The Protector

XXV

Something is incessantly tapping at my shoulder and has been for a couple of minutes. I'm too tired for this. Rolling over, I swipe at whatever it is in the hopes it will stop. I'm desperate to go back to my dream. It was peaceful there.

I was reminiscing about my fifth birthday, the first good birthday any of us had after Dad died. It was one of my favourite celebrations because we'd gone to a Scottish forest where we ran around like lunatics for hours in a game of tag which I always won. I'm not sure my success was coincidence or rigged. Mum only managed to make us settle when it came to lunch where we scoffed sandwiches and cake.

The day progressed to exploring the forest, Mum got very anxious in those hours since we kept climbing trees and jumping into lakes. Leaving late at night, Lew, Jay and I had curled up together on the back seat on the journey home while Luke snored in the passenger side. We woke in our beds, Luke and Jake cuddled up together in my bed, Lewis and I spooning in his. Mother kept a photo of us at the picnic table on her desk for years.

"Lucy..." An angelic voice leads me into the brightly lit room, startling me further when I'm blinded by the sun. "Yes? Hello?" I sound like an ill toad. She giggles beautifully beside me, continuing to gently tap my arm. "I was wondering if I could have a bath?" I flip onto my side, facing her. She's sitting on her knees, staring down at me nervously. "Of course, you don't need to ask."

"Thank you. I was wondering if... could you er...c-can I please have some more clothes?" My fingers move up to claw the dusty bricks from the corner of my eye. "Yeah, I'll find you some in a bit. What size do you need?"

"A four or six." She sounds like she's about to cave in on herself. I hum out in surprise. I knew she was slim, but that doesn't feel right considering the fact that her bones were digging into me throughout the night. "No problem. What time is it?"

"Seven." She quietly sniggers as I groan, rolling to hide my head under the pillow. Of course my mate is an early riser. "Give me five and I'll ask around." She thanks me before scurrying into the bathroom. Man, I'm tired. Yesterday really took it out of me. To be fair, we did get into another fight, I stood up to a rude Alpha as well as my brother, and met my Mate - so it isn't surprising I'm knackered. Plus, I only got to bed at nearly two this morning.

Pulling my phone off of the side table, I message Kelis to see if she has any clothes I can borrow. Nearly all females in the pack are a size eight or more since our kind naturally have more muscle mass - curvy is always better. Shortie on the other hand, is only half wolf and is more human physically, meaning she's slimmer and struggles to build muscle. She's very proud to be a half breed, despite the rumours, even if it does bring around complications such as her COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), which thankfully won't worsen due to her wolf DNA keeping it at the same state her entire life.

She explains that she'll drop by on her way to Luke's pack meeting which is at half past - majority of the pack are early birds too. I'm not all that fussed about attending since it'll just be a summary of what we organised last night and I was the one to create the plan so I know all of it.

She said she'll only be about ten minutes, so I peel myself from my cloud; whining along as my body protests. With half open eyes, I waddle to the wardrobe, managing to crash into the wall a few times. I live a dangerous lifestyle. My fingers run over the coat-hangers, searching for a pair of shorts. I should probably dress accordingly for the remainder of the day. Jumping about into the bottoms, I pull a tank shirt out of a drawer. I then scoop my hair up into a bun, none of it hanging out anymore since it has already grown two inches. Making a mental note to ask Tilly to cut it again, there's a knocking on the door.

Opening the chunk of wood, Shortie smiles up at me. I lean down to pull her into a hug since I haven't caught up with her properly in a few days. "Hey, Nutty! How have you been?" I let her into the room, and she sits down on the bench with a duffle bag by her side. "I'm good I guess. What have you been up to?" I sit on the floor, sliding on some socks. "Not much. Oh, I started drawing a new comic strip for the kids to read next time we have to go to the bunker."