Chapter Twenty-Eight: Flight Risk
"Sam, it's going to be alright. You have to calm down. Babe, just breathe." Aaron cooed softly. Sam has his head in between his legs as he sat down on the hardwood flooring. His face was red and he was hyperventilating. He was having a panic attack. Sam sucked in air through his nose and pushed it out sharply through his mouth. Aaron breathed with him, calming him down. Alice was chewing on her nails nervously as she watched her brother. Alice was about to hop down from her seat on the counter when I stepped in between her legs.
"Alice, he's going to be fine. Aaron knows what he's doing." I whispered to her. She tried to look around, so I put a finer on her chin and forced her to look at me. "When I was growing up, my dad was an ass. He would beat my mom and I, and when Aaron was over at my house and he came home drunk, I would panic. Aaron figured out how to get me to calm down. He knows what he's doing." I told her. Alice's eyes snapped to mine.
Actaeon rushed into the room. "She went into labor." He gushed before running back to Charlie's room.
"Michael, we need to get outside, he's about to change." Aaron breathed out. I grabbed Alice by her hand and pulled her outside with me. Behind me, Aaron scooped Sam up from the floor and hurried after Alice and me.
"Damnit Michael, I really like this shirt." Alice complained once we were standing in the moonlight.
"Then just take it off. I'm going to take mine off, I'm not made of money. I can't afford to keep buying new clothes." I told her. Alice grumbled something before pulling the shirt over her head. She untied her converse and set them in a pile by her tank top. Her jeans were the next to go. She stood awkwardly in only her purple lace bra and matching purple panties.
"Fuck, these were expensive," she whined. I turned around and unclasped her bra for her. She crossed her arms over her chest to cover herself.
"Just change, babe. You don't have to be forced by the moon." I reminded her. She slipped out of her underwear, and not two seconds later, exploded into a small grey wolf.
I removed my clothing and put them by hers before changing. The cool, spring breeze pushed it's at through my black fur. The dew covered grass crunched quietly under my paws as I joined Alice in walking over to where Aaron was standing on all fours. 'He hasn't changed yet,'
'Why do you think it's taking so long?' Alice asked. Aaron shrugged. Sam screamed in pain as his spine cracked, causing him to fall onto the ground. I could almost see the heat radiating off of his skin. After another defeating crack, he burst out of his skin. He shook himself off, the shredded pieces of his clothing falling onto the grass. His coat was red, brown and black splatters.
Sam sprinted off into the woods. 'I'll follow him, make sure he doesn't piss off a moose or something.' Aaron said as he ran off after Sam. Alice sat down next to me and nuzzled her head into my neck and shoulder gently.
'Were we all such a flight risk on our first full moon?' Aaron grumbled as he fought to catch up to Sam. 'And I swear to god if he speeds up anymore I'm going to literally die.'
I jumped when I heard a blood curdling scream. Alice didn't even look around to see where it came from. 'She is having a baby. We should have expected screaming.' Alice said. I stopped looking around and faced towards the forest. The moon was lowering quickly, making way for the sun. The tops of the trees were barely visible because of how dark it was. I tried to ignore Charlie's cries of pain as Alice and I sat there.
'Guys, I need some help. There's a wolf from another pack on Sam and I's tail. I can't shake him without losing Sam.' Aaron said. Alice burst from the ground, I barely had time to follow her before she was already engulfed in the trees.
'Where are you?' Alice demanded.
'Heading towards the clearing where Rebekah attacked Michael on her first full moon,' Aaron told her. Alice pushed herself to go faster. 'Alice, let Michael show you the way there. He probably remembers how to get there.' Alice huffed angrily before letting me go ahead of her. I pushed myself faster, making sure that Alice was behind me. I could tell that she was upset about Sam finding his way into trouble, but I couldn't let her emotions taint mine. I had to make sure to try and talk things out with this other pack, not fight it out.
I skidded to a stop once we reached the clearing. Aaron was backing into a rock, Sam behind him. A rather large wolf was walking towards them, his ears back and tail between his legs. His head was lowered down slightly. I wouldn't be able to reason with him. 'Alice, you go take Aaron and Sam's right flank. I'll take the left.' Alice nodded before sprinting off. I stepped up beside Aaron. Now it was four against one. The odds were not in the other wolf's favor, and he knew it. His ears lifted like he had heard something and he scampered off, but not before looking over his shoulder at us.
'Sorry for getting us in trouble with another pack,' Sam apologized before we started to head back home. Alice, Aaron and I assured him it wasn't his fault. We ran away from the clearing, whizzing past trees and bushes and small streams and other forest animals. We broke through the trees and another one of Charlie's horrific screams echoed around us. Sam and Aaron flinched. 'God, she sounds like she's dying.' he commented. Alice threw him a look.
The sun had risen over the horizon. I quickly changed back so I was on two feet. Before I put my clothes back on, I stretched out my back. It popped four times. Alice hid behind me as she changed back into her clothing. Aaron chuckled while Sam rolled his eyes. "Alice, we used to bathe together. This is nothing." he said.
"It's not you I'm hiding from." she said. Sam shot her a look before he glanced over at Aaron, who was happily pulling his belt through the loops in his jeans. "I'm not worried about Aaron either. It's people or things I can't see that I'm worried about. What if someone had a camera and was hiding out in the trees, waiting for us to change back so they could take a picture of our faces? We could be exposed to the world. I just like being cautious." Alice explained. Charlie's screams had finally stopped. Her baby was there.
A/N hello again everyone! I am back! (not from the dead, just from vacation) Updated will get back to normal now that I am home again and have wifi and my laptop. Hope this chapter is to your liking!