Bad News
I didn’t go anywhere for the next week. There was no training and little effort to even get out of bed. It wasn’t just the silver that had drained my body; since I’d yet to shift, I didn’t have the same healing capabilities the rest of the pack did.
Even in my weakened state, my father refused to let me go without my medicine, administering the injections while I groaned into my pillow.
“Please, for the love of the Moon Goddess, stay out of trouble from now on,” he told me, gently ruffling my hair. Such affections from him were few and far between, but it made my heart flutter. I hoped that, someday, we would find a way to bridge the gap he’d put between us.
“I’ll try…” I agreed weakly. There was no point in arguing. Whether it was my fault or not, the result had been the same. I was the one publicly punished, bringing shame to our family.
My father went to work, leaving nana and me alone for the rest of the day. The salve and wet rags helped, but my back still hurt like hell when I moved around. Each of the lacerations had scabbed over, itching and burning beneath my loose clothing.
Just after one, the doorbell rang. I hoped nana would answer it, but after a minute, it rang again. Dragging myself downstairs, I opened the door, blinking in surprise.
“Oh, thank the Goddess!” Beth sighed, immediately throwing her arms around me. I winced and hissed in pain, pulling away from her embrace. “I should have come sooner! Are you alright?”
Elizabeth Redvein and I had a complicated relationship. We’d been best friends since we were children, but that had changed in the last few months, ever since she started dating Kellen.
“It wasn’t my fault…” I wasn’t sure why my first instinct was to defend myself, but that’s exactly what I did. Riley deserved it!”
“Riley Haven?” she clarified, cocking a curious eyebrow at me. I nodded. “Well, he’s an asshole, so I believe it.” Beth agreed, waving her hand dismissively.
I opened the door wider and invited her in, sinking down onto the sofa beside her. “How’s Kellen?”
“Good.” she replied. “He’s been studying nonstop for the last few months. He’s taken up law so he can do something vital for the pack.”
“That’s great. What about you?” Beth shrugged and picked at a spot of chipping polish on her nail.
“I’ll decide eventually. Right now, I’m just taking every day as it comes.” she told me. “Where’s nana Aeria?”
“Not sure.” I replied, glancing into the empty kitchen. “Gardening in the back, maybe.” Then came the uncomfortable silence. That was the problem. We’d run out of things to talk about. “Well, thanks for dropping by…” I said awkwardly, clearing my throat.
“Yeah, I should get going…” she agreed hesitantly. “I hope you feel better.”
“Thanks.” I replied, rising from the sofa. “I’ll be back at training soon. Maybe I’ll see you there one of these days.” Beth shrugged. She’d long since forgone attending. Even the Alpha, with all his might, couldn’t convince her to learn how to fight.
“I’ll text you,” she promised as I opened the door to let her out.
“Sure.” I agreed, forcing out a friendly smile. ‘Love you.”
“Love you too.” Beth was gone as quickly as she had arrived, leaving me with a hollow feeling in my chest, one that I had slowly become accustomed to as I lost her to Kellen.
Nana spent the next half hour making lunch, and I helped her wash her dishes before returning to my bed. Slipping in my earphones, I opened one of my instrumental playlists and spread across the mattress on my stomach, letting out a heavy sigh.
In two days, I would be expected to return to training, even though my back wasn’t fully healed. I could already imagine how many times I would find myself knocked to the ground. My fury came flooding back, toward Riley, toward the Alpha, toward my father…
Once I was angry, it was hard to turn it off. I glared out the window, my chest heaving as I silently fumed. A strange sound pierced the air, louder than the music, and I recoiled as a long crack appeared in the window pain.
What the hell?
“Tyr? Everything alright?” Nana called out from the base of the stairs.
“The window broke!” I yelled back, still staring at the glass with my head slightly cocked. Hesitantly, I reached out, running my finger over the crack and gasping when I cut my finger.
My curiosity faded away as I hurried into the bathroom, squeezing my finger to staunch the blood flow as I hunted for a bandage…
The next time the doorbell rang, I was nearly asleep. I closed my eyes again, sure that nana would answer it.
“Tyr? Tyranni, honey! Come down here!” nana called. It took me far too long to haul myself out of bed and down the stairs, to find nana impatiently waiting beside one of our pack guards.
“Garret,” he introduced himself with a nod as I gripped his forearm in greeting.
“What’s going on?” I asked anxiously. Was I in trouble again?
“I’m so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this. Your father, Nathaniel, is in the hospital. He was in a car wreck about an hour ago.”
The world narrowed, becoming a shadowy tunnel as I swayed slightly on my feet. My father? The man who never even drove over the speed limit?
“How?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out. Best we can guess, right now, an animal ran across the road and Nathaniel swerved. He’s broken a few bones and has a pretty bad concussion.”
“We’ll go straight to the hospital,” nana assured him with a strained smile. By the time she closed the door, I still hadn’t moved, unable to believe what I had just heard…