Leon

Chapter Four

I've spent the last hour just staring after her. She took off so quick. How was she able to do that? Just leave...

Leon? 

Evaline. 

Yes, I'm on my way home now.

I don't get a reply, so I'm assuming I've answered her question before she could ask it. I take my first step back. 

Back towards the forest. Away from this clearing. Then I take my second. And then I shift. I return home to my sister, wondering when I will see her again. Hanna. 

^

"Carmella is making dinner. I almost offered to help but then I saw Phoebe and..." Evaline flinches a little. 

I run my fingers through my hair. I feel upset. Uneasy. I imagine Hanna must be feeling the same thing. Would she really kill me if she had the chance? Could she? 

"Leon, your neck!"

I whip around to find Evaline reaching out to touch under my chin. Dried blood. Hanna's knife. I had forgotten. 

I shake my head and drop my eyes away from her questioning stare. "Got caught up in some bushes. It was stupid, really."

Evaline smirks and I almost let out a sigh of relief. "They got you quite good." 

I try to keep my voice even as we head towards my room. "Has Marcus left yet?" 

"Yeah, took Robert and Jerak with him. Brady's out doing...well. I'm not exactly sure. Hunting maybe."

I send a silent prayer to...whatever I believe in...to make sure Brady doesn't find my scent and track it. He knows I've been exploring the paths. But I hope he doesn't find out where exactly I've been today. If he finds Hanna's scent...oh s**t. 

"We should call him back," I propose nonchalantly. "Carmella's been working hard on that food. It would be rude for Brady to ditch." 

Evaline thinks for a moment as we enter my room. I head straight for the closet and pull out a clean white shirt and some grey joggers. 

"I guess you're right. I'll see if I can find him."

"Find who?" A voice startles us from the door. Tristan. Creepy...

Evaline glances at me uneasily and I can tell we are thinking the same thing. What is this kids deal? 

Uh. "Brady. We were talking about how he shouldn't miss out on dinner." Though, I'm pretty sure you already heard that. 

Tristan glances at us, then focus' on something for a moment. Mind link? Yeah, I'm pretty sure. 

He blinks suddenly, clearing away his trance and smiles at us. "Okay, he is headed home. He wasn't far from here." 

Jeez. 

"Thanks," Evaline eyes him carefully. 

He shrugs. "I came up here to apologize to you, Evaline. My sister can be quite the fire cracker. Sometimes she just can't contain herself." 

Well, s**t. Evaline smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. The awkwardness in this room is almost palpable. Tristan looks over at me. 

"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." 

Tristan walks away. I slowly look towards Evie and let out a loud snort. She shudders as I cackle and go to close the door. 

"Oh, f**k. These people are something else." 

"I know, but I think he meant that apology."

I roll my eyes. "I think he's used to cleaning up after the little 'fire crackers' messes." 

"Marcus says Tristan has always been so attached to his sister." 

Ew. "That can't be healthy." 

Evaline shrugs and walks over to the window, looking out over the vast fields before her. "It's probably heightened since the raid, his closeness to her, I mean. You know, Leo." 

I sigh. I did know. Evie and I had grown closer since our pack was murdered. And it didn't used to be like that. Not at all. My sister and I used to be at each other's throats all the time. Constantly fighting. Arguing. Butting heads. It was exhausting, now that I think about it. And stupid. All we did was fight over stupid s**t. Our privileged lifestyle left us with nothing else to do...

Maybe I should cut Tristan some slack. 

I think for a moment about todays events. My mate...oh, God. Do I miss her? f**k, yes. How do I miss someone I've only met once? 

Marcus explaining Carmella's debts. Who did she owe them to? 

Someone who owns this property. s**t, did Hanna know this was private property? 

I push away thoughts of Hanna and look over at Evaline. "Did Marcus say when he'd be back?" 

She thinks for a moment. "Tonight, why?" 

I shake my head. I didn't want to tell her. Not yet, I needed to know the whole story first. Even though secrets had caused us problems months ago, I knew this was for the best. My instincts told me it was.