Hey y'yall. Thanks for waiting. I'm back... for now. I was out of the country for a month.

Enjoy.

Chapter 16:Bonini's Paradox

I stood in wolf form upon a rocky ledge near Mount Olympus. I whimpered longingly as I stared out towards the East—towards Seattle. My imprint was currently on her own with that son of a bitch Anson. Paul had come back a week ago empty-handed and injured after my wolf had ordered him to retrieve Lexi. To top it off, he had been gone for two days. It took him half a day just to get there, because you had to drive. It's Seattle, we couldn't just go run there as wolves. Then they had held him captive for a day before he forced his way out of there. I had given him four days off patrol to recover from his injuries, which had been more than enough time for Paul to heal, but I figured that he deserved a break with Rachael after the incident.

I've also been extremely worried about Leah. She had broken free from the pack and I am wondering whether or not she abandoned us. I haven't heard a peep from her, which is frustrating because I have no tabs on Lexi.

On top of that, the tensions between Quil and I made me decide to isolate Quil from the pack. I sent him to the tip of the Peninsula to patrol everything North of Ozette Lake and the road that divides us from Neah Bay. Quil is much happier this way because he is closer to Claire and her family. He is ignoring me right now as he runs his patrols up there. He had his first solo kill up there yesterday. We were all extremely worried because it would have taken Jared ten minutes of sprinting just to get to him, but Quil had handled it spectacularly. The leech appeared to have swum down from Vancouver and Quil had caught her scent on the beach and followed it towards Port Angeles. He shredded her to pieces before she got within 5 miles from the city limits.

Embry was currently in human form watching over Brady and Collin, who were also currently human. It would be really nice right now if I had a couple more noses to cover the vast territory we were struggling to maintain. I would be relieved when Brady and Collin were ready to patrol on their own, but as of now they needed more experience on taking down leeches before I let them loose.

School got out two hours ago, so Seth was way down South, patrolling near Aberdeen, between the 109 and the 101. Seth fit down their perfectly because his sandy coat made him more difficult to see by any humans. Jared was covering a long strip off the 101 from Sequim to Lake Cushman. Today was Paul's day off, tomorrow—which was Friday—was Jared's day off.

I lifted my head towards the sky and howled out longingly. I was far enough away from Paul to know that he could not hear me. 30 miles was far enough, right? I didn't want to pull him away from his day off for no reason.

'Jared, go take over for Embry. You need a break from running.' I suggested. It wasn't an order, Jared had the right to refuse, but who would refuse that offer. Jared has been running for ten hours, during which he ate two rabbits, but that's not enough for a wolf. He needed a home cooked meal.

'Couldn't you use a home cooked meal, Jake?' Jared asked as he ran back towards home. He showed me a mental image of me consuming an entire deer 4 hours ago.

'I already ate.' I grumbled. Raw deer tasted good when you are a hungry wolf. Hell, a lot of things taste good when you are that hungry.

'Jake, you haven't gone home in over a week.' Seth whimpered from Aberdeen.

'I can't go home. Plus, if I had any extra time to myself I would go to Seattle.'

'This weekend, Seth should take over looking after the twins,' Jared suggested. We called Brady and Collin "the twins" even though they weren't brothers. 'Me, Paul, and Embry will look after the territory. That way Seth can do his homework and you can go to Seattle.'

'Are you kidding? Three wolves covering 2,000 square miles? Four barely can cover that effectively.' I argued.

'You can't stay so far away from your imprint, Jake. I know that being alpha lessens the pull, but that doesn't get rid of the pains.' Jared replied.

'Plus, you think about her almost 24/7.' Quil speaks to me for the first time today, 'Which gets old because you hardly know anything about her.'

He had a joking edge to his tone, but I know that Quil still cares at least, otherwise he wouldn't have said anything.

'Of course I still care about you, dude. Count me in, I'll patrol to the 101, 113 and 110. And not just for that weekend, but the rest of the time as well.' Quil flashed me a wolfish smile. He promised to pretty much double his patrol area.

'Hell yeah, I see Seth down there patrolling way more than I am, and it's cramping my style that the Pup's doing more than me.' Quil complained.

'I'm not a pup!' Seth barked.

All four of us laughed.

I guess it was settled. I would go to Seattle this weekend.

It was Friday night and I currently was sitting at the bar in a tight purple dress that I had gotten from Leah's clothing reject pile. The black stilettos hung off my toes because Leah's feet were apparently much larger than mine. Ever since I met her, I've been worried about her and since her abrupt absence had me worried. So, I have been listening into the guards' conversations as I aimlessly roamed the house. Using my ninja skills, I learned quite a bit of information. It took me almost a week of sneaking around the guards to find out that Paul had escaped the morning following the failed "break-out attempt". He was probably back in Rachael's arms, which is where he belonged. He had no business risking his life to save me—a girl he barely knew.

Leah was another matter.

Some man named Nick—otherwise known as "the Giant"—was currently interrogating her. I don't know why she would need to be interrogated, especially since Paul had hurt her. I hope that he felt bad about that, but I could only hope that she was doing okay and that I would see her soon.

For the past week, Anson had me staying at a different house than I had the first couple days. This place wasn't a mansion, but it was beyond anything I would be able to afford, nonetheless. It was right along the water outside the city. Of course, you had to take a ferry to get there and so I assumed that it was an island. Which was completely crazy to me, the fact that you had to ride a boat to get to work every morning. The ferry tickets probably weren't cheap either. Which made me wonder, yet again, what exactly Anson was doing to get so much dough.

Also, me staying on the island was probably more advantageous to Anson. Since you had to take a boat there, any future escape attempts seemed highly unlikely. It wasn't like I could just wander off, either. I didn't have any money for the ferry. I have thought about trying to escape from this stupid nightclub too, but there were guards at each exit. I know for a fact that they've been instructed that I couldn't leave without Anson present.

I sipped on my ice-water thoughtfully, remembering the conversation I just had with Anson. An entire week past since I heard from the La Push crew. It was pretty obvious that I was on my own, which I tried to explain to Anson…

"I need to start working off all that money I owe you." I growled up at the chubby man.

"Kid, you don't owe me anything." Anson chuckled wholeheartedly while he patted the top of my head.

I growled annoyed that he was degrading me so, "What about all that money you lost after those 'investors' pulled out?"

"None of that was your fault, kid." Anson shook his head as he looked back at some financial newspaper, "So just forget about it."

"What about all the food I've been eating? Or the clothes that I am wearing? Or the fact that I've been staying at your house for the past week?"

"Those are Leah's clothes. I'm sure she doesn't mind you wearing them." Anson brushed me off casually, while continuing to read the paper.

"Okay," I huffed, "How about the clothes and the house?"

"What do you want me to say, kid?" he asked, finally setting down his paper to turn his attention towards me. "It's not like you could work as a bodyguard or a bartender, you have no skills that I know of, so what do you suggest? I could sell you, true, but I like you too much to do that to you."

I was slightly taken aback by this. He insulted me and complimented me in one sentence.

"Well, I'm sick and tired of sitting and watching those boats pass by every day." I huffed, feeling worthless and hopeless.

Anson watched me sulk with a strange look on his face.

"Fine." Anson threw his arms up dramatically, "You really think that Jake's not coming back, I'll enroll you in some online classes. Obviously you'll have to pay me back for tuition and books, but it'll give you something to do. I'd be willing to pay for some G.E. courses and you could take some business management courses or accounting or some shit like that. So if Jake doesn't return by the time you're done… THEN you can start working for me after you get your education."

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I have no idea why Anson was extending a helping hand to me, but I wasn't going to say no to his offer.

"You'd do that for me?" I asked, surprised.

"Kid, let's this straight," Anson looked me straight in the eye, "I don't do shit for anyone but myself. Paying for your education is like an investment if you promise to work for me in the future. So…" he clapped his hands together, "…first lesson in life, kid…" he pointed his index finger out enunciating every word, "…You help the right people out from time to time, they'll feel morally obligated to be loyal to you…" He leaned back in his chair, more relaxed, "…Being in this business, loyalty is worth more than a hundred-thousand kilos of heroin. Because if you have one employee blab about it…" He slammed his hand down on the table before brushing his hand away, "… it's done."

I don't know why he used heroin as an example in a life lesson, I certainly hoped that Anson didn't smuggle drugs or anything. But, for the first time in a long time, I was actually looking forward to the future.

My pack had surprised me by arranging things earlier than expected, so I was walked towards Anson's club wearing my nicest clothing. Actually, scratch that. I was wearing Sam's black dress-slacks that he had bought to wear on one of his dates for Emily. When Jared told me Friday afternoon that Sam wanted to talk to me, I was hesitant on what was in store. But Sam was very gracious and explained that just because he had retired from the pack didn't mean that he wanted to be excluded from it. I was wearing Quil's button-up shirt and Embry's black dress shoes. Who knew that Embry's feet were so large? We wore the same size, but Embry was now an inch or two shorter than me now he was my second.

I walked towards the entrance, wondering what the bouncer was going to do about me. It was Friday night, so there was no way that I was going to stand in the long ass line. As I walked towards him he nodded at me in recognition before waving me in. I nodded back at him as I passed by. The music was thumping and the club was packed with sweaty bodies, but I was going to have no trouble finding Lexi. The imprint pull was guiding me towards the bar. I wonder what she was doing there?

I spotted her sitting down at the bar. Her index finger was dancing around the edge of her glass, which I assumed was ice-water. I could only see her back, but damn… She was beautiful. Her skin looked healthy and rich with life. Even though she still was on the skinny side, she looked like she had gained some weight since I last saw her a week ago.

She took my breath away, but that didn't stop me from pushing through the crowd.

She turned around, almost as if sensing my presence. Those deep brown eyes connected with mine and her full lips parted as she gasped in surprise. Her body turned as I got closer so that she could face me completely.

"Jake, I—"

I stopped her midsentence when my hand came up and brushed her cheek. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner." I spoke genuinely before touching her forehead to mine.

We stayed like this for several minutes, but I wished for it to be an eternity.

"Jake, it's good to see you." Anson's voice shouted from behind me over the music.

I pulled away from Lexi, but I made sure to reach for her hand, lacing my fingers with hers. I stood in front of her protectively, eyeing the two guards flanking Anson.

"Anson." I nodded before clenching my jaw.

"You still interested in our deal, I see." Anson smirked.

The pumping bass made it difficult for humans to have a conversation. Being a wolf, I could have heard him just fine if he had whispered it. Anson was yelling over the upbeat-music unnecessarily, but he didn't know that.

"Lexi, here, was convinced that you wouldn't show." He yelled.

I turned to her with a sad look on my face. I was hurt that she didn't have more confidence in me. What did you expect, asshole, she knows nothing about you! My inner voice spat at me.

"I had no doubt that you'd be back." Anson announced with confidence.

"Anson, I hope that this doesn't change anything," Lexi spoke-up confidently to the man, "I'd still like to go through with what we discussed earlier."

What? I was confused.

"Sure thing, darling." Anson drawled cockily.

I snarled at him without thinking—Anson called my imprint "darling". I was being overprotective because I was feeling insecure about the whole situation. I hadn't been expecting Lexi to speak to Anson directly, because the last time I saw her he had been waving a gun in her face. She was stronger than I thought obviously. They had been spending a lot more time together in the past week—more than I had expected.

The two guards beside Anson fidgeted anxiously at my outburst, but Anson masked his reaction. His heart rate accelerated slightly, but he didn't let it show.

"Let's head upstairs." Anson jutted his head towards the door that led up to the room that smelled like sweaty balls.

I followed the three men with Lexi's hand still entangled in mine, she didn't let go of it, which was a good sign. But she wasn't acknowledging me either, she looked straight ahead with determination, as if she was in "business mode".

We made it up the stairs to the room, which, thankfully, didn't smell as awful as it did the last time I was here. We made our way to the middle of the room towards the several pieces of furniture located in the center.

"So, Jake," Anson motioned for me to sit on one of the couches.

I sat down on a fuzzy maroon couch and Lexi sat next to me, never releasing my hand. Her presence was comforting to my wolf, but on the other hand, I wished that she was safe in La Push.

"I'm going to come straight out with it," Anson warned as he sat on a sleek, leather couch, "If you try and pull something like Paul did, our deal is done."

"Fine." I agreed.

For some reason, Paul has a very scant memory of anything that happened that night. He only remembers speaking with Leah, who had tied him up for some reason. I wanted to talk to her about that…

"Where is Leah?" I asked as I glanced around as if she was going to pop around from behind a corner. I noticed that Lexi had a pronounced frown on her face, as if she was confused.

Anson scoffed, "Your little minion didn't tell you?"

Paul would be pissed if he ever found out that Anson had called him a "minion".

"Tell me what?" I asked, concerned.

"He really got her good," Anson shook his head with disgust, like he had just had something odorous shoved under his nose.

"What do you mean?" I asked, gripping Lexi's hand tighter for comfort.

"He hit her across the head with a chain, broke her skull."

Lexi gasped as I felt my stomach drop to the floor in dread. My wolf saw red. I had to get away from my imprint, I could hurt her if I didn't get control over myself. I let go of her hand and moved away from the furniture. I tugged the roots of my messy hair, it had been a month since my last hair cut and it was getting a little long. My body was already trembling as I had an overwhelming urge to phase.

I took a couple deep breaths in as I paced several feet away from them.

How did this happen? How?

"Where is she?" I demanded as I continued to struggle to remain human. "I need to see her. Where is she?"

I couldn't look at Anson or Lexi, I might phase.

"Chicago." Anson replied.

That did it. I lost it.

But instead of phasing wolf, he took control of my human body, understanding the significance of the situation.

Oh, fuck.

"Get her back here, NOW!" He demanded as my body approached him at an inhuman pace. Before I knew it, I had him dangling several feet off the ground.

"Back off!" A guard shouted as he pointed a gun straight at Lexi. I felt my body stiffen as more guards followed his actions.

"Jake," My imprint's soothing voice shot straight to my heart.

Her heart was beating rapidly, like a hummingbird's wings. I could tell how afraid she was at the moment, yet she approached me without hesitation. Then, her small hand made contact with my ribs and a warmth spread through my entire body.

"Set him down." She spoke softly as her touch ghosted over my ribs. My body shivered at the contact and I felt my arm lower gradually until the man stood firmly on his feet, obviously shaken and surprised.

Her hands ran up my chest, pushing gently as if she wanted me to turn towards her and thankfully he complied with her unspoken request. My body turned completely towards her and I hummed at the feeling her touch brought to my body. Amazed that something so simple could have so much pull over me and the wolf. She closed part of the gap between us as she reached up for my face, pulling gently down, he complied. My body leaned towards her so she could look deep in my eyes. Her thumbs brushed over my cheekbones and I had no control over the purr that rose from my chest.

"Hey, there." Her lip twitched slightly upward as if fighting back a smile. Her right hand left my cheek, only to have her hand run through my hair.

My wolf and I melted.

I would have fallen on my knees if I had any control over my body, but somehow, he was able to keep standing on two feet.

"Oh, sorry," she giggled softly, the sound shot straight to my groin. She whispered to herself, "I shouldn't be distracting you." She placed her hand back on my cheek before looking into my eyes with intensity, "I'd really like to speak with Jake, if that's okay?" She whispered.

My wolf and I were stunned by her request.

How did she know?

I felt him hand the control back over to me as I fell to my knees in front of her. On my knees, I was just a little bit shorter than her standing. The sight of her smiling down at me took my breath away.

"Hey." She greeted with a sexy smile.

I could only smile back at her like an idiot. Letting go of my face, she reached for my hand, I gave it to her and she pulled on it as if asking for me to get back on my feet. I stood up next to her, unable to look away from her eyes.

She eventually broke eye contact, "Why is she in Chicago?"

I had completely forgotten where I was for the past minute. I felt a moment of embarrassment as I noticed that Anson and about 20 guards were all standing around us, staring, and flabbergasted.

"Uh," Anson cleared his throat, "It was better that she recover there."

"I'm sorry, Anson," She didn't sound sorry, "But, bullshit."

Anson frowned, but didn't say anything.

"You say loyalty is important, but lying doesn't buy you loyalty." She looked at him intensely.

"You're right, dear." Anson cleared his throat again, "She's with my business-partner, Nick."

"Has she healed from her injuries at least?" she asked.

I felt a swell of pride towards my imprint as she handled the situation perfectly.

"Yes, her head has completely healed." He replied, "And she has more fire than ever."

Lexi smirked at this before continuing, "Could we speak with her?"

"That might be difficult," Anson replied as he begun to look nervous, "When I said that Nick was my business-partner, I was leaving out that he is also my boss." Anson looked shamefully at the floor.

"Oh." Lexi paused before suggesting, "Well, could you ask him for an update?"

"Yeah," Anson nodded before making eye contact with one of the guards in our audience. The guard immediately jogged away towards a back room where I assumed he would be making a phone call.

"Thank you." Lexi smiled at him politely.

A brief moment of silence passed through the room before Anson seemed to have reestablished his bearings, "Alright, nothing to see here, get back to work." He barked at his guards.

Who quickly scattered in response to his orders.

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