85. Not again

I breathe in but the air gets stuck. I shouldn’t be surprised but for some reason I was. I hold on to Sebastian. Leaning on his strength. Everything else around me fades.

Lucas was my father, my mom was dead and I would never meet her and my step mom was also my aunt. I shut everything out. Needing to focus, needing to keep myself grounded.

“Blue? You okay?” I ask her, wanting to make sure she was fine.

“Yeah, I mean things could have been worse right? We could have gotten an asshole for a dad, an evil step mother and bratty siblings who think the world revolves around then, but we got it good instead.”

she responds.

She isn’t panicking. She isn’t sad. She is calm and at peace. Something that I envy her for.

“So you’re okay with everything?”

“Yep. Now that the results are finally out my anxiety is gone and instead I am at peace with the facts”

I let her words sink in. Let her calmness sip into me. She was right. The truth that we felt deep down was now confirmed and maybe instead of running from it, I should finally embrace it.

I look up when Lucas calls me.

“Please say something” he pleads worriedly.

I study him and just like Lilly, I realize that he is afraid. Afraid that I was going to reject him. He was my father so how could I?

His face falls when I don’t say anything and he casts his eyes down.

I wasn’t sure about what I was doing but I leave Sebastian’s side. I cross the distance to where he is and wrap my hands around him.

I hear him inhale deeply then he hugs me back.

His whole body trembled. I know he is crying and this brings tears to my eyes. I had a father and siblings. That thought settles deep inside me and I feel something shift.

I let him go and stare at him, smiling. I didn’t know him that well but love washes over me.

“It’s nice to officially meet you…dad” I add the last part.

I wasn’t going to waste time. Already so much time has passed and we never know when our time will be up. It would be pointless holding out on him and dragging things when I could have a good relationship with him.

A big teary smile replaces the sad look that was there a few minutes.

“You’re finally home my love…I’ve missed you so much” he murmured, kissing my forehead, his voice full of emotion.

Valery steps next to us and I turn to her. She’s fighting back her tears and emotions. She also hugs me before pecking my cheek.

“Welcome back Lauren” she says smiling.

I smile back at her. “Thank you”

Hearing a squeal, I am tackled from the back and I almost fall forward.

“We are sisters” She cheered I laugh, “And cousins”

“That too, It’s weird but people are gonna have to accept that” she lets go of me before stepping aside.

I hear a door bang and when we look up we realize that Luke stormed out. I guess he wasn’t as happy as the rest.

“Give him time to adjust” Valery excuses his behavior.

I shrug my shoulders in indifference. I wasn’t going to wallow in misery just because he didn’t accept me as his older sister. It was his choice and I wasn’t going to lose sleep over it.

“We need to get back to what we were doing, so I’ll see you ladies later” Lucas says.

Sebastian walks towards me and kisses me before pulling away.

“I’m so fucking proud of how you handled the news” he praised, his eyes sparkling with pride.

I smile in response. Feeling good.

“See you at Lunch Red” he was about to follow Lucas when I stopped him.

“By the way, I’ll be picking Claire, Brent and Mase from the airport” I inform him.

“Do you want me taking you?”

“No… It’ll be a good time to fill Claire in and have some time with her before she meets everybody.”

“Just be careful” he pleads, giving me one last kiss.

“I will”

He and Lucas then leave.

I know he is worried because I still have a target on my back but I doubt they would come for me all the way here.

I push those to the back of my mind and focus on the women with me.

“So what are we going to do in the meantime?” Lilly asks.

“You can help me cook lunch and prepare some sweet goodies for Krystal and Jax” Valery responds.

We agree on that and get to business.

It was a whole other experience cooking and chatting with Valery and Lilly. The atmosphere was comfortable. We laughed, we cried and messed around. I was at ease with them and I got to see the reason why Lilly adored her mother.

The men didn’t make it for lunch so we ate alone. Krystal and Jax went down for a nap after lunch.

I guess they were tired out. Despite that, they were happy and glowing. I was glad to see the effect this trip had on them.

Valery left too after lunch. There were things she needed to take care of, so it was just me and Lilly since Hunter was off somewhere.

We decided to just chill and talk. There wasn’t a TV so we couldn’t watch anything. Three hours into it, Claire texted me that they were about to land.

“I have to go” I turn to Lilly. “Claire is about to land and I would like to be there by then”

“I can go with you, you don’t know the roads well”

“No, I need this time with Claire, just to prepare her…beside I’ll use g****e maps” I assure her.

She looks skeptical but finally agrees. I ask her to watch over the children and she tells me not to worry.

“Text me when you get there, okay?” she requests.

“I will”

I leave the house and get into the car. I put in the location in the maps app and then start driving.

Turning on my favorite station, I sing along as I drive. It was going to be an hour drive, and I hoped I would be able to get there on time.

About twenty minutes into the drive, I start getting a weird feeling. I look through the rearview mirror and notice a black car following close behind. I didn’t get a good feeling about it. I try speeding up but it keeps up with me. I the slow down, hoping it will overtake me but it doesn’t.

Shit! Let it not be what I am thinking.

I open my link to Sebastian.

“Red”

“I’m being tailed” I say in panic.

“What?” he asks, alert.

“They have been tailing me for the past ten-fifteen minutes or so”

I didn’t know how many were there but I hoped that with Midnight, I could defend myself.

“Stay with me and keep your eyes on the road…where are you?”

“I am not sure, but I am about thirty five minutes away from the pack” I answered trying to calm down.

“Are there other road users you can signal for help just in case?” he continues.

I shake my head, before realizing he can’t see me. “No, there’s just me and the one tailing me”

“Good, that means you can shift if need be”

He tries to hide it but I can feel his emotions. I can feel his panic and fear and it’s fueling me.

“Keep talking to me” he pleads “Lucas, Luke and I are on our way. I have already sent Hunter ahead of us in wolf form."

For some reason, I pick up my phone, put it on silent and hide it in my bra. I make sure it’s nestled between my breast and the bra cup. A place no one would notice it.

The action felt foreign. Like it wasn’t me doing it but someone else but I knew the reason. It was in case I was taken, at least I would have my phone and Sebastian could use it to track me.

I was about to answer when a car literally appears from nowhere and gets on the road ahead of me. It starts driving towards me at a dizzying speed.

“What the fuck?” I exclaim.

I may be a werewolf but that doesn’t mean I can’t die from a car wreckage. Even midnight wouldn’t be able to save me from that.

“Red” he shouts. “What’s happening?”

I don’t get the chance to answer. I try avoiding it but it doesn’t work. It collides with mine head on.

The impact of the crash throws me back against the chair before throwing forward. I hit the windshield, break it then I am thrown through it.

I fly over the wrecked car before hitting the ground in a painful impact.

My ear is ringing and I am sure I taste blood. Some bones are broken and man does it fucking hurt.

I try to get up but I can’t. I'm dizzy and my head is pounding. I knew I was about to lose consciousness which spelled doom for me. I try once again but I fall back on the road, black dots filling my vision.

“I finally got you Lauren. You won’t be able to escape me this time” I heard right before darkness claimed me.