(3) Painstaker

Five: I Wish You Were Here

"Why do you keep itching your arms?" Jack, the ever observant one, was looking at me as though I'd grown three heads. His finger was pressed to his chin; the calculating guy he was. "Are you allergic to something?"

"No," I snapped. "I just feel... tingly all over and it's pissing me off."

He crossed his leg over the other, sighing out a hmm. "Tingly? That sounds awfully like the feeling one would get from their mate."

I snarled. "Speaking of mates; where's yours?"

Jack grinned, fully aware I was purposely changing the subject. "He had a few things to take care of. He wanted to come with you, but Alpha needs him here." Craning his neck, I watched as Jack's nostrils flared. "Linda is here." Immediately after he spoke, there was a knocking at my door.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's freaky how you do that."

"I have a keen sense of smell."

In the end, we'd decided to bring Kat with us. The journey wouldn't be dangerous, and Kat really needed to get out of the house. I was hoping the adventure would change her mind about the memory thing. I had until we got to Dara's witch lair to convince her.

I flew out of the chair and made a beeline for the front door. Swinging it open, I came face to face with a complete stranger in the skin of my best friend.

Kat's hair was thrown up into a messy bun with several strands falling freely against her face. She was of a Puerto Rican heritage from her mother's side, which had me slightly concerned seeing that her cheeks were so pale. Doe brown eyes flickered up to meet mine, rimmed with dark bags underneath. A smile flitted her expression, although it was far from believable.

"Hi, Crystal," she greeted softly. Kat was always a soft speaker, but, lately, she spoke quieter, as though she didn't want to be heard at all. "Are the twins here yet?"

"Nope. They're late, like always. Jack's here. Are you hungry?"

She was thinner too. "No, thanks. I already ate." There's an obvious lie.

I felt foreign around her. No longer could I joke around and pretend everything was a-okay. Nothing was okay. My brother was dead, Kat was a mess, Ella was freaking pregnant, and I was quite certain that I was dying.

"Come on in!" My voice came out squeakier than usual. When she was safely inside, I shut the door behind her and plastered a 100% fake smile. Kat was bullshitting me just as much as I was bullshitting her. "We'll be leaving whenever the twins decide to show up. Whenever that will be," I snarled the last bit.

"She's talking about us," a voice spoke from behind the door. Rolling my eyes, I opened the door once again. Standing before us were the two oddest people I'd ever met.

Flower Zou was a five-foot bundle of joy at first glance. From her rosy cheeks, dazzling smile, and eyes that had the strength to win over any bystander, she was stereotyped as a good girl. Spend five seconds with her and they'd quickly realized she was more of a devil than anything.

Then there was her twin, the six-foot mammoth whom I'd never heard utter a word ever before. His lack of eye contact was a bit creepy and his lips never twitched from their flat line. Sam Zou looked similar to Flower, in a sense, but the height difference was a little odd, especially since they were twins. I was no Biologist, but that just didn't make sense to me.

They were both just incredibly odd.

Flower, holding a sabre that she casually rested on her shoulder, looked at me as though I were the crazy one. Smiling innocently, she glanced up at her brother who had his attention fixed on the spot on the wall. "We aren't late," she announced. "Alpha said five thirty. It is currently five thirty."