Killing the Wolf

8. Swings

Henry Trinh was true to his words. He did not reply to any of Shawn's emails. Shawn had to give up. Every cell in his body told him to keep Serafina out of this mess. She was his little sister and he would die a million deaths before put her in harm's way. To him, Serafina was always the little girl he had carried on his shoulders, thaught to climb a tree and tickled until her little body was shaking in laughter. The little tomboy who was her big brothers' little princess.

But Shawn figured he had no choice, but to get her involved. Besides Henry Trinh wasn't his only problem; Shawn had received alarming news about Finnigan. Finnigan had been able to unite Western packs and was now working to get more alphas to join his noble cause. Finnigan still thought Seth was dead and considered his pack and allies weak because of it. 

There was a knock on the door and his sister stepped in. Shawn noticed she was wearing their brother's Celtics shirt. 

"Evelyn said, you wanted to talk to me," she said.

Her long wavy golden hair fell down to her lower back. Hawaii was far away, but her tan and beach hair suggested otherwise. Maybe it would be best if she'd go back to Hawaii. She'd be safe there. She always wanted to live a human life. She could walk away from all this for good. 

She would never walk away from saving Seth, he knew that. Serafina might be a rebellious free spirit, but above all, she loved her brothers. So instead of buying her a ticket to the paradise, Shawn cleared his throat.

"Yes, I need to talk to you about Seth. Maybe we could go for a walk? I've been sitting in this room for too long."

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They had walked to the nearby park and sat on the swings. 

"Please, say something," Shawn sighed. 

"Seth is alive," she whispered staring before her. Joy and hope mixed with disappointment and anger as she let all that Shawn had told her sink in. "My brother is alive, and you kept that a secret from me! And from Fay!"

"Yes."

"Yes? Shawn! What the hell is wrong with you? You have no right!"

"I wanted to keep you safe. I wanted to make sure Seth was safe. I didn't tell Fay, because she might have done something stupid and risk his life."

Serafina tightened her grip around the swing's chain and let out an angry laughter.

"You didn't tell me! Why?"

"I thought you would've told Fay. Or she would've guessed it. You're not good at hiding or faking your feelings and thoughts."

Serafina looked at Shawn. She studied his face and eyes. 

"You really believe you were doing the right thing," she said astonished. 

Shawn didn't reply. For a while, they swang in silence. But then Shawn put his hand on Serafina's chain and stopped her.

"Do you remember how you used to follow me here when you were little? I came to play soccer or baseball and you sneaked out and followed me," Shawn asked. He looked deep into her sister's eyes.

"Yeah, I remember."

"Do you know what Seth was doing while we were here?" Shawn went on. Serafine shrugged.

"He was with dad, learning every little thing about how to lead and how to be an Alpha. Whenever dad suggested I'd join them, I snorted. I was born to track, not to be an Alpha. Seth trained for his role since he was... what... three. He grew into this. I... I was never... I'm doing my best, but I'm not Seth."

"Is that an apology?" Serafina asked with a teasing smile. 

"An explanation," Shawn chuckles. "Everything I do is to keep you, Evelyn and the pack safe. It's my motive. You might not agree with my actions, but you must understand, since the Run, my only motive in life is that. I would die for you, Serafina."

Serafina squeezed her brother's hand.

"Don't die for me. Having to say goodbye to one brother was hard enough," she sighed, but a teasing spark came back into her eyes. "Besides... you were always my favorite. It'd probably be worse with you." 

They laughed together and teased each other like siblings do. A punch of teenagers arrived and they greeted their Alpha with respect, then they started to play basketball. 

"But in all seriousness, if you thought not telling me was the right thing to do, why did you do it anyway?" Serafina asked. 

"Uh. Well... Hmm."

"Words, Shawn. Words," she laughed. Shawn chuckled too.

"I think you better read this yourself," Shawn said and pulled his phone from his pocket. He opened the email app and gave the phone to her sister. The more she read the bigger her eyes grew.

"What do you think?" Shawn asked after she handed the phone back.

"If there's a chance we'll get Seth back, of course, I'll do it!"

Shawn sighed. There it was, his little sister was involved and he had no idea how to keep her safe from that bird.

"You better write to him then."