The Pack - On the Run

“Josie!” Mikey cried out, running out of the house, Rosalyn hot on his heels.

“Easy, pup,” Louis warned, but neither I, nor my brother seemed to care.

I crouched and spread my uninjured arm wide apart as the seven-year-old crashed into me, sending me on my bottom. He squeezed my neck so tight he was cutting off the air from my lungs, but I didn’t care as I nuzzled him with my nose, breathing his comforting childish scent in.

“Okay, Mikey, let your sister go. She needs to have her arm checked,” Rosalynd said, smiling, although I could see the worry in her amber eyes.

I pated my brother lightly on the back. “You’re going to strangle me, Munchkin,' I choked out.

Mikey immediately let me go, scrutinizing me with his green eyes.

“I was scared,” he admitted, and I smiled sheepishly at that, ruffling his hair.

“I know. I’m sorry, Munchkin.”

“Okay, Mikey. Let me check on your sister. You can go with Jonah and have some of those pancakes I’ve made,” Rosalynd announced, gesturing for us to move into the house.

Mikey voiced his approval while I slowly stood up and went after the woman with Louis only a breath behind me.

Rosalynd guided me towards my and Mikey’s temporary room and then to the bathroom. The first aid kit was already waiting by the sink. She ushered me to sit on the toilet lid as she proceeded to lay out tools on the white porcelain.

Louis stopped at the threshold, leaning his shoulder on the frame as he crossed his arm over his chest, generally looming above us.

“What happened?” Rosalynd started as she took a bottle of salicyl alcohol and poured it generously over my injured arm.

I hissed in pain and snapped my jaw tight.

“It is actually hard to explain,” I grunted once the scorching fire became a dull throb.

Louis left his spot to crouch beside me. He suddenly took my uninjured hand, unfisting my fingers and tangling them together with his. I blushed, embarrassed by his actions, but I didn’t pull away - his gesture actually made me feel a bit better, at least mentally. I hoped Rosalynd had painkillers somewhere in her bag, though. I could hardly bear the pain at this point, and I knew it was only the beginning.

“I was waiting for Mikey and Jonah when two guys suddenly approached me with guns in their hands. They were covered in mud and were both injured. They wanted me to drive them out of the town. One of them was literally bleeding out on the backseat,” I recalled, suddenly feeling crushing pain in my hand as Louis squeezed my hand - hard.

I hissed, snapping my gaze to him, and he relaxed his hold a bit, but he refused to meet my eyes, his face unreadable.

“One of them killed Drake,” Louis commented bluntly, his voice devoid of any emotions. And yet, I could somehow feel the echo of his anger, frustration, and sadness as if they were my own.

I was so invested in those emotions that I only belatedly realized what had Louis actually told me.

“Wait. What?” I exclaimed. “Why would those two kill one of yours?”

Rosalynd threw Louis a quick glance before she took the tweezers in her gloved hands. “Because they were hunters,” she murmured as if it said it all. And then, she just changed the topic. “This is going to hurt. Werewolves are generally immune to all kinds of anesthesia, so I have to take out the bullet without giving you any. You can bite on the cloth if you want,” she offered me a plain, white piece of fabric.

That was when I started to panic.

“Wait. Are you going to take the bullet now? And you're not going to give me any painkillers?” I tried to wriggle free, definitely uneasy about the whole situation.

“I’m afraid I have no other choice. I’ll try to do it as quickly and painlessly as possible, though,” Rosalynd sighed, her expression troubled but otherwise unyielding.

I started to vehemently shake my head. “You can’t do that! I don’t agree. You can’t take the bullet out without my consent!”

“There’s no other way. Louis, better hold her down,” Was all Rosalynd said as she wrapped her hand around my arm.

Louis gave me an apologetic look before he locked me in his embrace. I still struggled to get free when the first wave of blinding pain assaulted my brain. I couldn’t help the roar that left my mouth and shook the bathroom’s walls. My tears started streaming down my face, filling my mouth with salt. I gritted my teeth, breathing heavily through my nose, my nails elongating, canines bursting out and busting my lower lip. And all through that, Louis never released his hold, murmuring sweet nothings in my hair.

I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill those guys who shot me. I fucking hated him. I hated them all.

“Almost there, hun,” Rosalynd announced, her voice muffled by the rush of blood in my ears.

I caught my expression in the mirror - my normally hazel eyes ablaze and totally amber, face contorted in the grotesque, beastly way, nostrils flared. Beads of sweat were covering my forehead, plastering my chestnut hair to my face and running down my neck. I squeezed my lids tight, praying for all of that to just fucking finish. But then another shot of pain scorched the side of my arm.

I renewed my endeavors in breaking myself free as a wave of adrenaline kicked in, but Rosalynd was too strong for me. And so was Louis. I started to whimper, begging for them to just let me go.

“Shh...” Louis murmured softly in my head just as Rosalynd leaned back.

“The bullet’s out, but I have to put on stitches. We don’t heal as well when injured with silver,” She said, indulging me in the moment’s respite as she turned around to prepare the stitches. I was panting heavily in my seat at that point.

What did I ever do in my life to earn this? I never wanted to be a fucking werewolf!

“This is why your mother had to leave,” Rosalynd remarked unexpectedly as if reading my mind. Then she faced me again, and the cold needle broke through my skin. “She was like the two guys that kidnapped you. And so was your father - a hunter. Those fuckers invade our territories, chase us with silver bullets and kill us in the name of their sick, ancient beliefs. You remember this day well the next time you want to call any of us monsters,” The woman finished the knot and put the needle away.

“Rosalynd,” Louis warned, but she only threw him a sharp look.

“Josephine needs to know this. She also needs to know who her parents really were. This is not a teen soap opera. Whether she likes it or not, she has to start acting like one of us if you want to see her breathing through her first full moon.”

I felt sick.

“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling the blood drain from my face.

Louis sighed.

“I think this is a talk for tomorrow,” he decided, and when I opened my mouth to oppose, he cut me in. “Tomorrow, Josie. You had enough excitement for today.”

“Whatever you wish, Enforcer Everton,” Rosalynd gave Louis a loaded look I couldn’t decipher and then proceeded to collect her stuff. “Your arm will be sore at least for a week. I’ll check on it in four days, but if at any point you feel you need me to have a look, don’t hesitate to come. You know where I live,” Rosalynd smiled, squeezing my knee in reassurance. “That’s all from my side. I recommend you to just rest for today.”

With that, the woman stood up and headed for the doors.

“Wait, you can’t just drop a bomb like that and then leave me hanging!” I cried out as she walked out. I was fuming. “And you,” I whirled on my heel, facing Louis and jamming his chest with a finger, “Who are you to tell me how much I can take?! I am more than capable of-”

“Because I can fucking feel them!" Louis half-yelled half-groaned, cutting me in. "I can feel your bloody emotions, Josie,” he added more softly.

I assumed as much, buy his open admission still took me completely by surprised. I stepped away. I didn’t know what to say, so I simply watched him run his hand through his hair in agitation as my own heart fluttered in my chest. For a minute there, we both just stood in silence, looking at each other and gauging each others' reaction. But then Louis cursed under his breath, turned around, and crushed my lips with his.