C7 Regan

My footsteps echoed against the rough planks of hardwood that led to Dad’s office. I stopped outside the door and squared my shoulders. Footsteps startled me and I turned to find Carter coming up on my heels. His hair was windswept and my stomach flipped at the sight of the warmth in his eyes as he spotted me. Why did he have to look at me like that every time? And why did my body care? It was really annoying. I did not have time for this.

“Hey, boss,” Carter said and I scowled.

“I’m not your boss,” I said, careful to keep my voice low. I didn’t want Dad overhearing this from the other side of the door.

“Not yet,” he corrected. Still with the warm blue eyes. Ocean eyes. Ugh.

“Didn’t you hear Dad the other day?” I asked. “I’m not a shoo-in.”

Carter looked at me like I’d spoken a foreign language. “Of course you are. A little competition never hurt anyone.” Lines formed around his eyes as his gaze sharpened. “Wait. Are you actually worried your little sister might beat you?”

“No,” I said on an exaggerated huff. I made a point to roll my eyes. “Shut up,” I said before shoving the door open and walking inside.

Dad looked up from where he sat behind the desk, a tri-folded letter in his hands. He folded it along the creases and slid it away as we approached. I caught a glimpse of flowing handwriting before it disappeared underneath a stack of financial reports.

“Any news?” I asked, nodding at the papers.

“Hmm?” Dad glanced down at the pile. “Oh, no. These are personal. The investigation is still ongoing, though, don’t worry.”

I tried not to openly frown. “I can’t help but worry, Dad. Those monsters snuck right into our town and murdered one of our own. We need to find out who did this and deal with them.”

“We will,” he assured me. “We’re working on it, I promise you.”

I sank into the chair in front of him, leaning forward, pleading. “If you’d just give me more details, I could help with—”

“Regan, your time as a leader is coming. I know you’re antsy but try to enjoy the now. When all you have to worry about is today. Very soon, you will also be responsible for everyone else’s tomorrow. It’s not an easy thing.”

I swallowed my response. Partly because he’d just made it sound like he assumed I’d be alpha. Or maybe he meant that even as second, I’d still be in charge. Either way, I knew better than to argue when Dad used that tone. As usual, Carter stood somewhere behind me. He, too, was quiet in the face of my dad’s orders.

“How is she?” my dad asked, effectively changing—and closing out—the subject of my mother’s killers.

I leaned back in the leather chair. “I wouldn’t know. She still won’t see me,” I said.

Dad pressed his lips together; his thinking face. I braced myself for whatever order he was about to give. Chances were, when he wore that face, I wouldn’t like it. “Carter, what about you?” Dad asked.

“She won’t see anyone, sir. Barely taking her meals at this point,” Carter said.

“What about her phone?” I asked. “Doesn’t she still have the cell you gave her? Can we check for calls?”

“Already did,” Dad said. “She hasn’t made a single call. Not even her mother.” I opened my mouth, but Dad cut me off and added, “I’ve already phoned her mother to assure her Charlie is safe.”

A beat of silence passed and I wondered if Dad was finally going to admit he’d handled the situation wrong. He was still the only one of us who hadn’t tried going to see Charlie. It didn’t take a genius to see that he was the one she wanted to talk to.

But in the end, he straightened with a determined set to his face. “Regan, for better or worse, you are her sister. I know she’s in a bad place right now. We can’t imagine what with all these changes. But it’s up to you to reach her. To bring her into the pack. This is her home now, her family. We need to embrace her. And we need her to embrace us.”

“You might’ve thought of that before you dropped the whole ‘compete for your rightful place here’ bombshell on her,” I said and then because I couldn’t hold it in any longer, I added, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Dad blinked at me, his blank expression almost worse than guilt. “I assumed you knew.”

“How would I know?” I snapped, and earned myself a glare. “Right. A good alpha knows everything about her pack, including its laws, however outdated,” I said, the sarcasm rolling off the words.

Dad opened his mouth but for once, I didn’t let him put me in my place for speaking out. “Got it,” I said, cutting him off.

I pushed to my feet and avoided Carter’s eye in case he was laughing at me. I focused instead on what the heck I was going to say to Charlie. Especially after I’d botched things so completely the last time we’d spoken. That was three days ago and she’d completely shut down after that. I still hadn’t told any of the others what we’d talked about. My own guilt was enough.

Dad’s next words stopped me in my tracks. “I could always send Sheridan to befriend her,” he said, his words far too light for the evil he’d just proposed.

I turned back to him, my emotions carefully in check. He was testing me, of that I was sure. And this time, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing my displeasure. “You could also feed her to monkeys and watch them pick her apart bit by bit. I’ll handle it,” I said.

Dad chuckled. “Sheridan isn’t that bad.”

“She’s not that good either,” I said. This time, I didn’t turn around as I left.

Carter caught up to me halfway to the woods. “Where are you going?” he asked, huffing at the effort it had taken to track me down.

I didn’t slow or look away from my fixed point of the spruce half a mile into the trees. “To see a tree,” I said.

“Any particular tree?” Carter asked wryly. “I mean, there’s a bunch so…”

I spun so fast, he almost stumbled, and we both stopped. “Carter. I can’t—” I stopped short, attempting to rein in the emotion I knew had crept into my expression. But it was too late. Too much to take back. Luckily, it was Carter. I could trust him. A good thing since the truth kept spilling out.

“This is a lot, all right? Dad gave me the one thing I’ve wanted all my life. My sister. And in the same breath, he took her away again. I’m supposed to befriend her and welcome her into the pack all the while plotting how I will defeat her. Dad would tell me the two aren’t mutually exclusive. He’d tell me to stop feeling so much and just do what needs to be done. But … Look, in order to do that, I can’t just joke it all away with you. I need…” I blew out a heavy breath. “That tree. It’s quiet and has a low branch and I just want to sit. Okay?”

Carter didn’t hesitate a single second as he nodded. “Okay. Let’s go sit in a tree.”

“You don’t have to come with me,” I said.

He waited and I knew he was testing to see if I’d refuse his offer outright. When I didn’t, he brushed past me, headed for the woods. “I know,” he said simply, already on his way so that I had no choice but to follow.

Sometimes, Carter’s ability to manage me scared the crap out of me.