We made it to the elementary school and saw that the siblings from the middle school were standing there as well.
They looked bored and annoyed that they had to wait for so long, and I bit back a small amused snort.
"It looks like they are annoyed and bored," I said while I looked at Mel with a raised eyebrow before I looked at the road again, waiting for the other cars to pull up so that I could collect them. "They had other options to get home, and yet they wanted to stay and wait for me."
"They do," she said while she slowly nodded. "I am glad that they aren't left alone, though." She gestured to a few other students that were waiting for their parents as well as the teachers. "They aren't pack members, right?" she asked while she raised an eyebrow in question, looking at me with a concerned look on her face. "I mean, we can take them home if they are."
I looked at the other kids and noticed that they weren't any of our kids, so I shook my head no, breathing a small sigh of relief. "They aren't," I said. "I think all of the kids are home now, even though I should probably check the middle school to see if everyone is gone there."
"What about high school?" Mel asked while she raised an eyebrow in question. "Or are they left to their own devices?"
"They are left to their own devices," I replied and shrugged while I grimaced. "I am sure that there isn't anyone over there, so I don't think we have to go check."
My sister bit back a small snort and rolled her eyes, biting back a small smirk. "You're still going to check to make sure that there is no one there, aren't you?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and I gave her a pointed look, my cheeks turning red.
"Shut up," I grumbled, and she snickered and shrugged with a small smile on her face.
"Well, that makes you an amazing young Alpha," she said while she winked teasingly, and my cheeks turned another shade of red while I turned my attention back to the road again, rolling my eyes. "And the best one that I know."
"Don't let Bryson hear you say that, Mel," I teased and narrowed my eyes playfully at her. "He will be mad at you if he hears that."
Melody scoffed a laugh and rolled her eyes, scowling. "He can suck my nonexistent dick," she said, and I snorted, pressing my lips into a thin line. "But you do have the heart to think like that. I don't know if Bryson does."
I shrugged and stopped in front of my siblings and unlocked the door while I parked the car. "He would," I said and nodded while my brother opened the door. "He would check."
"Check what?" Julius asked while he entered the van with the others following him. He scowled and narrowed his eyes while he looked at me. "Did you have to take it so that we were close to the last ones getting picked up, TJ?" he asked while he raised an eyebrow in question. "The teachers want to go home, too."
"First of all, you are not close to last, Julius," I said and looked at him from the rearview window. "Second of all, you could have gone with the other options that are given to you, but you decided against it."
"Third of all, we do have pack members as teachers, and if all else fails, then they can and will take you home," Melody said while one of the teachers caught our eye and bowed their head in respect, and I nodded, too.
I nodded in agreement with what my sister had said and glanced at my brother from the rearview mirror while I waited for them to settle in so that I could pull away from the curb and go toward the middle school. "And buses do go into packlands, so you could have taken them if you wanted to get home sooner."
Julius rolled his eyes and scowled but stayed silent. He got himself situated into his seat and didn't say another word, and I couldn't help but snort and shook my head.
"He's right, Julius," Mel said while she gave him a pointed look, and he shrugged and grimaced. "And to answer your question, we were talking about Bryson checking on the other members to make sure that they are not waiting for someone to pick them up from both the middle and high school before they go home."
Julius groaned and folded his arms across his chest, pouting. "Does that mean we aren't going home?" he asked with a small whine in his voice.
"Not just yet," I said and shook my head while I waited for the others to get situated and close the door before I started to make my way to the middle school. "I want to make sure that no one is left behind before we go home."
Julius groaned again and pouted some more. "Why?" he asked while he folded his arms tighter across his chest. "It is not your job."
I bit back a small sigh and shook my head, feeling very annoyed. "It doesn't have to be my job for me to do it, Julius," I warned while I looked at him through the rearview mirror before I looked at the road again. "Are they not members of our pack?"
My younger brother hesitated before he nodded. "Yes," he said.
"And what is my position in our pack?"
"Alpha Chosen," he replied. "But, I don't underst-"
"If I am the Alpha Chosen and the next heir to the pack, do you think the pack expects me to treat others with respect and have them respect me that way, or do you think the pack expects me to abuse my power and have them "respect" me in that manner?" I asked, interrupting him.
My brother hesitated again and looked at Mel, who shrugged and didn't say a word.
She looked between the two of us with a calculative look on her face, and I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.
"Well?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I looked at Julius before I looked at the road again. "Which one?"
Julius sighed and shook his head, lowering his head in defeat. "The first option," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I think the pack expects you to treat others with respect and have them respect you in the same way like that."
I bit back a small sigh of relief and released my grip on my steering wheel, not knowing that I had grabbed it tighter. "Good," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "I know that it seems like a waste of time, gas, and money to do this, but whoever is still there is still a pack member and deserves the same respect that I want shown to me," I said softly. "Yes, they have just as many options as you, but since I am out and about, I don't mind checking just to make sure that no one is left behind."
"The whole pack does it anyway," Mel supplied while she shrugged and grimaced. "At least those that have kids in the same school or whatever, but we protect our own."
"Or those that are going to be our own," my other sister, Trish, said. "Dad did it too before Ty took over. Besides, almost everyone lives at the main pack house, so it's not like we have far to go to drop everyone off."
Julius sighed and nodded, finally relenting. "Ok," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Do I have to do it, too?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, raising an eyebrow in question.
"You can if you want," Mel said and shrugged. "You don't have to, and Dad isn't going to push you to do it. He'll be happy to do it again."
Julius hesitated before he slowly nodded. "Ok," he said. He looked at Mel and raised an eyebrow in question. "So, are you going to be starting to drive to school here soon?" he asked. "You're sixteen."
Mel smiled sadly and shook her head while she shrugged and grimaced. "Not until Serenity is safe at our house," she said, apologetically. "I have orders to stay near TJ until then."
Julius furrowed his brows and cocked his head while he looked at her with a small frown on her face. "Why? Is there a threat at Serenity's house?"
Mel and I looked at each other through the mirror before I looked at the road again.
"Not a big one, not yet at least," I said, choosing my words carefully.
"That we know of," Mel added, and I nodded in confirmation. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. "That doesn't mean something will happen in the future."
I pulled up into the middle school and watched everyone to make sure that no one was there, and no one came to the van or waved me down to stop.
"Do you think Mom and Dad know what is happening?" Julius asked while we followed the line of cars leaving the school because there was no one there. "With you and Serenity, TJ?"
"There is a possibility," I said, biting back a small sigh while I shook my head. I grabbed my steering wheel tighter and set my jaw, feeling very annoyed with them again. "I am sure that there is a lot of stuff that they know and are trying to find out behind the scenes to make sure that we stay safe."
"Are you going to ask?" Julius asked, and I shook my head no while my heart ached. "And why not?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you worried that something bad will happen to you if you do?"
I nodded and bit back a small snort. "I am," I confirmed before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "I am worried about something bad happening to us, especially if they tell me something that I am not supposed to know yet."
"But wouldn't you be in danger if you don't know?" he asked, and I bit back a small laugh but nodded.
"On somethings," I said and glanced at Mel through the rearview mirror before I looked at him again. "That is why I make sure to have people near me to watch and protect my back just as much as I protect and watch theirs."