Monster in My Bed

Chapter Thirty-Eight | Two Most Annoying Organs

I would be lying if I said that Apsens' alliance has been a light in the darkness for us. After Caedes pack members began to take up temporary residence amid the western areas of Apsens' territory, the situation only seemed to go from bad to worse.

I was asleep when I was first informed about a potential break through the border of Apsens. The group of seven only made it half a mile into Ajax's territory before two of them were slaughtered on the scene, leaving the other five to make it back over the other side of the border. Unfortunately, we lost one of our own and one of Apsens' in the process.

The following week, I was sitting in the common room on the second floor of the packhouse with some boy named Maddox when he received a call to keep close eyes on me. Matteo was trying to find me a new bodyguard/babysitter ever since Jack and I found ourselves on awkward terms. Maddox was a new boy in Matteo's cycle, so it did not surprise me that he did not turn the volume of his phone down to a level that I was unable to hear before he answered it. No one ever did. It was something that Jack always did, though. From what I could gather, a single wolf sent from what I am assuming was Vindicta was found in Apsens' eastern territory. They had no idea how long she was there or if there were more hidden throughout the masses, so I had close eyes on me for the next few days until the territory was inspected as thoroughly as possible. Thorough was never going to be enough for Matteo. I could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves before he even got through our bedroom door that night.

That same week, we sent over a group of our own. Fifteen wolves went over, and fifteen wolves came back with information on routes that were being run by Vindicta guards. It was a victory that we celebrated too early. They were sent back over to find out more information a few days later, and only twelve returned. It may have only been three people, but you could tell it affected the entire pack. It had a massive impact on Jack because his brother, Caelan, was one of those lost. He was only nineteen.

This week has been by far the worst. Not only has a small group been able to slip past our borders, but no one saw them cross. Therefore, no one is sure that the three that were killed and the other two that made it back over were all that actually came over.

Aside from the small attacks back and forth, threats have been thrown around minimally. Vindicta has done little to contact us, and we have returned the favor. I suggested the idea to Matteo that maybe if I just apologize then we could all move on. His response was, "that's a really stupid idea," and then went to get a shower.

Overall, I would rate the last few weeks a four out of ten. They have been terrible, but they definitely could be worse. I could be in Jack's position with a dead sibling and an imprisoned mate.

It was thoughts like these that were major contributors to the fact that I can no longer sleep. I toss, and turn, get up, get a drink, lay back down, get up and pee, lay back down, stare at the ceiling, and repeat. I was currently on the 'stare at the ceiling' part of my sleep cycle when my thirst spiked. I contemplated pretending like it wasn't there but figured I ought to just acknowledge it and get up then instead of waiting another twenty minutes. Matteo was rolled away from me in the other direction, so getting out of bed was easy. I slipped out of the room without a peep of protest from him just like I did the other three times that night.

The packhouse was much different at night. During the day, the halls are buzzing with people of what seemed to be all ages. The kitchens always had at least one person stuffing their face with either chips or a bowl of cereal, and the common areas are filled with conversations from friends. At night, the building is nothing but a desolate maze of hallways and closed doors.

The kitchen was empty just like it had been the last three times I was in it. Yanking open the refrigerator door, I looked around the shelves before grabbing the half-drunken water bottle that I had been working on. Downing the rest of the bottle, I tossed the empty plastic in the garbage can and began to pace the floor.