Sophia

After a long reading session, an uncomfortable dinner with Pascal and a hot shower, I cuddled into bed, sighing when the blanket wrapped around me like a soft hug. But the moment my head hit the pillow, tons of thoughts came rushing in again. So many things happened, and it made it feel as if years had passed, but it had only been a few days.

The loss of my family was most evident when it was late at night, when the house was so quiet that I couldn’t even hear footsteps or a soft murmuring from somewhere in the house. I felt so lonely, and like a gaping hole in my chest was going to swallow me. A lonely tear escaped my eye, rolling down my cheek and hitting the pillow. I wanted my sister back. She must feel even worse than I did, in some sort of foreign environment, and who knew what was being done to her.

I rolled on my back and stared at the ceiling, hoping that Adam would find a way to rescue her. I wish I were more skilled with my magic. Maybe I could have prevented her kidnapping in the first place, and if not then, at least I could be more helpful now.

My phone rang, making my heart almost jump out of my chest. Frantically I searched for the phone buried under all my pillows, and when I finally found it, Ashe’s name flashed on the screen. My chest tightened as I remembered the thoughts I had earlier today. Maybe she cared about me after all, and she just didn’t contact me because she was still not feeling well.

“Hello?”

“Sophia! You need to help me!” A shiver ran down my spine, hearing her shrill voice.

“Why? What happened?”

She sniffled. “They kicked me out! I don’t know where to go.”

I thought they already kicked her out the night of her birthday, but that must have been a false alarm. “Are you in danger?”

“No, at least not for now. But they said I had to leave the territory before midnight.”

Midnight was only four hours away, and leaving the territory could be difficult if she had no other pack to take her instead. Michelle wasn’t an option anymore, and I didn’t know where else to bring her within the neutral territory. I climbed out of bed and grabbed random pieces of clothes out of my wardrobe. “Where are you right now?”

“I’m in the damn forest. It’s dark and I’m scared!”

I jumped into the clothes, putting her on loudspeaker. “Don’t you have a more exact location?”

“No! I can’t even see my hands in front of my eyes, and my bag is heavy as hell. But I didn’t make it far from home yet,” she whined, her high-pitched voice echoing through my room. I grabbed my phone again, turning down the volume before Pascal might hear her.

Pulling my still damp hair into a ponytail, I searched the room for my keys and purse.

“Are you still there?!”

I sighed. “Yes, I had to grab my things. Also, can you stop screaming at me?”

“I’m scared!” She repeated. “I need you to get me.”

“Yes, I got that, but there is no need to scream at me. It’s not my fault your pack kicked you out!”

There was a shuffling in the line before she returned to the call. “Look, Sophia, I need help, and I need it fast. I don’t have parents that get me out of every shit situation I get myself into or have ten guards at my disposal like you do!”

Her words were like a slap in the face, and I was about to let her to her own devices. Why would I care what happened to her? She didn’t care about me or my feelings, either. But her quiet sobs reached my ears, and I couldn’t bring myself to let her down.

“I’m going to my car now, and I will try to find you. Try to get closer to the street, so I don’t have to waltz through the entire forest to find you. Aren’t you a lynx shifter? Shouldn’t you be able to see in the dark?”

“My senses have been ducked up since I started using fairy powder!” She answered, sounding almost hysterical now.

“Fine, calm down. I’m getting you and I will hang up now, but I will call you again when I’m in the car,” I said, hanging up on her before she had a chance to respond. Now I only had to figure out how to leave the house without Pascal realizing. I glanced at the windows leading into the backyard. Pushing one open, I stared into the night, listening for any sounds, but the world remained silent.

I lifted my foot over the window frame and stepped onto the roof of the patio; the dirt crunching under my shoes. Carefully, I pulled the window close and stepped toward the edge of the roof. After each step, I listened for voices, but still, the house remained silent. It was to my advantage that Pascal fired all of our guards, except his one.

When I reached the edge, I looked around one more time, before jumping and landing on my feet with a soft thud. I held my breath, waiting for a reaction, but nothing happened. I hurried to my car, quickly started the engine and exited through the gate, which stood open. It’s when I realized that the parking space on the left, Pascal’s spot, was empty. Looking back to the house, there wasn’t a single light switched on, except mine, shining dimly into the backyard.

I shook my head. He wasn’t even at home and probably thought his threats would work enough, so I wouldn’t even try to leave the house.

“You don’t know me, old man,” I muttered under my breath and headed toward the main road before calling Ashe again.

“Are you on your way?” Her voice choked up as her whimpers echoed through my car.

“Yes, I’m driving to you now. I’ll honk a few times when I reach the forest, and you tell me if you can hear me.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.”

She didn’t answer, and I wondered why it was always me who picked up the pieces. My parents and siblings died, and all I wanted was someone to listen to me, but I didn’t feel like Ashe was in the right mindset to listen to my issues right now. It weighed heavily on my heart though, and I debated if I should fill the silence with everything that happened, instead I listened to her shaky breathing until I reached the part of the forest I suspected her to be in.

“I’ll start honking now, so tell me when you can hear me,” I said.

Without waiting for her reply, I honked three times, happy that there weren’t many people living around here, and her pack’s village is still a little farther away, too. It would suck if anyone called the cops on me for being too loud.

“I could hear that. You aren’t too far away,” she said, relief swinging in her voice.

I drove a little longer, honking one more time.

“Yeah, you’re close now.”

I stopped at the side of the road. “I’m going to get you. You won’t find the way to my car on your own, anyway.”

With quick steps, I headed into the forest, frowning when I realized there weren’t even any paths close by. I stepped over bushes and branches, glad that at least I could see well in the dark. It took me a while to find her, sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree, her bag hugged close to her chest. She had her eyes squeezed shut, and her phone was still pinned to her ear.

“Ashe, I’m here.”

Her entire body rocked as her eyes shot open, bloodshot and snot running out of her nose. I wrinkled my nose and pulled a package of tissues out of my pocket, handing it to her.

“Wipe your face and then let’s get out of here.”

She wiped her face and blew her nose. The sound boomed through the entire forest so loudly, it probably reached her pack’s ears. After she stuffed the used tissue into the pocket of her jeans, she reached her hand out to me and I pulled her up, taking the bag from her and lifting it over my shoulder. This reminded me of her birthday a few nights ago. I bit my tongue to stop myself from complaining. She leaned on me the entire way back to the car, my shoulder hurting from her weight. Only when the car came into view, she parted from me on unsteady feet and hurried to the passenger door, pulling on it as if I had the time to unlock it already.

She threw me a pointed look, and I rolled my eyes, pulling the keys out of my jacket and unlocking the car. Promptly, she pulled the door open, sat down, and slammed the door shut again.

“This isn’t a tractor,” I said under my breath, while I rounded the car and threw her bag into the trunk, before entering the car myself, turning the heater on.

I turned to Ashe. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, her entire body shaking as she rubbed her hands together feverishly. “No, just cold.”

We sat in silence for a moment, the inevitable question of ‘why did this happen?’ in the room. I cleared my throat. “Why did they kick you out? Did something happen?”

She glanced at me, biting her lip. “Will you promise me to not get angry?”

My stomach dropped. Ashe waited for my response, but cold sweat broke out all over my body, and suddenly I didn’t want to hear her reasons. I didn’t want any more bad news. But I couldn’t let her down, not when she was looking at me with wide, teary eyes. “Okay, I won’t be angry.”