Chris raised his large fist to the door of the small bungalow and cringed. Whatever was waiting for him inside, he didn't want to experience it or handle it; he wanted to avoid, avoid, avoid. After having spent last night with his frightened little Luna, trying to talk her down from her fears and attempting to instill a sense of confidence in her that, yes, she will be a great mother to their pup, he was exhausted. He had shoved all thoughts of Felicity into the furthest reaches of his mind in an effort to move forward, but the haunting reminder that he was the cause of her death still remained.
Perhaps it was because of this that he found himself standing outside his cousin's door. If there was something he could say, if just having a visit from him might set things to rights, he had to do that; no more lives should be lost because of him.
When no one came to the door after several minutes of his gentle knocking, the Alpha tried the doorknob and it opened softly. This was not exactly unusual: most of the pack didn't lock their homes because, well, it was the pack and their territory was safe. But the eerie silence and the heavy fog of sadness that hung in the air of the small home was haunting, and he immediately repressed the urge to step back and run. "Vin? Isolde?" he called in a stern but low voice, so as not to scare them with his arrival. "Are you home?"
There was a noise somewhere in the far back corner behind the kitchen, and then Vincenzo appeared, his hair a matted and oily mess. He looked drugged as he stared at his Alpha. "It's you," he acknowledged without emotion. "What's up?"
"I was worried about you and Isolde," Chris stated matter-of-factly. "I wanted to stop by and see how things are going."
Vin's eyes closed then opened quickly and he made a strangled noise. "We're alive."
As he moved through the small space and joined his cousin in the kitchen, he quickly realized that the place was a disastrous mess – dishes were stacked five high in the small sink, crusted pots and pans were stacked on the countertop, as well as opened cans full of Spaghetti O's and beans. His nose wrinkled at this and then he finally allowed himself to fully imbibe the weighty scent of decay that permeated the air. His stomach roiled. "Vin, man, I know it's rough but we've gotta clean this place," he observed and gestured toward the countertops. "This is a mess! The two of you will get sick."
"Don't care," Vinny shrugged passively. "It means nothing."
The Alpha shook his head slowly as he observed the obvious severity of the situation. "Alright, well, do you mind if I send someone over to help out? Mrs. Gerritsen has been maintaining the pack house for me for a few years now, and she does a great job and is as sweet as could be. I'll send her over and you'll never even know she was here."
Vin waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever."
Chris followed his cousin through a back hallway, past two doors on the right and then into a bedroom at the end of the hall. The shades were all down and blackout curtains hid all the light, while the air was heavy with perspiration and desperation. In the center of the disheveled bed lay Isolde, her white-blonde hair – which currently looked gray - was spread around her like a dirty halo. Her skin was yellowing and her normally petite but lithe body was nothing more than skin on bones.
YOU ARE READING
White Lightning
Werewolf[Ongoing Serial Novel][Werewolf] [MIW] In our world, for every female pup born there were five very eager and wanton males waiting for her to turn of age. Some packs considered their females to be ripe at sixteen, but my great-grandfather had establ...
