BAY #6
I’m desperately fighting the urge to talk to him, and I can tell he wants to ask me something too. He just doesn’t seem like the type to start easily, so the words never leave his lips. But that doesn’t stop him from sneaking glances at me, and every so often, our eyes meet.
One time, he even sends me a shy, sweet smile, and I blush.
Next comes Science, and we sit together again. But after that is Algebra. I’m in Algebra 1, while Alex is already taking Algebra 2, so our paths finally split.
The Algebra classroom is arranged differently. I take a seat in the back row. On both sides of me sit two omegas. Not my types, but they seem fine.
They both watch me for a while until one of them says, "Hey, I’m Kaen, and this is Zion."
"Bay," I reply.
They reach out their hands, and I shake them with a hint of hesitation.
"Cool hair," says the one with thick black curls, Zion. "You dye it?"
"Natural."
"Wow, I’ve never seen such a deep red color. Looks like… blood," he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Thanks. At least I’ll save money on dye," I mutter.
"True," Kaen says. "Mine’s a boring mouse-brown. I should get red highlights someday." Then he leans in slightly. "But you could totally pull off the goth look with a goregrind twist."
There’s an uncomfortable pause as Zion scratches his chin. "I saw your name on the choir list. I’m in it too, so I guess I’ll see you there?" He gives me a wink.
I give him a noncommittal smile. I can’t say I’m excited. He’s not Alex.
Then lunch comes around.
Zion and Kaen walk behind me, and it almost feels like we’re going together. When I step into the huge cafeteria filled with tables, my eyes instantly find the small shape of Alex already standing in line with his tray.
I quicken my pace to get closer. Three people are between us. He turns around, our eyes meet, and he smiles. I force myself to smile back, though every part of me fights it.
When he picks up his lunch, I notice he chooses a two-person table.
But Kaen and Zion are ahead of me and pick a table for three. Kaen grabs my hand and says, "Come on, sit with us."
He pulls me with such insistence that I can’t really resist. I drop into the chair next to them, reluctant and irritated, and Alex ends up sitting alone.
Our eyes meet, and I can tell he’s hurt. I feel it almost physically, like his disappointment cuts straight through my chest.
Kaen and Zion keep talking nonstop about things I couldn’t care less about: some teacher from their old school, a student who got expelled for fighting, and a group of brothers named Hanson who are apparently the local troublemakers.
I grit my teeth and sit through it. Gossip doesn’t interest me.
Alex finishes eating before we do and leaves.
After lunch, I’ve got two electives: choir and music theory.
I don’t see Alex again that day.
The choir class turns out to be tolerable and even helps me forget for a moment what’s clawing at the back of my mind, beyond the fact that Zion is here and, as we sing, he stands next to me and shoots me intense glances.
As it comes to an end, he looks like he wants to say something to me, but my phone suddenly buzzes in my pocket.
I check the screen. A text from… Storm?!
That’s odd. My brothers don’t usually text.
"Get home by Uber as fast as you can!!!"
"What happened? I’ve still got one more class."
"You need to leave school. Now. Something happened!"
It feels like the ground disappears beneath my feet. My mind fills with terrifying possibilities, none of which I want to picture fully. I shut down every thought, turn on autopilot, and run out of the building.
Lots of students are heading outside for the break, some sneaking behind the school to smoke, which helps me slip away unnoticed. I quickly order an Uber and pay with the family card.
Twenty minutes later, I’m home. My nerves are pulled so tight I feel like I might snap.
I just know something terrible has happened. I jump out of the car, don’t even wait for the gate to open, just vault over it like some damn commando.
It’s strangely quiet as I sprint toward the house.
But it’s not empty. In the living room, on the couch, sit Storm and Skye, clinging to each other.
Storm’s clothes are… covered in blood.
Fuck. I freeze at first, but force myself to move closer, stopping only when I’m right in front of them, gasping for breath.
"Bay!" Skye shouts, lifting his head from Storm’s shoulder. He jumps up and runs to me, wrapping his arms around me tight. It’s the first time in my entire life that one of my brothers has ever hugged me. The shock of that almost hits harder than everything else.
"What happened?" I choke out, my voice trembling. I feel dizzy, like I might collapse.
"There were two of them… they wanted to hurt us. Storm, he…"
"Storm what?" I almost yell.
"Storm fought them. You know he’s a purple alpha, he can—"
"Where are those men?!" The words rip out of me. I can’t stand listening to this.
Skye’s shaking so hard it’s painful to watch. "They were in the grove by the next field. Dad heard us screaming. He ran over with a gun and killed them."
Everything blurs. My legs give out. The world fades to black.
But not for long. Skye catches me before I hit the floor hard enough to crack my skull. He’s only eight, but somehow, he keeps me from falling completely.
He bends over me, shaking me. "Bay! Bay!"
Storm doesn’t move. He doesn’t help. He just sits there, motionless, his clothes looking horrible, soaked with blood.
"I…pushed…the…spikes…out…" he stutters, his lips trembling.
"Where’s Dad now?!" I manage to force it out. My face feel numb, like I’ve been pumped full of dental anesthetic.
"He’s with the bodies. He called Father. He’s already on his way."
I push Skye aside and sit up, even though my head is spinning and I feel like I might vomit. But I have to go.
"I have to see it. I need to see them."
"You shouldn’t," Storm mutters, still hunched over. "You really shouldn’t. I… I pierced one of them straight through with my spikes…" His lips are pale blue.
I stare at him for a long moment. I know he’s a purple alpha. Dear Fate. For the first time in my life, I envy him for it. He has a defense system that I lack.
"I want to see it," I mutter. "I have to."
My teeth clench, but a wave of anger pulls me back to my senses a little.
I push Skye away when he tries to stop me and stagger out onto the patio. I take deep breaths, black spots swirling at the edge of my vision. To snap myself out of it, I pour the water from the flower vase on the table over my head.
Then I make my way down toward the lake like a machine, knees stiff, moving through the brush and over the fence. When I clumsily land on the other side, I see from a distance, between the trees of the small grove, the solitary figure of my dad standing there, frozen to the ground like a statue.
I want to run, but my legs feel like lead. Shaking all over, I move toward him, barely breathing, my lungs refusing to work.
Dad slowly lifts his head. His face is pale, but strangely calm.
"Bay. You shouldn’t be here. Go back to the house and wait for Father."
But I don’t listen. I walk closer and see two bloody bodies lying on the ground.
Those alphas.
My head spins so violently that I have to lean against a tree trunk. I feel like I might faint again.
"Go home, Bay," my dad repeats quietly, still holding the gun pointed toward the ground. His calmness shocks me.
"Did they hurt my brothers?"
"Luckily, they didn’t have time. I heard the screams, and because you told me to keep the gun close, I got there just in time. Thank you for warning me… about those animals."
"Don’t insult animals," I blurt out.
"Right. Let’s not insult animals."
I stare at them.
I stare at those two carcasses.
I stare at those two pieces of filth.
Suddenly, Dad jerks his head up, like he just realized something.
"This warning… was it because you saw something in the bushes, or because you ran into them? Is that why you were so shaken?"
I blink. Damn, I can’t tell him the truth, it would crush him. I have to protect him from this, it’s my duty.
"I saw something in the bushes. I didn’t know what it was, so I thought it’d be safer to warn you," I say, forcing myself to keep my voice calm.
Dad closes his eyes and exhales.
I decide to change the subject.
"They hurt you before, didn’t they?" I force the words out.
Dad goes rigid. His eyelids lower slowly. "Yes."
"Before you met Father."
"They bought my contract at an illegal auction."
"How long…"
"A year and a few months."
My head spins again. My Fate. I can’t believe it, these fucking beasts…
Before I even realize it, I’m at the bodies.
It’s stronger than my reasoning.
I start kicking.
Kicking, kicking… growling, spitting. Not caring about desecrating the dead… fuck them!
The whole time, Dad doesn’t move. He just watches, eyes fixed on the bodies, but he doesn’t stop me.
Then I notice one of the alphas slightly exhaling. Bloody foam slips from his mouth.
Is he still alive?
It looks like he is!
He groans weakly…
Oh, no!
That’s when I throw my foot onto his throat with all my weight.
A crack. A twitch. His legs kick in reflex, and the body goes still.
Hard to believe, but Dad stays silent, watching in a trance, saying nothing. Well, I can kind of imagine what he feels. They wanted to rape his children, then hurt him, it’s not like they deserve any forgiveness.
Finally, I stop.
Exhaustion floods me, my vision blurs again.
"What now," I whisper, "are you calling the police?"
Dad shakes his head.
Still, I’m stunned by how calm he is. I can tell he fully believes in the rightness of what he’s done, and that certainty is what keeps him standing.
"Leave this to me and Father, Bay. Go home and help your brothers. They’re not in good shape, and I can’t call Jordan. No one can know what happened here."
"But,"
"No but, go."
I glance back. Both men are still, their bodies soaked in blood.