42
42
I sat at the kitchen table stirring my tea, staring at the steam rising from the cup. Damien leaned against the counter with his arms crossed. Linda walked in wiping her hands on a towel and sat across from me. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked
between us.
“What’s with the faces?” she asked. “Something happen?”
Damien nodded once. “Someone posted Sienna’s missing in the human world. We need to go back quick so she can show up and shut it down.”
Linda leaned back in her chair. “Damn. That’s bad. Police get involved and it’s a mess.”
I raked my fingers through my hair and shifted in my seat. “Yeah. I’m freaked out. But we have to go tomorrow.”
Linda looked at Damien. “You taking her?”
He nodded again. “Yeah. Can’t let her go alone.”
Linda shook her head slow. “Take me instead.”
I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at her. “What?”
Damien uncrossed his arms. “Why?”
Linda leaned forward on the table. “I know you’re scared to leave her alone but now’s too crucial for you to leave the pack. With the war heating up you can’t disappear. It’ll raise suspicions here. And I’m trained enough for you to trust me. We’ll be back in
secs.”
Damien furrowed his eyebrows and raked his fingers through his hair. “No. I’m going. It’ s too risky.”
I shifted in my chair again. “Wait. She has a point. You leaving now would look weird to everyone. And if something happens while you’re gone…”
He looked at me. “I’m not leaving you with her.”
Linda raised her hands. “Hey. I’m right here. And I can handle it. I’ve done human world runs before. Sienna’ll be safe with me.”
I nodded slow. “I think it’s a good idea. It would be too selfish for you to go. The pack needs you here more than I do for one quick trip.”
Damien stared at me for a long second. “You sure?”
I raked my fingers through my hairsücessfullylocked but Linda’s strong. We’ll be fine.”
He crossed his arms again. “I don’t like it.”
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Linda smiled small. “You don’t have to like it. Just trust me. I’ve got her back.”
Damien looked between us. He raked his fingers through his hair one more time. “Fine. But you check in every hour. And if anything feels off you call me immediately.”
Linda nodded quick. “Deal. We’ll be careful.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Thanks Damien. Really.”
He looked at me. “Don’t make me regret this.”
Linda stood up. “We won’t. Let’s pack light. We leave at dawn like you said.”
We all got up. I followed Damien up the stairs to our room. He opened the door and
walked in first. I closed it behind me.
“You really okay with this?” he asked.
I nodded and raked my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, It makes sense. You stay here and handle the pack. I’ll be back before you know it.”
He sat on the bed and pulled his boots off. “Get some sleep then. Big day tomorrow.”
I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up. “You too.”
He turned off the light and lay down next to me.
I stared at the ceiling, heart still racing a little. Tomorrow was going to be weird. But at least I wasn’t going alone.
I stood in the hallway shifting on my feet while Linda grabbed her jacket from the hook. She slung it over her shoulder and looked at me with a small smile. “Ready?”
I nodded quick and raked my fingers through my hair. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
We walked out the back door together. No one asked where we were going. We told the guards Linda wanted to show me something in the woods. They nodded and let us pass without questions. I felt my stomach twist a little. Sneaking out like this raised loads of red flags but we couldn’t tell the others the truth. It would cause too many questions about me leaving the pack during war time.
Once we were on the dirt path heading toward the human road Linda looked at me sideways. “You know I never really go to the human world. I’m kinda excited to see it up close.”
I furrowed my eyebrows and smiled a little. “Really? You’ve never been?”
She shook her head. “Nah. Always stuck with pack stuff. Wolves don’t mix much. So tell me all your favorite human things. What’s the best part?”
I shifted my backpack on my shoulder and thought for a second. “Okay. Coffee shops. You can sit for hours with a latte and just people watch. No one bothers you.”
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Linda laughed. “Sounds chill. What else?”
“Movies,” I said. “Big screens, popcorn, stories that make you forget everything. And parks. Just walking with no purpose.”
She nodded slow. “Must be nice with no ranks and nothing to worry about wars or alphas bossing you around.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “It’s not all nice. We have society ranks too. Rich people, poor people, bosses who treat you like crap. And we have world wars. Big ones. Bombs, armies, millions dead. It’s not peaceful.”
Linda furrowed her eyebrows. “Damn. Sounds like our world but without claws.”
I shrugged. “Pretty much. Humans just use guns instead.”
She looked at me.
“If there’s something you’ve really wanted to do we can do it. What’s it you want?”.
I waited for her to answer but nothing came out. I furrowed my eyebrows and stopped walking. My smile faded. “Linda?”
She didn’t answer. I looked back at her.
Everything changed. It was night time all of a sudden. The sky was black, no stars. Linda lay on the ground, knife stabbed deep in her shoulder. Blood pooled around her, dark and shiny. Her eyes were open but blank. She wasn’t moving.
I gasped and dropped to my knees. “Linda! Oh my god, Linda!”
I shook her shoulder hard. “Wake up. Please wake up.”
She didn’t move. Blood soaked my hands. I screamed loud and tried to pull the knife out but my fingers slipped. “What the hell just happened? Linda, come on!”
I fumbled for my phone in my pocket. The screen lit up. Twelve hours had passed. It was midnight. I stared at it. “How? We just left. It was morning.”
I dropped the phone and raked my fingers through my hair hard. Tears streamed down. my face. I had zero memory of the last twelve hours. Nothing. Just walking with her, talking about human things, then this.
I grabbed her hand. “Linda, please. Wake up. I don’t know what happened. I blacked out or something. Help!”
No answer. She was cold. I sobbed harder and rocked back on my heels.
My whole body shook. What did I do? Did I do this? The knife. The blood. It was all on
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