Changed [Watty Awards 2013]

9. Panic

9. Panic

NICK

He shot up in a cold sweat—panic flooding his senses. His hands started clawing at his throat. He gasped. His eyes wandered around the room in search. Something isn’t right, he thought as he scanned the bed. Delilah…

“Delilah!” Nick’s voice shouted hoarsely.

The door to his bedroom slammed open and revealed his father looking at him in fright. Eric was clad in jeans, his hair mussed up and his eyes fever bright with the need to Change as he sensed his son’s panic. Eric looked beside Nick in the darkness and saw that beside him was an empty space where Delilah should be.

“Dad!” Nick sobbed and gasped. “What’s going on? Where’s Delilah? I-I can’t breathe! W-where is sh-she?”

Eric shook his head at him. Emily came up behind her husband and took a look at her son. She ran over to Nick and tried to calm him down. Eric turned to get Kyle and Jared when they both barrelled into him, mumbled and apology, and ran over to their brother. Kyle had sedative in his hand as he rushed into the room.

“No!” Nick roared. “Get away from me with that! I need to find her!” Nick shoved his mother and eldest brother aside. “Delilah!”

Nick rushed out of his room and fell to the floor in a coughing fit, clawing at his throat. “Baby, where are you?” He screamed.

Emily crawled beside him and put her hand over his mouth. “Hon, relax.” She whispered in his ear. “We’ll find her. We need you to calm down so we can think rationally.”

Nick closed his eyes and shook his head. A single tear fell from his eye. Emily wiped it away as she removed her hand off his mouth.

“I-I c-can’t b-breathe.”

Kyle came beside his mother and brother and knelt down. “That’s because you’re panicking. Let me sedate you. When you come to, we’ll find a way to find her. I promise you, Nick, we’ll find her.”

The last thing Nick saw was his brother’s lips forming an apology.

* * *

I groaned as the light hit my eyes harshly. I looked around and saw that I was in the Pack hospital. I held my head as I sat up.

“How’re you feeling?” My head shot over to Kyle and I growled. It stopped short as my head pounded.

“I feel like shit.”

“Language.” He growled.

I laughed. “I’m twenty-three years old. I can do whatever I want.”

Kyle walked towards me, dressed in his doctor uniform. “Yeah? Well, I’m your older brother. I don’t care if you’re twenty-three or if you’re Alpha, you listen to me regardless.”

I growled.

“Put a sock in it.”

I glared.

“Now, I have to leave to go to work. I’ve already taken too much time off already. I’ll be back in a few days.” He glared back at me. “Behave. Be nice to Mom and Dad.” His face softened. “Do you know what happened?”

I shook my head and winced.

Kyle licked his lips nervously and nodded. “Alright. Mom will clear that up for you.” He walked toward me and braced his hand on the back of the bed near my head. “When you hear what she’s going to tell you, do not get mad. Act with your Alpha brains. Don’t act with your heart. Act with your head.” He smiled apologetically. “I have faith in you, little brother.”