Chapter 4
Tyler’s POV
Sam and I were standing in the back yard surrounded by our pack. We watched as mom and dad stepped out of the house holding a huge cake. The right side was covered in red icing and the left side was covered in blue. In the middle of the cake stood 17 burning candles.
Both Sam’s face and my own had a huge grin on it. A gentle breeze made the flames dance. But it also brought the awful smell of rouges with it as well. We watched as rouges poured out of the woods. Mom tries to get the little kids to the safe room, but we’re surrounded before she could get very far. The sound of clothes ripping and bones popping fills the air.
I look at the ground to see our birthday cake trampled into the dirt. Sam and I are standing back to back, fighting and killing. Suddenly, a hot searing pain shots up my hind leg. Knowing that I’m fine, I turn to see a rouge break Sam’s leg. I growl loudly, drawing his attention to me. He smirks, but I jump on him before he could move. Within seconds, he’s dead.
The pack doctor couldn’t explain why Sam and I were able to fill the other’s pain. But we thought it was kind of cool. It made us closer as siblings. It was almost like a mate bond.
Sensing a rouge in front of me, I flip over grabbing his neck. I snap it in half quickly. I get rid of another rouge when I see a flash of black in the corner of my eye. Before I could move, a burning sensation spreads all throughout my body. I watch as the rouge sneaks towards my brother. Growly at him, I charge forward, hitting him in the side. I could hear a rib or two breaks.
I grab the fur on his should and pull. He yips in pain. He tosses me off like a pup. I hit a tree and fall to the ground dazed. I lay there trying to catch my breath. I struggle to get up. Never before had I ever had a problem like this in battle. I hear laughing and look up. The black wolf was just staring at me. “Silly pup, you should watch out for needle pricks. You never know when one will have some wolf’s bane on it.”
I growl at him and lunge forward. I grab his throat and tear it a little. Again he tosses me away like I’m a rag doll. I land hard on the ground. He stalks towards me. “I’m going to enjoy killing you pup.” He sneers at me. Suddenly the flash of Sam’s blood red wolf catches me eyes. I watch in horror as he jumps on the rouge. They fight hard before the rouge trips my brother and break his neck. My body is on fire as I feel my brother fight for his last breath. Then the pain’s gone.
Suddenly my vision becomes red. I jump up and pounce on the rouge. Ripping his throat out, I don’t stop until there’s little of him left. Then I slowly drag myself over to Sam. Lying across his body, I let out a soul jerking howl, letting all my pain and emptiness go. Sensing danger in front of me, I lay my ears back and growl menacingly.
I wake up covered in sweat, screaming. I hear the sound of running feet and I jump out of my bed. Cowering in my dark closet, I feel my heart racing. I sense danger approaching. Letting out a feral growl, I hear my mom gasp. “Honey?” she calls to me. I could tell that Lilly, my wolf, was on the verge of taking over. “Tyler, sweetheart,” my dad calls to me, “You’re safe. There’s no danger. It was a nightmare. You’re safe.” Slowly my heart beat returns to normal, and I feel the tears start to fall. “Daddy,” I whisper, “It wasn’t a nightmare. It was real. Oh, it was real.”
I knew he understood what I was talking about when his voice became a whisper. “Shh now baby girl. Daddy’s got you. Nothing can hurt you. I got you.” He kept repeating. Mom gives me a kiss on my head as Dad picks me up. Lying my on my bed, Mom covers me up. “Why don’t you try and get some more sleep honey.”
“Okay Mom.” I whisper as I close my eyes. I lay there pretending I’m asleep. Soon, I hear the front door shut and I knew that they were on their way to see my uncle. Sighing, I swing my legs out of bed and stand up. Walking to my closet, I pull out a long sleeve navy blue tee shirt and my favorite pair of jeans. I decide to take a shower.
Feeling better, I slip into my clothes and pick up my mp3. Heading down to the kitchen, I grab an apple and leave a note on the fridge. I walk out of the back door and stare at the sky. No clouds in sight and a soft breeze slip through the trees. Smiling faintly, I run towards the fence. Jumping at the last second, I sail over the top rung, landing perfect on my feet.
I start walking through the woods, not really caring where I’m going. After almost two hours of mindless walking, I stumble on a magical clearing. In the middle was a crystal clear pond with a weeping willow standing beside it. The braches hung so low that they created a curtain, which would create a perfect hiding place for me. I smile and slip through the leaves. Setting down on the soft grass, I slip my headphones on, turn the mp3 player on and close my eyes. Turning the volume up loud, I lay my head against the trunk of the tree.
Instantly Sam’s face appears. His lips are moving and he’s smiling at me, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. Then as fast as he appeared he vanishes. Jumping up, I look around. Not seeing him, I start yelling, “Sam! Sam!”
“I’m right behind you sis. There’s no need to shout at me.” I turn around and scream. But it was the happy kind of scream. I throw myself in his arms, crying. He laughs softly and hugs me tightly. “Happy Birthday to you half-pint.” I stick my tongue at him. “Happy Birthday to you too. Pup.” He growls at me, but I can see the laughter in his eyes. We sit down and I lay my head on his shoulder.
“I’ve missed you so much Sam.” I whisper. “I know you have Ty. And every day since it happened, I’ve been watching out for you.” He pauses, running his hands down my hair he tugs the end of it like he always did when we were younger. “It’s not your fault you know?”
“What’s not my fault?”
“My death wasn’t your fault. The rouges poisoned you to the point where your wolf couldn’t fight back. I felt it when they injected you with the wolf’s bane. And I could feel it when it began to spread through your veins. It felt like hell. So don’t be so hard on yourself girl.” I try to stop the tears from falling, but they have a mind of their own.
“Sam, it should have been me that died that day. I’m the oldest. It was my job to protect you. Not the other way around.” Sam laughs softly. “Tyler, you saved my life so many times that day. I was glad that I was able to save yours. Even if it meant that I had to give mine up in the process.” I glare at him through my tears. “No Sam. I should have died protecting you. You’re my little brother; it was my job to protect you.”
“And you did a great job of that sis.”
“No I didn’t. You died.”
“No on blames you for that rouge killing me. You were poisoned, had several bones broken, and almost died in the hospital. Mom and Dad know that you did everything possible with that amount of wolf’s bane in your system. And I don’t blame you. I never have. So you need to stop blaming yourself. It was my time to go little one.” I shake my head no, and his arms tighten around me. “Do you that Lilly and I are still so ashamed at what happened, we haven’t shifted for a year. One whole year Sam. What’s the use of being so big and special if I couldn’t save the one person that meant the world to me?”
“Tyler, if you would have died that day instead of me, I would be in your shoes right now. I would be beating myself up for not protecting you, for not saving you. We always had each other’s back no matter what. And even though I’m no longer with you, I’m still looking out for you.” I nod my head slowly. I should have known that Sam would have understood. But that didn’t mean the pain was any easier to bear.
We spent the next hour and half laughing about the things we did when we were little. My eyes started to get heavy. Sam jerks his head around as if someone called him. He looks down at me, his eyes filled with pain, regret and love. I knew my eyes looked the same. He places a kiss on my brow and stands. “I’ll be back next year Tyler. I have to go back now.”
“Wait! What do you mean?”
“The moon goddess gave us two hours every year on our birthday for me to visit you. But know that even if you can’t feel me, I’m always there sis. I love you.”
“I love you too Sam.” I watch as he heads toward the trees. Just before reaching them, he turns around and faces me. “Tyler?”
“Yes Sam?”
“You do deserve a mate. If there’s anyone on this earth that deserves a mate, it’s you. Don’t forget that. Will you do me a couple of favors?”
“You know I’ll do anything for you Sam.”
“I know. I need you to tell Mom and Dad that I love them and I miss them. Tell them that I think they should name the baby after me, that way y’all have a piece of me with you always. And the second thing I need you to do for me is to accept your mate. Don’t push him away and don’t lock him out. Let him in, let him love you. And most of all love him back. Can you do that for me?”
“I’ll try Sam. I’ll give it my best shot.” I whisper, drying my face. He gives me a smile and says, “That’s my girl,” before he disappears.
Jerking awake, I look around. I was still under the willow, but I had been moved over. Beside me sat a little back box. My name was written on a little piece of paper attached to it. Picking it up, I look around. Opening the box, I gasp. Lying inside on a bed of silk was a perfectly carved turquoise wolf howling. Inscribed on the side in blood red letters was a note. It read: FAMILY FOREVER –SAM. I smile as I look up at the sky.
“Thank you Sam. I’ll treasure it always.” Noticing that it was getting kind of late, I decided that it was time for me to get home. Stepping out from the willow curtain, I clutch my wolf closer to me. The snapping of a twig broke the silence. Whirling around, I drop into a defensive stance. “Please don’t let it be rouges.” I mumble as I look around.
A man steps out from behind an oak tree. He slowly raises his hands, showing me he meant no harm. I slowly stand straight. Keeping my eye on him, I just stand there. Looking into his face, I freeze. Starting back at me was the most beautiful pair of stormy blue-gray eyes.
Suddenly the wind changes directions. It blows towards me carrying his scent along with it. The mouth watering smell of pine, jasmine, and fresh cut hay swirls around me. Lilly howls and laughs, sounding happier than she’s been all year. Then she says the one word that could send both fear and happiness through my body. Mate!
Then I did something that no wolf has ever done when they find their mate, they second half. I ran away from him as fast as my feet could carry me.