Little Red (23 page)

I finish the climb up the steps, and I feel my fist crash into one of the large wooden
logs that create the walls

I turn and see Aaron behind me.

“You know that if you won’t be there for her, one of us will!” he yells at me.

“You might be thirty years-old, but you’re still my fucking little brother, and I’m
telling you right now to snap the fuck out of it!” I stand and stare at him, quite
unsure of what to say since we’re usually the ones trying to keep him from losing
it.

“That woman out there, that woman that you just walked past, is not only pregnant
with your children, but you’re in love with her!” he yells.

“I’m not stupid; I have been feeling it for weeks that you want to marry her, take
that big plunge, and live happily ever after.

You’ve met your mate, Ethan, and you’re standing here, letting some rabid pack of
puppies destroy it for you!” My mouth falls open as I let Aaron give me what I deserve.

“I’m giving your dumbass long enough to shower, because you fucking stink, and then
you’re coming down there and you’re talking to her.”

I blink slowly and give him a nod.

My big brother just ripped my ass a new one, and for good reason

“Go fucking shower, you fucking idiot.”

I don’t question him.

I find my way to the shower and strip from my work clothes, then step under the hot
water.

I can feel my painfully tense muscles relax, and I hurry to scrub myself clean.

I scramble to throw on my boxer briefs, jeans, and a tee shirt before styling my hair
and trimming my scruff the way Red seems to like it.

I don’t bother with shoes and run down the steps two at a time.

Aaron is standing guard by the back door, watching the woods as Red and Ian seem to
be planted on the porch swing.

He is mumbling something to her as she leans into him

“Ethan,” I hear Aaron announce me, and Red’s head snaps up as she wipes at her face

“See,” I hear Ian say, “I told you.

We just have to help him, Red.

Moon rage and this other pack have us all ready to lose it.” He smiles and wipes at
her face.

“It’ll be alright; I promise.”

Ian and Aaron quietly slip inside, leaving us in the heat of the night

Her mouth falls open.

“Ethan, I’m so...”

I shake my head.

“Oh God, please, don’t say sorry,” I tell her.

“You have no reason to say sorry.

I should be the one begging for your forgiveness right now.

I’m such an asshole.”

“Ian told me,” she starts, “about how you feel right now.”

I sigh.

“It’s pretty bad.”

“Moon rage?” she asks

“Not just that,” I say.

“This other pack.

I would die if anything happened to you.

Being able to sense what they want, I feel like I could lose it,” I tell her.

“I just want to kill them so badly.”

“But you can’t Ethan,” she says, shaking her head

I nod, running my hands down my face.

“I know.”

“I feel different too, Ethan…It’s so strong and scary.

It’s never been like this before.

Before it was all those feelings, wanting and needing you…me feeling that you want
and need me.

It’s different now.

I know that you said that the twins have the curse until you hold them and that you
think they feed off your emotions…Ethan, I don’t think the twins like this.

I just…I don’t know how to explain it.”

“If we’re right about any of this, then the twins do have the curse, which means they
can feed off of us and off of the changing of the moon.

Since you’re carrying them, the curse may very well flow into you somehow.” I let
out a breath.

None of us truly knew how Red could be affected carrying twins who have the wolf curse.

Apparently it can affect her more than we ever thought, rage included

She stares up at me with glossy eyes and finally pats the seat next to her.

I happily take it and begin swaying the swing back and forth slightly.

She leans into me, and I immediately wrap my arms around her.

I let out a sigh as I bring my hand to her face and rest my chin on her head

“We’ll be alright, won’t we?” she asks

I begin running my fingers through her hair, and she lets out a breath as though she
had been holding it in.

“Of course we will.

They can’t stay here forever, now can they?”

She shakes her head

“Well, as soon as they’re gone,” I say, “we’ll be back to a normal life.

Boring.

Quiet.

Normal.” I feel myself smile.

“Well, maybe not so boring, quiet, and normal with my brothers around.

You know they’ll never leave us alone.”

She laughs as my eyes shift to the woods.

I feel Aaron and Ian’s warning.

I sense them, too.

About eight of them total.

There’s one I can feel in particular.

He’s the one who wants Red.

I can feel that just my being close to her is setting him off into such a rage that
someone is trying to control him.

He’s jealous of me.

He wants her to himself, and me out of the picture.

I look at her and smash my lips unexpectedly into hers.

She is mine.

She sighs softly and happily kisses me back.

I pull away reluctantly.

“What do you say we go inside, relax, and have some real dinner together?”

She gives me a happy nod as I usher her in the house.

I send my own warning into the woods.

Over my dead body

In the weeks passing since Red was spied on, I feel like I am under a constant full
moon.

I find myself trying to be as vigilant as I can, which means in these past few weeks,
I have lost more sleep than I ever have before in my entire life.

James and Ian have volunteered their day off to be with Red who is putting on the
bravest face that any of us has ever seen.

I let out a sigh and reach for my coffee cup that to both my surprise and disappointment
is bone dry

“If you think you’re tired now, bro,” I hear Eli, “just you wait until these twins
get here.”

I let out a laugh.

I had felt him, Colt, and Aaron coming before they even hit the parking lot to my
shop

“We thought you might need a little break to clear your mind,” Aaron tells me

I let out another laugh.

“I think I need more than a little bit.”

Colt reaches out to pat my shoulder.

Looking at the three of them, I can see it in their eyes just how exhausted they are
as well.

It’s apparent that I’m not the only one who is losing sleep over Red and the other
pack

“How is Red?” Colt questions

I let out a breath.

Red just hit 24 weeks and is officially more than halfway finished with the pregnancy,
which means the twins are nearly due to arrive.

If I thought I was at all nervous, it’s nothing compared to what Red is feeling at
this time.

“She’s tired, getting somewhat uncomfortable, both in pregnancy and with the other
pack.

The twins are pumping the curse into her now, but I swear she fights the rage better
than any of us.”

“Soon, the other pack will be all said and done,” Eli tells me

“Are you up for a bite to eat?” Colt asks.

“Get out of the shop and clear your mind for a bit.”

I rub my eyes and let out another breath.

“I could go for some food and some caffeine.”

Eli laughs.

“What you really need is some sleep.”

I give him a nod as I unbutton my cover shirt and toss it on the back of my office
chair.

“It’s too damn hard to sleep, even when I’m exhausted.

I just feel the need to watch over her.”

“When this is all said and done,” Eli tells me, “somehow we will all look back on
this and laugh.”

We leave my shop as we start the walk a few blocks down to our favorite local diner.

I let out a long sigh and glance down at my feet as I kick a small rock out of the
way.

Laughing at all of this, finding any humor in it period, sounds impossible.

Even if it is ten years down the road.

I glance over at Eli who has been carefully studying me.

“I just don’t see how I could ever laugh at this.”

“Well, then,” Colt starts, “look at it this way.

This will be one hell of a story to tell your kids and grandkids.”

I laugh slightly as we lazily walk around the slow street, and Colt gives me a good
pat on the back.

“It’ll all be alright.

We’ve made it this far.

Red is having twins; you’re going to be a daddy.

It’ll all fall into place.”

As the last words leave Colt’s lips I feel it: the Avery Pack, or some part of them
at the very least.

I snap my head to attention and begin glaring around.

Colt, Aaron, and Eli have all followed my lead, and I can only guess that they have
picked up on the same senses that I have.

I begin to feel the rage starting to build up in the pit of my stomach, crawling through
the rest of my body.

I feel Eli’s hand come down on my shoulder quickly, as he must sense my rage is far
stronger than any of theirs

“They’re here,” I grumble

“And, they’re close,” Aaron adds

Colt gives us a silent nod as we act natural and continue the short walk to the diner
that’s no more than a thousand feet away from us

“Just stay cool,” I hear Eli say.

“They’re nowhere near Red, and we don’t want to give them a reason to try.”

Hearing it put like that only makes me try to suck back and hold in every ounce of
rage that my body is beginning to produce.

I feel the rage starting to boil in my stomach as it’s trailing around my entire body.

I fight the urge to yell, scream, or do anything that may draw attention to us.

I try to let my thoughts wander to Red to calm myself.

Now, I just can’t help but to wonder if I should make a break for our house just to
check if she is alright and make sure that nothing has happened her

I feel another hand come down on my other shoulder.

This time I look to see Aaron glaring in every direction that he can.

“Just keep cool,” he tells me, letting his eyes dart over by a group of trees near
the diner.

“She’s okay, but you need to keep calm.”

I force myself to nod as we cross the parking lot to the diner.

They want me to remain calm, because at this point, not only do we have no idea where
the Averys are, but we also don’t know their plan.

I feel a sudden headache come on as it starts in the center of my forehead and spreads
to my temples.

I let out an aggravated sigh.

One wrong move could set the Avery Pack off on us.

One wrong move from the Avery pack could set all of us off and end with me having
blood on my hands.

Meaning, I damn my brothers to the moon curse for the rest of our lives

In the middle of my thought, I am caught completely off guard by Colt, who gives me
a hard and sharp whack to the gut.

That’s when I become alert and listen.

Laughter

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Brothers Grimm.” Jeb laughs

Aaron, Colt, Eli, and I all turn quickly to see Jeb, with his bright red hair and
freckled face, laughing.

He’s not alone.

The greasy haired blonde is in tow and is now smiling at us with his yellowing teeth

“What the hell do you want?” I snap, only to receive dirty looks from Aaron, Colt,
and Eli

“You shouldn’t be here,” I hear Aaron say.

“You’re crossing a serious line here with your actions.”

I feel my rage beginning to burn as a hand come down on my tee shirt, balling a section
into his fist and holding to me tightly.

I can now feel Aaron, Colt, and Eli, as their rage is doing the slow build up in such
a way that it’s feeding my own.

I clench my teeth as hard as I can and squeeze my fists tightly shut

Jeb and his brother begin laughing again as though Aaron’s words were some hilarious
joke instead of the truth.

Aaron and Colt do a quick exchange of glances as Eli takes a moment to tighten his
grip on me

The blonde’s eyes train on me as I feel my rage starting to take over.

“She’s yours, isn’t she?” he taunts

My eyes snap up to meet his, and I feel a deep growl release from the pit of my throat

“Oh, she is, isn’t she?” The blonde one laughs again

Eli tugs me back as hard as he can.

“You’ll keep her out of this,” he snaps

Jeb begins to laugh.

“I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you,” he warns Eli.

“We know all about your little pet, and we know exactly where she is.”

Eli’s rage washes completely over him as I feel him pull my shirt in such a fashion
that he may very well choke me to death.

Suddenly, a deep growl that I’ve never heard before comes from Eli