Imprint.

Twenty

The sun had set and no one was back yet. The phone didn't ring and I didn't hear any of them outside. I knew there was a lot of ground to cover but something was wrong if they couldn't find him by now. Hours had passed.

Something was wrong.

I walked to the door and just as I opened it, a loud howl came from the direction of the beach.

It was Carter. I knew his wolf voice better than any of the others.

I took of running, not knowing what good it would do. But I had to try. I couldn't let my brother die while I sat around and did nothing.

I pushed the fallen tree limbs and twigs out of my way, my arms and legs getting cut up in the process. I was in a t-shirt and shorts, which did little to protect me. The heartache I felt after Will died was far worse. It would be ten times worse if Carter died.

As I reached the clearing, Carter was nowhere in sight. None of the other wolves were either. Did I run the wrong way? Did I follow the wrong wolf?

I cursed and turned around to scan the woods. Maybe I passed him on my way? Sand covered my feet, weighing me down. I hated that just hours before, we were at the beach having a good time. Why did things have to change so quickly? Why couldn't we have had nice lives without stress or death or heartache?

A wolf whimpered off to my left and I ran to it. Sure enough, it was Carter. He was laying in the tall grass that separated the beach from the woods. He didn't look too badly injured and there wasn't any blood in his fur. His eye met mine and he was scared.

"Carter, can you hear me? You need to shift back." I said, trying to stay calm. I didn't do well under pressure but if he was scared or hurt, I had to try my best to be brave. He'd always been the brave one. He was always there for me when I was upset. He deserved the same when the roles were switched.

His eyes shifted to something over my shoulder before widening. He growled but before I could even think to turn around, something grabbed my shoulder and set me tumbling into the water.

I pushed myself up in the water, my shoulder on fire. Who was that? I looked behind me and a large, red wolf was snarling at me, his teeth bared.

Carter got to his feet and growled at the wolf. This one was considerably larger than Carter. Yes, Carter was an alpha but this wolf had nothing on him.

Carter ran at the wolf and just as easily as it tossed me aside, it shook Carter off. He slid into the dirt and twigs and shook that off. He got back to his feet, his body in a fighting stance. I couldn't let him get killed over me. It was stupid.

"Hey." I yelled, balling my hands into fists at my sides.

The wolf turned its head and stared right at me.

"Stay away from him."

The wolf growled at me before stalking toward Carter. I had to act fast if I wanted him to survive this.

I ran out of the water, as fast as I could, and at the wolf. It barely turned to look at me as I ran passed it. I grabbed a large rock and threw it at the wolf. It hit him square in the head and he collapsed, not moving or trying to get up.

Carter slowly walked over to the wolf and nudge it with his nose. The wolf didn't move or twitch or anything. Did I kill him?

I took a deep breath and panic settled in. I killed someone. I killed someone. Oh my gosh.

Carter shifted back and met my gaze. "V, what are you doing here? He could've killed you."

"Carter, he was going to kill you."

"I can handle myself." He walked over to me and grabbed my arm. "We're going home - V, that's not - shit." Carter ripped the t-shirt sleeve off my arm and ran his fingers over my shoulder. It felt swollen and it stung where he touched.

Time felt like it was slowing down. Time felt nonexistent. I bet Carter felt this way too.

"What-" I followed his gaze and my head started getting heavy. I tried taking a step back but I collapsed instead. Carter grabbed me before I could fall and lifted me into his arms.

"It's okay. It's okay." Carter repeated. His voice was all I heard as he carried me back to the house.