Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Sixteen: The One You Miss

FOUR YEARS LATER

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There were three things she detested more than anything in life — thunderstorms, dishwashers and birthdays.

Well, her birthday to be more exact. Aiden, however, couldn't stop twitching as he grinned from ear to ear on the computer screen. Aira sighed heavily as she attempted to shut the laptop, only for Aiden to cry out and frantically wave his arms around.

"Hey, come on, you're sixteen and act like a cranky old lady!"

Aira's eyebrow perked up as she assessed what he had just implied. "You're an idiot, Aiden."

His lopsided grin quickly turned into a frown. "Hey, ouch?"

"What would you know? You haven't visited once since you left."

Oh, now, he understood. "Hey, Air, you know I can't. This is the best I can do for now." His frown was depressing, but Aira huffed in acceptance.

Aiden smirked as he suddenly recalled an incident previously that month. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Van not sending you any replies to your recent letters, would it?"

The mortified look that crossed the sixteen-year-old's face was all he needed.

"How-how did you... who told you?" she shrieked. If Aiden hadn't already anticipated this outburst and turned down his speakers, his ears would still be ringing.

He laughed, and that was it. She had had enough. Aira slammed the lid of her laptop closed before Aiden could let out another bellowing laugh and rolled her eyes. He used to be such a serious boy when they were kids, but it looked like his time away had turned him into quite the joker. Aira was grateful that they could at least Skype each other, but even that wasn't enough. Sometimes, all she wanted was a hug from her big brother, not a comforting smile from behind a computer screen.

She had sent countless letters for over a year now asking, well, more like begging, Van to come home with Aiden for a few days since her seventeenth birthday was only a month away. A year ago when she first brought up the subject, she was more than hopeful Van would come around. Her hope quickly diminished when Van blatantly told her no and stopped responding to any letters even mentioning the matter.

It wasn't fair! She hadn't seen her brother in person since they were twelve years old. This wasn't normal, and Emma and Drake could never convince her otherwise. She understood Aiden was going back to the place of his birth and finding his roots, but did that really take four years? She was getting tired of empty dinner places, Christmas's with no family, and birthdays with everyone but the people she cared about most. Everything just seemed so wrong.

Aira always had a hunch that Emma and Drake were keeping something from her but never questioned what it could be. However, she never understood why Emma and Drake could go and visit Aiden in his homeland, but she couldn't. She was always placed in the care of two or more people when her parents left and locked down tighter than Fort Knox until their return. She couldn't help but notice these people her parents surrounded themselves with were... well, strange.

However, Aira also wanted to meet Van again. Through their letters over the years, she had found in him a very close companion. Emma even hinted that Aira was starting to talk like Van and that her attitude lately had started to sour. Aira admitted she was being a pain in the butt lately, but that had nothing to do with her emotions towards their family situation. She was a practical girl and realized quickly that even though she hated birthdays, she wanted to become an adult as quickly as possible. Maybe then, Emma, Drake, and Aiden would trust her with whatever secrets they harbored.