Raised Mateless (On Hold)

Chapter 13

Warning: This chapter contains some mature subject matter that shouldn't be read if you're uncomfortable by minor sexual context 

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A sudden knock at the door brought me back from my thoughts. I glanced up from the form of a sleeping Dakota in my arms to see who it was.

"That better be Vanessa, it’s been almost three days." My father grumbled, scratching his growing bread, his voice thick with worry.

My own heart was hammering in anticipation; I had been trying to hide it from my father but I was sick with worry that something that had happened to her, too. I’d spent days constantly texting and calling Vanessa and Shane but they weren’t answering. I was going insane.

My father unlocked the door a second before it was flung open with a violent push - nearly hitting him in the face. He stepped back, rubbing his cheek as if to make sure he hadn’t actually been hit. Dakota seemed to become a heavier weight in my arms as I saw what was in front of me. There stood a distressed mirror image of my sister. Her once flawless red dress was crumbled and torn, her once smooth curls now in disarray not to mention her silver bottle cap of a hat, and dark make-up running down her face.

"He's dead!" Vanessa shrieked, instantly raising the hairs on my neck. It was silent for a moment, until my father took a step closer to my sister. He gently reached forward, pausing his hand just inches from her shoulder, as if waiting for her approval, before dropping his hand back to his side. Vanessa, her eyes wild, took a step back to put some distance between the two.

"Who is dead?" My father's gruff voice asked in alarm, his eyes searching Vanessa for injuries.

Vanessa's head snapped towards our father. She was staring right at him, but her eyes were glazed over as if she couldn't really see him at all. "Shane. He’s just… dead." She breathed; her words were raspy and haunting.

I felt my stomach drop. "What?" I stood up, scraping my chair across the floor in the process. "What do you mean dead?”

I trusted my sister with my life, with Dakota’s life, but I just couldn’t fathom the belief that Shane could really be dead. The man was pure muscle, and also a werewolf. In my eyes nothing could happened to him; I saw him as the big brother I had never had and always wanted, he was that rock I so desperately needed. Even though I had only known him for a month I had grown hopelessly attached to the thought of security he provided.

Vanessa's eyes dropped to the floor as she tightened her fists. "He's not waking up."

"So, not dead?" I couldn’t help rephrasing the question. I wasn't exactly at my best before eight o' clock in the morning and this was too much information to comprehend.

"He might as well be!" Vanessa growled, her eyes lifting to meet mine. I could see the absolute bitterness in them and couldn't help but flinch. "And it's your fault."

I digested the words slowly. But as soon as they processed, My jaw dropped. "How on Earth is this my fault?"

"You just have to get every fucking guy - don't you?" She ignored my father and  started to step closer and closer to me. "First Ryan. Then Chris.  And now Shane. Are you ever happy? Two mates and a fucking puppy to follow you everywhere – aren’t you just the luckiest girl in the world!" Her eyes were now glaring at me, a predatory look masking them. "Shane chased after you! But instead of reaching you, he ended up shoved into some alley. I could barely even get to him through the crowd, but when I did, he was unconscious!" Her once smooth voice had now become a high pitched squeal. “I then finally get to Chedoke and they wouldn’t even let me in the damn room – but I bet for sweet little Harper they’d open the fucking door!”