Anita

Chapter 19

Landon:

Everything was still as I stood at the top of the stairs, in shock, a hole in my shirt from where her claws caught on me.

Maybe, it's me, but did she try to claw me when I was trying to help her or was she trying to catch herself?

...Probably the former.

Everyone came rushing from around the corner.

"What was that?" Alec asked, looking at Anita, curiously.

"Did you fall?"  Mason asked.

Anita sat where she fell, growls forming in her throat as shook her head, wildly. Her eyes blinking, furiously. She suddenly began snapping her teeth at the air as if trying to bite invisible hands.

Her eyes were glazed over. She wasn't even aware of her surroundings right now. I started walking down the stares, carefully as not to startle her.

"Anita?" I called, softly.

I crouched low in front of her. Perhaps, I should've put a farther distance from us, but my wolf and I was worried and I hoped our presence would give some sort of comfort to her.

"Anita?" I called, again.

Suddenly, Bryan came barreling through, "Geez, Anita, what are you doing, making people worry?" He frowned down at her, seeing the state she was in.

"What's going on?" He asked Alec.

Alec shook his head in confusion.

Bryan frowned and reached to help Anita up. She turned on him with a vicious growl her eyes marble pink eyes glowing brightly.

She took a swipe at him, almost catching his throat.

"Hey!" Bryan snapped, rubbing his throat, "I was just trying to help. Why are you always so harsh?"

She stood to her feet, growling, "Don't touch me."

"Fine, whatever," he rolled his eyes.

We all shuffled to the dining room.

My mom was already sitting at the table, putting Grace in her seat and to my surprise, even my dad was attending.

He sat next to mom watching her attend to Grace with a tender look in his eyes.

We all took our seats. Anita stood, awkwardly, on the side. I pulled out the seat next to mine.

"Anita?" I called. She looked at me and the seat. She hesitated before coming to sit. Alec took the seat next to her and then Mason and so on. Bryan sat across from Anita.

As everybody settled in to their seats, everyone seemed unsure of what to do. Waiting, for somebody to make the first move to fill their plates.

"Well, son?" My dad asked. He was unaware of the mood in the room and started filling his plate to the brim.

Everyone relaxed and started doing the same, except Anita. She stared down at her plate, her body stiff.

"Dad?" I asked.

"I heard you found your mate! Is that her?" He nodded to Anita.

I hesitantly smiled, "Yes, let me introduce you guys."

I gestured to our new arrivals, "This is my mate, Anita, and her twin brother Alec, who is also Mace's mate."

Surprise flitted across his face, "You both found your mates? Congrats! And your the Commander of the King's Guard, Bryan, aren't you?"

Bryan nodded, "I am. I'm here to invite you all to the gathering held by King Theo and his mate, the Queen Elena."

Anita and Alec reacted to this in different ways.

"We're going!" Alec said, excitedly.

"Rejected," Anita snapped.

They looked at each other, Anita with a scowl and Alec with confusion.

"Of course, we're going, Anita, what are you talking about?" Alec said, frowning.

"We're not attending," She said, glaring at him. While they were distracted I discreetly started filling her plate with food.

"What are you talking about? We have to go,"  Alec said. He looked really flabbergasted. As if the idea of Anita not wanting to go was absolutely unheard of.

Does she like mashed potatoes?  I pondered as I held a spoonful of mash potatoes over her plate.

"It's an invitation, meaning it's optional," Anita said, turning back to her plate. I almost dropped the spoon, luckily Alec took her shoulder to keep her attention on him.

"It's not optional for us. We got to go. Didn't you hear Bryan earlier? Everyone thinks we're dead!" he said, his voice rising. Like he was trying to force her to see reason.

Don't look, don't look, I'm almost done, I chanted in my head as I put on the last 3 bread rolls on top of her plate, Ok, done.

"Let them think it, we can't go back," Anita snapped, turning her head away from him. She paused at the sight of food on her plate, before looking at me in surprise.

"Wait, a minute," Bryan leaned towards them with a chicken wing in his hand.

Anita gave him a look as if saying, oh, ew, you're still here.

"Anita, don't you miss your family?" Bryan asked, "Your mom has been locked in her room all this time grieving for your guy's supposed death-wait a minute..."

He frowned in thought, "Wait, if you guy's have been alive all this time then why didn't you guy's go home?"

Alec shrugged, "We didn't know where home was after we escaped and so we joined a pack."

"Joined a pack- you could have any pack just bring you home," Bryan said, exasperatedly.

"Just how would 'any pack' know where there home is?" my dad asks.

"Yeah, we don't know where their home is," Mom said as she cleaned off Grace's face.

"Do you know where the Royal Alpha's kingdom is?" Bryan asked them.

"Yeah," we all nodded.

"Do you believe all packs know where they are?" He then asked.

"Yup," we all nodded again.

"Then you know where Anita and Alec's home is," Bryan concluded.

"Hold up, are you telling me that Anita and Alec lives with the royal family?" my mom asks.

Bryan looked back and forth from my mother and the twins.

"Close," he pointed at Alec, "introducing Alec Nathaniel Beowulf, Prince of the Crescent Kingdom..." he pointed to Anita, "and Anita Belle Beowulf, Princess of the Crescent Kingdom and heir to the throne."

"Princess!"

"Prince!"

"They're part of the royal family!"

"Your majesty's!"

"We are not going back."

Everyone went silent at Anita's quiet words.

Bryan huffed, "Why not?"

Anita sighed and looked at all of us.

"We were betrayed."