After five years of bliss with my mate, tragedy struck. The pain of the loss caused my mate to become a person I no longer recognized. Two years of suffering followed before I finally made the decision to leave. I began a new life in a new pack, and...
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My heart raced in anticipation as the loud tone repeated in my ear. He was taking his time picking up my call. My palms were sweating, and my stomach twisted with anxiety.
"Hello?" He finally picked up, and I sighed. Just the familiar sound of his voice brought a certain comfort to my unease.
"Conference the others in," I said simply without greeting.
"Is everything okay?" Easton, my eldest brother, asked.
"Just do it."
"Okay. Hold on," his tone deepened with tension.
We all knew that a conference call only happened when one of us had a problem and needed help. It didn't take long before all three brothers were on the call with me.
"What's going on?" Eli, the youngest, asked immediately.
"Yeah. Does someone need to die?" Evan cut in, only mildly joking.
"Mom and Dad tell you guys what's been going on?"
"Yep, and I'm still more than a little pissed that you didn't tell us yourself," Easton grumbled while the other two growled in agreement.
"I was hoping he would get help and the situation would improve. I didn't want you all to hate him if we were going to continue our life together in the long run." They all hummed in response.
"We've been having some problems here. Once we get it under control, we're coming to visit, and I expect full details," Evan insisted, making me grunt.
"What sort of problems?" I grasped at the opportunity to delay what I needed to talk about.
"Just some threats from a neighboring pack over territory. No big deal," Easton responded.
I heard one of Easton's sons in the background asking him to come play football, but my brother shushed him. "I'm on the phone right this second. When I'm done, I'll play."
I knew I was running out of time and needed to spit it out. Eli was only twenty and hadn't found his mate yet, but Evan and Easton had found their mates quickly, like I had. They both had families and rarely had the time to sit on the phone for long.
