Pack Rules (6)

Chapter 6

I turned uneasily in my sleep, the ghostly face of my sister screaming as people in biohazard suits dragged her away. My hands were locked behind my back, held together in an undeniable grip. I fought against the people trying to contain me, trying to run to Damon, who seemed desperately trying to get by my side. He growled viciously at the people, one step from turning into a wolf and biting them.

I screamed and fought with everything I had in me, but I couldn't stop them. My wrists were bleeding from the handcuffs, my entire body aching. Nausea and fatigue took over me, my eyes slowly closing as the world went dark.

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I gasped, sitting up from my nightmare. I was covered in cold sweat and I was shaking in fear. My stomach trembled, the room spinning around me.

I fell back against the bed and tried to breathe evenly. I hated this fear of the unknown, the way my life seemed to stuck inside of a box that was closing in around me, suffocating me.

I stripped off my sweat-soaked pajamas and took a hot shower, trying to regain control of myself. After I changed into a black pair of basketball shorts and a white camisole, I walked downstairs to get something to sooth my stomach.

Damon was sitting on the stool, silently sipping milk. He seemed pensive, almost nervous. He looked up, hearing me walking into the room. His eyes softened. "Hey, you're up."

I wiped a hand over my eye and went to look in the refrigerator. "Yeah." I brought out the orange juice and poured myself a cup. "Bad dream."

"You want to talk 'bout it?" He asked softly.

I shrugged. "It was about those scientist people after your pack. Scared me."

Damon nodded. "Understandable."

I sipped my orange juice for a moment, leaning against the counter. "Why are you up?"

"Nervous. I keep worrying about my pack - I'm not used to being this far away from them for so long." He sighed and took a long gulp of his drink. "But I'm glad that the kids are okay."

I nodded and looked at the ground in worry. "Galen's been sending a few people around the barriers of our town - some have even checked around your area. He said those researchers are getting closer. Apparently they've found the tracks and they're following them. Galen's worried about us either having to kill them - which would point us out, and probably kill us all in the end - or having to run."

Damon looked down. "Does he show favor on either option?"

"I don't know. He's scared, Damon. I've never been so afraid in my life. This will either make or break us." The thought of people in white lab coats and goggles, trying experiments on me to learn. My screams of agony. The way they regarded me as a lab animal rather than a human. All these coursed through my head, telling me I had to fight to stay away from this. "I was hoping he'd talked to you about it."

He shook his head. "Not so much luck. He's mentioned the choices, the consequences of both, but this is too hard a situation to decide."

I sighed. "I figured as much. They're calling in older pack members for advice."

Damon blinked. "Meaning your parents?"

I nodded. "My Dad's the original Alpha, but since girls can't be Alphas, and are rarely Betas, Galen's Dad was the Beta and since Galen's a guy, they figured it would work out fine. Galen's father and mine are being called in, along with even older generations." I looked at him curiously. "What about your parents?"

He paused. "I... don't have any." He saw my shocked face and continued. "Damon means demon, just so you get a hint of what my parents thought of me, my Dad left and my mother put me in a box and left me on a member of the packs front porch. Apparently they committed suicide or something - people rarely talk about them, too many bad memories - but I haven't seen them since I can remember."

I was quiet for a long, long time. I finally murmured an, "I'm... sorry... Damon."

He smiled sadly. "Not your fault. Oddly enough, though, neither side of my family had any Alpha blood in it, apparently I just have good genes." I nodded, quiet and thinking. "Worried about the researchers still?"

"It's hard to forget about them. I think my parents might just pack me into a box and ship me out if they're nervous enough."

Damon's lips lifted into a half smile. "You're lucky to have people who care about you so much."

"I see them about twice a year, maybe. I don't feel lucky."

He nodded. "But even so, you're helping lead an entire pack through a difficult time. You take care of a baby and a teenager by yourself. Maybe they've just been preparing you for something."

I shrugged, then let out a watery sigh. "God, I can still remember that nightmare. I can't get it out of my head."

Damon held out his arms. "Come 'ere."

I tucked into his embrace, smiling at the warmth that suddenly enfolded me. Suddenly I felt safe and protected, even though I knew that all too soon everything I loved and hoped for would be in danger.

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AbBa - I know, so sorry.

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So sorry for the nearly month-long wait; I've had the worse case of writer's block. Hope you guys/gals haven't forgotten about me yet!