The Pack

Ch. 7

Bryce was out in his backyard walking around the property trying to find a good spot to set up his telescope. "Aww are you getting ready for your date with Dana?" He heard a mocking voice approaching and he rolled his eyes. 

"It's not a date, dumb*ss." He huffed and kept his backed turned. 

"Just the two of you alone at night staring at stars, sounds like a date." Caelum pointed out. 

"It's not though. We're just friends." Bryce insisted, his annoyance rising. 

"Yeah but you know you're not." Caelum added. 

"But she doesn't. So for her, we're just friends." Bryce spoke through gritted teeth. 

"Yikes, how does it feel to be friend-zoned?" Caelum joked but it was too far for Bryce. Before Caelum could prepare Bryce turned and lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. The two of them rolled around in the grass. Bryce gripped Caelum's shirt collar and attempted a few punches but Caelum dodged and kept his hands away. "Okay, sh*t, I'm sorry. It was just a joke!" He hollered which made Bryce get up off of him. "Sh*t man." Caelum huffed while getting up.

 "Don't piss me off then." Bryce commented. 

"It was just a joke!" Caelum said in defense. "Geez, that protective mate sh*t is crazy." He commented as he walked away. Bryce wanted to go at him again but when he saw he was walking away he just growled and continued setting up.

Dana showed up after the sun went down. She was nervous because she also felt like it was a date but not a date. When she knocked on the door Bryce opened it and she immediately felt better. Seeing his smile made all her worries go away. "Hey." He smiled. 

"Hey." She responded. 

"Come on in." He said and stepped aside to let her in. 

"Wow, it's so quiet. It's only nine o'clock." She commented. 

"Yeah, my parents enforce quiet hours to make sure Ariana and Tommy stay asleep." He explained. 

"Oh, yeah that makes sense. So everyone else is asleep?" She asked. 

"Not everyone." A new voice entered the conversation. Dana turned around to see Caroline and Eric coming towards them from the hall behind the kitchen. 

"Hi Mr and Mrs Hemming. How's your day been?" Dana asked politely. 

"Hectic as usual." Caroline responded. 

"A hard day of work, glad to be back home." Eric responded. 

"And we just got the kids to sleep so please, no loud noises." Caroline added. 

"We won't. Besides, we're gonna be outside the whole time." Bryce assured her. 

"Right. And your father is going to watch you guys from the patio." Caroline revealed. 

"What?!" Bryce exclaimed. 

"What?" Eric questioned, not knowing about it either. 

"I'm going to go to sleep. Honey, keep an eye on them." Caroline explained. 

"I had a long day too." Eric complained. 

"You don't work tomorrow." Caroline pointed out, already making her way back to her bedroom.

 "Caroline-" Eric called out but she shushed him. 

"The kids. Good night." She said and walked away. Eric turned to the teenagers with his arms crossed. His expression sent shivers down Dana's spine and made her hair stand. Even Bryce couldn't look into his father's eyes, feeling the dominant aura of an angry alpha. Unconsciously Dana reached for Bryce's hand for comfort. Eric took a deep breath and uncrossed his arms, the aura fading.