I wake up when my phone rings. I grab it after a few seconds of blind searching and flip it open. "Hello?" I rasp, voice cracking. There's a metallic taste in my mouth, the cold makes my shoulders and neck stiff, and the air is crisp. I wonder why it's so cold--and then I look outside to see blinding white, polka-dotted with trees, lit eerily by moonlight. There's a blizzard so thick it's hard to see outside.
"Shylah? It's, uh...look, its one of Drew's friends. I know this is an odd question, but is there any chance that he's with you?"
My eyebrows pull together in a frown. "What?" I croak. I look at the time. "Look, I don't...it's ten o'clock at night. Why would he be with me?"
"He isn't...?" Worry has wiggled its way into her voice now and I rub one eye, trying to wake myself up. "Are you sure? I thought, maybe..."
"I haven't talked to Drew since I shifted," I tell her. "Who is this? I don't know this number. And if you know anything, then you should know that being around me isn't a great idea for Drew." It's been a few more days since I woke up on his couch and found out about the pain I caused him. Though Jared has been making regular attempts to try to get me to talk to him, I've ignored every wolf pack member that I know of.
"It's Calypso. I don't know if you remember me or not, but I was hoping you'd know where he was."
I reach over and turn on my light, grimacing at the bright light that spears itself into my pupils, and unbury myself from wrappers. "Yeah, pixie girl, right?? I remember. Is he okay?"
"Yeah," she says, but the response is too quick, too sharp, and she sighs into the line in a way that tells me that something is seriously wrong here. I wait, and she finally admits, "okay, no. But I can't talk on the phone, not about this...Can we talk in person?"
"It's ten o'clock at night, there's a blizzard raging outside my door, and you want to meet up somewhere?" I ask flatly. "I said I remember you, not that I know you. I don't think I can manage leaving the house this late at n--."
"W'ere outside. Can you open the door?" Jared asks, quick and cutting, and I look out my window groggily: sure enough, he and Calypso are there, coats quickly becoming camouflaged by snowflakes. Groaning, I toss my phone onto the pillow and open the door, but it takes me a minute to process, because she's not in wolf form when I see her next. She strides inside, along with Jared, without invitation, and my teeth clench in annoyance.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here, my mom is going to be here soon, you can't just--"
"Drew is gone, Shylah," Jared intercepts smoothly, and catalogs my reaction. I stop, cut short. Blink. Take a minute to process.
"What the fuck do you mean, gone?" I ask. "And what the hell does that have to do with me?"
*~*~*~*~*
"I mean gone, Shylah. Not here, vanished, absent, no longer present; gone. There was a pack meeting with the councilors, and he never showed. That was three days ago," Calypso answers, shifting from foot to foot nervously. My brain swims.
"Okay, you just--." I hold up a hand. "Just hang on a second. I need coffee before you guys get anything through to me better than he's not here." I pad into the kitchen and pour a quick cup of the old pot that I'd made earlier this morning, mixing in a good amount of sugar and creamer before nuking it into the microwave. "Alright," I say. "Now, what the hell did Drew do this time, exactly?"
"You know Alphas have responsibilities to their pack, I'm assuming," Jared asks, and I nod. "Drew takes them to heart, so it was concerning when he didn't come to the meeting."
I walk into the kitchen, grab my coffee, and come back, sipping at it and relishing in the warmth it gives. "I'm going to take a wild guess out of the blue and say that this meeting with you councilors A) doesn't happen often and B) was probably centered on me."
Jared doesn't flinch. "Of course, but that's not what we're focusing on. He hasn't answered any of us for three days. We're all worried."
"So go look for him. Drew made it a point to say you knew the mountains better than anyone; it shouldn't be a problem."
"It's not that simple," Calypso sighs, wringing her hands nervously. "Shylah, the other council leaders put orders out for all pack members to stay put. We can't look for him. We can't ask for help. And they're baring rank, so we can't disobey."
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"They use what we call rank, but it's really just a power over anyone lower than them to obey. It takes away the option of doing anything else," Jared says. "But with this blizzard, we're all chomping at the bit. We have to find him." His green eyes are boring into mine, telling me a different story all together.
They're asking me without actually asking me to go look for him.
Well, crap.
*~*~*~*
I'm dressed, tying my laces, when Jared leans on the doorjam. "What are you doing?"
"Going for a run, J, what's it look like?" I snap, the nickname rolling off my tongue. He raises his eyebrows at me.
"You can't go after him. The other councilors, Shylah, they won't be happy. They told the pack--."
"Then why the hell did you come?" I snarl, looking up at him. "I was fine here, sleeping, and then you come and deliver that news to me, and then you tell me I can't help. There are some serious holes in your logic."
"I came because Calypso--."
"Bullshit. You came because you know I'm not under the same restrictions, Jared. You came to ask for help because you know I can't rightfully say no. So screw off. Your precious council leaders, by the way? Screw them, too. One of their own is out there, and they won't step up to help? Cowards, all of them. And if you're willing to stand by them, then, I'm sorry, Jared, but so are you." I shove past him.
He catches my wrist, and I glare at him, but he doesn't flinch at all. "It's three to one, Shylah; I can't do anything to help him."
Upon closer inspection, I can see that this is taking effect on him, too. His eyes are bagged a little more, his hair is rucked up straight in some places; his skin is a little less tan. He's worried. He cares. My teeth clench. "Yeah, well I can, so back off," I say, pulling out of his grasp and storming outside. The cold sticks to the walls of my throat when I breathe in and snowflakes collect on my lashes, melting quickly. My breath puffs into the air, but I use my anger and send it through my veins, letting it turn to lava before launching myself off of the patio. I turn and look at my house.
Calypso is halfway down the stairs, already in wolf form. "I'm sorry," she says, poking her nose into my shoulder. I nod.
"Yeah, me too."
Jared shifts and trots over. "Shylah, I--." His nose lifts up, sniffing and his ears twitch. "The councilors are here."
Sure enough, three other wolves quickly come out of the line of the forest, stopping to circle me. "What are you doing, child?" One asks. "You cannot go out there!"
My teeth show, my ears flatten. "Says who?"
"I do!" A bigger version of Drew snarls at me, his tongue lashing out at his muzzle. "I command this pack, young Alpha. You will not go looking!" I feel it like a physical weight, baring down on me. My legs quiver under the pressure and I whine as I struggle to stay standing. I'd thought Jared's was bad when he'd broken up the fight between Drew and I, but this is--my vision dances.
"Andrew, stop it! She doesn't know any better!" Calypso whines. "Leave her alone!"
I can feel her next to me, but the black council leader tightens his circle until he's just inches from me and the pressure tightens. I growl.
"I command this pack, and you will listen!" He barks. That's when I realize it.
I'd started to cave, my legs giving out, but now, I stand tall and bare my teeth at him before launching myself at him. My teeth sink themselves into fur, my paws scrabbling for purchase on muscle and snow, but he tosses me to the ground and I hit the tree. A stab of pain strikes through my back, but I take it with a grain of salt and stand back up.
"I'm not park of this pack," I growl, low and menacing. "And if that's the way you treat family, then I'm glad. You're all cowards!" My voice rises to a shout. The snow blows harder around us. "If you know these mountains so well, go out there and find him! But no, you'd rather him die and you live than save him or die trying."
They all send me different acts of aggression--one snarls, one snaps at empty air, and another rears and paws visciously at empty air.
"I command you, Shylah, to stay where you are!" Andrew snarls. I give a barking laugh.
"I'm not part of the pack. I don't listen to you." And I turn around, and race into the shadows of the trees.
*~*~*~*
Jared watches her with unease.
God help the girl, but tonight would have repercussions that may not be fixed.