A Luna's Duty

Chapter Six

“So, do I take a turn here?”

I nod. “It’s right around this corner I believe.”

I begin tapping on the dashboard to fill the silence. The car ride had been awfully quiet. Granted, I made no effort to start a conversation, but neither did Jake.

“This is it.” I notice the car Allison had rented missing from the driveway with a frown. Guess they had decided to go out. I would have to call them. “Thank you for the ride.”

“No problem.” I put my hand on the door, then Jake says, “Claire.” I look at him. “Be careful with the twins.”

I tilt my head at him. “What do you mean?”

His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “They are both very strong alpha heirs. I heard Landon is a decent enough guy. Allison, though, there are some stories.” He shakes his head. “Just be careful.”

I frown. “They are my friends.”

“I know,” he says, “and I am glad you have them. But it never hurts to be cautious.”

I nod. “Alright.”

I get out of the car, then tap on the car window. Jake rolls it down. “Don’t let what the elders say get to you. They’ve never been good at dealing with unexpected deaths like this.”

Jake looks down at his steering wheel. “Right, yeah, I am sorry about that.”

I shake my head at him. “I didn’t mean to burden you with the past. We are through with that. Focus on correcting it now.” He turns to me. I give him a reassuring smile. “Keep your head up, Alpha. I know you can do it.”

He stares at my face for a while, then his lips lift slightly. “I am glad you are here, Claire.”

I blink at him. “Yeah me too.”

I turn before he can see me cringe at my own words. Jake could be awfully blunt at times. It never failed to catch me off guard. I pulled out my phone and text Allison.

I am at home.

Allison’s reply came almost instantly.

We are almost there; we just went out for some food.

Did you bring me any?

Landon did.

Bless him.

I open the door to the house, removing my ponytail as soon as I walk in. My hair was a mess. Maybe I should use one of Allison’s fancy hair products. I am sure she won’t mind.

The moment I begin walking up the stairs, I can sense something is wrong. There is an odd scent in the air, enough to make my wolf stir. She lifts her head up in my mind. Someone else was here.

I let my claws extend in my hand. Shifting would be too much of an issue. If they were still here, I tell myself, the scent would be stronger.

The door to my room is slightly open. I hesitate for a moment outside the door but choose to walk in anyway.

I am not sure if I scream, or if I have enough air to as it all leaves me in a gasp. I am not even sure how long I am left standing there staring. All I know is that, suddenly, Landon is shaking me, trying to make me look at him, and Allison is trying to cover the bloodied message on the wall.

The prodigal daughter returns

“Hey, Claire,” Landon is guiding me out the door, his hand on mine, “remember how we always do this? Breathe.”

I do. At least, I try to. “That’s it, keep trying. Breathe with me. This is just another nightmare.”

“Is it?” I meet his eyes. “It looked pretty real.”

“You are okay, though. Nothing happened.”

“That was their blood,” I whisper to him. “I recognize the scent.”

He furrows his brows. “They are trying to scare you.”

I laugh humorlessly. “They are succeeding.”

“Claire.” Allison makes Landon move aside and pulls me into a hug. “It’s alright. I am sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For leaving the house.” She pulls away. “It was a stupid move.”

“No one could have known they would be this daring.” I stare back at the door of my room. “I mean, I sure didn’t.”

“They went straight for you.” Landon places a hand under his chin. “They waited for us to leave. They must have been watching the house.”

“Why didn’t we know?” Allison asks, passing her hand through her hair. “Landon, you can always tell when someone is after you. How come you didn’t see them?”

“I am not sure.”

“Whatever they did, it was very effective.” Aaron comes into view. He has a leaf on his hair. “Their scent is completely gone. I couldn’t track anything.”

He walks up to me. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “It just freaked me out.”

“Yeah.” He gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll get them next time.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You sound like a cop.”

“I am basically a patrol if you think about it.”

“Fair point.”

“Don’t you think it was quite ballsy of them to get into the house?” Allison asks. “We didn’t leave for that long. If we had come back a few minutes before, they would have been dead.”

“Very ballsy,” Landon agrees. “That or confident in their strength.”

“Confident as you may be,” Aaron says, “you two aren’t opponents to throw yourself against. They were just trying to get to Claire, no matter the risk.” He looks at me. “You should call your alpha.”

I nod, ignoring the ‘your alpha’ for once.

Jake hadn’t gotten that far and is back at the house in a few minutes. I suspect he broke a couple of speed limits on his way here but I don’t really mind.

He stands tense at the door of my room, staring at the message. I am guessing he can smell it too.

“Bastards.” There is a growl caught at the end of the word. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

“It’s okay, I asked for it.”

“Still,” he pulls his gaze away from the message forcefully. “I don’t think staying at this house is safe for you.”

“I caught onto that on my own, funnily enough.” He gives me a look. “Sorry, can’t help it.”

“We thought the house would be safe,” Landon says from behind me. “We didn’t realize how hostile your territory was.”

Jake bristles on his spot. “I happen to be on a learning curve for that as well.”

“That sucks,” Allison states. “We are sorry for your loss, by the way.”

Jake nods curtly. “Thank you. I was planning to meet you tomorrow, but I guess that got moved up.”

“Fate is certainly a funny thing.” Landon crosses his arm over his chest. “My name is Landon; this is my twin sister Allison. That guy is Aaron. We are from the Lycan Blood Pack.”

“Claire told me.” He looks at Landon. “I’ve also heard of you.”

Landon’s face tightens. “I see.”

“I think it’s actually a good thing the meeting got moved up. Otherwise, we would have had to deal with the elders. They are not your biggest fans.”

Allison smiles dangerously. The look almost frightens me. “Are they now?”

“They particularly have a lot to say about you.”

“Lovely.”

“I happen to be very against their opinions, though.” Jake looks between the twins. “I wouldn’t mind accepting your help.”

“Your alpha talks good game, Claire.” Allison grins at me. “We might be able to get somewhere here.”

Aaron moves to stand next to me. “I see you have accepted the term.”

I shrug. “If you can’t beat them.”

“Your alpha, though,” he starts in a whisper, still not looking away from the twins and Jake, “I don’t think he trusts us completely.”

“He says there are rumors about them. The twins, I mean,” I whisper back, “Allison and Landon seem to know about them.”

“Oh, they do,” Aaron’s gaze becomes fixated on Allison. “Don’t worry, though, only the worst of them are true.”