. How would that work with the warrior wolf thing?"

"You're his daughter. I hardly think he'll object to me protecting you," he said and even though that protection was about to come from him killing someone, that made me feel a little giddy.

Only while I kind of hoped my dad would see it like that, I wasn't sure.

"My dad is all about rules that apply to everyone," I said, thinking about it. "No special treatment."

"Really? That's one way to build a kingdom," James said as we turned.

"My father isn't building a kingdom," I argued, getting off track. "He's just taking care of all the wolves. Making sure we live peacefully with each other."

"Of course," James said, his voice suddenly sarcastic. "He's got all the wolves in North America bowing down to him. Last I heard he was trying to make inroads with the European alphas too."

"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked, turning in my seat towards him. Robin and Dante had gone through a green light that had turned red for us.

"Wolves aren't meant to live in huge packs. Alphas aren't made to bow. We aren't meant to have rules on when and who we can kill. We aren't meant to be tamed."

"He's not trying to tame us-"

"No? Then what is he doing?" he asked tensely, eyes flashing. He wetted his lips to continue and I couldn't help but to suddenly want to kiss him. Even though we were arguing about something he had gotten totally wrong. My dad was trying to save everyone. He was making rules to keep the wolves safe and hidden from the humans. But I couldn't go around kissing him just because he had kissable lips. And my body and mind was a traitor for wanting to at this moment.

"Keeping us safe," I insisted.

"Then he won't object to me killing St. Claire. It will make you and everyone here safer," James said edgily. "It really should make him smile proudly at me over the Christmas roast, shouldn't it?"

An image of James eating Christmas dinner at my house filled my head and made a mix of humor and wishfulness spread through me.

"In fact," he continued. "If your dad is the hero of all wolves, why haven't your dad dealt with St. Claire? St. Claire's been alpha here for thirty years and ever since the start he's been a raging mad man."

"Maybe he didn't know," I protested, starting to get really annoyed.

"Keep telling yourself that," he said, as the light turn green and he hit the gas. The car jerked a little.

"You knew too. Why didn't you do something about it sooner?" I asked, wanting to also yell at him about how he sucked at driving and should just have let me do it.

"Because I'm not a hero," he said coldly. "Never pretended to be one either. I'm an alpha and an alpha takes care of their own. We protect what is ours. And we don't make other alphas bow. We leave them be or if they're a threat us, we kill them."

I opened my mouth to protest further but my phone rang. Call ID said Tommy.

"Did you find anything?" I asked, not bothering with pleasantries, glaring at James. But as much as I wanted to finish this conversation with James - make him see how things really were - any and all info about Lucy Tommy might have, took priority.

"The car is registered to a rental company in Boston," he said, equally ready to get down to business. James had mentioned a car had been left behind when the witches came for Lucy and it made sense it would be the biggest clue.

Since apparently, the witch who had taken Lucy had flown away! When Robin had filled me in on the details of the battle I had barely believed it. It was just to Harry Potter

"Boston?" I asked. My best friend Sorelle had moved to Boston about the same time I went with James to Canada, to start university there. I wondered if she could help or might even know something.

"Yeah," Tommy said, sounding tired but hopeful. "They seem to mostly do long term rentals and I'm trying to get access to more information but I'm not that good of a hacker and this place is all about security. I've reached out to some friends for help."

"Good," James said, Tommy's wolf hearing letting him talk to Tommy despite the phone not being on speaker.

"I'll call you when I know more," Tommy said and then hung up.

"Is Boston good or bad?" I asked after a tense few seconds of silence.

"I don't know," James said, surprising me. I guessed he must have sensed it because he turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"I don't know. I thought you knew..." I'd been about to say everything, but I wasn't really sure why. 

"I've met Jordan but I haven't been to Boston in fifty years," he said, then clenched his hands around the wheel, making me fear it would crack. "I'll need you there."

I stopped breathing for a second.

Had James just admitted he needed me? 

"You know the pack hierarchy. You're Ross's daughter," he added in a rush as if to smooth, make less important over the words before. "That might be useful."

I need you.

It might not have been an I-love-you or declaration that he trusted me most of all. But it was still something. It was still an amazing start.

I need you.