Strangers

Chapter Twenty

Amelia's POV:

We had been driving for about 15 minutes now, finally slowing down towards a small building drenched in light. It was very hard to miss due to the darkness surrounding it. We turned into the parking lot, and I read the sign that said "Marty's Mini Golf and Fun".

"Mini golf?" I asked Drew, and eyebrow arched. He shrugged. "It's the only thing open this late." I didn't even realise it was 11 in the evening. We had talked for almost 2 hours at the restaurant. I guess time really does fly by when you are having fun.

When we approached the black painted counter, the gentlemen walked out from the back. "How many?" He asked Drew and I, to which we replied two. Drew handed him 10 dollars before I could protest. He handed us two golf clubs and golf balls in green and blue. "I call blue!" I shouted at Drew, and he laughed at my child-like behavior. "Then I call green."

There were 10 courses we had to complete, and each course got a little more challenging as you went along. The first course was pretty simple, which is probably why both Drew and I got hole-in-ones. "Looks like I got some competition!" He joked. "I should have probably warn you, I am kind of a mini golf champ." I played along. We lightheartedly messed with one another.

By the time we were halfway done, the score was two for me and three for Drew. We were heading over to the sixth hole when Drew's phone was ringing. He ignored it the first couple of calls, then finally picked up since it seemed important.

"Nolan, what is-" and then there was some shouting on the other end of the phone. With my inhuman hearing, I could hear everything clearly on the other end, not that I was purposefully listening. I was scolding my nosy hearing for invading Drew's privicy. "We have a big problem over at Landon Cooper's place." A male voice spoke urgently, which I assumed was Nolan. "What's going on?" Drew asked with a stern voice, but his eyes softened when they landed on me. "It's Jim.."

Drew's POV:

Seriously?? Jim picked now of all the time in the world to act out?? It wasn't like my younger brother to go to these types of parties. I didn't even know he knew anyone around here, due to the fact school doesn't start until Monday, but I guess the internet is helpful with those sorts of things.

Landon Cooper was a senior at Oak Grove High, the school in this area, and apparently, he was throwing a back to school party tonight. From what I heard from Nolan, it was really crazy wild, and when he got there, Jim was slamming back drinks, which is extremely dangerous. When you get really drunk, you start loosing control over the wolf part of you, and it risks exposure and may even lead to someone getting mauled to death. At that point, the only person that can stop you is either your mate or your Alpha, and since Jim hasn't found his mate, it looks like I have no choice but to bring my brother home myself.

I also had no choice but to bring Amelia with me since I was kind of her ride, and I was afraid I wouldn't get to Jim in time if I dropped her off at home. I typed the Cooper address Nolan sent me into my phone, and made my way over to the party. "I'm really sorry about all of this..." I grumbled to Amelia, feeling really bad about ruining our date. On her birthday, too, nonetheless. "It's ok!" She quickly responded," I just hope your brother is okay."

We finally arrived at the busy house. Scratch that, mansion. I asked Amelia to stay in the car, but I should have known better. She followed me into the house, and I spotted Nolan waiting by the front door. "Where is he?" I asked, looking around the crowd for a familiar face. "He is upstairs. I locked him in one of the rooms." I followed Nolan up the staircase, and down the hall.

Once he opened the door, I saw Jim with a bottle of vodka in hand, sitting on the mattress and staring at the wall ahead. "What do you want." He growled at me, his red-rimed eyes glaring at me.  "Jim?" I heard a gentle voice call from behind me. I saw Jim visibly change from angry to curious. "Amelia?" She stepped around me, but I grabbed her wrist, keeping her from approaching my heavily intoxicated brother, but then Jim saw this, and started growling at me once again.

"Let. Her. Go." He seethed out through gritted teeth. I didn't like using my Alpha dominance against my family, but Amy was my mate. I wasn't going to let him threaten me. "Calm down." I voiced, making Jim even more upset, but he took a shaky breath, trying to steady his heartrate. "It's okay, Drew. Let me go." Amelia softly spoke, and without thinking, I released her arm.

She slowly crept up to Jim, and knelt in front of him, placing her hand in his and maintaining eye contact. My wolf and I were going insane. I was restraining the urge to punch Jim in the face from even touching my mate. "Jim. What's wong?" His eyes seemed to pain when she spoke, and he looked away. "It hurts.." He said, putting his head in his hands.

"Where does it hurt, Jim?" She asked while placing the bottle of vodka on the hardwood floor. "In my chest. I can't take it." "Do you need to go to the hospital??" Amelia's voice was filled with worry. "I wish, but there is no doctor that can fix this." He looked up from his hands. "The only person that can fix this belongs to someone else.." Then I saw it...

Jim was in love with Amelia.