Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Seventy

     Lily's bed was neatly made, and everything else seemed to be in place still. Something rippling caught the corner of his eye and he noticed that her purple curtains were dancing with the breeze that moved in through the window. He almost forgot that his shrill scream had shattered every window in the house, and he shuddered again. 

     His eyes then fell on her closet, the wood grain white bi-fold door opened a crack. His imagination ran wild as he pictured a predator with a knife in hand lurking behind the door, watching his every move. He felt his hackles raise but he proceeded toward the door with caution.

     He stopped directly in front of the door, and he freed a hand as he slowly reached for the little white knob. His hand was shaking, his breaths erratic, and sweat beaded his forehead. As soon as he made contact with the knob, he pulled the door open. 

     Much to his relief, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Lily's shoes were lined neatly along the bottom of the closet, and she had her shirts, dresses, and coats hanging on coat hangers all color coordinated. She was more like him than he thought. He hastily shut the door and swiveled on his heel.

     He still had to check Lincoln's, Lando's, and his bedroom. He moved swiftly down the hall, stopping in Lando's room next. He looked about a little less carelessly, and his shin made contact with Lando's bed post. He cried out a cuss word and dropped the baseball bat, crouching to favor his shin.

     "Is everything alright?" Rhett called up the stairs.

     "Yeah, everything's great," Link called back through his teeth, straightening his leg and reaching for the baseball bat. He eventually checked Lando's closest also, and everything was clear. He moved into the hall, ducking into the room across from Lando's which was Lincoln's. He rolled his eyes and made a sound as he looked at Lincoln's unmade bed. He often forgot to make it. 

     Link couldn't help himself but wander into the room, setting the baseball bat on the nightstand while he made the bed. He turned around and also noticed that Lincoln had dirty clothing on the floor, piled on top of his dresser and spilling out of the laundry basket like woven vomit.

     Link facepalmed as he stepped over toward the pile of clothes, stooping over to take them into his arms. He kicked the basket open with his foot, knocking more clothes onto the floor in the process. He stuffed the pile in his arms into the basket and reached for the clothes that had fallen to the floor, when a strange smell wafted to his nose. He scrunched his nose as he took the next pile into his arms, and he dropped the clothes with a shriek as he stumbled backward.

     He looked at his hands that were now covered in blood, heaving for breath with wide eyes. He could already feel his head start to feel fuzzy as he swayed from side to side slightly.

     "Link?" Rhett sounded further distant than he actually was, and Link groggily turned his head toward the door to say something in response. 

     A tall shadow appeared in front of the doorway and Link smiled with relief. "Rhett, I don't know why but there's blood in Lincoln's clothes," he said, his eyes falling to his hands again.

     "Hey Neal, catch." Link's heart froze in his chest and he snapped his head up. Something hurled toward him and he caught it in his hands. The weight made him stumble forward a tad, the thing that he caught in his hands feeling slimy between his fingers. It felt warm to the touch and he closed his eyes with a whine, feeling a nasty lump forming in his throat. He tried to swallow it down, but every time he tried, he wretched. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down his hands, wretching so hard his body convulsed.

     He was holding a human heart in his hands, still covered in blood. Link's vision started to go hazy as he tried to steal one last glance at the person who threw it into his hands. He collapsed to his knees and hit the floor. 

     Before his vision had gone black, somebody knelt to the ground in front of him, pushing his leather coat behind him before resting his elbow on his knee. "This was just too incredibly easy," he said coolly as he brushed his hand across Link's forehead. Link wanted to run, but he felt like he was paralyzed. His eyelids drooped and he succumbed to the faint.

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     Rhett heard Link scream, and he braced himself against the railing of the stairs, craning his neck to look up. Nothing but silence reverberated to his ear drums afterward, a shiver tingling down his spine. He discreetly glanced at Lily, who was pacing back and forth with her eyes lowered to her feet. He straightened himself up and reached out a reassuring hand to her. "Everything's gonna be alright, Lily," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. 

     She shook her head against his waist, her face pale. "Dad's been acting really strange lately, Rhett. He only screams like that when he's in trouble." 

     He had to admit that Lily had a very good point, and he needed to go upstairs to help. He couldn't ignore the boiling lava of apprehension in his stomach as he thought of the worst possible thing. They had already discovered that the house was broken into. What if the Alpha broke into the house, and was waiting for Link to come back so he could corner him? Rhett shuddered, and Lily looked up at him.

     Looking into her blue eyes, he could tell that the gears were turning. She looked around the room, then looked up at Rhett with a 'light bulb moment' look in her eyes. He watched as she tugged on his shirt and motioned for him to bend over so she could whisper in his ear. He lowered his head closer to her and giggled because the whispering tickled.

     "I think we need convince dad to scream." 

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