*TW: throwing up, panic attacks... unedited version is on Patreon and AO3.*
Rhea pushed past True, who tried to stop her as she walked further into the house. It was supposed to be safe. Levi was supposed to be safe. She pushed open the door to Kevin's office to find it empty. Gray was talking to True in hushed whispers behind her, but she already knew what they were talking about. "Kevin!"
She turned in time to see Brian walk out of the spare room. "Brian?" He looked at her with wide eyes, and Rhea watched as he looked at the floor, refusing to meet her gaze. "Are you okay?"
He shrugged his shoulders in a jerking motion. "I should have known he was going to do something stupid."
"Where's Kevin?"
"Downstairs, Laik got hurt."
Rhea gave his arm a gentle squeeze and continued on down the stairs into the basement. She found Kevin talking to someone. They were looking at the large hole in the wall under the stairs. She glanced behind her to see Nikki and another young man kneeling and talking to a few people slumped against the wall. "Kevin!" When he looked at her, she motioned to the basement. "What happened?"
"I'll tell you everything. Let me secure the house first."
Rhea narrowed her eyes, and Kevin let out a huff, but the man who was talking to him caught his attention. "I'll take care of everything. She'll want answers."
Bryce walked out of a room, closing a door behind him to find Rhea standing in the basement. "Rhea? You heard?"
"It's why I'm here."
Kevin placed a hand on Rhea's shoulder to get her attention and motioned for the stairs. "Let's go talk upstairs."
She shook her head, "I don't... I need to know what happened." The anguish was visible on her face.
"Not down here. We've got more injured showing up from clearing out the forest. We'll be in the way." He quickly turned to the man he was talking to. "Take some people and sweep the tunnels. Make sure there are no hunters left. I want this house secured by nightfall."
"Yes, sir."
Kevin held an arm out to the stairs and gave Rhea a tired smile. "Humor me. Let's talk upstairs in the kitchen."
Rhea looked around her at the few weres laying on cots with Bryce checking on some. Some looked confused, as if they were surprised to be in the house. Others, well, she wasn't new to the look of loss on their faces. She quickly followed after Kevin. "What happened?"
"We underestimated the number of hunters that were out here. All this for two people. Whoever is behind this isn't afraid to go all out."
"Two?"
"Yes." They crested the stairs and found Brian standing where Rhea had left him. "Brian." Brian looked up with wide eyes. "Come with me." He slowly tailed after next to Rhea, who watched as he rubbed at his upper arm. Once at the kitchen table, he motioned to the chairs as he took a seat. Rhea took one, and True appeared with a mug of coffee. She placed it in front of her.
"Thanks." True gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before moving to Brian. Rhea watched as he whispered something to him, and he nodded. "What's going to happen now?" She slowly took a sip of the coffee as True moved to the kitchen.
Kevin sighed as he rubbed a hand over his head. "We wait till Laik wakes up. Then we start searching the forest for any scents or clues. I've already reached out to a contact in the council to pass a message to Michael and Cain. They might have an ace up their sleeves to find Levi. I've also sent a message to Tate. He'll leave as soon as he gets the message."
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Running Red: Lost Moon
Werewolf-Slow Burn- -Slow Build- Levi Sharpe just wanted to get out of high school without causing trouble for his mom. After his dad was pronounced dead, he has had nothing but a series of unfortunate events happen. In the aftermath of the latest incident...
