Tim

The first time that I saw Allison walk out of the airport with McKenna I knew that there was something special about her. The bounce of the curl in her hair, the angelic look that she had on her face, the regal way that she carried herself. She was special and she drew me in. There had never been anyone other than Nikki who had ever caught my attention the same way Allison had and after losing Nikki I never thought anyone could.

I was waiting in the airport, holding the handwritten sign saying, "Haven Woods". I thought it was stupid, however my brother, the Alpha had made me do it. I really think it was just a way for him to laugh at me, but I was humoring him none the less.

Suddenly two girls, came walking out to where I was standing, pushing some baggage claim carts, there was one girl that really caught my attention, she was tall with curly brown locks bouncing around her shoulders and framing her face, she leaned into the friend at her side reaching up with her finger pressing it under her friends jaw, pressing her mouth closed and giggled, "You have a bit of drool right there." The sound of her giggle was intoxicating, there is nothing I wouldn't give to hear it again. Just the thought put a smile on my face.

"I do not!" the shorter girl with straight hair squeaked out, clearly embarrassed by what her friend said. Quickly bringing her hand to her mouth and checking only to come away with saliva on her hand, "Oh, gross. I did! Thank god he wasn't paying attention. That would be so embarrassing." She finished.

Little did she know that I was paying attention and I had heard the entire thing, "What would be embarrassing?" I questioned, wondering if one of them would tell me.

"Nothing." McKenna snapped quickly. She reached her hand out, "I am McKenna, and this is..."

I quickly cut in saying, "Allison." Reaching out I shook her hand, completely lost in her eyes.

"Yeah." She replied, with a scrunched look on her face saying I shouldn't know her name, but none the less shook my hand back.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Tim. Tim Andrews, my brother is Alpha Andrews. I am here to bring you both to your dorms and help you get settled. Then tomorrow I will be taking you to meet my brother and your temporary pack." Instantly her face morphed into one of understanding and contentment, knowing that I was not a crazy stocker.

Every little memory that I had of her brought a smile to my face, my favorites had to be the times that we were just being ourselves sitting in our common room. Usually she was always calm, reserved, but every now and then she would let loose and you would see the parts to her that she always kept well hidden, not many people really knew the real inner depths of the person Allison was, but I was lucky to say that I was one of them.

I had just walked into our common room after a particularly long morning of classes. Ready to just sit down and relax for a little while. However, when I walked in, I realized that was not going to happen. The first thing that I noticed was the couch and desks were pulled out from the walls and the vocals of Alicia Keys singing Underdog were playing through the room.

Next thing I noticed was the vacuum cleaner running, but no one was standing by it. Then as if on cue Allison comes bee bopping out of her room, dancing and swaying her hips to the music, over to the vacuum cleaner not yet noticing that I was there. She continued on with what she was doing, her hair was an utter mess thrown into a bun on the top of her head, a worn-out t-shirt and a simple pair of leggings, but she was never more beautiful.

It took her a few moments, but once she realized I was there she waved and smiled at me. Turning the vacuum cleaner off she said, "Oh, hey. I didn't realize you would be back so soon. I thought I had more time to finish up, sorry about the mess."

"No worries, Nemo." I said with a forced grin, Allison smiled back at me. She had finally stopped telling me that I couldn't call her Nemo, resigning herself to the ridiculous nickname I had given her the first night we were in the dorm and she was wearing Nemo pajama pants. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, yes." She said. Making her way over to me she said, "You can turn your frown upside down." She just knew I was in a sour mood and placed her pointer fingers on either side of my mouth and pointed them upward trying to make me smile. "Now put your bag down and dance with me!" She took my bag, put it down, grabbed my arms and made me dance with her until I was laughing and felt like the weight of the world was no longer on my shoulders.

The more time I spent with Allison the more and more I realized that I was starting to fall in love with her, but I knew that there was something that she was not telling me. There was more to her story that she let on, that there was something preventing her from loving someone. Every now and then when she thought no one was looking you could see the sadness that she was holding in. Sometimes I think it would even catch her off guard and you could see the longing she had, especially when she would see Missy and Patrick or Linc and McKenna together.

I was itching for the day when she would fully let me in and share her secrets with me. Eventually I knew that day would come, but when that day did come my heart broke for the girl she could have been and the way her life should have worked out.

We had gone to the pack house for dinner. Everyone was having a great time, sitting around the table family style. We all enjoyed it as it made the entire pack feel closer. We were sharing laughs and talking about recent events. There were smiles on the faces of everyone.

The pack phone rang, breaking up the story that Patrick had been telling as he went to answer it, "Alpha," he said looking toward Linc. "Alpha Blackwell of Silver Wood Pack is at the gate requesting permission to come speak with you."

Allison instantly stiffened in her seat, nervousness radiating off her, "Are you alright Nemo?" I asked.

"Umm..." Was all she got out before I heard Patrick speak again "Alpha Blackwell and his son, the Future Alpha apologize for the inconvenience of their drop in, but they have urgent business." Linc nodded his head to Patrick letting him know to give permission for Tate and his father

I looked at Allison, concern etched on my face at how she was reacting to Alpha Blackwell's arrival. "I can't stay here. I need to go." she blurted out in a panic.

I silently watched the communication between McKenna and Linc then McKenna and Allison, curious about what was happening and worried about Allison. McKenna looked at me, "Hey, Tim could you take Allison somewhere that is not here?"

Instantly I was on my feet, "Of course." Walking around the table I grabbed Allison's hand, pulling her from the pack house, "Let's go. I've got you." Missy jumped up, coming after us, "I am coming too!"

Feeling Allison's need to get out of there quickly I was tearing down the driveway as quickly as I could, the closer we got to the oncoming traffic from the visiting Alpha the tenser Allison became. Which was making me more and more upset, I hated seeing Allison upset, I felt very protective of her.

As soon as we were past the entrance gates, Allison let out an audible sigh, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Seeing this I asked the question that had been sitting on my tongue since this whole thing started, "So Allison, mind telling us what that was about?"

"Yeah, you should probably hear it from me. I am sure that the pack is going to know shortly any way. McKenna was never one to be able to hold her tongue, I am surprised she hasn't spilled to anyone about it yet." She said reluctantly, almost like she was afraid to say.

I pulled into a favorite coffee shop of mine from when I was young, "I figured we could get some coffee or something while we talked." Figuring this would help make things easier on Allison, her and Missy went and sat down while I ordered coffee.

Handing them both their coffees I sat down sipping my coffee. Silently reassuring Allison that things were going to be okay and that she could tell us anything. Once she started telling me her story it was hard for me to sit and listen. The heartbreak and hardships that she had faced tore me up. Someone as kind and genuine as Allison should never have been dealt a hand like she had. Not only was I wanting to tear Tate apart. He was a stupid boy, playing at being Alpha and doing a horrible job of it. Letting his father tell him who he could love and be with was insane. The Moon Goddess puts souls together for a reason, it is not the place of any wolf to undermine that. I also wanted to yell at her mother. How could anyone forsake their daughter like that, even if they had lost their mate? I had lost Nikki, so I knew how it felt and I know what it is like to struggle with their memory, but what she had done to her daughter was unfathomable.

Letting it all sink in, I finally spoke, "Wow! I honestly never would have guessed any of that. You never showed any of it, well that is until today at dinner." Missy sat silently reassuring Allison that things were going to be alright.

Once Allison had finally finished telling us her story, I felt that it was time to come clean to her about my past as well. Speaking up I said, "Do you remember how when we first met, I told you that we all had our secrets?"

Ever since Allison had told me her secret about Tate and how he had forsaken her I felt even more protective of her. I wanted to be with her, find any way I could to ease her pain and let her know that there was someone out there that loved her and wanted her for the person that she is. That not every person was like Tate.

Secretly I had been hoping that she would one day feel about me the way that I was feeling about her, but I didn't want to push her. I knew that her heart was healing, but even more I knew that a piece of her heart and soul would always belong to Tate, much like there were parts of me that would always belong to Nikki. Once you found your mate, your life, heart, and soul were never the same.

After dinner McKenna had convinced us all to try out a new nightclub in town, Menace. Apparently, it had opened a few weeks back and everyone was raving about it, so naturally McKenna wanted to check it out. I had an uneasy feeling about tonight, like McKenna was trying to push Allison and I together, she made us sit next to each other in the car and at the restaurant and now we were going out drinking, but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind, determined to enjoy the night.

"Were here." Linc said, pulling up in front of Menace. There were a long line of people waiting to enter the club, many of the women hollering to us guys hoping to catch our attention so we would wave them in with us, however none of us were interested in any of them, so we ignored their cat calls much to their dismay and grumblings.

The guards opened the door for us, letting us in Allison was behind me so I stepped to the side letting her walk in before me, ever the gentleman. The first thing that the club greets you with is the loud thumping of the music and the way the club flowed it naturally brought your eyes to the bar and then to the dance floor where a laser light show was prominently playing behind the DJ. The bar was also crowded with people, and there were various tables scattered around the edge of the dance floor and some booths that were set back in the corners for the people looking for a respite from dancing.

I am sure that McKenna had called a head, and this was not a last-minute decision because we were immediately escorted up the stairs to the VIP area. As we sat down, Linc said "Get whatever you want tonight, the tab is on me," once the server came over.

"Well hello gentlemen." She purred, pulling her top down slightly trying to catch our attention, but little did she know that none of us were interested in her, "What can I get you to drink?" She placed her hand on Linc's shoulder, earning a chuckle from me, if only this poor human knew what she was doing.

"Kenz, what do you want?" Linc asked looking lovingly at his mate. It was at this moment that I caught as sad far off look in Allison's eyes, but in the same second it was gone as she shifted away from them.

"I want you to take your hands off my man, pull your damn shirt up cause no one here wants to see that, and stop drooling all over the place it is unprofessional. Understand that these gentlemen are taken, and you would be smart to remember that!" McKenna snapped at the server, who I kind of felt sorry for at this moment. Looking over at Allison I saw the same humorous look on her face that I had plastered on mine, this sure was funny to watch in a painful sort of way, catching her eye she chuckled with me.

The waitress profusely apologized and took our drink orders, quickly coming back as a way to provide another apology to us. Allison quickly downed a shot of tequila and whatever a Moscow Mule was, I had never heard of it before. "We are gonna be here a while, might want to pace yourself." I said to her.

Allison shook her head at me, letting her hair whip around her face, making her look young and carefree, the look she should always have, but seldom did. "Nope, you only pace yourself after you are feeling tipsy." She giggled, putting a smile on my face, I loved her giggle. "Alright, let's go! I wanna dance." She shouted to McKenna and Missy, holding hands they walked down the stairs to the dance floor.

I followed her every move on the dance floor, not wanting to take my eyes off of her, afraid that if I did someone would swoop in and steal her away from me. Which I know is a bit crazy because she doesn't belong to me, but whether she know it or not I have fallen in love with her.

"Dude, you should just tell her how you feel already." Patrick chimed in.

"I agree. I haven't seen you look at someone like that since... well you know." Linc added, not wanting to actually say Nikki's name.

"Maybe." I shrugged looking back at the guys, reluctantly taking my eyes off Allison. "I don't think she is ready for that."

"Chicken shit." Linc said, "Man up and tell her."

Before I could respond the girls were walking back into our section, heading to the drinks the server had just dropped off for them. "Ladies assume the position." McKenna shouted and the girls all got down on the floor so we could drink the shots off the low sitting table.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked, curious about why they were climbing onto the floor.

"Enjoying a blowjob." Allison said innocently, wrapping her lips around the shot glass and tossing her head back. I about choked on the drink I had in my mouth!

"You Allison have a wild side." Linc commented and nodding my head I agreed. Allison was ready to head back to the dance floor, she again tried dragging me with her, but I still would not budge, so she sauntered away without me, enticing me with every sway of her hips. I am not sure if she realized what she was doing, but I think subconsciously she was flirting with me.

I trailed my eyes after her, making sure no one was going to mess with her, she was getting a little tipsy, she stopped at the bar getting another drink and while she was waiting for the bartender a blond Hulk wanna be walked up to her and started talking. With the music playing and being up on the second floor I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I could tell Allison was uncomfortable by her body language.

The bartender finally got over to her and she placed her order, then moved away from the blonde guy. I was now standing up by the stairs, ready to descend to her rescue should she need it, but I knew Allison was more than capable of taking care of herself. Allison looked up at the VIP section, scanning the area looking for something she looked as if she almost had a panicked look on her face, that was until she found my eyes. She instantly seemed to calm down. Finishing off her drink she made her way to the dance floor, my eyes still on her with ever step that she took. I needed to cool it down, before things became too obvious to her, I don't want to ruin our friendship. I went and sat back down.

Allison was dancing alone, I was shocked that no one had yet tried to dance with her, she was a vision tonight in her black dress, enhancing all the curves of her body. Shaking my head, I grabbed my drink and took another swig of the whiskey relishing in the slight burn of the alcohol.

Patrick elbowed me slightly to get my attention, when I looked at him all he did was nod his head in the direction of dance floor. Turning my head, I saw blondie trying to rub up on Allison. Okay, that was it! I was going down there, setting my drink down I headed for the stairs. By the time I got down there Allison had moved to a different part of the dance floor, no doubt in an attempt to get away from the blonde idiot.

This time I heard her growl and yell at the man, "I thought I told you to leave me alone!"

"Damn, that was HOT. Growl at me again." The guy replied, before he got close to Allison, I stepped between them and placed my palms on the guys chest, letting him know not to take another step.

"The lady said leave her alone. So, I suggest you leave her alone." I said, calmly, even though I wanted to rip him apart, leaning into the guy to make sure he heard me.

"Yeah and who are you?" Blondie said puffing his chest out to me.

"I'm the boyfriend." He said, "Now I suggest you turn around and leave her alone."

"What if I don't want to?" He snarked, "What are you going to do about it?"

Catching me off guard a bit as I was trying to check on Allison, he shoved me into Allison, pissing me off. I quickly turned throwing my right hook and landing it squarely on the side of his face. "That is what I am gonna do about it!" I yelled in his face.

After a scuffle, of the blonde guy trying to best me in a fight, I had the guy on the floor and as a final blow kicked him in the ribs, letting him know that Allison was not a girl that he could mess with. Grabbing Allison's hand, I said, "Let's get out of here." Walking out of the club there was a taxi was pulling up to the curb, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I pulled Allison into the taxi behind me.

"Thank you! You are my Knight in Shining armor." Allison dramatized like a damsel in distress, placing her hand on my chest for good effect. It made me laugh to watch her try to act, damsel in distress was not her thing. For the rest of the ride back to our dorm we sat in comfortable silence, Allison leaning her back on my shoulder and resting her head.