Coincidences

Finding Out

Kai couldn't help the tears that were leaving him in the shower. He kept seeing Carver's angry face. His bitter scent still in his nose. Carver might have yelled, but he didn't actually physically hurt him. Kai whimpered, hugging himself.

My wolfy wouldn't hurt me, Kai tried telling himself, his wolf whimpering, curled into a tight ball in upset. Both of them had gotten so scared that they had practically frozen. Carver was their mate. Someone they were supposed to spend the rest of their life with. Kai didn't want to be scared of Carver, even when he was mad or upset.

But his submissive instincts were more powerful than that of the rest of his family. Worked more against him, Kai thought. It took Amilya years to get him to stop obeying her commands that didn't even have any power in the words. It took even longer for him to stop flinching or crying or curling into a ball when any of his family became angry. The fear instilled in him from the years in the rogue pack felt as though it had tainted his very nature and twisted it.

Stepping out of the shower, Kai practically flopped face down onto his bed in his underwear. Slowly, he curled into a ball under the thin sheet, his finger tracing over the scar at his hip. The one Carver had seen part of. Shoving his face into his pillow that started to grow damp from his tears, did Kai gradually fall asleep.

Amilya didn't know what woke her up, sitting up straight. Her ears pricked for any sounds, only hearing crickets and the occasional owl. Something was off though. Standing up, she peeked around the curtain to see Tyler hugging his pillow, snoring softly. Cocking her head to the side, she bent over him before reeling back.

"Oh no," Amilya grimaced, quietly but quickly hurrying up the stairs. She went to Raven's room, needing to lift up his door so it wouldn't screech. Bending over Raven it was much fainter. Dread filling her chest she finally made it to Kai's room, not even having to step within when his scent hit her.

"Damn it. The stress must have triggered their heats early," Amilya whispered underneath her breath. Closing his door, she hurried down the stairs, checking all the locks and windows. Heading into the bathroom she pulled out another bar of soap and laid out a neat pile of pads. Downstairs, she was glad that the fridge was stocked with food, her own stomach having roared when her brothers pushed for her to eat some of it. It wouldn't be enough for three days though and they all always craved something sweet when they were in heat.

All of them would miss school on Monday, Kai likely missing half the week that was coming up. Amilya paced for a moment seeing it was three in the morning. She'd wait another two hours and then run to the nearest store. She could at last wake up Tyler to keep watch over the other two until she got back, the three normally trying to sleep during their heats. She kept her ears pricked for sounds, stalking around the house, checking and rechecking the locks.

"Mils? What are you doing?" Tyler yawned widely, drowsily looking at her. Amilya jumped a little, sighing in relief that he was awake. Looking at the little clock by the front door, she saw that it was now just after 05:30.

"Hey, Ty. You think you can watch the other two while I head to the grocery store?"

Tyler cocked his head cutely, eyes closed sleepily.

"Kay," Tyler yawned, flopping back onto his bed. Amilya rolled her eyes fondly at him, knowing he was at least cognizant, hurrying out the door. Amilya grabbed rice, beans, some veggies, nabbing a package of flank steak (nearly grimacing at what that cost), a small tub of mint-chip ice cream and a chocolate swirl. She dumped the items onto the belt at the register, her eyes darting to a pack of gummy bears. She clutched at her head, the cashier giving her a bizarre look.

Most of the people in the small town of Greenwood were werewolves, Amilya had discovered on her patrols. A handful were human who she knew either had a mate to a werewolf or a child of theirs had a mate with a werewolf. She couldn't really figure out how the Dark Ice pack prevented other humans from moving there. She snagged the packet of gummy bears, the woman ringing her up with Amilya paying and zipping out of there before it had even hit fifteen minutes.