Arianna's Tale: The Beginning (33 page)

“Anna,” Jason growled and I groaned as I
rolled over to bury my face in my pillow, “How could you come up
here and hide in your room without letting me even know you were
home?”

“Austin knew,” I grumbled, pushing myself to
sit up as I turned around to face his furious blue-green eyes,
“Jason… what about Trina?” I hated to do it, I did… I hated the
thought of him having anything to do with the werewolves, but it
was already too late for that. I saw the fury briefly replaced by
admiration before he looked angry again.

“Just because I like Trina doesn’t mean my
sister can keep secrets from me,” Jason hissed as he sat down on my
bed beside me, “I was worried about you! How could you not tell me
you were back here safely?!”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered while he hugged me
tightly, “I just… I checked on Jack, got a shower, and didn’t
really mean to fall asleep….”

“I hear Jack’s doing a lot better… I’m
confused, Anna…” he trailed off for a minute, glancing at Rayne
before he looked at me again, “I thought you kept telling me that
Alex doesn’t want you near Rayne….”

“I’m not getting into the why of it all, but
I don’t give a shit what Alex wants anymore,” I muttered, startling
Jason as his eyes briefly widened, “I don’t care what Alex wants,
Jason… But I am sorry that I didn’t find you to let you know I was
back, okay? How are you holding up?”

“My dad’s dead… my mom dumped me on my big
brother, and my sister’s all but disappeared lately… how do you
think I’m holding up?” Jason demanded quietly, his gaze distant as
it fell to the floor, “I’ve been really worried about you, Anna…
You look fine, considering you were in a wreck earlier today….”

“Jack took most of the blow,” I explained
vaguely, “I really need to rest, Jay… there’s been way too much
going on lately… and school starts soon….”

“You can’t really be considering going to
school with Mark still on the loose,” Jason blurted, but I only
shrugged my shoulders.

“I can’t put my life on hold until he’s been
captured again, either,” I responded with a sigh, “I can’t stop
living just because of Mark… the cops can’t even find him….” I
looked up to spot Rayne leaning silently against the wall, his arms
crossed loosely over his chest. “I’m okay, Jay… I’m okay here with
these guys, I like most of them, get along with almost all of them…
I don’t know what’s going to happen with Dad’s house, but maybe
Austin can sell it and you guys can get an apartment… it’s all
stuff that will obviously have to be figured out later, but… I
might stay here….”

“Stay here with the guy who you just said
you couldn’t give a shit what he wants?” Jason pressed, “Sorry,
don’t
give a shit what he wants… That doesn’t make any
sense, Anna.”

“We’ll figure it all out later, Jay… please,
just let me get some rest,” I pleaded and he sighed but barely
nodded his head as he hugged me tightly.

“We will talk about it later, though,” Jason
insisted before he stood up from my bed and walked across the room.
He paused in the doorway, his eyes scanning across Rayne leaning on
my wall, then he sighed and walked out of the room, pulling the
door closed behind him.

“Is Austin okay?” I asked and Rayne barely
nodded his head as he walked back across my room and sat down at
the foot of the bed beside me.

“As well as can be expected from any of
you,” Rayne whispered, his eyes searching my face, “He went to the
morgue today for the official identification… your father’s lawyer
has been in touch with him… you’ll all have to meet him to hear the
will… I think he’s helping Austin sort out the funeral
arrangements….”

I sighed as I pushed on the bed to stand up,
but Rayne gently pulled on my arm to keep me seated. “I need to
help him,” I murmured, but Rayne barely shook his head.

“He said for you to rest now; he has it
under control,” Rayne softly countered, “He also said that he’s
sure he’ll need your help later, so don’t argue right now.”

“How are you still in my room?” I wondered
with a sigh as I fell back to lie across my bed, “Why do you know
so much about what’s going on with my brother?”

“I’m keeping Alex away; he’s too worried
about keeping you here to argue with me,” Rayne admitted with a
smirk before he shifted on the bed to look at me, “Your brother
dropped by just a bit ago and updated me on everything since you
were sleeping. He didn’t want to bother you.”

“Next time Austin drops by… don’t let me
sleep through it,” I murmured, rolling onto my side as my hand slid
into his, “And don’t leave me alone….”

“I’m not going anywhere, Anna,” Rayne
assured as he lightly squeezed my hand, “Unless you want me to go
get Jack….”

“I thought he was supposed to stay away from
me,” I muttered in annoyance, but Rayne barely shrugged his
shoulders, “Isn’t he at least slightly more bound by your pack
leader’s rules than you are?”

“He is,” Rayne admitted, lying down on my
bed beside me as those beautiful hazel eyes stared at me, “Love can
break any binding, though….”

“Jack doesn’t love me,” I countered with a
sigh, “He only thinks he does….”

“Jack is blackmailing Alex to keep him away
from you,” Rayne chuckled softly as my eyes widened, “He does love
you… even though you will probably break his heart….”

“Why would you say such a horrible thing?” I
muttered under my breath, but Rayne suddenly shifted up onto his
elbows so he was looking into my eyes.

“You are the one that says you love another…
Jack knows that… he knows what the pack thinks is going to happen…
whether you mean to or not, you will probably break his heart,”
Rayne reiterated gently, his fingers lightly sliding across my
cheek.

“Rayne, stop tormenting her.” I hadn’t even
heard the door open, much less anyone come into my room, and bolted
upright in my bed as I spotted Jack standing in front of the door
and felt tears sting my eyes. “I told you I’d be fine, Anna,” Jack
recited with that coy grin on his lips as I darted across the room
and slammed into him almost full force, wrapping my arms tightly
around him.

“What are you doing here? You said…” I
stammered, slowly backing away from him as my eyes darted back to
Rayne sitting up on my bed.

“You have feelings for Jack, Anna,” Rayne
remarked nonchalantly, but there was a distance in his hazel
eyes.

“But I…” I faltered, looking up into Jack’s
emerald eyes, “But what about… the pack saying I belonged with
Aeril? What about your stupid pack leader not wanting either of you
near me?”

“Futures are ever-changing… it’s nearly
impossible to predict a person’s future with 100% accuracy… but we
do usually get a bit closer than this,” Jack considered
thoughtfully, “Especially with so many pack members seeing the same
future for you.” It was more than a little bit obvious that his
mind was elsewhere as he stared down at me. “So what about you has
thrown off our abilities so much…? Why can you hear Evan?”

My eyes widened suddenly, “Where is Evan? Is
he okay? Is he safe?”

“He’s… busy,” Rayne added as I glanced back
at him, “But he’s safe, so don’t worry, okay?”

We had Dad’s funeral a few days later. I
just stared at him in his coffin, looking as though he were
sleeping, but there was no energy from him. I hadn’t really seen
many dead people in my life, and I was suddenly glad for that.
Looking so lifelike but containing no energy was just wrong…. When
the preacher started the ceremony, I still stared blankly at the
coffin with Austin and Jason sitting on either side of me. Their
mother had deemed us with her presence, but was seated on the other
side of the aisle, far away from me, which I knew had been Austin’s
doing. So many people turned out, that there wasn’t enough seating
and there were people standing against the walls, and some even out
in the hallway. Dad’s life may have been cut short, but his life
had impacted so many people and that was how I decided to remember
him. When we went over to the cemetery, their mother excused
herself immediately after the preacher’s few words, but I stayed
seated in my folding chair, staring at the coffin as it was placed
in the ground, and continuing to stare as they started shoveling
the dirt on top of it. I knew I was waiting for it to sink in, for
me to really realize that my dad was dead and I’d never see his
goofy smiling face again, never hear his apologies for a quick meal
or him running off to a case. That was when the tears really
started, when I thought about never hearing his voice again. I
heard the creak of the chairs beside me, but my gaze didn’t waver
from the ground, and I felt two overly warm hands slide into each
of my own. Jack and Rayne hadn’t left my side, and they wouldn’t
for weeks to come.

It was a couple of days later that Austin,
Jason, and I started sorting through the things in Dad’s house.
We’d heard the will by then… the house now technically belonged to
Austin. The money Dad had in the bank was to be split up mainly
between Jason and me with a bit of it going to Austin. He didn’t
leave anything to their mother, and let me tell you, she was not
happy about that…. You would have thought she was a grieving widow
right up until the moment the lawyer finished announcing the
division of Dad’s estate, then her face got really red and her fake
tears stopped, and she stormed out. Austin had decided he wanted to
go through everything in the house and for us to keep whatever we
wanted to, and whatever we agreed upon, we would donate to charity.
He also decided that we would rent out the house for now, because
none of us were quite comfortable in Dad’s house without Dad just
yet. Alex and Amy actually let Austin and Jason move in, and Amy
delivered the news that I was welcome to stay.

I don’t know how long it really took us to
clean out the house, we kept getting distracted by old pictures and
things that brought back old memories of Dad and we’d stop and talk
about it for a while… but each night we’d go back to the wolf house
to sleep, then each morning we’d go back to Dad’s and work for the
day. Jack, Rayne, Trina, and Amy kept visiting us while we were
there, bringing us food, carrying off the boxes of stuff we’d
decided to donate, actually sweeping and cleaning up from our
messes, and all in all just there as support. Don’t get me wrong,
having Rayne and Jack both around was comforting, but also
confusing and a bit awkward… But every time I came across something
that made me cry, one of them was there, just there, a comforting
presence.

It was one of the last days we were there,
the second day we were finally tackling Dad’s office, that I saw
Austin just freeze out of the corner of my eye. I looked down to
find a file in his hand just before his blue eyes shifted up to me
and he motioned toward the door with his head. Thankfully, Trina
and Amy were in the room and so Jason didn’t notice when Austin and
I slipped into the hallway at the same time.

“Um…” Austin faltered, which was so unlike
him that I tensed as he turned the folder around so I could see
Dad’s handwriting on the tab. “Do you want to look at this? Or
should I hold onto it and put it away somewhere?” Austin’s voice
was almost silent, and I could barely hear anything beyond his
voice for the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears.

‘
Arianna’s Birthparents’
Dad had
written on the tab. I read it at least five times before I felt my
breath catch in my throat.

“I… I’ll hold onto it,” I managed to
strangle out and saw the worry in Austin’s eyes as he held the
folder out to me. I reached for it twice, but finally let my hand
fall to my side, “Just… take it back with us… okay?”

Austin nodded and I watched him walk over
and stuff the folder into his bookbag. “Take a break,” he added as
he walked back into Dad’s office, and I found myself wandering out
into the back yard.

My birthparents… I guess even then I was
forgetting that I was adopted… Dad was my dad, there was no
question in my mind about that… He may not have been perfect, but
he was still my dad.

“You okay?” Jack quietly asked from the
doorway into the kitchen, but when I didn’t even move, he walked
around in front of me. “Do you want to talk?”

“Birthparents…” I mumbled almost inaudibly,
and saw the confusion on his face as I forced myself to refocus on
the present. “Austin… just found the file… Dad…” my voice cracked
and I sucked in a deep breath, “The file on my… my birthparents…
but I… I guess I’m not ready to deal with it… not yet….”

“Then don’t deal with it yet,” Jack stated
with a soft smile, his fingers sliding across my cheek until I
suddenly hugged him and his hands wound into my hair. “Rayne is
much better equipped to help you through all of this than I am… you
should really… talk to him… whenever you’re ready to talk….”

“I want to kill that feckin’ troll,” I
growled, feeling him tense, and spotting the worry in his emerald
eyes when I pushed away from him, “How do I do it?”

“A troll will turn to stone in direct
sunlight… but then you have to break the stone, and torch it if you
don’t want the troll to ever come back again.” I was staring at
Jack, but the words hadn’t come from him and I shifted enough to
look behind him, out to the tree line where Ty was standing. “They
may not be the smartest creatures, but it is nearly impossible to
get them into direct sunlight,” Ty continued as I narrowed my eyes
into a glare, “Now, Anna Gray… is that any way to greet the person
who saved your life?”

“Saved my life?” I blurted in exasperation,
“You helped, yes, and I appreciate that, but Jack is the one who
saved my life.”

“The wolves still don’t know you have a mild
metal allergy… do they?” Ty pressed and I winced when I spotted the
thoughtful look in Jack’s eyes, “Because you, dearest Anna Gray,
are afraid that it means something.”