Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Ninety Nine

     Link had stopped in Lily's room and sat in her desk chair, leaning forward with his elbows propped up on his thighs as his head rested in his hands. He watched as she slept, her chest rising and falling in sync with her rhythmic breathing. He was thinking about what Rhett had said, and that's when the doubt began creeping into his mind. Should he remain on his toes and not be too relaxed around Terra, in case she was up to something devious? Could it really be true that this mysterious man that somehow turned into a two headed Alpha werewolf knew things about him that he wished he didn't know? Like things from his past? How would he come across that kind of knowledge?

     Link heaved a heavy breath. He wanted to wake Lily up and ask her questions. When Jessie said that she had a screaming fit, a wisp of fear clenched his heart. What if Lily turned out being the same thing as he was?

     He shook his head, groaning. There's no way that could be possible. That would require all of his other kids to have the same ability also. She was more than likely screaming because she found out that he was dead. Jessie must have told them, and he bared his teeth regrettably. He wished they could have done a better job at keeping this from the kids. They were so innocent, so young, and still had their whole lives to live. Why did they have to be subjected to this mess also? He shuddered, and that's when he realized that Lily had been sitting up in her bed looking at him with wide eyes.

     "I thought you were an intruder," she said breathlessly, and Link shook his head with a chuckle. He moved from her seat to her bed, taking a seat on the edge. She wrapped her blanket around herself, the cold biting at her bare arms. He looked her in the eyes and she looked at him right on back, and that's when she dropped the blanket and flung her arms around his neck, engulfing him in a bone crushing hug.

     "I'm so glad you're alive and better, daddy. I don't care that you aren't human, you're still the best dad in the world."

     Link's eyes watered and he rubbed her back consolingly, feeling a certain warmth pulse through his system. She drew back away from him, wiping a tear from her face. He took her face into his hands and looked her square in the eyes, all seriousness on his face now.

"Can you tell me what happened earlier tonight, sweetheart? With as much detail as you can," he prompted.

     She gave him a confused look with the raise of a brow. "What do you mean?"

     "Jessie told me that you had a breakdown. I need to know what happened." He needed to know if her symptoms were similar to his when he screamed. He wanted to know if the possibility of her having the same thing as him was even remotely there.

      She made a face as if she understood what he was talking about now. "Right." She took a deep breath. "It felt like I was having a panic attack. My chest got really tight, my stomach felt like I was being punched and the throw up was coming up my throat," she brought her hand up to her throat for emphasis. "I had a really bad headache like somebody was punching it over and over. I'm really surprised I didn't puke. I thought I was going to puke, so I kinda dropped to the floor and heaved. I thought I was heaving, but I guess I was screaming," she said with a shrug.

     Link's heart froze in his chest. He dropped his hands from her face and blinked several times, and she cocked an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong?"

     He shook his head, bringing a hand up to his chin and wringing it down.

     "You've kept all of this from us for so long, dad. You can tell me... does that happen to you too when you want to scream?"

     Link whipped his head to look at her, his chest constricting. "Yes," he choked, his eyes stinging.

     A look of worry came over Lily's face and she began fiddling with the blanket in between her fingers. "Does that mean I'm not human too?" She asked, her voice small.

     Link's lips parted and he drew her close to him once again, and she nestled up to him as she rested her head against his chest. He locked his arms tight around her as he peered out the window. "I don't know baby. I promise we'll get this all figured out." How could he help her if he didn't even know how to help himself?

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     Link woke up the next morning, realizing that he had fallen asleep beside Lily once again. His arm was tingling and numb from Lily's head and he shimmied to move his arm, her head lolling to the side as she slept peacefully. He began moving out of the bed, stretching with a big yawn. The sun didn't even begin to rise yet, so he had to assume that it was roughly 5:30 in the morning if that. He and Rhett needed to get back to the studio today to get some more work done, even though they were going to be highly distracted.

     They couldn't tell their beasts what was going on, but they couldn't keep themselves from them either. Until the time came when they would no longer be able to film from circumstances out of their hands, they were going to head into work and film.

     He decided he wanted to head downstairs to make some coffee, and to his surprise, Jessie had been sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop pulled up. She had a steaming mug of coffee beside her that she moved to take a sip out of, and she set the mug down hastily when she realized Link was standing in the doorway.

     "Help yourself," she motioned with her eyes toward the coffee pot. Link raised an eyebrow at her.

     "What are you doing up so early? Watchu looking at?" He said as he tried peering over her shoulder. She quickly shut the laptop, her eyes widening. He happened to catch a glimpse of a bolded out headline of an article that said Supernatural Creatures Throughout The Centuries. Link took a deep breath.

     "I can't sit on the sidelines and not play the game. I have to do something, so I thought I would do some research," she said meekly, lowering her eyes to her coffee.

     Link appreciated the effort, and he moved toward the cupboard to reach for a cup. "I really appreciate that you're trying to help, Jessie," he spoke as he began to pour coffee into the mug. "But please don't kill yourself over trying to figure out what I am," he said as he took a seat at the table beside her. He brought the mug up to his lips and enjoyed the savory taste of the brewed coffee beans.

     "I won't, I promise. I just feel like knowing what you are could be half the battle y'know?" Link nodded as he took another sip. "If he wants you because of what you are, knowing is half the battle."

     Link locked eyes with her and then motioned with his hand for her to open the laptop. He was just as curious as she was, and she hastily did so, the same article having been up when she closed the laptop. Link looked over her shoulder, his eyes scanning the page from left to right. The list was divided into sub categories in alphabetical order and his eyes widened. She clicked on the letter A and a whole list popped up.

     "Okay, this could take a really long time," he muttered, and the both of them glanced at each other.

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