chapter fourty three

Adam's POV

As we sit in silence, taking in the discovery, we hear a knock at the door. "Adam, can I come in?" Ophelia's voice follows.

"Yeah, come in."

The door swings open and Ophelia walks in, her eyes glued to her phone, a faint furrow creasing her brow. "Do you know where Eric-" She pauses, her gaze lands on Eric. "Oh, never mind."

"Why were you looking for me?" Eric asks, his voice laced with suspicion.

She chuckles, putting on the overly sweet, all-too-familiar smile. "I was wondering if my lovely twin brother, would be interested in driving me to the city."

"Can't you just drive yourself there?" Eric groans, his shoulders slumping.

"Nope," she responds, plopping herself beside him on the bed, the mattress dipping in under her weight. "I want you to drive me there."

He sighs. "Why does it have to be me? Why not Adam? Isn't he supposed to be your favorite sibling?"

'Why does he have to bring me into everything?'

Ophelia giggles, an annoying, high-pitched sound that grates on my nerves slightly. "No, silly," she pinches his cheek, causing him to swat her hand away. "You're my favorite."

"And suddenly you prefer me when you need something. How convenient," Eric mumbles.

She rolls her eyes at him. "Don't be a drama queen." Her gaze flickers between us. "What were you two doing in here, anyway?"

Eric and I exchange a glance before he responds. "We were just discussing pack business."

Ophelia's eyes narrow slightly, but she doesn't push it, thankfully. "Okay..." she turns back to Eric. "Well, I still need you to drive me."

"What business do you even have in the city?" he asks, his brow raised.

"I don't have to tell you everything, Eric."

Eric shrugs, a dismissive gesture. "Fine then, I'm not taking you."

Ophelia gasps, turning her gaze to me.

'Oh no.'

"Adam, tell him he has to take me!"

I raise both hands in surrender, signifying my lack of interest in their drama.

A frown creases Ophelia's lips. "Meanie." I shrug, smirking playfully at her. "Fine!" she grumbles, returning her attention to Eric. "I'm going to see my friends from college. We're having a reunion slash sleepover tonight."

"What do you mean sleep over?"

"Sleepover?"

I and Eric ask simultaneously, our voices echoing in the room.

No wonder why she was reluctant to share her reason. We can't risk her going out for a prolonged period, as there's a high chance of having unexpected transformations.

Eric stands up, his expression stern. "If that's what you have to do, then I'm not taking you anywhere."

Ophelia stands alongside. "Why do you have to be a spoil sport, Eric?" She asks, crossing her arms. "Adam, tell him to take me there, or I'm driving there myself," she threatens. "You know it'd be worse if I go there myself."

Sighing, I shake my head. "I'm on Eric's side, Ophelia. I would like to believe that you are already aware of the kind of risk you'd be taking, by going into a human-dominated zone all alone, when your human form is not stable."

"I know that already!" she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. "Besides, I wouldn't be the only werewolf there."

My eyebrows furrow. "Who else is going to be there?"

"Damon."

My jaw drops open as I hear the name. Damon?

Meanwhile, Eric's face contorts in anger, his fists clenching. "Hell no! I'm not letting my little sister walk into a not only human zone, but also a place that my ex-bestfriend and traitor is in!"

Damon is the alpha of an ally pack, and he was once Eric's best friend. That was until a fight happened between them in their college days, a betrayal Eric still refuses to disclose the details of.

We've noticed how Damon has been trying to get close to Ophelia for a while now, and Eric fears it's because he's trying to get revenge. A situation I do not have any understanding of.

Ophelia rolls her eyes, tapping her foot on the floor. "Look. I don't have time to waste arguing with you. If you refuse to drop me, then I'll just call Damon and we'll go together."

Eric narrows his eyes at her. "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me then." She brings out her phone from her pocket and begins typing something.

Eric snatches the phone from her hand. I catch the side of her lips tilting upward, but she covertly hides it, masking it with a frown instead. "Give me back my phone, Eric."

"No," he says firmly.

"You can keep it then," she shrugs. "I already sent him the text anyway."

"No you didn't."

"I did, and he'd be here to pick me up soon."

Eric sighs and hands her back the phone. "Text him and tell him not to bother. I'll be the one dropping you there."

She makes a whiny noise, but there's a glint of victory in her eyes. "When I finally got someone fun to take me."

He frowns, but doesn't say anything in return.

Ophelia returns her phone to her pocket. "I've texted him, so go wear something and let's get going."

"I will, but I have a condition."

"I knew I shouldn't have believed you," Ophelia grumbles.

Eric raises a brow. "Do you want to hear it or not?"

"Just fucking say it already!" she snaps, exasperated.

Eric grins, a mischievous look playing in his eyes. "I have to stay there with you."

"What!" she shouts. "You can't do that! I don't need you patrolling around me like a fucking cop, Eric! Adam, telling him he can't stay!"

I face Eric. "I think that's a good idea."

Ophelia's face reddens, and she takes in short, deep breaths. "I don't even know why I bothered to ask you. Eric, seriously, do not stay. You just drop me off, and leave immediately," she demands, her voice clipped.

She doesn't understand that although it looks like we're trying to monitor her, it's because we're worried for her safety. If something were to happen, she would be able to defend herself, knowing her abilities are weak at the moment.

"Why? I was in your class too, wasn't I?" he questions.

Ophelia sighs. "You were, and that's the problem!" She yells, then adds quietly, "I don't want you grabbing all the attention to yourself. You know how my friends are, around you"

This is one of the times I wish I carried a bag of popcorn around. My siblings always have one drama or the other, going on between them, and it's always entertaining.

But I really do understand where Ophelia's coming from. I've experienced how her friends are when they see me or Eric. It's not always a good experience. I don't intend to sound rude, but they're a bit fake. I wonder why Ophelia hangs around with them sometimes.

Eric's face softens. "Is that truly the reason?" She nods. "I'm so sorry, Ophelia. I don't even realize when it happens."

"I know," she says quietly.

He pulls her into a hug. "If that's the case, then I promise to stay as far away from you as possible. While also keeping, an eye out, of course."

"Thank you," she breathes.

I almost coo, though I'm a bit sad about the drama coming to an end. We don't get a lot of entertainment around here.

Ophelia's nose scrunches in disgust, and she pushes Eric away, breaking the hug. "Okay, I got tired of pretending. You stink."

Eric grins, spreading his arms out and moving closer to her. She backs away. "Don't fucking come near me, Eric." He doesn't listen, rather beckoning on her with his hand. "Go take a fucking shower and let's get going!"

"Can't I give my only sister a hug before I do that?" he asks, slowly closing the distance between them.

Ophelia tries to move to the side, but he is quicker, as he grabs her in his arms.

She squeals, laughing. "Let go of me, stinky man!"

"Nope," he responds, holding her tighter instead. He turns to me. "See you tomorrow, or whenever, Adam."

With that, he walks out of the room, Ophelia still squirming in his arms.

I smile in admiration of how they can go from fighting in one minute, to being all jovial in the next. I'm thankful for the fact that we've always had each other's backs, and nothing has happened to change that.

The sound of their voices gone, my mind drifts back to our discussion, the discovery of Tammy's identity.

I sigh, gathering the books Eric left behind and placing them on my cupboard. I'll get back to them later.

Now, I'll just go be with Tammy. She's probably alone at the moment.