Chapter 11: The Journal

I found a door that led outside. Behind the gym was a small clearing surrounded by trees.

The air was cold. Fresh. I could finally breathe.

I sat on an old bench and pulled my knees to my chest.

Everything was too much. Too fast.

A week ago, I was just surviving. Now I lived with werewolves. Cole’s mate, whatever that meant.

And people like Erica wanted me gone.

"You shouldn't be out here alone."

I jumped. Turned around.

Andres stood in the doorway. His serious face gave nothing away.

"I needed space."

"Space can be dangerous. Especially for you." He walked over and sat on the other end of the bench. "Your ex knows about this place now. He could be watching."

My stomach turned. "You think he'd come here?"

"I think desperate men do stupid things." Andres looked at the trees. "And your ex seems very desperate to keep you."

"He doesn't want to keep me. He wants to control me. There's a difference."

"True." Andres was quiet for a moment. "Your brother said the same thing once. About your family. That they didn't love you. They just wanted to control you."

My chest got tight. "You knew James?"

“I trained him when he first came here.” Andres looked at me. “He talked about you constantly. His little sister who was too smart for her own good. Too stubborn. Too brave."

Tears burned my eyes. "He said that?"

“He did. He worried about you. Said you were in a bad situation and he didn’t know how to help.” Andres paused. “He came here for answers. About what he was. What you might be.”

"What do you mean what I might be?"

"Your mother's bloodline. It's strong. James inherited it. There's a chance you did too."

"Stacey said sometimes it skips people."

"Sometimes. But trauma can trigger it early. Stress. Fear. Anger." He looked at me carefully. "You've had plenty of all three."

I thought about the pills. The ones my mother and Susan said I needed for my aggression.

What if it wasn't aggression? What if it was something else trying to come out?

“James kept a journal,” Andres said. “He wrote everything. His shifts, training, worries about you.” He pulled a small leather notebook from his jacket. “I think you should have it.”

He held it out to me.

I took it with shaking hands. Ran my fingers over the worn cover.

"He hid it here. In case something happened to him." Andres stood. "He knew someone was after him. He just didn't know who."

"Wait. What do you mean someone was after him?"

"Your brother's death wasn't an accident, Lita. We've known that from the start." His face was hard. "But we couldn't prove it. And we couldn't tell you without exposing what we are."

My hands clenched around the journal. "Who killed him?"

"We don't know for sure. But James wrote down his suspicions there." He nodded at the notebook. "Read it. Then come find me. We'll talk."

He walked back inside. Left me alone with my brother's last words.

I opened the journal with shaking hands.

The first page was dated two years ago.

First shift tonight. I don't know what's happening to me. My body feels wrong. Like something's trying to get out. Mom won't talk to me. Won't explain. She just keeps saying to take the pills. To ignore it. But I can't ignore this.

I flipped through the pages. Read about his first time at the gym. Meeting Cole and Alex. Learning what he was.

Then I found a page dated six months before he died.

Lita's getting worse. Brian's hurting her. I can see the bruises even when she tries to hide them. I tried to talk to her but she won't listen. Says she's fine. Says she loves him. But I know what love looks like. This isn't it.

I need to get her out. But Mom and Dad won't help. They like Brian. Like his family's money and connections. They don't care that he's destroying her.

I'm going to tell her the truth. About what I am. About what she might be. Maybe then she'll understand why she needs to leave. Why she needs to fight back.

Tears fell on the page. Smudged the ink.

I kept reading.

Brian knows about the gym. About the wolves. I don't know how but he knows. He threatened me today. Said if I try to take Lita away, he'll expose us all. Expose Cole's pack. Ruin everything.

I told Cole. He said we'd handle it. But I don't think Cole understands how dangerous Brian is. How obsessed.

I'm meeting Brian tonight. Going to try to reason with him one last time. If he touches Lita again, I don't know what I'll do. The wolf in me wants blood. But I have to try the human way first.

If something happens to me, I need Lita to know the truth. Brian killed me. I know he will. He's that kind of man. The kind who destroys anything that threatens his control.

Lita, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I couldn't save you from him. But you have to fight now. You have to be strong. Find Cole. Trust the pack. They'll help you.

And whatever you do, don't go back to Brian. He'll kill you too.

The journal fell from my hands.

Brian killed James.

Not an accident. Murder.

My ex boyfriend murdered my brother.

I stood up. Started walking. Didn't know where I was going.

Just needed to move. Needed to do something before I screamed.

The door opened behind me.

"Lita?" Cole's voice.

I turned around. He took one look at my face and was beside me in seconds.

"What happened?"

I couldn't speak. Just pointed at the journal on the ground.

He picked it up. Read the open page.

His eyes went black. Claws came out.

"He killed James," I whispered. "Brian killed my brother and I've been living with him for a year. I let him touch me. Control me. I..."

I couldn't breathe. My chest was too tight.

Cole pulled me against him. Held me while I fell apart.

"I'm going to kill him," Cole said quietly. "I'm going to find him and I'm going to end him."

"No."

He pulled back to look at me. "What?"

"No. I'm going to do it." I wiped my eyes. Looked up at Cole. "James died trying to protect me. Now it's my turn to fight back. To finish what he started."

"Lita, you can't..."

"Yes, I can." My voice was stronger now. "He took everything from me. My brother. My freedom. My life. I'm taking it back."

Cole studied my face. Saw something there that made him nod.

"Then we do it together."

"Together."

His phone rang. He checked it and his face went hard.

"What?"

"Security alert. Someone's at the gym's front gate." He showed me the phone screen.

Brian's car was parked outside. And he wasn't alone.

Police cars surrounded him.

"He called the cops," I said.

"Looks like it." Cole's jaw clenched. "This just got complicated."