Chapter 10: Anna's Mother Illness
Anna's POV
"We choose chaos," Keira said with a giggle that sent ice through my veins.
"What?" Georgia gasped, stumbling backward.
But then Kelvin laughed too. "Mom, we're kidding! We're still just kids, even if we have weird new skills."
"That wasn't funny!" Georgia shouted, her hands shaking. "Don't ever joke about destroying the world!"
"Sorry, Mommy," Kelsey said, but he was still smiling in a way that didn't look quite right.
I couldn't take it anymore. While everyone was focused on the triplets and their scary new powers, I slipped away. I had to get back to my mother. She was dying, and I was wasting time with predictions and magic when I should be with her.
But as I ran down the stairs of the old pack house, someone grabbed my arm.
"Going somewhere?" James Cameron stood in the darkness, his gun pointed at my chest.
"How did you get in here?" I whispered.
"The same way you did. Blood bond." His smile was cold and mean. "Did you really think my father never told me about this place?"
"Your father?" "Elder Marcus. My dear old dad who gave me away because I was too dangerous." James's grip on my arm tightened. "But now I'm back to collect what's mine."
"The children aren't yours," I said, trying to be strong.
"Oh, but they are. And thanks to that little show upstairs, now I know just how powerful they really are." His eyes gleamed with greed. "Three Alpha children who can save or destroy the world? Do you know what I could do with that kind of power?"
Before I could scream for help, James pressed something against my neck. I felt a sharp sting, and then everything got fuzzy.
"Sleep now, Anna. When you wake up, you're going to help me get those children. Or your mother dies."
The last thing I saw before everything went black was James pulling out his phone and showing me a picture. It was my mother, lying in her hospital bed. But she wasn't alone.
There were men with guns standing around her.
When I woke up, I was tied to a chair in some kind of basement. My head hurt, and my mouth felt like cotton.
"Ah, you're awake," James said from across the room. "Perfect timing."
"Where am I?"
"The old hospital basement. The one where your mother is conveniently staying on the floor above us."
My heart started racing. "If you hurt her—"
"I won't have to, as long as you cooperate." James walked over and untied my hands. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to go back to your friends. You're going to tell them your mother is getting worse and needs to see the triplets before she dies."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because if you don't, my men upstairs will turn off her life support machine." He showed me his phone again. I could see a live recording of my mother's room. She looked so small and weak in that big hospital bed.
"You're a monster," I whispered.
"I'm a businessman. And those children are my business." James knelt down so we were eye to eye. "You have one hour, Anna. Bring me the twins, or watch your mother die on this phone screen."
He untied my legs and pushed me toward the stairs. "Remember, one hour. And if you try to warn anyone, she dies immediately."
I stumbled up the stairs, my mind racing. How could I save my mother without putting the children in danger? They were just babies, even if they did have scary skills now.
But as I walked back toward the old pack house, I had a terrible thought. What if this was exactly what the oracle meant? What if the children had to choose between saving one person or saving everyone?
When I got back, I found Georgia sitting on the front steps, crying.
"Anna! Thank goodness you're back. Where did you go?"
"I... I needed air." The lie tasted bitter in my mouth. "How are the kids?"
"Still upstairs with Jared and my dad. They're trying to understand their new powers." Georgia wiped her eyes. "Anna, I'm so scared. What if they can't handle these powers? What if they accidentally hurt someone?"
This was my time. I could tell Georgia everything. Tell her about James and the threat to my mother. But then I remembered that video on his phone. My mother, weak and surrounded by armed men.
"Georgia," I said slowly, "maybe we should take the children to see my mother. Before... before it's too late."
"At the hospital? Anna, that's too dangerous. James could have people there."
"She's dying, Georgia. " That part wasn't a lie. "And the kids love her. Don't they deserve to say goodbye?"
Georgia looked torn. "I don't know..."
"Please," I begged, hating myself for influencing my best friend. "She might not have much time left."
Just then, Jared came out of the house with Elder Marcus. Both men looked worried.
"We have a problem," Jared revealed. "The children's skills are growing too fast. They need to learn control, or they could accidentally hurt themselves or others."
"How do we teach them control?" Georgia asked.
"There's someone who might know," Elder Marcus said slowly. "The old pack doctor, Luna Elena's mother. She's still alive, staying at the hospital."
My heart stopped. That was my grandmother. And she was at the same hospital where my mother was being held by James's men.
"We have to go there anyway," I said quickly. "To see my mom."
"It's too risky," Jared shook his head.
"Then we make it safe," Elder Marcus said. "We take a small group. Just Georgia, the children, and Anna. Make it look like a family visit."
"What about protection?" Georgia asked.
"The children are the protection now," Elder Marcus said grimly. "If they're as powerful as they seem, they might be the safest people in the pack."
As they made plans, my phone buzzed with a text from James: "45 minutes left. Don't fail me."
I looked at the message and felt sick. How had I gotten trapped between saving my mother and guarding my best friend's children?
"Anna?" Georgia noticed my face. "Are you okay?"
"Just worried about Mom," I lied again.
An hour later, we were walking into the hospital. The triplets held Georgia's hands, looking around with those strange, old eyes. I kept checking my phone. James hadn't messaged again, which somehow made me more worried.
"Which room is your mother in?" Georgia asked.
"Room 314," I said, my voice shaking.
As we got in the lift, Keira suddenly looked up at me with those too-wise eyes.
"Aunt Anna," she said in a voice that sounded older than her years, "why are you so scared?"
"I'm not scared, sweetie."
"Yes, you are. I can smell it." She tilted her head like a curious puppy. "And I can hear your heart beating really fast. Like you're lying about something."
All three children were looking at me now. Even Georgia looked suspicious.
"Anna," Kelvin said seriously, "there are bad men in this place. I can feel them."
"Lots of them," Kelsey added. "They're waiting for us."
The elevator dinged and the doors opened on the third floor.
Standing in the hallway were six guys in black suits. And in the middle of them was James Cameron, smiling like a wolf.
"Hello, children,
" he said sweetly. "I'm your daddy. And it's time to come home."