It's not the future
that you are afraid of.
Its the fear of the
past repeating itself
that haunt you.
My parents had been excited when I returned to the pack with Leia by my side. Her father hadn't been happy, but he knew what it was to have a mate. He wouldn't deprive us of that.
My mother had instantly recognized the girl she helped deliver. She was ecstatic, saying that she had always known there was something between the two of us besides just childhood friends.
We had been best friends as kids, not only from my Lycan pushing me to pursue her but because our mothers were best friends. Well, my mother was friends with everyone, but she holds certain people dearer to her heart than others.
"Why is Bexley not coming out of that damned room." Wilder snarled as he came into the kitchen where Olympia, Leia, Ellis, and I sat chatting idly.
Olympia looked down guilty, Bexley had only allowed her to come in. Even our parents were banished from her room, but even Olympia wasn't telling us what was wrong.
"Sorry guys," She feebly apologized, although she didn't seem sorry. She and Bexley have gotten on quite better than the twins had thought they would.
While I was worried for my sister, I knew better than to go around demanding answers like the twins were.
"Anyone want anything from the garage?" I changed the topic, taking in the different multitude of answers before departing from the kitchen.
Gathering the many wants, mainly coming from the twins, I piled it back in my arms before walking into the foyer to make my way back to the kitchen. Only to see Bexley with her hand on the handle.
Her usual leather jacket was on, curly hair pulled up into a bun as her thick, round glasses were perched on her red nose. While I could pick up on the subtle things knowing she was upset, I knew if anyone looked at her they would think she was fine.
Opening to mouth, I went to say something for her to just shake her head and leave through the front door. Closing my mouth, I rolled my lips in my mouth walking back into the kitchen, knowing our little sister needed time to deal with whatever she was going through.
Little did I know I should have stopped her from stepping a foot from this house.
-
The twins and Olympia departed from us and Leia and I found ourselves in my room. I stayed quiet, watching her look around the room and take her time.
Her fingers dusted the clean shelves, running her hand along the white bedspread. I stilled as she opened her mouth.
"Why is it all so white?" She turned her head toward me, questions in her gaze.
"I was waiting for my mate, I knew she would want a say in how our room would look like." She nodded her head, settling herself at the edge of the bed as I watched her from the door.
"But how am I supposed to know what your style is when you're just going to readily agree with everything I say?"
I stayed silent, knowing this was why my mother pushed me to decorate my room. My mate was right, how am I supposed to decorate my room with Leia when I didn't even know my own likes and dislikes.
Leia stayed quiet, sitting on the bed as I devilled into my own head.
All I had prepared for my entire life was protecting my family, my pack, and wanting a mate. I never really made times for friends in my life, I was homeschooled once I hit middle school and my Lycan urges started pushing out more.
I had always held onto the hope that my mate would accept me wholly, completely despite my flaws. Yet even she can't as I had waited for her my entire life while she lived hers.
She had boyfriends, friends, went to school, parties. She lived and loved. While I just loved.
I hadn't gotten a chance to live my life, and now I wouldn't be able to as I take over the Alpha position, soon as the twins had finally found their mates, the only thing that was keeping us from continuing with my father retiring.
I went to reply to her, to tell her that I didn't see why it was as big of a problem as she was making it seem. We could find my style together, as we chose our furniture and decorations for the room in our free time. We weren't in any rush, we could take our time. But she was upset, and I wasn't necessarily sure as to why.
My mouth opened as the door knocked behind me at the same moment.
Pushing off the door, stamping out my frustration, my father entered the room. His usual light eyes looked dark and tired, shadows under his eyes darkened as his hair billowed around his shoulder. He looked unhinged.
"Son, have you seen Bexley?" My heart skipped a beat, his voice raw as it usually was after he spent hours screaming at pack warriors to train harder as he trained alongside them.
"She's not back yet?" Worry began to bubble in my chest as he let out a low growl, my Lycan bristling.
His glowing eyes met mine, his Lycan fighting for control. I elaborated for the worried father. "This morning she left out the front door, she wanted to be alone." He let out a tired sigh, dropping his head.
"She isn't back." His energy falling before he straightened his back. "Your mother is out there combing the woods with a few warriors. I would like you and the twins to join them." I nodded my head.
"I'll meet you out there." He nodded, his eyes growing hazy as he walked out, most likely contacting my mother.
"You're just going to leave?" Leia asked, her voice hurt as I worried about my sister.
"She's my sister, Leia."
"And I'm your mate." She snapped back. "I felt my home, my father, for you. To be with you and you're going to run after your reckless sister?"
I struggled to contain my feelings of hurt and anger as I turned to my mate, chest heaving. "I let her leave." She looked up at me confused. "I let her walk out that door. I know my sister, she's hurt right now for whatever reason. She's gone now though. And that's my responsibility as the next Alpha and her older brother." She shrunk back as my harsh tone. "You are my mate, but as my mate, you should stick by my side, not make me feel bad about going to find my younger sister or this damn room. I've waited for you all my life and now that you're here you make it seem that's a bad thing."
I turned away from her, sighing heavily as she sat there in shock. My cool demeanor breaking as I left the room, letting the door swing open.
Heading to the twin's room, I could hear shrieking laughter coming from it. The door was propped open as I leaned against the doorway.
Wilder was laying on the bed, a book in hand with Olympias' head on his lap as Ellis was tickling her tone stomach.
"Wilder, help!" She cried out between laughter.
He smiled, looking down at his withering mate before flipping a page in his book. Clearing my throat, I straightened up, ignoring the tickling sensation in my throat.
Ellis pulled back from Olympia, as Wilders' eyes flickered up to me, setting the book to the side as Olympia struggled to breathe.
"What's wrong," Wilder asked as Ellis turned toward me suddenly serious now.
"Bexley isn't back." They all sat up, even Olympia, worry growing in her eyes. "Father is worried, he wants us to go out. Comb the woods."
The twins nodded, getting up from the bed. Olympia sat up on her knees on the bed, caressing each of the twin's cheeks.
Turning away as I felt like I had felt as if I was intruding on an intimate moment. The twins were by my side a moment later, keeping my ears to myself. We talked through the halls, able to hear Olympia rummaging through her room murmuring to herself.
They still hadn't gotten a chance to go back to where she was staying and get her things as she would be staying here.
"How are things with you two?" I question, keeping up our brisk pace through the house as we were making our way outside.
"Good, sometimes it's difficult controlling the Lycan. He just wants to mark her but reigning him in is easier with her close." Ellis answered as Wilder nodded in agreement.
"And you?" Wilder asked as we were jogging into the woods, stripping from our clothes.
"Not so great." Was the only answer I gave as the air filled with the cracking of bones as fur pushed through our skin until we were on all fours in our other form.
"You'll get through it." Ellis voice filtered through my head as we set off in a run, combing through bushes and the woods.
But nothing was found, everyone eventually was combing the single trail that had Bexley's scent. But it ended at a cliff when one of our trackers went down to the bottom of the cliff and didn't get her scent at all.
It was a dead end.
Father was mad, furious. Snapping at everyone, mother had gone back to the pack house not that long ago, scanning to see if we missed anything.
They didn't like that their daughter was missing and had a block up so no one can communicate with her. It was frustrating, no one in the pack liked that the girl who told you as she saw it while comforting you, is gone.
I didn't like the fact that Leia was acting the way she was, yes, she moved to my pack, but only because I was the next Alpha. We couldn't just up and leave our pack for another when we were the future these people were riding on.
She should understand, but she doesn't. Her father and she left the pack once his mate died, he ran from the people he grew up with to hide from his feelings.
Maybe that said something about the way Leia was asking, with the way she grew up. Judah didn't seem as if he reinforced the idea of mates very well, something that had my chest rumbling, a growl slipping through.
Shaking my head, the fur around my neck bristling at the many wolves pacing, waiting for their Alpha to tell them what to do. But he was too busy fighting off his Lycan who was trying to break through and slaughter everything in his path.
The twins and I hung near a cluster of trees, as the pack watched my father pace agitatedly. Wilder suddenly turned though, his ears perking up our Lycans following his as we could hear a few sticks cracking under the weight of someone.
Coming close to a tree, the smells of the forest suddenly disappeared, the smells disappearing without a trace. My Lycan perked up, growling at the sudden disappearing scents.
The three of us moved forward to the stump, where a piece of paper laid on the flat stump. Wilder made it there first, freezing the hair standing up on the back of his neck.
My Lycan warily made its way forward, eyeing the paper that made my blood freeze as the growl was rumbling in my chest, slowly turning into a snarl.
The neat red handwriting had me pausing, the message was deadlier than anything else.
We're coming for the girl.
But a sudden howl had everyone moving, darting from their spots to the direction the lone female howl came from.
The howl we all agreed would only be sounded if we found something; good or bad. My father overpassed everyone as he took off, working overtime to get to the female howl he knew quite well.
The howl that I grew up listening to.
The twins and I followed behind our father closely, our front paws almost overlapping his back paws. We ran as if Bexley were laid dying where my mother found her, as she very well could be with the note in mind.