Brothers 3

Chapter 32

It was shortly after that when a car arrived to take Bonnie away. She pouted all the way to the car but James didn't get the rant he expected from her. Maybe her mother had already had a word.

The sun was dipping below the horizon as the car pulled up in front of the house. The trees were tinted grey in the growing darkness and James could hear the skittering of the night-time forest creatures waking up.

Bonnie had her hair tied into a tight braid and she said her brief goodbyes to Nina and Mikey. It was weird to see the pack so small and James once again sent out a curse at Evan and Emmet for leaving them. Cowards.

Bonnie crunched over the gravel and came level with James. Given their recent spat he expected some kind of snide remark or even the stink eye. She surprised him by smiling and punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't die, idiot."

He rolled his eyes. "Inspired words."

Her face turned serious, and she held his gaze. "I mean it. Be careful."

James hated that phrase, but he let it slide. She was leaving and she needed some kind of reassurance that he was going to be fine. "I will do my very best."

She smirked but James noticed a subtle glistening to her eyes as she looked him head to toe. "I better see you again."

He didn't get a chance to respond before she ducked into the waiting car. The tires groaned over the pebbles in the driveway as the car pulled away. James stared after it. If Bonnie was that worried, was he not taking the threat seriously enough? Isabel had almost killed him, but he just assumed that when he knew she was coming he would be better prepared. Spinning on his heel he surveyed the remaining party. There was Mrs Greene but if he could help it he would leave her out of this. She was the housekeeper, not his keeper. Mikey and Nina were good allies and James was starting to even trust the alpha. That would be helpful in battle. Ella held her chin high and he knew she would fight for their freedom to the last. Then there was Skylar. With her stoic look and fierce eyes, she appeared every bit the warrior who could fell armies. If anything happened to her.... James shivered at the thought. He wouldn't let any of them suffer because of this. He would protect them all. His father would have told him to keep his head in the game not on others, but he shoved the notion away. Orlando was already gone; he couldn't lose anything else.

The thought of losing them opened a floodgate within James that he didn't know was there. Panic climbed up his throat. They were only five. If the pack came they could easily take them. James might be well trained and Skylar lethal but even they had their limits. Not to mention James had turned a powerful witch against them. Her magic was primal, and she was a natural at it. Finding someone to train her can't have been easy but she must have done it because she knew what she was doing when she attacked him. He didn't even know there were other witches in the area after they killed the one who had sided with the wolves. Did the pack have more magic on their side?

The realisation that James knew nothing about their enemy only piled more panic on. What had he done? Somehow he hadn't seen how deep he was in shit despite everyone screaming at him to stop. He had been so blind and now they were going to face an enemy that he couldn't defeat. One voice told him to the run, the other, his father's, told him it was better to die fighting than flee.

His hands went clammy and he power-walked into the house. The walls were like a blanket wrapping around him. Hiding in here was the most appealing idea he had had in ages. If he closed his eyes would his own failure disappear in the wind?

The intricate fireplace came into view. The scenes of brutality depicted on it seemed to mock him. Vampires triumphing over wolves, powerful and majestic. Not weak and in over their heads. When it had been put in, James thought it was just to show off, but he knew now his father had put it there to remind him what a failure he was. Even in death, his father would remind him where he was falling short and what he should be.