In Our Blood

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rhydian and Beca walked home while Maddy took the bus so she could talk to Shannon about a project. The air was brisk again, flattening Rhydian's hair with its gusts. Beca gave up with it blowing her hair into her face and shoved the black strands into her coat.

When her hand dropped back to her side, she felt the cold being cut off by a warm hand. She looked down and saw Rhydian's hand tentatively grabbing hers. Beca couldn't help but smile, though she quickly looked to the ground in an attempt to hide it.

"You know, Jimmy actually told Jana she was cool," Rhydian brought up, completely ignoring the fact that they were hold each other's hands. Both of them were filled with nervousness, afraid that the slightest movement of their hands would convince them to pull away.

Beca raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He nodded. "I think he fancies her."

"No way," Beca said before cracking a laugh. "He'll finally leave me alone!"

Rhydian furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders, snuggling into her jacket. "Jimmy tried to kiss us once. I think I almost threw up in his mouth afterwards."

Rhydian's grip tightened for a moment before she mentioned being repulsed by Jimmy. The subject dropped for a few silent moments, before Beca looked over to Rhydian, thinking. Then, she whispered, "I think Jana will be great here."

They walked like that for most of the way home, only stopping once they were within sight of the house. Maddy greeted them when they entered the heated brick building, but the Smiths immediately led them to the kitchen table.

Rhydian and Maddy sat across from each other while Beca took a set next to her sister. Emma and Daniel shared a few stern, quiet glances for a while.

Finally Daniel sighed and turned to the kids. "Jana can't stay here. She's got to be gone by the end of the week, preferably before," he said sternly. This obviously wasn't something that the girls' father was upset about.

Beca rubbed a hand over her face while Maddy sighed. Rhydian brought his hands together and rested his mouth on them, not happy about their decision but knowing he needed to respect his Alphas.

When no one responded, Daniel broke down his thought process. "Wild Wolfbloods don't belong in the human world," he said slowly and carefully, annunciating every letter.

Beca shook her head before giving them a look. "That's not what you told my parents, was it?" She asked rhetorically.

The room got quiet for a heartbeat before her sister tried to swoop in and save the day from a room full of annoyed Wolfbloods. "But she's doing really good, she's trying," Maddy tried.

Emma shook her head. "There's no way she can stay in Stoneybridge."

"Well you can't force her to leave," Rhydian pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

"We'll see about that," Emma said, sounding determined. "Where is she?"

Maddy almost instantly broke under her mother's gaze. "In some caravan, she said."

"We'll go see it out, see if we can get this resolved," Daniel said while Emma grabbed the car keys.

"Stay here!" Their mother called before leaving the house.

The door squeaked and then shut. Beca was left looking at the front hallway with her mouth open. "I can't believe them."

"They can't just–" Rhydian started, but Maddy quickly cut him off.