Gone

Breaking Point

I gave her a short nod and then watched her walk into the tree line. I shifted quickly and grabbed my bag, pulling out the clothes and dressing within a minute. Once my body was clothed I took a deep breath and slumped down to the ground. I had wasted all my energy and my body rejected my own weight. I leaned my head against the rock behind me and closed my eyes.  

I could hear the rest of the pack when they joined me, but I kept my eyes shut. Slowly the silence drifted in a low rumble of quiet whispering as everyone shifted back to their human forms and began to dress. I could hear the older women talking to the children, making sure that they were alright, I could hear the men dividing up watch schedules and hunting trips for the night. I knew the second Casey came back because she dropped the wood into the pit behind me.  

"Good thing I have a lighter huh," Casey said, slightly nudging my leg with her foot.  

I cracked my eyes open and looked up at the small girl. Her face was covered in dirt and her hair was a mess of knots under my ball cap, but her eyes shown bright with amusement. The situation was hard on everyone, but looking at her you wouldn't know it. "I'd be lost without you Case," I joked.  

"Duh," she laughed.  

As I watched her walk away I couldn't help but wonder if I could talk her into coming to my pack. All she had was her sixteen year old sister. Her parents were killed in the first hunter attack. As far as I knew, her sister hadn't found her mate within the pack, so there was really nothing that should be holding them here. Their pack was so messed up that I doubted they could provide the girls with the care they needed. I didn't want Casey to grow up having to take care of herself because her pack didn't care.  

I closed my eyes again and prayed for sleep. I had no clue what our next move would be next or where the hell we were going to go. The situation had gone from bad to worse. I was pretty certain that there was nothing more that my dad and I could do. We just needed to go home.  

I was on the edge of sleep when I heard my sister speaking. "You did what?" She shrieked  

"Brinley, keep your damn voice down," Trent growled.  

"No!" She yelled causing my eyes to shoot open. Trent and Brinley stood a few feet into the trees in front of me. "We have to tell my dad or Jackson." 

"I don't know," Trent sighed, rubbing his large hand over his face.  

I continued to watch them as they stood silently staring each other down. Brinley's body was rigid and her face displayed her anger. Trent looked defeated, like a guilty criminal. That was all it took to wake me up.  

I pushed myself off the rock and made my way over to them. The second they saw me Trent's head dropped and Brinley's eyes widened. My stomach turned, I had a gut feeling that I didn't want to know what they were hiding.  

"What?" I asked once I was right next to them, "What are you hiding?" I looked over to my sister and noticed that she was still naked. I pulled my shirt off and passed it to her before giving my full attention to Trent.  

"I think I know why they keep finding us," he sighed, "and we don't have a mole, well not one that realized what was happening." 

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully, keeping my anger in check.  

"My parents aren't dead, the hunters took them." 

"Are you fuc. . . What the hell. . . Damn it!" Was all I could muster to get out. My brain was moving faster than my mouth could. I wanted to call him every bad name I could think of and then kick his ass.  

"Calm down Jackson," Brinley scolded.  

"Why did you lie to me?" I shot back at her. 

"I didn't even know until now!" she yelled. "He lied to me too!"