Lisette showered, trying to sort out her thoughts. She had no idea who would break into her apartment. She was worried about her brother and Chloe. She hadn't seen either of them since before leaving for Faolchu. Despite her worry for her brother and friend however, Lisette couldn't stop her thoughts from drifting back to Torrin. She couldn't remember a time when she had felt so attracted to a man, not even James. She knew though, where attraction led and she couldn't go down that path again. Lisette couldn't bring herself to take that risk.
James had been so kind to her, at first. Lisette had only been out with James a couple of times, when she lost her parents. He had stayed with her that night, and been with her at the funeral. Even Lucas thought that James was an upstanding kind of man to go through that with them. Things had slowly changed between her and James after that, though. Lisette had needed someone, anyone, to care for her, during those first few weeks after her parents' deaths. When she began to want to return to her life however, James had wanted to continue to handle all of the details as he had when she was not in a position to do so herself. James wanted to answer all of the phone calls, make all of her meals, drive her everywhere she needed to go, and even to bathe her. James' treatment had made Lisette feel like a living doll, without a will of her own. When Lisette began to chafe under James' constant care, James had become angry. At first, he just tried to manipulate her emotions by reminding her how he had been there for her when her parents died, and how much he had done for her. He told her he loved her and just wanted to take care of her. Lisette had felt guilty and had apologized to James. After a while though, the reminders didn't have the same impact, so James had resorted to suggesting that there was something wrong with Lisette that she couldn't appreciate a strong man who could take care of her. Eventually, James had used physical intimidation and threats against her brother to keep Lisette dependent on him. The night that James had admitted to killing her parents though, Lisette had run. She could still feel that echo of horror and revulsion that she had felt that night, not just for James, but for herself as well. She had been the reason that James had killed her parents after all.
Since that time, Lisette had done everything she could to hide from James. She had also done everything she could to take care of her brother. She could never admit to him that she was reason that their parents had died. She could only try to make it up to him. That, of course, was that reason that Lisette had tried to get a job at Faolchu, pay Lucas' gambling debts.
Lisette wasn't sure what to do next. As much as she wanted to hope that Torrin would help her, she knew she couldn't rely on him.
Lisette decided to return to her apartment. She also decided that it would be best to look for another job.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Torrin watched Lisette make her way to the bathroom, he groaned. Walking with the sheet wrapped around her and her hair disheveled from sleep, she looked delectable. Torrin wanted nothing more than to drag her back to his bed. Nothing more, with the exception of protecting his pack, that is. Torrin had a responsibility to his pack above everything else. Groaning again, Torrin got out of bed and stretched.
As soon as he had cleaned himself up, Torrin gathered his advisors to discuss their guest and the possible complications following her.
Seated at the large round table in the meeting room reserved for such occasions, Torrin looked around the room in pride. In addition to his five betas, the twelve elders of the pack were gathered in the room as well. Not all packs extended such respect to their elders. In fact, Torrin's pack had not done so, under the previous alpha, but Torrin had changed that when he took over the pack. Torrin understood that the pack needed the strength of the mind as well as the strength of the body, in order to not just survive but to flourish. Living with the constant threat of surrounding packs that desired their land and their women, Torrin appreciated the wisdom that the elders could provide. In pack life, one attained power and position through domination of others, usually through brute strength. Torrin had done so when he fought and killed the previous alpha to secure his position as the new alpha.
Torrin was as intelligent as he was physically dominant though, which enabled him to be a strong leader for his pack. One who would last throughout the war, not just to win one battle. Torrin had seen many alphas take over a pack, only to be similarly dispossessed a year later, when another challenged them. Torrin shared the responsibilities and the leadership of his pack, which strengthened the pack and him as a leader. Those who followed Torrin were loyal, they were family.
Torrin addressed Niall first, "What do you have for me?"
"I wasn't able to find much. In fact, it doesn't appear that Lisette Angele, or Lucas Angele, existed prior to two years ago. Since that time, Lisette has been a diligent student at the local university. Lucas, however, hasn't been living as such an upstanding citizen as his sister. Apparently, he has amassed quite a debt recently. It isn't the first time either. The last two times, his sister used what was left of their inheritance from their parents to pay off the debts."
"This time there was no inheritance money left to pay, huh?" Torrin inquired grimly.
"Right."
"To whom is the debt owed?" Torrin asked, not that he couldn't guess.
"The Gateaux Pack."
Torrin groaned inwardly
