Chapter 21: Night
Avery strode through the kitchen, making sure that Leia and the others had enough food for their whole pack as well as Boris’s. Joseph trailed behind her, trying to get her attention. She was weary from spending all day arguing with Boris. She could feel that Brooke was up in their room, and she longed to join her and rest but there were still things that needed her attention. Rachel was up in her room with Alex, far away from the Hunters, so that was one less problem for her to deal with, at least for the moment.
“Come on, sis, please,” Joseph said. “You’re letting other teens come.”
“I am, but Alphonse and Andrea have been training with the guards for years, and attending every training session in the past few weeks. You haven’t,” she repeated for the third time that evening.
“Only because I’ve been busy! You know, school and stuff…” His voice broke, making him sound even younger than his seventeen years.
My point, exactly. You’re still in high school. You shouldn’t have to fight.”
“I’m 6 months older than Andrea! I’ve got the same warrior’s blood as you! Me and Seb practice all the time!”
“And neither of you are warriors. Sebastian probably never will be.”
“He could if he wanted to! And so will I!”
“That may be so, but neither of you are yet.”
“Don’t you need everyone you can get? Isn’t that why you invited those weirdo s here?”
“We also need people to protect the kids and humans here,” Avery said, stopping and turning to face her brother. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. His irises were so dark brown that they were almost black. Just like their mother’s had been. “Jonathan and a few others will keep an eye on the kids. Sebastian will stay to guard Leia and Mariah. I need you to protect Brooke.” Her tone was deadly serious. “I’m the Alpha. I can’t skip this battle. I need you to keep my Luna safe. I need you to keep her safe for me until I get back.”
“You’d trust me to guard your mate? By myself?” Joseph sounded incredulous but eager.
“Of course. You have warrior’s blood, right?” Avery smiled.
“I solemnly swear, I’ll protect her with my life!” Joseph exclaimed, throwing his lanky teenage arms around Avery. She held in a laugh.
“You’ve read too many fantasy novels, little brother,” she said. “I’d really rather you both still be alive when I get back. Just keep her safe.”
“I will!” Avery hugged her little brother tightly. He squeezed her back as hard as he could. It was a tradition of theirs since they were kids. Avery squeezed him back and grinned when he eventually tapped out.
“I love you, little brother,” Avery said, kissing him on the cheek.
“I love you, too,” Joseph said, wiping his cheek with his palm in fake disgust. “I’m gonna go see if Seb needs any help with his TikToks.”
“You guys are making TikToks? Right now?”
“Of course! Do you know how easy parkour is when you’re a werewolf? We have 10,000 followers!”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Joseph maintained a strait face for all of two seconds before breaking into his usual goofy grin.
“Obv.” Avery shook her head with a sigh. “Our accounts are set to private. And Rachel checks everything we post anyway.” Avery chuckled, shaking her head in bemusement.
“As long as you don’t film anyone without their permission,” she said. “And wait an hour. If you want to be warriors, you both need to report to training in the next five minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am, sister, Alpha, sir,” he said, saluting. Avery laughed and walked off.
She jogged out the front door to the north lawn. All the adult members of the pack, save Serena, and the teenagers who would be fighting, were assembled there, waiting for her. Avery strode to the front of the group and asked them, through the mindlink, to assemble in lines in front of her. As they were lining themselves up, moving in perfect sync thanks to the pack bond, the Hunter wolves emerged from the North woods. They were led by Elaine and Boris who came to a stop about twenty five feet away from Avery’s group, their pack assembling behind them.
I’m about to lead us in some training, you’re welcome to join in, Avery sent to Boris, and Elaine and their pack.
I think I’ll take you up on that, Boris responded, a glint in his sea blue eye. He flicked his tail towards the pack members behind him, and they loosely assembled behind the back row of Avery’s wolves. She proceeded to lead them in several training exercises over the next hour, both in human and wolf form. Boris’s wolves tended to have a much more aggressive and brutal style than she and her pack favored. They seemed roughly evenly matched, though. By the time the hour was up, her body was hot to the touch, and she was panting slightly. Not too much sweat, though.
Werewolves’ sweat was thicker than humans’ with a higher ratio of dissolved waste products to water. That, combined with a faster metabolism, was why their body temperatures were so high. Avery had written a paper on the phenomenon and its effects on various cells from a biochemical perspective, as compared to humans. Of course, no one but her and Terrence had ever read it. She could hardly show it to her biochem professor.
Avery directed the wolves to take a break, then continue without her. Benjamin would lead the exercises in her place. She felt guilty for taking him away from his family, but she needed a rest. She’d had a long day and there wasn’t a break in sight. Their preemptive strike was in less than four days.
Avery went in the back door, by the kitchens, and got a wink from Leia as she walked up the back stairs, 2 at a time. Brooke was still in their room, sitting in front of her desk, tapping a pen against the notebook in front of her and staring off out the large wall of windows. She must have opened the curtains when the sun set. When she heard Avery come in, she swiveled around.
“Hey,” she said, her voice low and dull.
“Hey, babe,” Avery said, crossing the room to kiss her mate. Her lips were cold, and they lingered on Avery’s. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Brooke smiled sadly.
“What’s wrong? Your head’s feeling better, isn’t it?” Avery closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, trying to feel if there was pain she wasn’t noticing. She felt no pain from Brooke, just a confused, twisting morass of emotions. Avery knelt down next to Brooke’s desk chair. “Babe?”
“I just… I just keep thinking about what happened earlier,” Brooke responded, halting.
“What? You mean with Boris? That wasn’t your fault,” Avery stroked a hand down Brooke’s shoulder, using their bond to calm her. “Rachel and her parents have been on bad terms for years. That was on me for letting her come to the meeting at all. I should have known a fight was inevitable.”
“No, not that. Well, not exactly.” Brooke’s eyes were downcast. “When you went to break them up. My migraine flared. You could hardly move.”
“That wasn’t your fault, you can’t control it,” Avery said immediately. “And everything turned out fine.”
“Yeah, because I left,” Brooke protested, her voice rising in volume. “If I hadn’t, who knows what would have happened.”
“It still would have been fine,” Avery said. Although she didn’t fully believe her own words, she projected confidence and certainty so that Brooke would. “Benjamin and Jade were there. They would have intervened.”
“They did intervene, and it didn’t seem to help much.” Brooke crossed her arms.
“Well, we’re talking about Rachel and Boris, they’re both incredibly strong compared to an average werewolf. I’m sure I could handle any normal conflict, even on a bad day.”
“And when you fight the lycans? What if I’m having a bad day then?”
“You’ll be back here, safe at home, and I’ll be much more than a mile away. It’ll be just fine.” Brooke was silent. Her beautiful light green eyes wouldn’t meet Avery’s. “Brooke, I love you. And I will always want you here, no matter what.”
“Even when it causes you debilitating pain?” Brooke’s voice was incredulous. Avery could feel through their bond that she didn’t believe her.
“Especially then.” Avery embraced her mate and tried to fit all of her love and devotion into the simple gesture. Brooke returned the hug eventually, her grip weak from the fatigue of recovery. “You want me to go get you some dinner from the kitchen?”
“I think I just want to go to bed, if that’s ok.”
“Of course it is. I’m beat, too,” Avery yawned and stood. “Do you need any help?”
“No.”
She could tell Brooke was lying, but she was in a delicate mood, so Avery didn’t want to push her by insisting. Instead, she just bit her tongue and tried not to watch as Brooke winced in pain while getting ready for bed. Her head was still sensitive, on the brink of a migraine, and Avery could feel every twinge.
Avery undressed and climbed into the bed first, so it would already be warm when Brooke joined her. They spent the rest of the evening together, skin to skin, not saying a word, merely breathing together. Brooke traced the lines of Avery’s tattoos, methodically, as if she was trying to memorize them. After a time, her caresses became more amorous. The two mates made love in the light of the dwindling crescent moon, coming in the windows. It was an almost religious experience for Avery. Before she had met Brooke, her faith had been minimal, especially after her parents’ death. But now she had witnessed the true miracles her Goddess performed, and it seemed strange that she had ever not fully believed.
Late that night, Avery fell asleep, Brooke’s head resting on her chest, the comforting sound of her mate’s heartbeat and breathing filling her ears like a sweet lullaby.
The next morning Avery awoke at 3am, about an hour later than she usually did. The first thing she noticed was that her head was resting on the mattress, rather than her pillow. She had moved quite a bit during the night, her limbs sprawling all over the bed, one arm hanging over the side. The wrong side. Brooke’s side. Avery bolted upright, instantly awake. Where was Brooke?
She sprang to her feet, scanning the room. It was dark, but her night vision was good. Brooke was nowhere to be seen. Following her instincts, she reached out with her mind, searching for the smell of honey and wildflowers, tinged with pain, that meant Brooke was nearby. She got nothing. Not even a hint. Brooke was more than a mile away. At 3am. Avery checked her phone but saw no new messages or missed calls. She sent a text with no response and called several times, but it just went straight to voicemail. She checked Brooke’s desk, and her own, in her office, as well as every surface she could think of, but she found no note explaining where her mate had gone.
She trotted across the hall and banged on Rachel and Alex’s door. Rachel opened it, naked, her hair a tangled cloud around her head, her room a dark, musty cave behind her, the way she liked it. Avery could just make out the shape of Alex lying on the bed in the back of the room.
“I can’t find Brooke,” Avery blurted.
“And you can’t feel her either?”
Avery shook her head. “I need to know if Alex knows where she went.”
Rachel let her into their room and crossed to the bed to gently shake her mate awake.
“Brooke is missing, do you know where she is?” Rachel asked.
“What? Missing? Are you for real? What time is it?” Alex’s voice was sleepy and confused.
“It’s 3am, and Avery can’t feel her,” Rachel said. “Do you know where she went?”
“No idea,” Alex said, his voice gaining clarity. “Is she really missing?” He checked his phone, shaking his head. “This isn’t like her at all. We have to go look for her.”
“I know,” Avery said. “I’ll check the house. Will you two go and check the woods?” Rachel nodded and shifted. Alex clambered onto her back.
We’ll meet you out front, Rachel sent, then jumped out the open window into the darkness.
Avery sent out an urgent thought to all her pack members, asking if any of them had seen Brooke. Most replied in the negative. Jonathan said he thought he might’ve heard footsteps on the stairs around one or two, but he wasn’t sure. As insignificant as it was compared to the larger concern of her mate being missing, Avery couldn’t help but think, The stairs? Without help? She’ll be exhausted!
Avery threw on the first clothes she could find and sprinted downstairs a flight at a time. By now the entire pack was stirring, her unease affecting them. Avery ran through every floor of the pack house, even though she knew she would not find Brooke there. If she was somewhere in the house, Avery would sense it. Still, she couldn’t leave any stone unturned. She ran out the front door and mentally shouted to the guards on duty.
Jade! Get over here, now!
It was so unlike Brooke to leave unexpectedly, especially without leaving a note or texting. Avery was worried the worst had happened. What if Atticus took her? What if Boris did something? He saw me falter yesterday… and, even worse, though she tried to push the thought out of her head, What if she rejected me? But no, Avery had to keep telling herself that if Brooke had rejected her, she would know it. Wouldn’t she?
Just then, Jade jogged up gracefully, accompanied by two of her teenage trainees, Alphonse and Andrea, Albert’s two oldest.
How could this have happened? Avery demanded. Where were you? Where is she? What the hell, Jade?! Avery didn’t realize she was still speaking mentally until Jade responded aloud.
“I wasn’t watching the house, I was in the north woods, where you assigned me,” she responded, sounding defensive. “You,” she said, pointing to Alphonse. A tall, lanky boy with floppy brown hair. “I assigned you to watch the pack house. What happened?”
“I- I-,” the boy mumbled, shaking at the pure force with which his alpha was staring at him. “I… fell asleep.”
“This is why we don’t recruit teenagers!” Avery all but shouted. “What were you thinking? If you were tired you should have told Jade and asked for a replacement! We’re at WAR!” She grabbed the boy by one shoulder and slammed him back into the brick wall of the house. Her forearm pressed into his collarbones, pinning him.
“Hey!” Jade shouted, grabbing Avery’s arm and wrenching it back so that the boy could breathe. “Easy!” Jade put a hand on Avery’s back and sent a cloud of calm to her mind. I know what you’re feeling right now. We’re going to get her back. Avery took a deep breath and the red haze cleared from her vision. Jade actually did know how she was feeling. She let the boy go and he scurried off with his sister. “I’ll be having words with you two later!” Jade called after them. As soon as they were alone, Avery collapsed into herself, pacing back and forth, her back hunched, muscles tensed. She ran her hands through her hair so frantically that her fingers got tangled in the thick curls. She tugged at them and could barely contain a sob when it didn’t hurt. Because it reminded her that Brooke was gone.
“How could she have left me?” Avery pleaded, tears in her eyes. “How could she reject me?”
“She hasn’t,” Jade said with dead certainty. She put her hands on Avery’s shoulders and pushed her back upright, so she was forced to look into the fathomless glaciers of Jade’s eyes. “Listen to me. If she’d rejected you, you would know it. When they forced Daniel to reject me, it felt like someone had reached into my chest and torn my heart out with rusty tongs, then forced me to eat it. It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. Worse than torture. You would know.” Avery hung on her every word, each sentence adding a petal to the blossom of hope in her mind. “We will find her.” Avery nodded. “One of the pack cars is missing, so she probably left of her own accord.”
“But she can’t drive!” Avery protested.
“Can’t or doesn’t?”
“I-I’m not sure. I’ve never seen her drive. I know it’s a migraine trigger.” Avery could feel Rachel’s presence approaching and a few seconds later her large wolf form appeared out of the trees to their left, Alex still clutching onto her back. She shook her head. “Alex, does Brooke know how to drive?” Avery called across the distance.
“Yeah, we did Driver’s Ed together, she just chose to stop because it’s a migraine trigger,” Alex answered at once. “Do you think she drove herself somewhere? In what car? Mine’s still here.”
“One of the pack cars and the keys are missing,” Jade supplied. “We should follow her.” Before the words had even left her mouth Avery was sprinting towards the parking area. She jumped onto her bike, kicked it into gear, and tore off down the driveway towards the highway, kicking up gravel wildly behind her. Alex followed in his car and Rachel and Jade ran through the woods alongside them, one on two legs, the other on four.
Avery revved her bike ever faster, losing the car momentarily when she shot around the turn onto the freeway with no concern for her own safety. She had to find Brooke.
***********
Brooke checked her rear-view mirror for the third time in ten seconds. She pulled the wheel a little too sharply to the right and coasted jerkily around a bend. The highway stretched in front of her for miles and miles, steady, inevitable, unchanging. The forest pressed around her, never letting her forget where she was coming from. Keeping the wound in her heart pried open.
But she hadn’t had a choice. She had to leave. Serena’s words from the previous afternoon kept ringing in her head.
She and Sebastian had run past the pack house, into the south woods. There was a nice stream there and none of Boris’ pack so Sebastian had thought it would be a peaceful place for Brooke to rest while Avery finished up the negotiations. The canopy cover was thick enough that Brooke had been able to remove her dark sunglasses. Sebastian had found a pair of clothes stashed in a hollow of a tree and shifted back to his human form.
He had done his best to comfort Brooke, but his words had barely reached her through the fog of guilt and shame occupying her brain. The alliance with Boris’ pack might fall apart, and her presence was only hurting things. After a time, she had told Sebastian that she wanted to be alone, maybe draw something as an outlet. He had used his werewolf speed to run back to the house and get her sketchbook and oil pastels, then left her alone, telling her he would come get her when the talks were over. Brooke sat on an old log, soft with a blanket of moss, and stared down at the empty page in front of her, her mind as blank and devoid of artistry as it was. That was when she had heard a voice; ancient, wise, but sharp and quick as well: Serena.
The elder had emerged from the thick trees, dressed in layers upon layers of clothing, leaning on a gnarled and twisted walking stick. She had sat down next to Brooke, her manner kindly, more so than Brooke had ever seen from her.
“I heard what happened,” Serena had said. “I can only imagine the guilt you’re feeling.” How does she know? Brooke had thought. “Avery needs her strength to lead us,” the elder had said in her ancient, cutting voice. “If you really loved her, you would not let anything hinder that strength.”
“But she loves me, and I can’t control it!” Brooke had protested weakly.
“Her love has blinded her to what’s best for her people. Avery has a responsibility, as Alpha, to put the needs of her pack before her own. We need a strong leader. Now more than ever.”
“But, we’re mates, aren’t we? Meant to be, brought together by your Goddess?”
“Sometimes Goddess makes mistakes. Look at Jade. The best thing you can do for Avery is to leave her in peace. If you really care about her, you’ll take your pain and go.” Serena had stood then and walked off back into the forest.
Brooke had tried to put what she’d said out of her head, but Serena’s words had cut her to her core. The wizened woman had made Brooke see that all of her fears and anxieties were completely valid. She was bad for Avery. By staying, she was causing her pain. Inflicting her sickness on the woman she loved. Chronic migraine was torture. Not just for the sufferer but everyone around them. Her every dark, insidious thought was confirmed. Brooke couldn’t allow Avery to keep sharing in it. Especially with the battle with the lycans looming. Avery needed her strength and focus more than ever. Brooke would never be able to forgive herself if her influence caused Avery to be injured… or worse.
A single tear rolled down Brooke’s cheek as she pulled the wheel to re-center the car in the lane, lower lip quivering. She wanted nothing more than to go back. But it was too painful. Too hard to reconcile. The lights along the highway seared Brooke’s eyes, even through her sunglasses. She was forcefully reminded why she didn’t usually drive. It was taking every ounce of her concentration to keep her eyes on the road, while avoiding looking towards light sources, and keeping the car straight. It was absolutely exhausting. And the lack of sleep wasn’t helping anything.
Brooke wasn’t sure exactly where she was going but she figured she could head south, and she would eventually get to her family in California. She didn’t know what she would do when the sun came up. She was already getting a migraine from the streetlights and the occasional headlights. But she had to set Avery free. She had to. She felt so guilty for letting this go on as long as she had. And heartbroken at having to end it.
She switched on the radio. Maybe some music would help distract her from her growing discomfort. The first station was playing some loud, upbeat country song. Brooke quickly changed it. The second station was classical, which Brooke worried would make her fall asleep at the wheel. The third station was playing a soft indie pop song about heartbreak. That matched Brooke’s mood, so she left it alone. As the doleful notes filled the inside of the stolen car, tears ran down Brooke’s cheeks. Some ran into her mouth as she sang along to the song, leaving the taste of salt on her tongue, but she drove on.
Brooke took a turn south after a while onto another state highway. The scenery outside her window gradually changed from dense forest into miles of livestock farms to either side of her. The trees became barns and old farmhouses. The occasional deer became the occasional cow. She looked over to her left nervously. The sky was rapidly lightening. The sun would be up soon.
Brooke felt the tires bumping over uneven ground beneath her and looked back at the road. At some point the 2-lane country road had turned into a narrow gravel track and there were no turn-offs in sight. Brooke continued forward, distracted and nervous. Was she lost? Trees closed back in around her, making the road even narrower. There was barely room for 2 cars to pass each other.
Brooke’s hands were starting to shake. Whether from nerves, pain, or exhaustion she wasn’t sure. She was struggling to keep the car steady. There was no place for her to pull off to the side of the road, so she continued on.
Brooke was coming up on a small rise when a blinding light came over the crest of the hill in front of her. The other driver had their hi-beams on, and it looked like they were coming right for her. That was the last thing Brooke saw before the headlights and her own migraine auras blinded her. All she could see was searing, burning, flashing brightness. She lost all track of what she was doing. She heard the engine get louder. Her hands clutched onto the wheel, her foot pressing into the brake. Or was it the gas? Brooke wasn’t sure. She couldn’t even think through the all-encompassing pain shredding through her skull.
Brooke felt a world-shaking impact. She was thrown forward, her seat belt biting into her chest. Her face hit something that was both hard and soft at the same time and her pain instantly doubled. Brooke didn’t think it was possible. The last thing she was aware of before she lost consciousness was the high whistle of a nearby birdsong. It sounded like the keening background music from the closing scenes of a horror movie. Then, the world fell away, and there was no Avery; there was no Brooke; only empty nothingness.
**********
Avery sped down the empty country highway, black hair flying out behind her. There was no time to get her helmet or jacket. They were just performative for the humans’ benefit anyways. As if a motorcycle accident could possibly kill her.
The three of them had split up where the highway intersected with another. Rachel and Alex had kept heading west and Jade had turned north. Some intuition had told Avery to take the left fork and head south. So that was what she did. Brooke’s family lived in California. She had to trust herself and Goddess if she was going to find Brooke. And she had to find her. How far had Brooke gone? Where was she going? Was she okay? Avery’s mind was spinning with worry. She glanced over at the eastern horizon. The sky was lightening with every passing minute and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen. She had to find Brooke before sunup, or she didn’t know what might happen.
Avery shifted up a gear and pushed her bike to the limits of its speed. If a human tried driving that speed on a twisting country road they would almost certainly get in an accident. But Avery wasn’t a human, and she would use every ounce of her strength, speed, and reflexes to get Brooke back to safety. Avery sighed in relief as woods enveloped her. She hated the open farmland. It made her feel exposed and nervous that she might reveal herself to some human farmer in the wrong place at the wrong time. The last thing she needed right then was to have to deal with cops.
Avery always felt safer in the woods. It was her comfort zone. And as the trees closed around her, she felt something. Her mind filled with the sweet scent of honey and wildflowers. Brooke was close. But something was wrong. Her mind felt weak, and even more pained than usual. She crested a small rise and her panic fully resurfaced at the sight that met her eyes. It was her worst fear realized. Just ahead, she saw a blue SUV, the same model as the one Brooke had taken, crashed into a tree, smoke trailing up from under the hood.
Avery skidded to a stop next to the car, jumping clear off her bike when it started to tip over. She ran to the driver’s side of the car and saw Brooke, sitting there, unconscious. Her hands shook with fear as she wrenched open the car door. She could feel Brooke’s pain, mostly in her head, but also in her left arm, so she knew she was alive. But she wasn’t moving, or speaking, or conscious. At the very least she was breathing, but Avery wasn’t sure how much longer for…
Avery immediately sent out mental calls to Jade and Rachel. They were miles away, so it was faint, but she knew that Rachel, at least, would hear her. They were best friends and co-leaders of their pack, so their bond was especially strong.
Avery turned her attention back towards her wounded mate. She had to get her to a hospital. Concentrating, she shifted only her right hand, her nails elongating into claws, her fingers shortening into pads, her skin sprouting black fur. She used one nail to carefully slice through Brooke’s seat belt, freeing her. Allowing her hand to return to its human form, Avery lifted Brooke gently into her arms, trying to assess the damage although her mind was spinning out with worry. Brooke’s whole left side was stained with blood coming from a wound on her left arm. When Avery carefully pulled back her sleeve, she saw jagged bone sticking out from the wound. That bone would need to be set. Soon.
Where the fuck is Alex with that car? Avery thought, sending out yet another mental message. She got an answer back this time. Rachel and Alex were on their way. Rachel had heard the message and told him to circle back.
“Don’t worry, darling,” Avery murmured. “You’re safe now. I’m here.” She would have screamed if not for Brooke’s phonophobia. Instead, she felt her mouth hang open, wracked with silent torment.
**********
Brooke awoke slowly, tentatively, like a candle flame flickering to life. The first thing she was aware of was the warmth, wrapped tightly around her body. It pressed gently all around her, holding her in sleep. But then she noticed the beeping. Low, and incessant. It followed a sequence that was almost a recognizable pattern, but every time her fogged brain thought it knew when the next beep would come, It was just slightly off-rhythm. It was making her head hurt. She cracked one eye open and was pleasantly surprised to find that the room she was in was dark. She blinked her eyes all the way open and looked around. It took several seconds before her eyes adjusted to the darkness and the fuzzy shapes around her resolved into clear objects.
It seemed that Brooke was in a hospital room. Looking to her right, she saw the familiar furniture that was standard for all hospital rooms; a door with a large latch, extra wide to accommodate wheelchairs and wheeled beds, a counter with a sink in the far corner with cabinets above and below it filled with medical supplies, and a curtain on a track that could block off the door if she needed extra privacy. Why was she in a hospital? What was it this time? The stench of alcohol and industrial disinfectant was making her breaths come in gasps.
Brooke swung her head around to the left and her neck gave a sharp jolt of pain that radiated and rung into her head, stirring up her migraine. She winced, shutting her eyes. Then she remembered. The accident. Someone must have called 911. Brooke watched as all the memories of her worst hospital visits played like a movie behind her eyes. She saw herself writhing in pain; panicking from negative drug interactions; being held down so nurses could plunge IVs into her arm. Normally it would have triggered a panic attack at the very least, but this time it was like she was watching the memories from behind a thick pane of glass. As if some presence was dampening her anxiety. A familiar presence.
Brooke opened her eyes and looked to her left to find Avery sitting there, looking like an angel with her halo of black hair and her sun-kissed skin. Brooke’s mind was still foggy, so it took her several moments to be sure that Avery really was there, not just a vision. She sat in a chair by Brooke’s bedside, eyes glazed over, signifying that she was speaking to someone with her mind. Brooke felt so many emotions. Relief that Avery still cared, happiness that the person she trusted most was the one she woke up next to, confusion at how she’d gotten there, but most of all guilt for leaving. How could she even look her in the eye after that?
Brooke tried to reach out a hand to her but groaned in pain when she felt a painful resistance to the motion. That got Avery’s attention. She immediately jumped in her seat and turned to face Brooke, tentatively reaching across her lap to take her right hand in hers. Brooke furrowed her brows in confusion, then inhaled sharply when she looked down at her left arm. It was wrapped in a large, bright green plaster cast.
“I thought you’d like that color,” Avery said, breaking the silence, her voice soft.
“What happened?” Brooke asked, not able to meet her eyes.
“You got in a car accident,” Avery explained. “You have whiplash, and you broke your left wrist. The doctor had to set the bone, so you’ve got some pins in there now and you’ll need a cast for a while, but you’ll be okay.”
“My head hurts.”
“I know.” Avery put a hand to her own head. “I tried to get them to give you your normal migraine meds but there’s way too much bureaucracy involved, and I don’t have your prescribing doctor’s phone number.”
“Why did you stay? Too much pain- The lycans… Boris… Why?” Her thoughts were disorganized, like there were gaps in the wires connecting the different parts of her brain.
“Of course I stayed. I stayed because I love you. And you’re injured. And I don’t trust anyone else to take care of you properly.”
“But all I bring you is pain,” Brooke sobbed, her inhibitions lifted by whatever drugs they had given her.
“That’s not true!” Avery protested, kicking her chair away so she could kneel next to the hospital bed and clutching Brooke’s hand even tighter. “You are more than your pain. I love you, and I know you love me too. Don’t you?”
“Yes, of course I do,” Brooke stammered. “That’s why I had to leave! I love you too much to inflict my pain on you. If I really love you, I’ll do what’s best for you, even if it sucks for me. You need your strength to lead your pack.”
“Our pack. What’s best for me is having you with me. You leaving would cause me more pain than you staying ever could. Where did you get this nonsense?”
“How can that be true, when my being close makes you ill?”
“That’s just not the way I see it. Were you ever planning on coming back?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, eventually, if I got my pain under control better. Found a new medicine or something.”
“Listen to me, Brooke,” Avery said, gently tilting Brooke’s chin with one long finger so she was forced to meet her sparkling golden eyes. “Have you ever heard your human friends or loved ones say that if they could take your pain for themselves, they would?” Brooke said nothing but remembered her father saying that very thing when she was a kid writhing in pain on a hospital bed.
“My dad. A year before he left.” Avery took in Brooke’s words, but was undeterred.
“Well, I actually can, and I see that as a blessing.”
“But, I just don’t understand,” Brooke said, shaking her head. “How is it worth it? How am I possibly worth it?”
“It’s worth it every time you smile. Every time we kiss. It’s worth it every morning when I get to wake up next to the love of my life. It’s worth it to have someone to share my life with. And not just someone, the most beautiful, creative, thoughtful, open-minded-“
“Are you done?” Brooke asked, a small smile breaking through.
“-caring, loving, selfless person in existence! Now I’m done.”
“I’m so sorry I left,” Brooke said, tears running down her cheeks. “I just, I almost ruined the alliance with Boris, and then Serena-“
“Serena?! Is she the reason you left? I’ll fucking kill her!” Avery jumped up and started stalking around the room.
“Well, not the whole reason… But- She came and talked to me, and, I guess she just sort of confirmed everything I’ve been feeling for weeks.”
“I’m going to eviscerate that manipulative bitch,” Avery swore, her hands balling into fists.
“Don’t kill her, please,” Brooke said, trying to calm Avery down. “She probably meant well. Somehow…”
“But not for you. She never accepted you, or Alex, for that matter. You didn’t hear the things she said to me when I first marked you.” Avery picked up the chair and sat back down. Brooke could still feel the waves of anger radiating off of her, a hot fury.
“I’m so sorry, Avery,” Brooke said again. “It’s only four days til the new moon and here you are chasing after me instead of back at the pack house.”
“Hey,” Avery said, taking her hand again. “You will always be the most important thing to me. Forever. You hear me?” Brooke nodded.
“I feel the same way,” she said. “I love you. I promise I’ll never leave again. I’m so sorry.”
Avery leaned over her and they kissed, tenderly, their lips lingering, their bond igniting their nerves.
“Let’s go home,” Avery said.
“That sounds amazing, but will the doctors let me leave?” Avery laughed.
“You really think they could stop me?” Brooke smiled. Avery’s tone became more serious. “This place… isn’t good, for you, is it?” Brooke tried to shake her head and immediately regretted it.
“I don’t like hospitals.” Avery nodded but didn’t pry. There would be time to get into all of it. All the time in the world.
This is not the end of Brooke and Avery’s story. Contact me to request a completed manuscript, or check out previews of BrAvery Book 2: With Flowers in Her Hair, coming soon, or Touch, a sensational love story available now.