Furry Humans

❝bitter are the wars between brothers.❞

Mid-day rolls around, Stella, Samantha and I move to the living room, officially starting the day with watching shows to occupy our time. I don’t remember the last time I was able to sit down and just watch television, flickers of images would cross my sight as I recall a time Mom, Dad, Mason and I stayed in on a weeknight and bundled up on the couch: enjoying each other’s presence.

The image was short and hazy yet it didn’t stop that sharp, expected pain shooting to the center of my heart. Xavier came down shortly after I had taken the pills and he couldn’t keep his hands to himself, last night seemed to lift whatever he was feeling as well, the smile not too far from his face. He wrapped me in his arms as he sat in the single chair with me pressed against his chest on his lap, floating in his affection.

Then again, every happy moment can’t last when I’m involved.

The sound of footsteps approaching the entrance gathers my attention from the screen to look over and see Logan entering the room with Dylan, Mason, Susan, Justin, and Riley, all wearing the same expression; seriousness. I’m alert in an instant, the muscles in my body tense as I watch Logan move to the front of the room, in front of the television, an object in his hand.

Xavier feels my body tense against his and squeezes my hand as he turns his attention to his Dad. The television was turned off and nothing but silence now filled the room.

“You all know what went down a few days ago, correct?” Logan speaks with authority.

“Yes, Alpha.”

I look off to the side, sighing through my nose, Xavier rubbing small circles on the inside of my palm to try and call down the beating of my heart. This is what I dreaded the most, talking and reliving exactly what I wanted to escape from.

“As far as we know, there are no further clues that can lead us to the attack besides one,” he tosses something on the coffee table that resonates a clinking sound.

I can feel Xaiver’s body tense beneath mine sparking my interest, the air shifted, molecules bunching together and creating a tension that sat in the air. My gaze finds everyone’s faces before I turn to look at the object on the table.

My blood runs cold as the arrow that haunts my dreams sits a couple of feet away, the tip still splattered with small amounts of blood, all but bringing me back to the depths I had once crawled from. I quickly turn away, breathing heavily before the images could rise, I suppress the whimpers that want to escape.

“That’s a dïck move, Dad,” Xaiver growls.

“Look,” Logan sighs, “this is the only piece of evidence we have at even getting a step closer to finding out who killed Noah and what brought those wolves to our location.”

I swallow thickly, building enough courage to even turn my head, not looking at the arrow but at everyone’s expression that crosses their faces. Samantha met my gaze and her eyes spoke a question to which I nodded my reassurance before I skipped over her and looked among the others but anywhere towards the table. I was momentarily distracted when I stared at Susan, her expression unlike the others as she stared in the direction, I drowned out Logan as he began to speak about the matter, everyone putting in their own inputs.

Her face was void of any emotion, the air around her shifting from the timid, scared one she usually has attached to her to a darker, dangerous one. From the corner of my eye, Logan lifts the arrow and holds it out in front of him, lips moving soundlessly as I continue to watch Susan.

She presses herself closer to Mason, hiding her face in his arm, but there was a tilt of her lips that shook me to the core.

“. . .stale scent that is coming from the arrow is the only clue as to who was holding this. The carving of designs is a sign that it's from the late sixteen-hundreds. . .”

‘A stale smell?’

My eyes cut back over towards Susan. The only other time a stale smell tickled my nose was when I first met. . . Susan. Now dwelling on it, the moment she left the house to go find Mason because she felt he was hurt, the arrow was shot, I also think of the moment after I met her everything has been spiraling down.

My mind was reeling, spinning and circulating with doubts, thoughts, and suspension. I knew I couldn’t just blurt something out with no evidence, but I wasn’t going to wait until someone else dies.

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” my mouth was opening before I was ready to speak.

Every eye in the room cut towards me, even Susan’s as I hold her gaze, the dark aura around her disappearing when she catches my gaze.

“What is?”

“I don’t want to be speaking out of term but, I feel it’s kind of weird that after I met Susan, everything has been getting worse.”

There was a twitch in her expression that immediately smoothed out when Mason looked down at her and pulled her closer to his body.

“Abigail, what the hell are you talking about?” Mason exclaims, frowning deeply at me.

I start to rise my feet, Xavier’s hands lingering on me as I step away from the couch and his touch. “It may be just me but ever since I met her, things have been happening.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Abigail. . ” Stella murmurs, watching me as I stalk towards Susan.

“Where did you go when you left the house that day?” I question her specifically, watching as she glances around the room.

“I told you,” she says softly, “I went to Mason because he was hurt, I felt it through our bond.”

“Xavier, how long does it take to get to the edge of the town?”

He was silent for a second, “About six to seven minute depending on where you are.”

“It takes six minutes to get to where Mason was,” I add it all up, keeping my eyes locked on hers, “Mason when did she arrive to you?”

He growls, his eyes flashing with his beast present, lips curled over the canines that were slowly growing in his mouth.

“Abigail, I’ll advise you step back, you’re being absurd right now and I won’t be able to hold my wolf back.”

I felt Xavier’s heat against my back in a heartbeat, curling around me like a protective shield as he towers over me.

“Try it,” his own growl wasn’t contained like Mason’s.

“Answer the question, Mason, when did she get to you?”

The air was growing thicker with added tension, the others deciding against to intervene, both boy’s wolves close to the surface.

“Fifteen minutes after I was injured,” he grumbles, glaring at my figure.

“What were you doing in a span of ten minutes, Susan?”

She was fidgeting in her spot, twisting the hem of her dress between her fingers. She was a good actor, I’ll give her that, but she wasn’t fooling me, she can fool the others but not me; narrowing my eyes, she meets my gaze again and I saw just a spark of that glint.

Anger.

Gritting my teeth, I was in front of her in fluid movements, tapping into the strength I possessed and using it to wrap my fingers around her neck and slam her against the wall across the room.

“ABIGAIL!"

I sneered in her face, her eyes taking the fearful look she tried to project to everyone, my fingers tightening around her throat. The room echoes the force of her body colliding with the hard surface, splits in the wall making an appearance.

“You’re not fooling me,” I growl, pressing closer. “You’re not who you say you are and until you admit it, I’m not letting you go, so you might as well fess up.”

Her gaze lingers on my face before she looks over my shoulder, “M-mason.”

A deep growl shook the room and in the distance, London begins to cry out from the second floor, his screams adding to the chaos. I could hear my brother’s advancements as I didn’t spare him a glance.

“I swear to the goddess and all the others if you don’t let her go, RIGHT NOW—”

“—you won’t be doing anything.” Xavier interrupted him, holding him back with a hand in his shoulder.

Mason shrugged his hand off with a fierce glare.

“Admit it. Come on, I’m right here, you can kill me right now and get it all over with.”

Xavier's emotions mixed with mine, I could feel his confusion, agitation, and others yet he didn’t question what I was doing.

“I. . .I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whimpers, feebly scratching at my hand, “please get off of me.”

I pulled her off the wall before slamming her back with greater force than the first time, “Stop lying! I’m not even sure you’re Mason’s mate. If you want me off so bad, do something about it.”

The silence stretched, the others standing at attention, Logan watching with pinched lips and hard eyes. Yet he still doesn't say a word, letting things play out.

“Xavier, let me go.”

“No.”

“Guys,” Samantha starts, nervously looking between the three of us as she walks in our direction. “Can’t we just sit down and talk? I mean maybe Abigail is right. . .”

Samantha reaches out to touch Mason’s forearm, her fingers just grazing his skin before fully wrapping around his arm.

“No!” Susan calls out just as they both gasp and snap their attention to one another, eyes widen and slowly darkening with recognition.

“Mine. .” Mason whispers down at her.

My attention was momentarily given to them both, shock rocking my core that didn’t last long as pain laces around my wrist, my head snaps back to find Susan glaring at me; her innocent demeanor gone. She begins to transform before my eyes, her hair reverting to a shorter length and changing from red to black, her eyes bleeding red as they glowed with a vengeance.

“Bitch.” she hisses, twisting my wrist until there was a snap.

An uncontainable scream slips pass my lips, fiery pain consuming my broken wrist, and before I knew it I was thrown back and crashing into a mass of bodies, all falling to the ground with me.

I watch from squinted eyes as she dashes for the front door, nothing but a blur of colors, I hiss through the pain and quickly rise to my feet, Xavier helping me as he was the first body I slammed into. She was out the door before we could fully collect ourselves.

There was only one thing I could do.

“Elijah!!” I called out, the tree leaves rustling in the faint wind.

I hustle to the doorframe, leaning against it as I flex my wrist, the bone already healing. She didn’t make it past the naked tree that was in the middle of the yard; she skids to a stop, jaw clenched tight as her red orbs stare straight into the eyes of her predator.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Elijah grinned. This was the smile of a predator catching their prey, his fangs flashing with his intentions clear.