Never Cry Wolf

Devyn

"I am not her brother." He pushes me away from him and smooths out his shirt. "Never have and never will be." My eyes widen. "Not the reuniting moment you were expecting? I'm sorry Devyn, but you've never been a sister to me." He looks me directly in the eyes for the first time and I immediately feel exhausted. All this time I've been trying to deny it. Tanner loves me...but not as a sister. 

When we were younger he confessed to me that he had a crush on me before we became a family and he couldn't stop his feelings. He told me when I was half asleep and I've finally realized that wasn't some messed up dream I imagined. He was for real. As kids we don't understand what love is, so as we grow our parents show us what it means to love family and what it means to love someone else. I always thought Tanner's feelings would change their course, but sadly, I had to realize now that he was never going to love me like a sister. Why does my life have to be so fucked up? It shouldn't be this complicated. Right?

"Is that why you ran away?" He sighs. I can tell he doesn't want to answer. Especially in font of all these people when we both know the answer is yes. "Come here." Lucius steps to the side and Tanner comes and sits next to me. I pull him into a hug immediately. I know I probably shouldn't, but he's my brother. I can't just stop loving him. He grabs me tight masking his face in my hair. He loves me and he's hurt that I don't love him back. Love makes you do crazy things.

"I'm sorry." His voice cracks.

"I don't know if he raped me or not, but the evidence doesn't look good right now." Tanner kisses my neck before pulling back and I try not to look surprised. He turns towards Mikhail and Spar.

"Did you kill him?" I notice he ignores Lucius completely. Are my feelings that obvious that he hates Lucius for them?

"No, but he isn't coming back." Tanner stands up, apparently not happy with that answer as he glares down Spar.

"I'm going to go find him and find out for sure and if he did....I swear I'll to kill him." I stand up and grab his hand. He stares at our hands before meeting my eyes.

"As much as I would hate him if he did, don't kill him," I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Why?" His grip tightens around my hand.

"A strong person will always forgive while weak ones never will." I give him a sad smile as he nods. Mom was one wise woman. "Promise me that no matter which way he admits, you won't kill him." He nods. "Say it." He looks up and rolls his eyes.

"I promise." I pull him back into a hug.

"Thank you." I can feel him smile. If I thought my life was interesting before, today just made it worse.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" I hear someone whisper, touching my cheek. I open my eyes to see Lucius looking down at me. This was the first time he's spoken to me since he, Tanner, and Spar had gone back to the river to track down Alcove. I must have fallen asleep waiting for them to come back.

"Did you find him?" I begin to sit up, the blanket falling to my hips. When did I change? I grab the shirt and stare at it confused. "When did I get this?" Lucius grabs my hands, stopping them from pulling at the shirt and forcing me to look at him.

"After we left you fell asleep on the couch. Mikhail brought you up here thinking you would be more comfortable." I look back down at the shirt. Shit! "Don't worry Kat put the shirt on you." I take a deep breath and smile thinking of how silly I must have looked just now. I turn back to Lucius, but he's no longer looking at me. I squeeze his hands in mine knowing he's trying to find the right words to say.