The Wolf Within

Chapter Thirteen: Decisions To Make; People To Break

Arden's POV

The next day I woke up and went to take a shower. I couldn't stop thinking about my brother. All I needed to know now was if he was ok, if he was hurt, or if he was just dead. Gone forever without me saying goodbye. When I finished with my shower I got dressed and headed over to Bay's room. I knocked on his door, he answered and big smile spread across his face.

"Hey, come in," he said, I walked in and sat on his bed while he closed the door and sat next to me.

"We should go back," I said out of nowhere, "it's a good idea, we need to know what happened to our families."

He stood up and looked down at me, as he walked away felt his hair and turned around, "they are gonna kill us before we even try to make peace," he finally said, "we are staying here where we are safe, so don't think about leaving."

"We are not safe," I said standing up to be at height with him, "the people around us right now are protecting us and they could die while doing it."

"No they won't."

"You don't know that, I killed many people from our pack who have found us and they could find us here and it could be like a slaughterhouse," I said looking at the ground, "and I don't want anything to happen to these people, and I need to know if my brother is okay, if he is at least alive."

"Your brother is dead," he said, "that is it, both of our families are dead, there is no point in going back, Arden."

"Don't say that," I yelled.

"They are gone." He was near my face and I could see his veins popping out from his neck and his eyes turning red.

I felt a tear go down my cheek, I wiped it away loosing eye contact with him and walked to his door.

"You may believe that, but I won't believe it until I see it," I said, I opened his room door and was about to close it, "even if I have to go by myself."

"Arden...," he whispered.

I closed the door and walked back to my room. I locked my door and looked out the window. I saw Kai and Chase near the campfire area, talking and cooking some food in the grill. I closed my curtains and laid on my bed staring at the ceiling. I wanted to go back.

And I was going to. I needed to find my family, even though my mom and dad would have let me die. They wouldn't let my brother die. And he was alive.

I stayed in my room the whole day and everyone tried to get me out, to eat or to talk to me. But I was just thinking.

Four months before...

"Do you think mom will forgive you? I mean, you did it to protect me from them so they can't be mad," my little brother Sebastian said.

I smiled. "I'll be fine either way," I answered continuing my drawing.

"What is that?" He asked me looking over at my picture.

"It's us," I replied.

"Arden."

"Yes, Sebastian?"

"Promise me you'll always protect me and you'll take me wherever you go," he said holding my hand.

I looked at our hands touching and held his tighter, then brushing his hair back behind his ear I said, "I promise."

His room door opened and my mom walked it and crossed her arms looking at me with disbelief. I stood up letting go of Sebastian's hand, she walked out and I followed her to my room as she shut the door and I sat down on my bed. It was silent for a while.

"I'm ashamed," she finally said.

"Mom, I'm sorry."

"I didn't tell you to speak."

"Honey, calm down," my dad was at my room doorway and he walked it feeling her face, "it'll be okay, the Alpha can't be mad at Sebastian."

"Floyd, she injured his wife, and she is at the hospital," my mom said, "what if she dies? We can't do anything."

"I did it to protect Seb, she was going to hit him because he made one mistake, I will never allow anyone to touch my brother," I said standing up.

"But you jeopardized this whole families place in the pack," my dad said, "everyone looks down on us now."

"That's all that matters to you," I asked him, "what about what could happen to me and Sebastian, would you even care or only worry about yourselves."

"Arden, don't turn all of this on us, you only have yourself to blame," my mom said angrily.

My dad kept quiet and I just stared at my mom as she looked down at the floor and walked out. My dad followed with his hand on my moms back, a tear came down my cheek as they slammed my room door shut. Once they were far away a waterfall of tears came down. I couldn't believe my mom said that to me, I'm only sixteen, I make mistakes and I need my parents to support me through it, not bring me down. I sat on my bed and someone was knocking on my window. It was Bay, I opened it and he climbed it closing it and sitting on the floor under my window as I quickly wiped my tears and looked at him.

"I know you were crying," he told me.

"I'm fine now," I said, I sat down on the floor next to him and placed my head on his shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay," he said, "the alpha's wife will be alive and you'll get a simple punishment and everything will be fine, I'm sure of it."

"Either way my parents hate me," I said laughing, "and if she dies, I'm going to suffer and my parents will just let it happen so their reputation will be ok."

"No they wouldn't, I won't let that happen to you, I prom-," a sound of things being broken and thrown around stopped him from continuing his sentence. I got up and my room door opened, mud heart pounded as Sebastian closed the door and ran up to me, crying as I picked him up.

I heard my mom scream and Bay walked up to my room door leaning against the door. Glass was breaking, people were yelling, and my brother was crying in my arms.

"You need to go, out the window," Bay told me, I opened my window and Sebastian climbed out, I followed and so did Bay, closing my window from the outside. I picked up Sebastian and we started running to the forest away from the open space in the pack. I didn't stop until we got to a river outside of the area. I sat Sebastian on a rock and pulled my hair back into a ponytail and looked over at Bay.

"You and Seb need to leave," he said looking at the water.

"Where would we go?" I asked.

"Anywhere, far away," he told me, "I know they have your parents but the risk of them catching you, just leave."

"Not without you," Sebastian said.

"Yes without me," Bay said.

"But," I started.

"No, you two leave, and be safe, as long as I know your okay, everything will be fine," he said walking up to me, Bay looked me in the eyes and held my hands, "I don't want anything happening to you two, I care too much about you guys, so just leave, get to safety, hopefully I'll find you."

Sebastian screamed and we were surrounded quickly by the alpha and other wolves. One of them grabbed my brother and held him up with a knife to his neck. I gasped and tried to attack. But Bay stopped me and looked at the hill near us.

"We can't," he whispered, "we need to leave, that's our escape."

"But my brother," I cried.

He grabbed my hand and started to run, I tried to pull back but he had a grip on me.

"NO, NO, let me go, SEBASTIAN," I yelled, looking back as Bay kept me running, "I'll come back for you, I promise, I LOVE YOU SEBASTIAN."

I could see him crying, the wolf holding him placed the knife down, and two of them ran back to the pack home and some of them raced after me and Bay. My heart was racing, right now, I didn't care about my mother or father, just Sebastian's safety, and me and Bay's safety. I was gonna come back for my brother. That's a promise that I'm making to myself, and I can't break it.