Chapter 2
Nate
Hot water laps at my sore muscles as I slide deeper into the tub.
So very like Lila to call me at the worst possible moment.
Biting back a groan, I sandwich the phone between my ear and shoulder as I try to get comfortable.
Despite these housing units being sized for an Alpha, the tub leaves much to be desired.
Silence still looms between us as I twist about until I can breathe without a stitch in my side. Even though I'm bone-tired and soul-worn, I don't want to alienate my stepsister. She rarely calls me. So it must be something important for her to be this desperate.
"Lily?" I bark out again, rougher than I mean to.
I can't see her through the phone, but I can almost imagine the slight wince marring her forehead as she backs the phone away from her ear. Even when we were both younger, she wasn't able to fully handle my commanding presence. Odd, seeing as her dad is also an Alpha.
Tempering my tone, I try again. "Come on, Lily. You need my help, but I need more specifics than Chemistry. Chemistry can cover a whole range of issues. Just saying you need help in the class tells me nothing. I need you to be specific."
"My name isn't Lily," she eventually grinds out.
Ahh. So that's her issue then. With a sigh, I rub a weary hand over my eyebrows. "Lila. My apologies. What's going on with Chemistry?"
"I don't know," she wails, pricking my heart.
I sit up, causing water to slosh over the sides. There's fear there, something more than a class. I'll bet my rank on it. "Talk to me, Lila. What's going on? And don't give me this bullshit about the name. I know there's something else."
Silence.
It eats at my brain even as weariness slams into my very soul. There's something wrong. Something she's not telling me. Could it really be that bad?
A soft groan nearly slips from my lips as I roll my shoulders and sink back down. The water is far too warm. The slope of the tub is far too ergonomic and relaxing. All I want to do is sleep, to forget the hellacious day and have some peace.
Unfortunately, one thing stands between me and that dream—Lila. Glancing back down at the phone, I make sure the call didn't somehow hang up, but no. It's still on. Still going. And it's nearly one in the fucking morning.
God. And I have to be back at it in about five hours.
This time, the groan actually manages to slip through. "Lila. I don't have time for your games. Just tell me what you need so I can help you."
A soft sniffle is all I hear before she breaks down into wracking sobs. Concern overrides exhaustion as I sit back up, drenching the pristine tile floor.
"Lila," I nearly shout as I press the phone close to my ear, desperate to hear something, anything. There has to be at least one clue as to what's going on right now. "Do I need to call the base police?"
Even now, my finger hovers over the button to end the call and instantly switch to someone who could do a wellness check.
Fuck. I shake my head as the absurd thought enters then leaves just as quickly.
What could the security forces do here in Ramstein?
She's all the way in Colorado, and I'm stuck here with my dick in my hands.
"Do I need to call your dad?" I amend as my heart hammers in my chest.
"No!" she cries out even louder. "Anyone but him. Please, Nate. Don't you dare call him. I don't need him. I… I need you."
Those last three words sink into my chest and settle there, warm and heavy.
Irritation slithers up my spine as I slump back down into the tub, trying to ignore the way my body responds to hearing her say she needs me, trying to ignore the way my cock thickens at the breathy desperation in her voice.
Not happening. It’s because I’m tired and haven’t seen to my needs at a clinic. Nothing more. It’s not because it’s her. It’s because I’ve been neglecting myself. Taking a deep breath, I put my brain back where it belongs.
"Give a guy a heart attack, will you? What's wrong with you? I've never heard you so worked up before. Is he…" My throat threatens to close as my brain runs through all the ramifications of her words until only one stands out in my brain. "Is he hurting you? Is he hurting Mom?"
"What? No," she hiccups as her breath seems to slow down a touch. "Nothing like that. Well… not physically anyway."
"Lily," I growl, purposefully using the nickname she hates. "I don't have all day. What the fuck is happening over there?"
"He's going to make me quit school. I just know it. He won't understand. He won't listen. I don't know what else to do. I don't know where else to turn. I—"
"Lila. Slow down. For God's sake, breathe. Okay. Do it with me. In."
I take in a deep breath as I force my bunched muscles to loosen. Over the phone, I hear her do the same, only it's shakier than mine. Whatever is happening, she's completely unable to regulate. Until I get her calm, it'll be hell getting any information out of her.
"Good," I breathe. "Now out slowly." The air comes out of her in a whoosh, bringing a faint smile to my lips. "That's not slow, Little Lily."
"I said," she growls out, "don't fucking call me that."
"I'll stop when you can calmly tell me what's going on."
"I'm failing Chemistry. Okay? I can't seem to learn any of this. I don't get any of it. It's not what I'm going to school for. It's just a stupid elective."
"And this involves your dad how?" A slight ache blossoms in my forehead as I sink back into the water and close my eyes.
"If I don't get good grades, he's pulling me from school."
Confusion muddles my already tired brain as a frown pulls down my lips. "He can't do that. Not legally anyway."
She scoffs. "No," her voice drags out as if I'm dumb. "But when he's paying for you to go there and live in the dorms, he kinda has the means to make it so I can't stay."
"I'm not an idiot, Lila. I understand all that. But you can't just get student loans?"
"Argh. Can't you just help me not fail my final so I can stay? I don't want to be at home. I don't want to go to a community college when this one sets me up for my dreams. Look. You managed to get away. Hell, you're all the way over in… In…"
"In?" I ask, amusement coloring my tone. "Do you not even know where I'm stationed?"
Again, that damnable silence.
"Not really," she finally admits. "But it's not my fault. They keep moving you around."
This time, I actually laugh. Pain jostles my ribs for a moment as I sputter into a soft cough. "No. They haven't. I've been over here for years now. Come on, Lily," I tease. "Think. Where am I?"
"Look. I don't know. I've been busy trying to focus on me."
"I can tell."
"Hey," she barks out. "It's not like you actually know where I am."
"University of Colorado Denver. Wanna try that again?"
"You're so infuriating." The irritation in her voice would be hilarious if I wasn’t so damned tired.
Shaking my head again, I play this little game. "And you're desperate for my help. You're not going to get it until you get your head out of your ass and actually think about where I am."
A smirk tugs at my lips as I stretch out in the water. Just like old times. The banter, the thinly veiled sibling dislike for each other, even though we never grew up together. It's things like this that make me miss home. These little things that make me happy to be heading back.
A soft huff over the phone makes me smile even wider. "This is cruel and unusual punishment," she finally laments. "Aren’t there like Geneva Convention laws about this sort of thing?"
"Who the hell are you going to report me to? I ask you to remember where I'm stationed and somehow you're now experiencing psychological warfare by way of a bad playlists? Please. Cruel and unusual… You don't even know the meaning of the phrase."
"Then you obviously haven't heard my roommate fucking at all hours of the night," she mumbles so softly I almost don't hear it.
I don't miss that note of longing in her voice, however. It calls to me in a way nothing about her ever should. My cock twitches beneath the water, and I shift uncomfortably. Heat pools low in my gut as I picture her in bed, frustrated and needy, listening to those sounds. Fuck. Shrugging it off, I will my erection to flag with promises of sleep and a rut clinic. It’s the only thing I can do.
With a sigh, I roll my head back and forth to release some tension in my neck. "Look. It's really late, and I have an early morning. If you need my help this desperately, let's get on with it."
"What time is it there?"
"Do you really care?"
"I should…"
The wistfulness, the soft longing in her voice pricks at my heart. Even away from the family with the freedom she seems to crave, she's so lonely. Unfortunately, I get it.
"Look, Lila. I was just teasing. It really doesn't matter."
"Germany. Right? Somewhere in Germany?"
My heart shouldn't warm at her remembering, but it does. It drives home just how much I miss my family. As much as I love serving my country and living on such an amazing base, there's something to be said about coming back home.
"You're right. Good job. You've won the prize. How can I help?"
"What's the time difference there? I don't think I've ever looked it up."
"You never really had a need to. It's not like you call me regularly or anything."
"Yeah. You're right about that."
My lips turn down into a frown as I mull over our conversation. Is it odd? Mom calls me all the time unless I'm out with the squadron doing drills or taking care of an emergency. Lila's dad is usually there with her to join in. But never Lila.
Then again… I guess it's not all that weird. Still, it would have been nice to hear from her. At least once or twice.
"Eight hours," I eventually grumble. "I'm eight hours ahead of you."
"Oh, God! I'm so sorry!" she cries out. "I'll let you go. Don't worry about it. I'll figure it out somehow."
"No. You've already got me on the phone. So what's your question?"
"It's not that easy…"
"Try me."
"All of it?"