Chapter 111

Although her life was one moment of shock and disappointment followed by another, Amelia thought that she had finally gotten to a point in her life where she didn’t have to say farewell to any other loved ones. But Pete’s declaration gripped her heart with fear and panic at what this might mean for her newfound family that she had just returned to.

She had to stop herself from blurting out the hundred different questions she had for Pete. And she resigned herself to ask the one most important question on her mind.

“What do you mean by ‘leave Silver Lake’?” Amelia asked cautiously.

Letting out a labored sigh, Pete pulled up one of his feet onto the deck and rested his elbows on his knee as he continued to look out into the woods.

“When I received my wolf spirit, I never left Silver Lake”, Pete revealed. “For some reason, I thought I needed to stay here. I guess I was just worried about leaving my brothers alone when our parents had died just a few years before.”

“Oh…”, Amelia said with a relieved sigh. “You mean the two-year trip. I was afraid you meant… leaving Silver Lake permanently.”

“What?! No!”, Pete exclaimed as he looked at his sister with a panicked expression.

It was only when he looked at her that he noticed the fear on her face at the thought of losing her brother. Wanting to give her some comfort, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close to him as he tried to choose his next words carefully.

“I never got to explore the world or study in a university in another country”, Pete continued. “I think that’s why I still haven’t found my mate and why my brothers don’t trust me in a fight.”

“That’s not true!” Amelia protested. “They do trust you!”

“No, they don’t”, Pete sighed. “I already know how happy they were that I didn’t go with them to Half Moon. They thought that they were hiding it well, but I could see how relieved they were when Alpha Jason told me to stay behind and watch the pack.”

“Jason told you to stay behind because we both trust you”, Amelia argued, hoping to change his mind.

“I know you do…”, Pete continued. “But I can’t keep going on like this. If I go, then maybe my brothers would stop seeing me as a kid that they need to protect.”

Although she could understand his reasons, Amelia still couldn’t bring herself to agree with his decision to leave Silver Lake for such a long time. He seemed to notice her apprehension, so he rubbed her arm which drew her attention to his face. But all he could offer her was a sad smile at that moment.

“I truly believe that I need to leave and experience the world for myself”, Pete said. “But I really want you to tell me what you think.”

Looking away from her brother, Amelia had to stop herself again from blurting out her disapproval of his decision. But she knew that she could never do that to him.

“I want you to stay”, Amelia finally said as she looked back at him. “But I won’t ask you to because I can see how much you want this. I can tell that you’ve already made up your mind and I don’t want to hold you back from becoming who you need to be.”

Pete’s face lit up when he heard her decision and immediately pulled her into a tight hug. They held each other for a moment before Pete finally pulled away and she saw that he had tears in his eyes that he had been fighting back the whole time.

“I have one favor though…”, Amelia said as she grabbed his hand in hers.

“Anything!” Pete exclaimed. “If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it!”

“Let me turn you into a Lycan”, Amelia said with a serious expression. “I won’t be there to watch your back, and I’ll feel better knowing that you’ll have the strength to overcome anything. Plus I can put you in contact with the Lycan network, just in case you need some back-up.”

Amelia knew that she was asking a lot by offering to turn Pete into a Lycan. The topic of turning other wolves into Lycans had not come up until that moment and she was sure they didn’t want her to feel like they were using her like her father. But she also knew that Pete was the one person in the whole world that she was sure would become a great Lycan.

“Okay, I’ll do it”, Pete finally agreed after a moment of contemplation.

“Thank you!” Amelia said as she pulled him into another hug.

“I just need to tell my brothers”, Pete said apprehensively. “Honestly, I’m a little worried about their reaction. I don’t think it’s going to go very well.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be there with you”, Amelia said with a reassuring smile.

*****

Because Pete had finally opened up about what was troubling him, Amelia convinced him to speak to his brothers immediately. Even though Pete was tempted to just quietly leave the pack without the confrontation he was certain was coming his way.

Amelia had kept her word and remained at Pete’s side as he explained his desire to explore the world on his own. And she had also requested help from Jason to sit with them and mediate between the brothers just in case things got heated between them.

Michael and Thomas had listened carefully to Pete’s plan but seemed to be growing more anxious the more Pete spoke. Where Thomas had sat back and crossed his arms, Michael looked like he was on the verge of exploding.

“No”, Michael said flatly in protest. “You’ll have no one with you to protect you!”

His reaction made Pete lower his head as he let out an exhausted sigh. This was obviously what he was afraid of, and Amelia knew she had to do something to help.

“He won’t need anyone to protect him!” Amelia interjected. “But if it helps, I’m going to turn him into a Lycan just in case. So he’ll have the Lycan strength and the Lycan network watching his back.”

Taking a deep breath, Pete rubbed his hands over his face before he looked straight at Michael determined to change his mind about him leaving.

“Mike, I know neither of you have ever thought that I was… strong enough”, Pete said. “But I know I’ll be fine. Wolves younger than me have taken this journey and come back stronger than ever. It’s time that I do the same.”

Hearing the conviction in his voice seemed to rattle Michael’s resolve and he lowered his head and rubbed his hands before looking at Thomas who seemed to be thinking the same thing he was.

“Pete, we’ve never once thought that you were weak”, Michael finally said. “We never have. I’m just scared for my baby brother. And I know that you can take care of yourself… I just don’t want you to go where I can’t see you. You don’t know what’s out there… What I’ve done to make sure what is out there never comes back home to you…”

Michael lowered his voice in contemplation, unsure of what he needed to do in this situation. Noticing his inner turmoil, Thomas placed a hand on his older brother’s shoulder hoping to give him some hope for his baby brother’s future.

“He needs to go, Mike”, Thomas said. “We can’t protect him forever. He isn’t a child, and treating him like one isn’t helping. And if he’s a Lycan, I’d feel better about letting him go.”

“I know you’re right”, Michael said with a sigh. “I know you’re both right.”

“He needs this, Mike”, Amelia said with a pleading expression.

Letting out another long sigh, Michael ran his fingers through his hair before he glanced back at Pete. Without another word, he grabbed Pete by the shoulders and pulled him into a bear hug as they both stood from where they had been sitting.

“You have to check in with me every day!” Michael said as he pulled away and held Pete by his shoulders.

“Maybe not every day…” Pete said with a chuckle. “What if I’m hiking up a mountain or something?”

His joke only made Michael’s anxiety return as he looked at Pete with a horrified expression. Amelia in turn stood up and smacked Pete on the back of his shoulder as she shook her head.

“You’re gonna say that now?!”, Amelia exclaimed at her brother.

Thankfully the tension in the room began to fade as the brothers had finally come to an understanding.

“Are you sure about turning into a Lycan?” Thomas asked as he stood to join his brothers.

“He’s right”, Jason asked with concern. “There’s no turning back once you do.”

Pete looked at his brothers and then at Amelia who gave him a nod. He knew that this was a pivotal moment in his life, but he was ready to face this new change nonetheless.

“Yes, I’m sure”, Pete confirmed. “Not to mention, if it puts my brothers' minds at ease then I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”

“As long as you’re sure”, Jason said. “It was probably the most painful experience of my life, so I’ll have to call Doc Miller over with a few painkillers just in case.”

“Wait… what?!” Pete exclaimed. “No one told me it was going to hurt!”

His reaction at the discovery of what the change entailed only made everyone in the room burst out laughing. So Amelia patted his shoulder reassuringly, even more sure that this was the right decision.