~Lincoln~
I swear, if I have to watch my mate fawn over another man again, I’m going to go on a
killing spree. It was the most frustrating thing in the world. Even though Tia and I have
mated, we are still unmarked and watching her talk to Neal left the worst taste in my
mouth.
The three of us head back to the packhouse, and I’m sure Landon plans to finish what we
started in the training area. Tia was so aroused from our little warning and I’d imagine
Landon is ready to ride that wave. I would love to join them, but fair is fair. I lost my
v*******y to Tia alone, and Landon is allowed that same opportunity.
We are about to walk up the deck to the backdoor when we are met with a very
unpleasant sight. Adela is sitting on the steps of the deck, and when she sees us, she
springs up. I swear it has only been 24 hours since the last bout of drama from her and
her sister. No one is ready for round 2 this soon. I can feel Landon’s anger through the
bond, and I just hope she doesn’t sign her own death certificate, being here right now.
“What do you want?” Adela looks at the three of us before setting her sights solely on me.
Just my luck that whatever this is has a focus on me.
“I need to speak to Lincoln.” Landon scoffs, and Tia says nothing.
“Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of my brother and our mate.” That
last bit gets to Adela, making her make a disgusted face. She quickly puts her face back to
its neutral state in an attempt to seem on board.
“It’s Aida……” I hold my hand up to stop Adela before she even starts.
“I’m not in the mood for one of her games. I spoke with her yesterday and I made things
perfectly clear. There is nothing left for me to do or say.” I make a move to continue
walking, but Adela gets in my path.
“That’s just it. She hasn’t been seen since after your talk yesterday. She has been in her
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtroom since she got home. She won’t even let our dad in the room. You need to see if she’s
okay. She will answer you for sure.” Damn it, Aida. She could be in trouble; then again, she
could be playing a game right now. Aida will go to interesting lengths to get someone’s
attention or to get what she wants. Either way, I can’t fall prey to her and her schemes.
“I can’t, I’m sorry. One of you will have to figure out how to get to her. I’m done.”
“Are you serious?! You are the future Alpha of this pack, and this is your answer when one
of your pack members is in need? It doesn’t matter what you two were in the past. She
needs help, and you are turning her down?!” I have to admit Adela does make a
reasonable point, and I hate it. I am soon to be Alpha of this pack, and I’m meant to care
for all pack members no matter what. I shouldn’t hesitate to see about Aida and make
sure she’s alright. It’s just that a part of me feels like this is some trick, and seeing Aida
will be very bad. How do I do my duty as an Alpha yet still be safe and cautious?
“I’ll go,” Tia responds before I have a chance to. Landon and I both turn to look at her with
dumbfounded looks on our faces. Tia chuckles. “Don’t look at me like that. Aren’t I to be
the Luna of this pack? This is the type of things that a Luna would take care of, correct?” I
nod but am still amazed. Just 24 hours ago, Aida was trying to poach me from Tia, and if
she got hurt in the process, so be it. Now, here Tia is, trying to help her sister out of a
tough spot.
I turn to Adela expecting some type of pushback. That would solidify that this is all some
elaborate rouse. Much to my surprise, Adela doesn’t argue. You can tell she isn’t fond of
the idea, but she doesn’t argue with it either. “Fine, you can do what you want. I just need
my sister to be okay. I won’t go with you since you know where to go. I have other things
to take care of.” Adela walks off, not sparing us a second glance. I’m not sure if I should be
happy or suspicious.
“You know you don’t have to do this. I’m sure that your sister is okay.”
“I know I don’t, but at the same time I do. I have to be the Luna, and that includes
everyone that is a member of this pack. You and Landon, go ahead and get cleaned up. I
will be back in on time.” Tia kisses us on the cheek and heads off to her family home.
I don’t like this, Linc.
Neither do I, but who can argue with her logic?
I’m going to send a warrior with her and just have them stay far enough behind that she
doesn’t suspect anything. I nod in agreement. That isn’t a bad idea. Hopefully, things go
well for Tia, but she will have backup just in case.
~Tia~
Stupid, I know, but what was I supposed to do? Let Lincoln head over to Aida only to find
himself caught in a trap? Let Lincoln ignore Aida, and that is an argument that can be
made against him being an effective Alpha. The best thing to do is to go myself and see
what’s going on. Either Adela’s worries are valid, or she is playing us. I guess time will tell.
It takes me no time to get to the house from the packhouse. Since my dad is the head
warrior, we have always had the benefit of living pretty close to the Alpha family. Mom’s
status as a pack doctor doesn’t hurt, either. Speaking of which, I need to see mom. I
haven’t spoken to her since I’ve been back with everything that has gone on.
I stop at the front door to get my bearings and take a deep breath. I hope dad isn’t here
right now because I don’t have the energy for an ambush. I place my hand on the knob
and slowly turn, making sure to take the time to listen as I do. I hear nothing out of the
ordinary, so I push the door open and step into the house.
Closing the door behind me, I take a look at my surroundings. Nothing has really changed
in all of these years. The furniture and layout are still the same. There are family pictures
everywhere which mostly consist of the wonder twins. I may be in a picture here or there,
but that’s purely by accident. I head up the stairs wanting to get this over with quickly.
The first door to the left is Aida’s room. She and Adela have always had grand rooms with
bathrooms inside. I had to make the attic my room and use the guest bathroom
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmdownstairs. Thankfully that one has a full shower and tub.
Yeah, my life kind of sucked, but I know some people had it worse, so why complain. I
notice Aida’s door is ajar, but I knock on the door anyway. I don’t want to be accused of
anything. I wait a bit for an answer to my knock, but none comes. I peep into the room,
using just one eye, but I don’t see Aida anywhere.
I slowly push the door open and take a few steps inside. That’s when I hear water falling
and notice a door closed with a light shining underneath the door. She must be in the
bathroom, and I take that as a good sign. If she has the strength to bathe herself, she may
not be in too deep of a funk. When I turn to exit the room, a few things catch my eye.
There are unframed pictures all over the walls. The pictures are of Lincoln. Every single
picture has Lincoln in it. Some have Aida with Lincoln, some have Lincoln and Landon with
Lincoln blown up, and yet some are just portraits of Lincoln. This is actually creepy, to be
honest. It is almost like a shrine to Lincoln.
Just as that thought enters my head, I notice a big frame on the wall next to me. It holds a
football jersey from the high school that we went to. I look a bit closer, and it’s the number
that Lincoln wore when he played on the team. Taped all around the jersey are pictures of
Lincoln in high school doing various things. A shiver runs down my back, and I’m creeped
out.
I take a small step toward her desk and notice a very recent picture of the twins and me.
How Aida found time to get this, I’ll never know. In the photo, my face is scratched out so
badly that there are holes in the picture. It seems that my sister has turned into a crazy
person, and that just isn’t healthy. I can hear the water start to ease up, the pressure not
as much as when I walked in. I hurry to the door and step out quickly. I leave the door as I
left it because I don’t want Aida to think anything.
I hurry down the stairs with my single intent to inform the twins of what I saw. My sister
has to be examined by a therapist at this point. Nothing I saw in that room is healthy by
any means. I run to the door, not looking in front of me. I make contact with a brick wall,
falling on my a*s. I look up, and my breath is caught in my throat.
“What the hell are you doing in my house?”