Bite Me

Chapter 4

Aliyah

“Oh, dear, I spotted something in the mail for you,” Janice our courier announced as she was about to pass me. Delving into her bag she pulled out a lilac box with a lavender trim, handing it to me with a smile, “Someone special must be thinking of you, love.”

Thanking her, I debated opening it there on the spot, but restrained myself and walked to the office I shared with Ryder, knowing he’d love to see me open it and enjoy my surprise.

“Oh, Ryder,” I called as I swung the door open. Inside, Amaya and Ryder were whispering as they looked over something on the desk, immediately stopping as I walked in, “What’s going on?”

“Ally Cat, I thought you were heading out for a run?” Ryder smiled welcomingly.

Looking to Amaya, I narrowed my eyes, “What’s going on in here?”

“Nothing,” Ryder stood, moving around the desk to come towards me, “Just a brother and sister discussing tactics, is all.”

Continuing to watch them suspiciously, I moved further into the room, “Wouldn’t be talking about a certain birthday coming up, would you?” At Amaya’s widened eyes, I knew I had them, “Or perhaps this beautifully wrapped present that just arrived for me?”

The frown on Ryder’s face as he looked questioningly at Amaya, gave me pause, “It is from you isn’t it?”

“I haven’t bought anything yet,” Ryder looked at Amaya, “Did you?”

“Not me,” she shook her head firmly as we all looked at the box., “Maybe one of our allies?”

Walking over to the desk, I placed the box down and shrugged, “Whoever it was, hopefully they left a card inside.”

Lifting the lid, I gasped as I stepped back in shock at what was in the box.

“Is that?” Amaya asked but paused before finishing her sentence.

Placing the lid back on the box, I looked at Ryder confused, “Who would do something like this?”

Picking up the box, Ryder opened the lid and inspected it closer, “I’ll take this to Mike and get him to let us know what exactly we’re dealing with, but for now, let’s not jump to any conclusions. Let’s confirm everyone in the pack is accounted for, yeah?”

Agreeing, Amaya and I head out to call for a pack meeting to gather everyone and assure they were all safe and accounted for. ‘It was a heart, no doubt about it. We just had to pray it wasn’t one of our own.’

*

After conducting a head count and getting parents to confirm with their children who weren’t in attendance were all safe, I sighed a breath of relief.

‘Who would send something like that and why? What were they trying to achieve?’ I wondered as I watched everyone head back to their days.

“Hey, are you okay?” Amaya asked as she approached.

“Yeah,” I responded on auto-pilot, but at her unbelieving look, I clarified, “I guess I’m a little confused who would send something like that and worried about what it means. What if it’s my mother’s heart? Who could-”

“Shh, it’s okay,” she held me as I let the mask slip and the tears fell.