The Dark Rose

Chapter 4

"I told you to leave me alone!" I yell as Damien, Angel, Susan and I enter the house.

"Like hell I will!" He yells following me like a damn puppy "You punched that guy in the damn face Rose!" Referring to the jock I sucker punched after school, as if it's my fault that he was a jackass.

" You know, he was kinda asking for it" Angel said as she came to stand by my side as I stared down Damien

" Here that? He was asking for it" I repeated unnecessarily

" It doesn't matter, he wasn't worth it. You should learn to control your temper" he said not backing down

" You should be one to talk. Didn't you tackle Mark Fisher last Friday because he called Rose a whore?"  Susan questioned as she came to stand on my other side.

As if we have a mind link, we all raised an eyebrow at him. He looked at each one of us in turn and rested his gaze on me. I don't waiver.

After a few minutes he sighs " I guess I'm not winning this one" he whispered to himself.

" Okay, what about... " he was cut off by a loud crash in the kitchen. Damien tensed for a moment before relaxing. I take a moment longer to recognize mom's scent as I didn't shift yet.

I also relax for a moment when I realize that the reason we were caught off-gaurd is because mom and dad are suppose to be at work.

I make eye contact with Damien and we get the dame message. Something is wrong. We sprint into the kitchen and find mom there on the floor picking up glass pieces.

That was not what made us stop in our tracks. The tears lining mom's eyes and the shaking of her hands, now that was worth freezing over.

Damien was the first to move. He crouched next to mom and slowly removed the glass from her hands. The he practically picked her up and moved to the living room.

Angel ansd Susan was standing in the doorway. They usually hung out with me and Damien after school.

Both my friends were my besties for a reason and as their eyes followed mom, I could see the gears shifting in their heads. The usually bubbly, always making jokes, redhead that was Susan is sobered up and holding Angel's hand. They often did that. As if a couple and even though we knew them both to be straight, Damien and I often teased them about it.

On the other hand, Angel was always the logical one, the one that made sense when nothing else made sense. The one that played mediator, the level headed one. And right now, she lived up to that. Her eyes reflecting all the thoughts and explanations that are circling in  her head.

That left the role of the hotheaded friend to me. I was the one who started fights and protected my friends no matter what. This time though, I needed to protect my family's secret as they do not know we are wolves.

"Angel, Susan. I can't hang out today" I say to them, my eyes darting to my mom.

Angel looks at me for a moment before slowly nodding. "Of course. Just know we're here if you wanna talk" she said. Susan looks up at her in confusion but I keep my eyes on Angel, trusting her.

"I will, thank you" I say and walk pass them to go to mom. I heartbeat later I hear the front door close and breathe a sigh of relief.

Damien calmed mom down and she was looking at the ground. I knew they sensed me come in because mom spoke soon after.

"Your dad left early for lunch, said he has a meeting off-site. An old acquaintance. I was busy with a case so I let him go alone, not even offering to go with him. Stupid" she started as she recounted today's events. Her lip trembles and her chest visibly lifts and I know that she's taking deep breaths in order to keep from breaking down again.

" About 2 hours after he left I felt a pain across the bond. I felt him in pain and I immediately called him. His phone went to voicemail and the pain increased. Then I asked his PA with whom the meeting was set with but she didn't know. He had no meetings scheduled. He lied to me and now his in danger and there's nothing I can do about it. " she cried out.

I went to give her a hug." Can you make her some chamomile tea to calm her down? " I asked him. He gave me a nod and turned to the kitchen.

" I should've known that something was wrong. He started pulling back from me. Hiding stuff and sneaking away in the middle of the night. At first I thought he might be cheating but realized how stupid that was cause I'd be able to feel it. But I still don't know the reason. I'm a terrible mate." She cried until Damien brought her the tea.

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's the middle of the night and both Damien and I are sitting in the living room with a sleeping mom on our laps. It took longer to calm her down than before.

I run my fingers through her hair and continue thinking, what happened to Dad? Neither Damien nor I spoke after Mom fell asleep, not knowing what to say and each caught up in our own thoughts.

Suddenly Mom started screaming. "Arthur!" She yelled and started clawing at her chest.

Both Damien and I were quick to react and moved her hands to her sides where Damien pinned them and I started lightly slapping her to get her to wake up.

Suddenly she stopped moving and shot up. "We have to leave now! It was a distraction!" She yelled and wanted to move but we were quick to hold her by us.

"Mom!" I yell as she continued to struggle and the moment she heard my voice she stopped and turned to me, "We have to leave my sweet. We need to go, right now" she says trying to convey the urgency but I couldn't find it.

"Why?" I ask her "Is it Da-" but was cut off by a loud bang! The house's emergency alarm goes off.

"Find them now!" We hear from the front door.

Mom looks at me. Her eyes now holding determination

"Run"