"Are you sure you can handle this, right now?" Rowen asked Alana quietly. "I understand if this is asking too much of you."
I was already settled in the back seat and the others were piling in after throwing the last of their things in the trunk. We were just waiting on Alana now, but Rowen had stopped her, grabbing hold of her arm before she opened her car door.
While the others paid no mind, I leaned my ear closer to the window to pick up their faint voices through the glass, trying my best not to look too suspicious in the process. My guilty conscience nagged at me, but if I could get any information. Anything at all, it would help ease my worries.
"I'm fine." Alana ripped her arm away from him, staring hard at the ground as she turned her back to him and tugged on the door handle.
As if knowing what she was about to do, Rowen extended his arm and pressed hard on the top of the door, stopping it from moving.
"This isn't the time for your stupid games."
"Nor your dumb lectures." She retorted back with a snort.
"It is when you're acting like a child." He snapped. "I was trying to be nice and look out for you."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I can handle myself."
"You're not the only one who needs to be looked after."
"If you're so worried about your mate then let me leave." She turned towards him again with a pointed look. "Don't act so concerned about her when you didn't give two shits about who she was two fucking weeks ago. I'm not talking about her as your mate. I'm talking about her as she is."
"You're just as much at fault as everyone else." She continued, stepping towards him. "None of us would be here right now if you were man enough to stick up for your mate."
"It's not that fucking easy." He gritted through his teeth.
"Oh really? Or is it because you don't want to put in the effort to fight for her."
I jumped as a loud growl ripped from his throat and his fist slammed hard against the exterior of the car. The others snapped their attention in their direction, but no one moved to intervene. Rowen stepped back and breathed in deeply, his body shaking as he closed his eyes.
"You think I want this?" His voice was strained as he spoke.
"I think you need to make a decision before someone makes it for you?"
Rowen clamped his mouth shut and he stared back at Alana with an unreadable expression.
Alana sighed and her shoulders fell sleek," You need to trust me."
I couldn't see her expression very well, but the raw emotion in her voice caught me off guard. If I hadn't been listening in, I wouldn't have thought that was her.
"No one will get hurt ever again," she whispered. "I swear on my life."
I jumped back to reality when I heard a sharp bang to my left that was accompanied by an anguished yell and a flattened face against the thin glass that separated us. In the heat of the moment, I shifted towards the right, sending my shoulder clashing into Marcel's shoulder and it hurt. Badly.
"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed quickly as I winced, grabbing my arm.
Before I could wait for his response, I fell back towards the window in an attempt to put space between us when all of a sudden the man pressed against the window let out a blood curdling scream as his arm was detached from his body. Specks of blood spotted the window and the man was roughly pulled back by the back of his neck, Alana's freshly manicured nails digging into his skin just inches from his throat.
I wrapped my arm around my head and covered my ears with a yelp, squeezing my eyes shut. I wanted to forget what I just saw, but it kept replaying through my mind on loop. Despite having the protection of the vehicle walls, watching the fight fold out before me was enough to bring me nightmares.
I heard his body drop to the floor with a thud and so did my queasy stomach.
"Are you okay, little legs? You're looking a little pale." Marcel questioned.
I hated that nickname with a passion. So much that if I didn't feel so sick right now, I would strangle him.
Then again, I was starting to realize violence wasn't for me.
"Don't tell me you're scared of a little puppy fight," Maiko taunted with his lips curled in a smirk.
I was really starting to detest him, too. Greatly. Puppy fight, my foot. I would like to see him out there. I wasn't stupid. There was a reason he was in here with me and not out there with Alana. Speaking of which...
"Alana!" Lilo reprimanded her loudly. I didn't need to look. I heard enough of what was going on out there already.
There was a muffled grunt before Alana tapped on the window to be let in. Lilo popped the lock and Alana slid into her seat without even a drop of sweat on her skin. Sprinkles of crimson blood littering her clothes was the only evidence of the fight that just occurred.
"Stop worrying. He's fine," Alana grumbled, not bothering to put her seatbelt on as she started the car back up. "He's still fucking alive."
Alana moved the car forward and a sickening crack sounded underneath the wheels.
"I think he's still breathing, too..."
I clutched my painful stomach and dropped my head to my knees.
"I don't feel so good," I wheezed.
Marcel side-eyed me and panic struck his face.
"She's not kidding," Marcel gulped. "What do we do? CPR?"
"She's not dying, idiot!" Maiko hissed followed by a sharp slapping sound and Marcel's whine.
I winced at the noise. Too soon. It was way too soon. The window beside me dropped and my hair began to fly in the wind, uncomfortably slapping me in the face. I shivered from the cold air that nipped my skin.
"Use the window. Do not puke in the car," Alana ordered.
Marcel cupped his hands around his mouth.
"I repeat. Do not throw chu-"
Alana sent him a deadly glare and he immediately snapped his mouth shut.
"Isn't there a chance it might still fly everywhere, though? We're in a moving vehicle?" Marcel frowned.
"Did you actually say something smart for once?" Lilo mumbled before turning her attention to Alana," I think he's right. You'll need to pull over."
"We can't pull over! We need to get out of here."
"Well, I don't want her body fluids on my clothes," Maiko shot back, gesturing at me with his hands.
"I'm not going to throw up, okay!" I shouted over the wind. I sucked in a breath and slowly rose until my back hit my seat.
"Okay, good then." Alana said hesitantly before she slowly rolled my window back up.
My head turned towards the window again and I watched as we passed all the unconscious warriors fallen on the field. I didn't understand why I was forcing myself to bear something I couldn't handle, but I had to look. My eyes refused to look away.
Alana said she hadn't killed them, but my stomach still cramped at the blood stained grass. They needed a healer. Someone to help them. I wanted to help them. I wanted to help them so much. But, I couldn't. Not only would Alana flay me alive, but they wouldn't even hesitate to hurt me given the chance. The risks were too high.
A warm hand wrapped around my wrist and when I looked up, Lilo was holding on to me with her face scrunched in concern.
"Hey, breathe. It's okay. " She called gently. "It's over."
I nodded in response and inhaled deeply through my nose. The corners of her mouth lifted and she pulled her hand away and I tried to return her gesture, but I could only manage a small grimace. At least I had one ally who didn't find pleasure in berating me.
"You have to get used to this." Alana said, flickering her eyes to me. I immediately felt all the emotions I was trying to suppress rise back to the surface. "You can't crumble like that in the heat of a fight. It's pathetic and you'll die."
"Good thing I stayed in the car otherwise you would have killed me regardless," I snapped weakly.
Even as the battlefield faded in the distance, the pain in my stomach grew like a contagious virus spreading through my cells. What was going on with me?
"Next time, do me the favor," she smiled sweetly before baring her teeth at me through the mirror.
"Why are you so fucking mean?" I blurted, clenching my hand into a tight fist.
She paused, blinking in shock as if she didn't dare think those words would ever come out of my mouth. Honestly, I didn't either. Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth and she shook her head with a laugh.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?"
I almost chomped down on my tongue, but an overwhelming sense of courage kept me from clamping my mouth shut.
"You heard me."
Lilo winced and sank low in her seat.
"Listen. If you think this is mean then you're in for a rude fucking awakening, sweetheart. The world isn't filled with shitty fluffy marshmallows. It's filled with backstabbing knives from dumb fucking assholes that rip you apart from the inside out and if you don't realize that now, it'll be more than you who suffers the consequences, but every fucking person around you."
My fiery rage wanted me to say something, hurt her just as much as she hurt me, but my throat ran dry like a blistering desert.
The car went quiet for a while after that. The boys didn't even bother with their snide remarks that almost got them thrown out the car not even ten minutes into the ride. It wasn't until we entered a large subdivision filled with identical looking houses that the silence was finally broken.
"Can't you go any faster. I have to pee," Marcel whined. It was then that I noticed his leg was shaking up and down.
"You should have gone before we left," Lilo mumbled, resting her head on her elbow. Her eyes were fighting to stay open as her head dipped lower by the second.
"I did. That was 15 hours ago."
"We're almost there. Can't you hold it?" Maiko grumbled, his appearance the opposite of his elder sister as his hazy eyes opened from his nap.
"I really have to go," he repeated.
"You sound like a 6 year old." Alana muttered.
"Well, I do." He glared at her. "Can't I just jump out now? I can run back to the house."
"We can't risk you being seen," Lilo sighed.
I examined the houses once more as lights began to flicker on one by one with the falling sun. A car beeped from one of the driveways and a family with laughing children played their way up the path while their mother shuffled through her bag for her keys.
"Those are humans," I noted with my nose nearly pressed against the window. There was a boy hanging behind the rest with a black box in his hand and my eyes grew wide when I noticed something flying in the air a couple inches ahead of him. I didn't have time to decipher what it was before they disappeared out of sight.
"It's like you haven't seen a human before," Marcel laughed, before he frowned. "Wait, have you?"
"Once." I threw the words over my shoulder. Truth be told, there wasn't much going on outside but the world looked so much different than anything I had ever seen before. It was more than just the same boring walls of the packhouse and the towering trees of the forest.
"Fuck it. Let me out," Marcel demanded suddenly, moving over his brother and tugging on the door.
"We'll be there in a few minutes. Just hold on." Maiko told him as he tried to shove him off of him. I hastily avoided the pointy elbow thrown my way.
"I'm ten seconds from pissing in my favorite pants and Alana's precious leather seats." he urged, reaching his hand through the small empty space to the front beside Lilo.
"Hey, chill-"
Before Alana could finish her sentence, Marcel flicked the lock and pushed the back door open, almost taking Maiko with him as he tumbled out the car. Maiko let out a string of curses and slammed the door back close, shaking his head in annoyance.
"He's getting locked out for that shit."
Barely five minutes later, we pulled to a stop in front of a two story house that looked very similar to the other houses lined down the street other than its white and dark blue exterior. The house was small, resembling the homes of the lower ranks in the pack who decided to no longer live in the packhouse once they started their families.
"Maiko, can you grab Mari's bag for her?" Lilo asked as she stepped out of the car and reached out her arms in a long stretch.
"No." He replied curtly and ducked his head below the roof of the car. He let out a low groan and rolled his head around in circles as soon as his feet hit the sidewalk.
Maiko probably suffered the most during our, as Marcel mentioned, 15-hour car ride. He was so tall, he was forced to hunch his back to keep his head from cramming into the ceiling and it didn't help when Marcel fell asleep, he invaded every inch of personal space Maiko had. I was surprised he didn't shove him off with how annoyed he looked, but I had to admit.
It was a little cute watching the brothers cuddle.
"I was being polite. Help her." Lilo said again.
They exchanged looks before he huffed and mumbled something under his breath, dragging his feet over to my side, where I was slowly making my way out of the car. I wasn't sure what type of older sibling power Rowen and Lilo had over their siblings, but it was something I wish I had with mine.
Maiko tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for me.
"You really don't have to," I told him sheepishly, holding the door for support. I didn't want to force him to do something he didn't want to and besides, I could handle myself.
After I pulled myself up, I went to reach for my things, but Maiko shook his head and gestured for me to move out the way.
"I'll get it. Just go."
I nodded quickly and shuffled out the way, sending a little thanks to the goddess above that I was able to readjust my bag while I was waiting for everyone to get in the car. I limped after Alana and Lilo to the front door, glaring at Maiko's back when he bumped my shoulder to pass me.
I mean seriously, I'm not made of air.
Alana was about to twist the knob when the door swung open and in a blink of an eye, a body slammed into mine. I winced when I fell back on my bad foot, but I immediately forgot about the pain when I saw the familiar rings of dark curly hair.
"You're okay." Raegan cried out, wrapping her arms around my waist.
My breath hitched in my throat and my eyes grew blurry with a mix of overwhelming relief and disbelief. What was she doing here? I thought..I thought they were all gone. I brought my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest, afraid that if I let go, she would disappear and I'd find out that this was all a dream, but it wasn't. She was actually here.
"H-How..." I spluttered.
"Helios saved us," she answered and I immediately felt grateful that my best friend stepped in to help me once again.
"Us?"
"Karter and I. He's inside." She explained looking back at the door with a small smile on her face. "They have a really big TV and he's been glued to it ever since we first got here."
Suddenly, her face fell as she looked up to me.
"But the others. They're..." Her bottom lip trembled and she swallowed hard before she spoke. "I didn't want to hide, but Mom told us to and Karter was so scared."
She dropped her head in shame," I was scared. I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's okay. Nothing's your fault." I promised her, pulling her into another hug. "It'll be okay. I promise."
We'll be okay. I repeated to myself.
I looked at Alana's emotionless face and to the others, who for once looked to be avoiding me all together. I realized that I was the only one who was caught by surprise. They all knew she was here all along and no one said a word.
My chest felt like a burning bullet had bulldozed through it as a mix of hurt and anger overtook me. I shouldn't even be upset anymore. None of this was surprising, yet I couldn't shake that painful feeling. Why didn't Helios tell me? Did Rowen know?The thought that he kept something this big from me hurt most of all.
"You're not about to start bitching that no one tells you shit again, are you?" Maiko complained, pausing halfway into the entryway. He looked me over and laughed dryly," You are."
Alana sighed before she nodded at the door.
"Come on. I'll explain once we're inside."
~~~
Hope you enjoy :)