AN: Nada. Enjoy!

Jenni's change back wasn't nearly as long or painful as I thought it was going to be. Her fur simply receded in some places and grew out in areas like her head. Sharp claws faded back into nails, her teeth got duller, and her eyes got softer.

She did have issues as her hips and arms rotated back into their sockets but there's nothing we could've done about that. By the time she was back in skin form, I had a blanket open and Micheal had water ready for her to drink.

Jenni didn't say a word to us but we knew when she was ready to eat. I also looked up at her the moment before she began speaking.

"What just happened?" She asks timidly.

We both look to Micheal for answers because I sure as hell don't know.

"Well," he starts while munching thoughtfully on his trail mix, "you technically did the right thing and chose your Alpha. But we all assumed that it would've been me and not Bex. You're in a pack, just not mine." Micheal finishes.

"Does this mean that Bex and I will have to leave?" Jenni asks worriedly.

Micheal growls at her unintentional insult and shakes his head.

"You guys will always be welcome." Micheal states. His voice carries through the woods and I can feel the promise in his words.

"But," I say facing them both head on, "I think it's time we start looking for your mates."

Our newly formed connection hasn't abated so I can feel their excitement and longing. I have a better grasp over emotions in general so they don't feel my anguish in not having one of my own.

Only werewolves with wolves have mates because the wolf is more connected to the world on a spiritual plane. All my problems seem to revolve around not having mine.

"Do you really think I'm ready?" Jenni asks hopefully. I can feel her doubt in herself like it's my own. The natural protectiveness I feel isn't new but I do know that it now comes from being her sister and Alpha.

"You have your wolf now Jenni, you're ready. Talk to her and trust in her instincts." I instruct.

Micheal doesn't need prompting to know that he's ready for his mate. He just looks sad that he can't just leave to go look for her/him.

As an Alpha he must stay with his pack. He was so ready to have a pack of his own that he didn't travel to look for his mate like normal next in line Alphas do. The only hope Micheal has now is if they are either in a surrounding pack or if they wander into his pack lands one day. The first one isn't likely but there's still one pack he hasn't checked.

"We'll start with Dominic's." I say aloud making the decision for us all. I can't​ help the venom that creeps onto my tongue when I say his name, but at least now I'm able to say it without breaking things.

Progress is hardly ever instantaneous.

We all seem to be on the same wavelength but Jenni and Micheal still growl to varying degrees. I keep a tight hold on my feelings as I continue.

"If your mates are there then you owe them to at least push past the pain and to test the possibility. Plus, we can see if there's anything laying around about Jenni's birth parents." I conclude.

I can feel Micheal pushing on my calm barrier but thankfully it holds steady. Only he can sense that my aura of calm is faked, Jenni uses it to steady herself.

"Fine." Micheal huffs out after a couple more unsuccessful jabs at my aura. He then stomps away to pack up our camp.

"Fine." Jenni mummers softly. She thinks that Micheal's instant anger is about going back.

"He's not mad that you want to know about your real parents Jenni." I whisper.

She looks me in the eyes and I get a flashback of when she was a baby. Those eyes of hers made us all into suckers. Anytime she cried the entire house worked together to help stop it. Hell, I even remember trying to help my parents with Micheal even though I was under the age of five. There was never a shortage of helping hands with us.

"Our parents are my real parents Bex. I just want to know how I got here and who gave birth to me." Her words bring me back to now, though her eyes make me remember a toddler running around with nothing​ on but a smile.

All I can do is nod my head in understanding and look away.

~

Jenni goes to sleep in the car while Micheal and I break down camp. It'll be dark in a couple of hours and we all decided that we'll need a good nights sleep in our beds before starting for Dominic's tomorrow.

I can feel Micheal's growing frustration but I wait for him to say something.

"I thought this was behind us Bex." He says while smothering the fire we cooked on.

I give him no response.

"We're family and yet you've never opened up to me. You always know how I'm feeling and yet I can never get a read on you. Why is that?" Micheal inquires.

"Maybe it's because I don't feel anything." I reply.

"That's not the whole truth Bex, you and I both know it." He snaps.

I don't say anything back as we carry the tent to the trunk. In my mind's eye, I'm seeing Dad throw Micheal over his shoulder and diving into the lake. I also see the Dad teaching me and my best friend at the time his "secret" recipe for s'mores. I was ten, excited, and smug that Dad finally trusted me with fire. That day was perfect.

I can see each memory but I can't connect to them anymore. The visual is there but not the emotion. I'm always numb in the present but this is something that's never happened to me before. My memories have always lifted my spirits. Pushing back my emotions is getting dangerous, soon I fear that I may not be able to feel anything ever again.

Micheal glances at my prone form and closes the trunk door.
"We could've grieved as a family but you weren't there."

My head pops up, when did he get taller than me?
'What happened to the annoying, thirteen year old Micheal? The one who always wanted to hang out with me but would never admit to it? Where are we? What's happened to us? ...Oh....Right...' I have to give myself a mental shake down.

"I was always there Micheal." I claim heatedly focusing on the now.

"Were you?" Micheal retorts.

I have no response so he just leaves me standing. I hear his car door shut and force myself into motion.

'Was I there for them? Physically, yes. Emotionally....I just.....' My thoughts trail off as I slide into the passengers seat.

"I-" I start but can't finish the sentence. Mostly because I don't know how to.

'I- what? I did my best? I tried to be there for you guys? I was just a kid? I lost them both too? I didn't- there just wasn't enough time?' Nothing sounds right in my brain.

"I-" I try again but this time Micheal cuts me off.

"I understand, now." He says, "But you don't need to rough it alone anymore Bex."

We ride the entire way back home in a companionable silence that I can't comprehend.

My brother has really grown up, I don't doubt that he understands me better, the man is after all the leader of a pack. He has to keep a vigilant eye on things. I bet he sees more of me than I want him to.

Maybe he knows why I never could connect to them after burying our parents. Maybe he'll be able to theorize what the moon's plan for me is-

Because I sure would like to know it.

~

The closer we get to the cabin, the more restless I get. I should be exhausted but instead I'm feeling wary with a sprinkle of anticipation.

The emotion can't be mine but it doesn't feel like it's coming from an outside source. It's not my siblings, Micheal is shielding himself and Jenni is content in her sleep.
Something's wrong.

Micheal parks the car in the front of the house and the wary emotion I'm feeling instantly turns into alertness. Now I definitely know that this reaction isn't mine.

Someone is in my house.

I get out of the car and I'm hit with a familiar essence. It's one I should know but never had the chance to touch with my maturing abilities.

After a quick probe I know that- "He's here." I growl.

Micheal looks at me over the hood of the car confused, his eyes have a slightly glazed over gleam to them. Jenni opens up her door and steps out to stretch.

"Who?" She asks for them both.

I want to answer but the lava in my blood is back and my vision is bleeding into red.

I welcome it.

He can feel my rage. Good. Soon he will feel my wrath.

I march up to our front door and kick it in. A sensible part of me knows that I could've just used my keys but I'm not in control. I'm too livid to think rationally and act on it.

Glass and wood scatter in the places that my foot hits. I'm able to force my way through the rest of the door and I look around.

'He's on the deck.' It's almost like I'll always be able to find him even though that wasn't the case before.

'What the hell has he done to me!?' I rage inside of my mind.

As I make my way there, my nose tells me that he hasn't been inside the house. Which means that he reached the deck by way of the side of the house. His vehicle is probably parked there​ too, damn Micheal for always parking in front.

I force the deck doors open and there he is.

I notice more muscle on his body and he now has an aura of power, but that doesn't mean jack shit to me.

My own power makes itself known.

His surprise feels like my own. Somehow we're connected and his feelings get past my barriers.

I'm going to rip him apart.

Seeing my murderous look, he holds up his hands in good will. That only means that his face is free for me to hit repeatedly. All my years of fighting will come in handy as I take out this Alpha male.

I stalk towards him slowly assessing my prey. Blood lust doesn't mean that I'm stupid enough to start a fight without preparation. I need to look for weak points and I'm not seeing many.

My jaw hurts but I attribute it to the grinding of my teeth. I'm also clenching my hands so tight that I can feel my bones protesting.

We start a slow circle. Seeing his face brings back a shadow pain I haven't been able to feel. The constant state of numbness I've been in all these years has been shot to hell. My eyes tear up and I'm angry at myself for showing such weakness.

"You must be suicidal." I barely seethe. My throat isn't working properly and it's constricting too tight for speech. I'm half in between growling and sobbing.

"Bex." My name comes out of his mouth as a resigned sigh.

It's like a flash of light in front of my eyes with our past displayed in front of me. His voice has opened Pandora's box.

I take a step back and gasp for breath. It's like my chest has just been caved in, the tears slide down my cheeks and my fingers are dripping blood.

"Bex!" He yells moving to touch me.

Without thought I unleash my emotions and slam them into his soul stopping him up short. Why shouldn't the connection go both ways?

All he does is cringe and that's not enough for me. He has to hurt.

I lash out and manage to clip his jaw. My knuckles crunch in protest but I don't care. I swing again but this time he pushes me. My back cracks against a railing and a fresh white hot pain travels up my spine. I ignore it.

"You will die traitor!" I garble. It's almost like I was the one who got hit in the jaw and my gums are in agony from my clenched teeth. None of my words came out right but my actions supply plenty communication.

I grab the railing behind me and snap off a piece. My eyes never leaving his. I'll kill this wolf like he's a vamp. He's getting a dishonorable​ death with wood piercing heart, he's nothing but a leech anyway.

My hand doesn't want to grip my new stake but I push through the pain.

He doesn't look scared of my new weapon. Fool.

I flash forward to make a direct stab to his heart, anticipating the left hook coming my way. Quickly, I duck my head and angle my stake just right.

I can feel his immediate pain but I don't​ care. Before he moves I kick out and pull my weapon free from his bicep muscle.

'I would never give you an easy death.' I smirk.

The perfume of his blood hits the air and my nose takes in the scent greedily. He grips his arm and looks at me stunned.

My vision blurs but I make sure that he can't tell that I'm blinded. Raising my stake up, I move in for more.

That is, until a blonde blob blocks me from vengeance.

"Bex! He isn't the one who deserves this! I know you're mad, but this isn't the way! This isn't you Bex! Look at me!" The blonde screams frantically.

My vision focuses onto my little sister who's in front of the traitor.

"Move." I command. The word comes out in a grunt but it's still understood.

Jennie's look of hurt brings me back to myself a bit. The stake drops from my hand.

I promised her that I wouldn't do anything like that to her and yet, here we are. It's like I was me but I wasn't. At first, all I wanted to do was to go at him like a punching bag, but something changed and then he just HAD to die.

I shake my head a couple of times to clear it. The beginnings of a migraine take hold.

"I'm sorry." I try to say to Jenni. My voice is coming back and I'm sure that my eyes are pleading for her to forgive me.

My back is reverberating pain but my jaw stops hurting after I move it around.

"Damm Bex. Did you really have to stab me?" He snaps.

My fist flys true this time and lands squarely on his jaw. The unexpected blow throws off his balance and he crashes into one of our deck chairs.

I stand above him and cross my arms.

"Why the fuck are you here Eric?"

AN: So um.... did I forget to mention that Eric's back? I told you not to forget him. If you did, I suggest rereading my chapter #3, 'Best Friends'.

Today is special. Happy 1 year Wattpad. 😍👐

W2565