Alx’s P.O.V.

“Shayla knew that something was up the moment I got there. One night she followed me. Grate at hiding that one. And well… she saw it all happen.” Chris explained, taking in a deep breath, looking out into the distance. He must be remembering the event.

‘she saw it all happen’, did she really see everything? Everything?

“Everything?”

“Everything” he answers eyebrows raised nodding his head.

“How’d she react?”

“How’d she react? Oh, yea. She was yelling, screaming and shouting.”

Shit that badly. That must have been hard for him. Having to deal with that.

 “Then she tackled me to the ground. And punched me a few times.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

He just laughs.

“Yea. She tackled me to the ground screaming and shouting ‘You lied. You asshole. You lied.’. Punched me a few times. Throwing me my change of clothes, muttering I don’t know what to herself, she left, allowing me to shift back. When I was done, I went looking for her; not that I had to go far. And she was back yelling some more. ‘How could you not tell me? What were you thinking? That I wouldn’t like you. Or that I would hate you. Or some crap. Hay?’ Then well… I told her the truth. I told her that I was told not to tell anyone. And I kind’ a told her that I thought that she would kill me. Well, because I did. Did that really piss her off. Shit, I thought she was shouting before; the two can not be compared. ‘Why the hell would I do that?!!’ Continuing to say every swear word she knew, repetitively. That was the first time I ever heard her swear. Then she slapped the back of my head. I could tell that she wanted to punch me, well, beat me to a pulp. But she was kind enough just to slap the back of my head.”

Wait ‘throwing me my change of clothes… she left, allowing me to shift back’. She attacked him in his wolf form. No, she couldn’t have wouldn’t have. Would she?

‘She did.’ Eric states proudly.

 “She attacked you in your wolf form?”  

“Yep. She had balls for a 12-year-old girl.” He confirms with a smile from ear to ear. He seems to think that this is hilarious.

??? ‘She had balls for a 12-year-old girl’, she was 12. She attacked a werewolf at 12. 12?

“12?”

“Yes, 12.” Chris only just manages to say before laugh hysterically. Eric decides to join him.

Me, well, I’m lost for words. Really lost for words. Wow. Just… wow. She’s amazing. And she’s mine. Just don’t make her reject you. No, now is not the time to be thinking of such things.

“Ok. Getting over the fact that she was 12. How’d she know that you would be able to understand her? And how did she know that you wouldn’t fight back?” I ask trying to regain my complexion.

He stops laughing to think for a moment.

“Um, never thought about that before. Um… The me understanding her part; I don’t know. The me not fighting back part; I really don’t think she cared.” His face dropping.

She didn’t care? She didn’t care. If Chris hadn’t had known that it was her; what then? I would have lost her without ever knowing her. Chris would have never returned. I would have lost my beta, the only person that I have ever thought to be a friend. I would have lost her, my soulmate. I could have lost them both. And the worst thing is, I wouldn’t have known how dear that lose was. I could have lost her. The mere thought sends a wave of anger through me.

“Alx are you ok?”

Looking up to find that it was indeed Chris that broke me from my thoughts. He must have noticed a change in my behaviour.

“I’m fine.” I lie. “It’s just. I could have lost you both that day.” Concentrating on controlling my anger.

“The both of us?” tilting his head at me.  

“I get how me not being around would be a loss to you. Because I’m so fantastic and all. But… I don’t understand how Shay not being around would affect you. Sure, it would affect me. I don’t understand how it would affect you.” He states asking for clarification.

Shit.

‘tell him.’

‘no’

‘tell him.’

‘no. I’m not telling him before I tell her. I do not want her hearing about this from anyone but myself. And sure, as hell, not her brother.’

“Because you kind ‘a, like, only just met her. It’s not like you know her very well.”

 Yes, I know, please don’t rub it in.

“She isn’t even considered part of the pack.” Chris states frustrated and confused by my silence. But what he doesn’t know is that those 8 words just sent Eric into a rampage. Fighting him while maintaining my composer is quite the task, to say the least.

‘how dear he say that?’

‘Eric.’

‘Such disrespect. I should tear him-’

‘Eric! He doesn’t know. To him, she is just his sister. Not his Luna.’

Eric just growls at me.

‘Just shut up. You’re not helping.’

“She is.”

Chris just looks at me very confused.

“She is part of the pack.”

“How so?” tilting his head at me. Does he always have to have questions? Why can’t he just accept that she is a part of the pack?

“I looked into it a bit more. Turns out that being related to a pack member and not having a pack of her own; makes her a part of the pack.”

 ‘that’s a blatant lie.’

‘shut up’

“Bullshit.”

What?

“That’s a lie.”

Shit

“Her being a part of the pack isn’t. but how you know this, is. Don’t lie. I know I joke about it sometimes. But lying is not something that I take lightly. Just how you don’t like people lying to you; I don’t like people lying to me.” Straight faced.

“And how do you feel about secrets?”

“Secrets?” returning to himself almost instantly; like flicking a switch.

“Secrets are ok. I guess. Everyone needs to have a few secrets; to keep them sane. There are just somethings that not everyone needs to know. But lying to keep one is not the best.”

“Then it’s a secret.”

“As long as this secret of yours doesn’t put my sister in harm’s way then I have no issue.”

That does it.

“As I told you before, and the time before that, and the time before that. I have no intentions of harming your sister, nor will I ever. So, for the last time I will not harm Shayla!” how many times do I have to tell him that I won’t hurt her? How many fucking times?

“You don’t need to break down your own house bud.” He stats unfazed. Must be a family trait.

“Why do you keep insisting that I’ll harm her?”

“I’m just trying to protect her. It’s nothing personal. Dude, I have issues trusting myself with her safety. Hell, I have issues trusting her with her safety. Don’t take it personally. But the fact is that you’re the strongest person I know. And in a split second, you can snap. And Shayla has the ability to aggravate people without much effort or meaning. If she somehow makes you snap, you can easily kill her. Nothing personal. I would kill for her and she would kill for me. It’s that simple.”

I could kill her. It's really is that simple. That is a fact. There is no denying it. I have the ability to kill her, and he sees nothing that would stop me. He is just doing his best to protect her in a very dangers place.

She is not safe……

‘Don’t even think about it.’

‘I rather have her alive then died, Eric.’

“I understand. She isn’t safe here. Have you considered taking her home?”

‘She is home.’

‘She is not safe here.’

“Yes, I have. But I won’t.” his calm statement gaining him a confused look from myself.

“Yes, she isn’t safe. But every time I contemplate taking her home, I get a bad feeling. Almost as if sending her home would be worse than keeping her here. That and she doesn’t want to leave. If she wanted to leave, she wouldn’t wait for permission.”

“She wouldn’t wait for permission?”

She wouldn’t just leave. Would she?

“If she wanted to leave. She would leave. No goodbye. No nothing. Well, she might call me to tell me that she’s ok on the other side. Might.”

“She wouldn’t leave in her condition?”

“Yea, she would.”

“But she would harm herself more.”

“She wouldn’t care.”

Again, with this not caring. I don’t understand.

“How could she not care?”

“It’s just who she is, ok. If Shayla really doesn’t want to be somewhere, then she doesn’t want to be there. Full stop. She wouldn’t care what condition she’s in, or if she got worse. Her being hurt, or the possibility of getting hurt rarely stops her from doing anything.”

“But why. She’s not a worrier. Why would she need to be like that?”

“It’s just how she is. It’s how I am. It’s how our family has been for as long as I can remember. We have this family saying, ‘hey, I didn’t die today, that's an achievement.’” Plain faced like it was a fairly common thing to say.

“Do you really pat yourself on the back just for being alive?”

“Yes and no.”

“How so?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“How can a family think that not dying is an achievement?”

“With what our family has been through. That’s pretty much how it is. We are grateful for every day that we are alive because we know that life might be taken away from us at a moment’s notice.”

“What have you been through?”

“Now that, my friend, is something that I rather not talk about.