Chapter 139: Seize the Opportunity

My heart breaks a little as I pull out of the parking lot. I see Derek in the rearview mirror that I can’t help but glance up at as I leave. I know this is causing a rift in our relationship but I feel it in my gut that I have to do it this way. Otherwise Brian will keep leading us on a merry chase until he gets what he wants: me alone.

I have to give him a little credit. He knew we would follow him if he took Anna and he also knew I would do anything to get her back. Logan is likely correct in assuming it’s a trap. But there is something Brian doesn’t realize. I am not the same girl he once knew. I am strong and powerful and have gained a lot of experience with men like him recently.

I head north and drive as long as I can until my eyelids start to feel too heavy to keep open. As much as I wish I could keep going, getting into a car accident will not help me pursue my brother. I pull into a decent chain hotel and check in. I drag myself up to my room and my exhaustion makes it a little difficult to get the key card to work. I finally get the light to blink and turn the handle.

I barely make it to the bed and fall on top of it without even taking my shoes off. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I’m pulled into a deep sleep. A memory from when I was around seven years old comes back to me...

I am walking to the center of our little village with my mother. Every Saturday morning the mothers of the pack meet to trade secrets and handmade goods while the children socialize and play. Usually my brother comes with us and we end up playing a game by ourselves but he stayed with my father today to help him with some house repairs.

The children are all wary of me for some reason and the mothers are respectful to my mother, but they always give me strange looks when she isn’t paying attention.

A small group of children are playing ball and I’m dying to play, but I’m nervous and shy. I keep a tight hold on my mother’s hand but then she let’s go and gently pushes me towards the group.

“Go on, Lila, play with the other children while I have a chat with the ladies,” she says in a firm voice. I’m very young but I am smart enough to catch on that she doesn’t want me to hear their conversation. I walk away and tentatively approach them, inching my way slowly towards their laughter. I gather my courage and straighten my spine. I am the daughter of the Alpha, after all.

“Can I play?” I say and my voice comes out shaky, not at all confident like I planned. They ignore me and I think they must not have heard me, so I repeat myself, speaking louder. One of the boys turns to me and looks me up and down judgmentally.

“Sure,” he says but he doesn’t sound happy about it. I step into the circle as the ball is being passed around. They keep passing it but nobody sends it in my direction. I let it go for a while but then become frustrated with the situation.

“Can someone pass it to me?” I demand haughtily and the boy gives me a sneer, then throws the ball at me so hard it hits me right in the nose. Pain explodes in my face and I cover it with my hands as a choked cry comes out. I take my hands away and there is blood on them. I begin to panic. This is the first time I can recall seeing myself bleed and I’m terrified my nose is broken.

I begin to cry and run towards my mother. She gathers me in her arms and her sharp gaze looks around for whom to blame for my pain. The boy that hit me scurries away and his mother calls after him. I hear her yelling for him to come back as my mother comforts me.

“It was an accident!” I hear the boy yell and my mother walks me back towards home. She is a smart woman so she knows better. As we walk in the house, my brother and father are there to greet us. They both stand up in alarm as they see my condition.

“She’s ok. Just a little accident playing ball with some of the other children. Some ice and rest and she will be right as rain,” my mother says calmly. She gives me an odd look that confuses me a little, but somehow I know she is trying to relay to me that she will take care of the situation without getting my father involved. It’s probably a good thing; my father is a very passionate man and extremely protective of his family.

Once she settles me in bed with an ice pack, she leaves the room and my brother sneaks in a minute later.

“Hey sis. Want to tell me what really happened?” he asks. He is shrewd like my mother and I know I won’t be able to lie to him. He has always been able to see right through me.

“It’s my fault. They were all playing a game and I interrupted. Then this boy didn’t seem happy about it so he threw the ball at me extra hard. I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about it,” I tell him.

“Which boy?” he asks in a serious tone.

“I can’t remember his name. Blond hair, green eyes, he’s at least a head taller than me,” I say. He nods in understanding and his brow furrows.

“I will take care of it,” he replies.

“No! Brian, if you do anything then they will really hate me! Please, just let it go,” I plead with him. He assures me he won’t make it worse for me, but I know him. He’s my protector and he will make sure it doesn’t happen again. He turns to leave and I stop him.

“Brian? Why don’t they like me?” I ask him.

“It’s not that they don’t like you. They are afraid of you, because you’re special,” he replies.

“I’m just a girl. I’m not special,” I tell him.

“Yes you are, Lila. You are the daughter of the Alpha and the adults whisper about how important you are. I don’t know the details, but I know that you are very special and it makes everyone else nervous. But you need to ignore them,” he tells me solemnly.

“Ok,” I say. I always do what my brother says because I know he loves me and always has good intentions. He gives me a quick hug and then I drift off to sleep…

I wake up in a cold sweat in the pitch black room. I don’t remember turning off the lights but I was so tired when I arrived who knows what I did. I rise gingerly from the bed to go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face. I notice I’m not wearing my shoes or jacket anymore. Did I take them off before I laid down? I shake my head at myself in confusion. I need to get some coffee and get back on the road.

I come out of the bathroom when I’m suddenly seized from behind.

A scream is caught in my throat and I’m frozen in fear as a hand covers my mouth.