Chapter 61 Your Parents
I look over at him, worried about what has happened. I thought he got hurt, but he’s staring directly at my dad. His breath is picking up, getting faster and deeper. Anger graces his face, making me even more confused.
“Alec, you okay?” He doesn’t look at me; instead, his body starts to tremble slightly. I’m more concerned now that he’s about to shift.
I look over to my mom, who thankfully got pulled away by another parent. “We’ll be right back,” I tell her about their conversation, and she gives me a nod of acknowledgement before talking again.
I put all my attention back on Alec. I stand pulling him up with me, which seems to wake him up somewhat. He starts walking, taking me with him away from the main camp. We’re getting closer to the treeline, making me dig my heels in.
“Stop what’s wrong?” I was trying to keep him calm, but I’m not letting him ruin the rest of the day.
He stops walking, his body still trembling softly. “We need to leave now.”
Alarms blare in my head at his words. “What, why? What happened?”
“We need to get to my dad now.” He starts trying to pull me along again.
“No, stop, Alec. I’m not leaving.” I pull my hand from his grip. He stops turning to me. His face is a weird mix of angry and scared. “Talk to me, what happened?”
He looks behind me, then back to me. “Your parents. I need to go talk to my dad, but I can’t leave you alone with them.”
That’s all he says. I try to make sense of his irrational fear and urgency, but I don’t understand what my parents have to do with it.
“My parents what?”
“I can’t tell you until you’re safe.”
This makes me angry. I throw my hands up. “Either tell me now or just leave. I’ll tell them you didn’t feel good or something.”
He looks torn at the decision. But he makes it. He turns away from me, going into the woods without saying another word.
I stand there in complete shock. I can’t even begin to remotely make sense of the events that just occurred. I’m sure I stood there looking at the spot he disappearing into for longer than I should have; the confusion has clouded my mind.
I go back to the fire pit, noting my mom talking to another group of parents, my father standing behind her. I don’t want to interrupt her or really be a part of a parent talk right now, so I go sit on a log by the pit. I don’t know how long they talk for before coming back to sit next to me.
“Where’d Alec go?” Mom asks.
“He started to not feel good, so he went back to his cabin to rest.” I muster a pathetic smile, my brain still confused at his actions.
She gives me a sympathetic look. “That sucks. Well, make sure to tell him we hope he feels better.” “Your dad helped with the fire, he was……” She continues talking, but I don’t fully register much of it. I just want to go back to my bed, get my phone, and find out what's going on.
~Alec POV~
When I first saw them, I immediately noted how nice her mom looked compared to her dad. And the looks were right. The whole time, her dad has been glaring at me off and on. While her mom has been nothing short of nice.
It was when we were eating lunch that something stirred inside of me. Her dad, sitting across from me, stabbed the piece of chicken before cutting it, making something inside of me feel off. It was a feeling I couldn’t place. I felt nauseous, and panicked at the same time. But as fast as it came, it left. So I ignored it. I assumed it was the food we were eating, or the nerves of meeting her parents.
But I felt it again. This time, when her mom gestured to me with the fork, when her voice dipped at the frustration of Anneliese’s lack of cooperation. Why am I feeling this way?
I tried to pay more attention to our surroundings, my wolf even getting on high alert. I started feeling fearful for my mate's safety. But I couldn’t understand what was happening. Until we were at the pit, standing with her mom. I had heard her get pulled off into another conversation.
I glanced at Anneliese to see if she noticed, but she was watching her dad. I looked at him to see how he was doing with the wood; maybe I could offer my help; it’d be a good bonding opportunity. The second I looked at him, it all clicked. He was holding the axe in his right hand, the way he was holding it, the look on his face.
I realized why I was feeling this way.
He’s the man who killed Garrett.
I look at her mother.
She was the woman who killed Garrett.
They killed him.
I looked back at her dad, anger and the deep urge to kill flooded my veins. I didn’t even realize I was squeezing her hand or that I was shaking until she got up and tried to pull me with her.
I need to protect her. I can’t leave her here; they might kill her. I walk away from the camp, trying to get to my home as soon as possible. I drag her with me. We need to get to my parents now. I don’t even hear her yelling at me until she makes me stop.
I turn back to her, not wanting to waste time talking. “Stop, what’s wrong?”
I love her, but this is not the time to explain.
“We need to leave now.”
“What, why? What happened?”
“We need to get to my dad now.” I pull at our joined hands, starting the walk to his house again. But she takes her hand out of mine.
“No, stop, Alec. I’m not leaving.”
I turn around to face her again.
“Talk to me, what happened?”
I glance back towards the firepit, ensuring I don’t hear her family around. Looking back at her, I want to tell her, but she looks so innocent. It’s going to crush her.
“Your parents. I need to go talk to my dad, but I can’t leave you alone with them.” I’ll tell her more once we're out of here and safe.
“My parents what?” She keeps pushing.
“I can’t tell you until you’re safe.” She’s mad, I can hear it in her heartbeat. She throws her hands up, stepping back from me. She gives me an ultimatum, but I can’t stop.
I have finally found his killers. I’m not letting them leave. They’re so close to our pack, I need to warn everyone. Although it pains me to leave her, the fear of them harming her is strong, but I need to protect my pack. So I turn away from her and run as fast as I can to my parents' home.