The Lonely Life Of An Omega (Teen Wolf)

Chapter 24

  I stand frozen, unsure of what to do next. Even Brandon is at a loss for words as he debates whether to let me go or leave Britney and hope she could hang on a little while longer. Distracted by his thoughts, Brandon loosens his grip on knife long enough for me to shove him off my back. I bend down to attempt to help her but before I can, I'm pulled to my feet. "Don't you dare go near her." He growls furiously. "I'm just trying to help. Cant you see she's dying?" I say and his grip tightens on my wrist. "She's fine." He says more to reassure himself then tell me. "No she's not and isn't going to be, unless you let me help." He looks at me, truly looks for the first time and I can tell he's seriously thinking of killing me off. But then he looks down at Britney, helpless and crumpled on the floor. Something changes in his demeanor right then and he gives me a small nod before letting go of my arm. I know Britney would do anything to make sure she wouldn't loose Brandon, I had learned that today when she had begged me to take him before her own injured self and now she was paying dearly for it. I could only hope Brandon could do the same for her right now and even though every instinct told him not to trust me, he put that aside to help someone he truly cared for. I might not like him but I had to respect him for that.

  I offer to carry Britney to the couch but Brandon refuses, and scoops her up in his arms before I have the chance to protest. He skids past me and into the small living space, while still managing to keep a reasonable distance between him and I. He sets her down on the cushions of the leather couch and cradles her head in his hands. He tries to readjust the position of her shoulders causing Britney to cry out in agony. Brandon mumbles a apology and that's when I decide its time I step in. When I shuffle forward, the stench of blood coming from her is enough to make me take a few steps back to regain my composer. Brandon catches me staggering and his eyes widen in fear. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at her like that?" His panic, stricken voice trembles through the empty house. I take a deep breath and refusing to gag, even when my nose fills with the vile, salty smell, I slowly make my way to Britney's side. "Lucy answer me, what the hell is wrong with her?" He demands I respond to his questions but I don't think he'll be able to handle my answer. When I lean over Britney, I can hardly recognize her. She looks young and weakened by the blood loss. So pale her skins translucent and her blond hair hangs loosely around her like a halo, matted with specks of blood. I careful pull the ripped shirt away from her shoulder to expose the wound Hunter had given her. This is clearly the source of her rapid loss of blood as it pours in streams down her arm. The bite went deep, to deep. Brandon looks down at the gash and lets out a surprised gasp. "How is she not dead yet?" He whispers and I can't seem to find the words to answer him. We were both thinking the same thing. She shouldn't be alive, she shouldn't have been breathing. She should be dead. The fangs dug all the way to the bone and somehow her chest still heaved at a relatively steady pace. "She smells like death, doesn't she?" Brandon doesn't ask this time but rather commands I tell him. "I know you can smell it. She shouldn't be alive but somehow she's holding on barely. If she's dying just tell me." He pleads and I let out a small sigh. "She's not dying." I let the words tumble from my mouth. "What!" He says but there's no excitement in his voice, only hope. Hope that she was only ok and nothing more. "Brandon, Hunter bit her and now she's surviving a injury that should have killed her. She-" I go to continue but his screams of protests cut me short. "No, no, don't even go there she isn't turning into... into one of you, monsters." He shrieks. "Ok, we can't tell for sure yet. Not for a few hours. So there's no need to jump to conclusions." I say in hopes of calming him down. That's when what I said finally starts to set in. He would be forced to sit here alone with me for what could be hours until we knew the truth or abandon Britney when she needed him the most. He has a alternate plan though, standing as he tries to lift Britney back up off the couch. "What do you think your doing?" My question must take him by surprise because he stops. "You really think I was going to leave her here with the very thing that caused this problem in the first place?" He says with nothing but disgust filling his voice. "Do you really think I want you here either, but there's a reason she came to my door step. I left her with the rest of the hunters to save you instead, knowing they would help her. But apparently I had misjudged their caring nature." What I say, enrages him. "Are you suggesting they left her for dead? You have some nerve  accusing my family of abandoning each other." He yells, face reddening with a insulted rage. Seeing how offended he was I know I should have dropped the subject and let her go. But I knew I was right, he just refused to believe me. "They watched her get bit and assumed she was nothing more than dead meat, so they dumped her on the curb like yesterdays trash." Ok, so maybe now I had gone a little to far. Brandon lashes out, shoving me with all the anger building up inside him. But I hardly waver in spot, trying my best to stand my ground. If there was one thing I had learned getting thrown into this world of werewolves, if you didn't get a backbone it wouldn't be long before you were stomped all over. That rule applied more than ever now that I was a alpha, but unfortunately one without a pack. I didn't take offense to Brandon's outburst, It was a blind, weak attempt not to hurt me but make himself feel better about the situation.

 "You know I'm telling you the truth, I have no reason to lie at this point." I say when he refuses to look me in the eye. "Britney cant, she just cant be. She's the only thing I have left, you have to understand that." He pleads rather then tells me. Almost as if he wills it not to happen, it won't. But unfortunately that isn't how life works. "You don't think I don't have people I care about too. Do you ever think when your ridding the world of us that we don't have family and friends that will have to deal with the devastating loss when we're gone." I say and Brandon lowers his head almost in a form of shame. "Someone once told me, death doesn't happen to the people who die, it happens to the people around you. In the end their the ones that suffer the consequences, not you." I quote something I remember Stiles telling me one day when I said to him I was better off dead. When he had told me I hadn't taken it that seriously, but now truly understanding the meaning, I could finally see how powerful it really was. I wait for Brandon to give me another insulting jab but he stays quiet. Just when I think he's finally come up with a witty thing to say, Britney's startled to life, gasping for breath. She slowly sits up blinking away the haze of pain and confusion. She goes to speak but is shortly cut off by a rapid attack of coughing. "Here." I quickly fill a cup of water from the tap at the kitchen and hand it over to her. At first she just sits there dazed with her hands curled around the cold glass, deciding whether or not to trust me and drink it or refuse like she should have. But she had been the one to come to me for help, not the other way around. So she blinks away her thoughts and gulps the liquid down in a matter of seconds. "Thanks." she manages to gasp out in between breathes. Once Britney gets her baring's she starts to realize where exactly she is and a frightened look creeps onto her face. "Britney are you ok?" Brandon slowly, stalks out from the corner to comfort her and she practically jumps at the realization of his presence. "Just a little shaken up. But I'm fine now." Brandon flinches at her words. I can tell she noticed as she fidgets nervously with the ripped hem of her shirt. "How's your shoulder." Brandon blurts out when it becomes clear Britney is at a loss for words. Her eyes widen as they bare towards me. "um... its ok. Probably will take a few months to heal though." She says in a panic and I know she's lying. The sweat beading down her brow, the way her heart fluttered, she knows what damage the bite had really done she just didn't want to admit it. "Well let me see it then." He commands with a snap but regret immediately shows in his eyes. "I really don't think-" Britney tries to protest but Brandon doesn't wait long enough to hear what she has to say. He grabs her hand and shoves it away from her shoulder. He claws at the bloody fabric and pain shows on his face. I tried to tell him, I tried to warn him about what was happening but he wouldn't listen. "No!" Brandon screams gripping her shoulder tighter. She winces even though any traces of the wound was long gone. There was no scar or mark, it was like it never happened. "Brandon, please." Britney begs as tears well up in her eyes. She puts her hand on his for comfort but he pushes her away. "Don't touch me!" he yells backing away from her. He heads for the door and stomps out onto the porch. I turn to see the broken look on Britney's face as she watches him go and I refuse to let him leave her like this. I charge outside and stop him before he can get down the front steps. "Brandon just stop. That's still Britney in there, she's still the same." I say and he tries to push past me but I only shove him back. "That thing in there is not Britney. It's a dog just waiting to go rapid." his heart skips a beat and I know he doesn't really feel that way. Its the hunters training and brainwash that makes him believe we aren't anything more then wild animals ready to be shot at any moments notice. "Your lying. Minutes ago you would have done anything to help that girl in there and now you act as if she's some disgusting mutt." He might fool his precious hunter family with this crap, but I wasn't going to give in to his hatred filled attitude just yet. I had seen the way they looked at each other, Brandon didn't like Britney he loved her. "Well not anymore, not now. She's nothing more than a monster and the first chance I get to kill her, I'm taking it." He spits out at me and before I can catch him,  he breaks into a run. I debate perusing him, begging him to listen but what was the point. He was never going to change his mind, hunters were to stubborn for that. I just had to hope that one day he'll decide to fight along with me not against me like the Argents had.