Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Sixty Six

     Rhett started the van up then turned his head to look at Link. He noticed that he was shaking. His eyes narrowed and he reached forward to touch Link's arm. Link flinched and he cried out. 

     Everything had hit him all once. He had this special ability that nobody knew anything about, and there's an Alpha werewolf that's out to get him. That was something that he never imagined would escape the binds of a fairytale book. On top of all of that, his family could possibly be in danger and their home that they've established had been demolished.

     "Are you crying?" Rhett had asked that for the fifth time. 

     Link ignored Rhett's question, leaning forward as he felt his heart clench. The tears flowed like a river, burning his cheeks with a white hot vengeance. Alex and Mike sat quietly in the back seat, their eyes laden with heartbreak at watching one of their bosses break down. Rhett felt his eyes burn up, because seeing Link cry definitely made him want to cry. He sat there in silence, letting Link cry it out. 

     After a couple moments, Link rubbed his eyes and turned to look at Rhett, his face soaked and his eyes red and puffy.  "You don't even understand, man. I feel like the biggest burden on the planet. I'm on a freaking freakish mythical beast's most wanted list, my house is completely destroyed along with my car, and now I'm the biggest freak in Burbank with this stupid ability I have." 

     Alex quickly glanced at Mike with confusion and Mike just shrugged his shoulders. 

     Rhett sighed, his shoulders hunched forward. "You're far from a burden. I promise," was all Rhett could say, sadness in his tone. It tore him apart on the inside to see Link like this. 

     Link reached for his glasses and placed them on his face, turning his head to stare out the window. "Can we just go now?" 

     Rhett took a deep breath, exhaling noisily before pulling away from the curb. Lydia revved her motorcycle and followed behind them as she had promised, Alex turning to look out the back window at her. Somehow he felt a lot safer knowing she was right behind them.

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     The ride back to Mythical Entertainment was painfully silent. Nobody could find the right words to express the concern they were feeling for their current predicament. Rhett tapped the steering wheel in angst as he drove, pressing his lips together firmly to keep from blurting out what he wanted to say. He wanted to rip up one side of the boys and down the other for not following simple instructions, because they could have been killed and that would have been his fault. Alex looked out the window with his fingers up to his lips, his elbow propped on the ledge of the door as he contemplated his dumb mistake of listening to Mike.

      Mike sat with his head lowered, his fingers interlocked with one another. He could feel the tension in the air suffocating him, burrowing in his chest and nestling against his airways. It took everything he had in him to keep silent and not object to being guilty for not listening to Rhett. 

     Link stared absentmindedly at his leg as a dull throb pulsed and webbed throughout the claw marks, and he hovered his hand just above the wound without applying too much pressure. It seemed to heat up like a stovetop burner and he winced, shutting his eyes and leaning back against the seat.

     They finally pulled up into the parking lot and Rhett stopped the van, unlocking the doors. He swiftly turned in his seat to face both Alex and Mike before they could get the chance to escape, their eyes widening. They braced themselves for the worst to come, their faces contorted with alarm. Rhett sighed deeply, trying with all his might to soften his features even if he felt like a boiling volcano on the inside. "Listen. I'm not really mad at you guys, but I wish you had listened and stayed put. Do you understand how crushed me and Link would have been if something happened?"