Dinner passed in estranged quietness. There were four occupied seats at the table—as there always had been—but where Braden usually was now sat Beth. She had seemed so meek and shy the first time we met but I noticed now how she was more comfortable around my parents. Her shyness had nothing to do with the lack of conversation. We were all thinking about Braden. Worrying about him.
After half an hour of occasional remarks and dead-end conversation, my mom proposed we relocate to the living room to wind down with some television. My dad still hadn't asked why I came home. I wondered if my mom told him anything if he'd even known I was coming home before. He seemed far too preoccupied with Braden's well-being to ask about mine. To keep myself from feeling unnecessarily bitter, I tried to think about how Braden was in danger and I wasn't. I wasn't anymore at least.
We took our dishes to the sink and bundled up on the couches in the living room. While my mom and I took one couch, my dad was in the recliner and Beth was on the leather loveseat. My dad turned the television, pausing on the ESPN channel to see the football scores.
"Oh, give the remote to me," my mom complained.
"No, no." He clutched it to his chest. "I will pick a movie. I just needed to get an update on the game—"
A knock at the door interrupted him. Everyone but me jumped to their feet and rushed to answer it. I stood up more slowly to watch. Dad got to it first and didn't hesitate to tear the door nearly off its hinges. An older man with dark hair graying at the temples stood on the porch in a sweater and jeans. He looked upset.
"Alpha Danny," my dad greeted in surprise, but not the good kind.
"Oh, no," whimpered my mom. She turned away from the door to press her face to her hands.
The man's frosty blue eyes looked after her in concern as he offered a hand for my dad to shake. "Braden is alright, Mrs. Sanders. I've only come to update you all."
My mom spun back around with a hopeful face. Beth wrapped an arm around her waist. Watching them all, I remained by the couch and listened. My dad invited our guest inside, where they all crowded around the foyer.
"Now, I know Beth is the only one here in the pack," said Alpha Danny, his eyes meeting mine for the first time. "But the rest of the pack has been put on high alert. We can't disclose what's happening right now, but we will once it is under control. Braden is doing a great job, Mr. and Mrs. Sanders."
"When will he come home?" Beth asked.
"I hope soon."
My legs carried my curious mouth closer to the door. "Excuse me, Alpha, but what happened that could put my brother's life at risk like this? It doesn't seem very...normal."
"You're Rylee, right?" he said.
I nodded.
"Well, Rylee, I can't disclose anything, like I said, but I will tell you that what we are dealing with...it is new terrain for us. That is why it is risky. I know you're worried about your brother, but he'll be back in your arms soon."
That didn't soothe any of my worries, but I knew he wouldn't provide any more information. Alpha Danny, as nice as he could be, was still an Alpha: stubborn and determined. I just wanted my brother to come home.
"Thank you for visiting us, Alpha," my dad said.
My mom pressed a smile to her lips. "We appreciate your consideration very much."
"Of course." Touching a hand to both of their shoulders, Alpha Danny smiled faintly and nodded. "I know this is all hard for you all. Your son is going to be an excellent Alpha, and I don't know what would happen to the pack if he wasn't here. He's been a lifesaver."
I didn't understand exactly what he meant until he left and we all returned to our seats in the living room. My mom took my hand in hers with a firm squeeze.
"Why isn't he out there handling the issue instead of Braden?" I asked, unable to stop myself from sounding bitter.
"Alpha Danny is getting weak," my dad replied. He seemed almost despondent about it. "He would have stepped down by now if he'd had a replacement sooner, but you know he had no sons. So they're all waiting for Braden to be ready."
"So this is like a test? They're testing to see if Braden can handle it?"
Frowning, he shrugged. "Maybe."
"That seems a little messed up."
"Honey," said my mom, "being an Alpha is rigorous and difficult. They have many lives in their hands. It's really important they have full confidence in Braden."
I sighed and nodded. When I glanced at Beth, she was staring at me. A smile stretched her lips, but it didn't look genuine. She was probably stressed out of her mind. Brady was her mate, after all. If Tandan was going through this, I would be stressed too.
Oh, God. I couldn't believe I just went there with myself. Tandan wasn't Braden. They weren't even on comparable levels. Tandan was an asshole who fell in love with a human. He was the epitome of a bad wolf—a bad mate.
The sound of the television drew my attention out of my lap. No one spoke while dad turned to the I.D. channel. Like them, I fixed my blank eyes on the screen and tried not to cry.
—(—)—
I woke at the high-pitched scream that pierced the quiet house. My heart was already racing like I'd been in a bad dream. At first, I thought the scream had been in my dream or was even me. But then I heard it again. It came from downstairs. That was when I realized I was in bed, and I didn't even remember walking up to my room last night.
Coughing on unseeable fear, I threw the covers off and stumbled out of bed. I was still dressed in my clothes from yesterday. My feet bounced off the cold wood floors as I ran to the door, jerked it open, and ran downstairs. All the wolfy senses in my body perked up. Another scream sounded and was abruptly cut off.
"Mom!" I yelled. "Mom!"
There was no one in the foyer while I ran and tripped down the steps. My sensitive ears picked up on claws scraping against wood in the direction of the living room. I bounded towards the noise. A massive brown beast stood in the middle of the living room with vivid blue human eyes. He growled at me.
"You," I whispered.
Before either of us moved, the front door flew open and Braden stormed in. His eyes were wide in panic.
"Anna!" he bellowed.
The beast leaped over the couch and snatched me up with one hand around my waist. I shrieked. Braden was so stunned he didn't take action for a few seconds. It was too late. I was carried violently through the house, whacking my head on a wall or two, before we reached a giant hole in the back of the house where the back door used to be. Without hesitating, the beast jumped through it.
"They're out back!" Braden was yelling.
Other voices accompanied him, though they were now out of earshot. The beast made it to the woods. He was fast for sprinting on two legs. I didn't understand why he was running from them, though; surely, he was strong enough to fight them off. Unless he just didn't want to fight them.
A bullet whizzed over my head. I screamed in terror and the beast crouched down as if that would better protect us. Even though I wiggled around, I knew I couldn't escape. Another bullet flew at us but this one landed in the beast's leg. He choked out a whine and fell forward, sending us rolling apart. My head hit the ground pretty hard so I was still seeing stars. In my peripheral, I saw the beast clamber up onto his knees and crawl towards me. He picked me up.
Then another bullet struck him in the shoulder. I saw the red hairs on the bullet and realized it was a tranquilizer dart. There wasn't enough time to respond before the beast collapsed on top of me. I used my legs and arms to push off the ground to get out from under him until I succeeded. When I looked in the direction of the house, I saw Braden and Alpha Danny approaching with hard, unreadable faces. Braden was holding the tranquilizer gun.
He lifted it, took aim, and shot me in the chest.