Unthinkable Second Chance Mate

Chapter 16 Aftermath

Agatha's soft voice pulled me slightly from sleep, she was talking softly and sounded really far away. I felt very warm and snuggled deeper into the blanket. After a moment, David's voice drifted through the air. I couldn't understand what either of them were saying but it was just enough to keep me from returning to a peaceful sleep. Reluctantly, I barely opened one of my eyes and saw that Brendon was lying right in front of me. I tried to wiggle out from under the blanket just to find there was a weight on my hip and legs that made it impossible to even squirm. Twisting around and looking behind me, I saw that Brandon was lying behind me.

"Look at them." I barely heard Agatha whisper.

"Let's leave them be and start breakfast. We will wake them up when it's time to eat." David whispered back.

I heard them start moving around in the kitchen as I tried again to untangle myself from the twins. Just as I thought I was free, Brandon wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tight against his chest. Brandon sighed into my hair as he pulled me tight against his chest. The smell of bacon started to fill the air and it caused Brendon to move around in front of me; he sniffed the air and started to move around just a little bit. Brendon's face ended up right in front of mine. A smile appeared on Brendon's face as he sniffed again and his eyes slowly opened. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw me, he leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.

"Good morning." Brendon smirked at me before he stretched.

"Good morning." I replied.

"I like waking up to your face." Brendon said as he sat up on the bed.

"I like waking up with you in my arms." Brandon whispered in my ear.

"Oh." I had no idea what to say.

"Breakfast is ready." Agatha said after she saw we were all awake.

We got up and went to sit at the table; we all sat in the same spots we had the last time we were all there. Agatha had fixed bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfast and I realized how much I missed her and David. We all ate and laughed together while telling stories about what had been happening in the past few months. No one had mentioned the storm from the night before but I knew we were all sitting there wondering about what kind of damage had been done. We finished breakfast and, out of habit, I jumped up and started to gather the dishes.

"Amelia, sit down. You are a guest in this house now. I will do the dishes." Agatha chastised me.

"Oh I don't mind. You relax, I can do this." I told her as I continued to gather dishes off the table.

"Are you sure? I don't want you doing all the work while you are here." she responded.

"Agatha, go spend time with your nephews. I can do the dishes." I smiled at her and then walked into the kitchen.

I glanced back at the twins and saw that they were both looking at me with smiles on their faces. Everyone else stood up from the table then and went to the living room. I heard the sound of the hideaway bed being folded back into place underneath the couch cushions. I set the dishes down on the counter and started the dishwater. Washing dishes had become my normal routine and it gave me a chance to think. There was a lot for me to think about this morning. I had actually climbed in bed with the twins the night before and I wasn't sure what I was feeling.

"You almost done? We are going out to survey the storm damage." Brendon's voice came from right behind me.

"Yes, I will be done in just a few minutes and then all I have to do is get dressed." I told him as I rinsed some of the dishes off.

"Good. We want to see how bad it got last night and make sure nothing needs to be fixed. There is supposed to be another round of storms coming tonight that was worse than last night. We are going to take today to help Aunt Agatha and Uncle David prepare for it so that, hopefully, they only take minimal damage." he explained as I finished with the dishes.

"Sounds good. Let me get dressed and I can help." I replied as I turned around to face him.

Brendon's eyes trailed down my body and a blush crept up my cheeks. He slowly looked back up at my face and I quickly looked away. I heard a small chuckle as he turned and walked back towards the living room. It took a minute for me to get a grip on myself and I took off towards the bedroom that had been mine. I slipped into a pair of shorts and a tank top because I knew it was going to be muddy and that there would be a lot of hard work to do today. The storm last night was bad enough, but now there was supposed to be an even worse one on the way. Brandon knocked on my door just as I finished pulling my hair into a bun. His eyes also traveled up and down my body. It caused me to blush again.

"We are heading out." he said, still not looking at my face.

"I'm ready." I responded.

We walked out of the room and slipped on all our shoes. I thankfully still had a pair of boots at Agatha and David's house and that's what I slipped on before walking out the door. There were tree limbs blown down everywhere and it looked like the wind had gotten so powerful that it had uprooted a few trees that had been standing alone. We walked around the neighborhood and there were houses with broken windows. Some of the houses even had part of the roofs blown off or holes in the roof from where tree limbs had landed on the roof. Every step we took made us sink into the mud because of how soggy everything was. It seemed like the pack had taken quite a bit of damage from the storm and the worst was still yet to come.

"Let's go deeper into the territory, I want to see all the damage." Brandon said.

"Amelia, would you be okay with this?" Brendon turned to me and asked.

"Yes, if I'm being completely honest, I wouldn't mind seeing my childhood home." I said.

"I think we will head back towards the house and start getting everything gathered to start making repairs." David said.

David and Agatha walked off towards their house while the twins and I went towards my parents' house. The damage was still devastating everywhere we looked. We walked up by my house and the first thing I took in was the tree that had fallen right into my bedroom. My heart skipped a beat and I involuntarily stepped towards the place I once called home. Brandon grabbed my arm before I could get too close to the house. The siding had been ripped off the walls and the windows were all shattered. The safety of my parents went through my mind and I needed to know if they were safe.

"You can't go up there, you don't know if it's safe or not." Brendon said.

"I have to know if my parents are okay!" my voice was saturated with panic.

"We can go to the packhouse. Surely your alpha has an emergency plan in place where everyone meets up." he tried to rationalize with me.

"I'm not really supposed to be here though." I mummbled.

"They will get over it, this is a special circumstance." Brandon practically growled the words.

Brendon started to pull me back into the road and Brandon grabbed my other arm. We started to walk towards the pack house. I was reluctant to go anywhere near the pack house but I desperately wanted to know my parents were safe. We started to see more people the closer we got to the pack house. Everyone except the Omegas had gathered in the pack house yard this morning. My eyes scanned the crowd for the faces of my parents but I didn't see them, I couldn't even smell their scents in the jumbled mess of people. I didn't even see Amber in the crowd, but I did notice her mom standing outside and passing out blankets. It made sense for her husband and even Cade to be inside helping the Alpha with a plan to help the pack.

The twins pulled me closer toward the house and I surveyed the damage there. The roof looked like it had completely collapsed and the windows were all shattered. It looked like the siding had been ripped off most of the house, but it also looked as if one of the walls had been completely torn down. I was starting to wonder if it was just a storm or if we had experienced a tornado the previous night. Everything was so damaged that there was no way anyone could prepare for a second round, especially if it was worse. I kept looking around, trying to take in every face I could see, but none of them were my parents. We finally made it to the doors and the twins opened the front door before we all walked in.

There were more people in the house. Some of the people looked like they were trying to brace the walls and others were cleaning up the debris on the floor. My eyes finally landed on my dad's face. He was one of the workers trying to brace the wall. I tried to walk forward but the twins both pulled me back between them. I stood there watching my dad while standing between Brendon and Brandon. They followed my eyes and saw the man I was staring at but neither of them let me move towards him.

"He is very busy, wait until it's not too dangerous to approach him." Brendon whispered in my ear.

"Okay, can we try to find my mom then?" I asked them in return.

"Yes, let's see what we can do." Brandon said to me.

After one last glance at my dad, we turned and started to walk through the rest of the house. We walked into the dining room, which was the room with the missing wall. Everything was flooded and there was debris everywhere; leaves, mud, twigs, and even trash. Even the heavy dining table had been blown across the room and was broken. No one was in the dining room but we did hear noises coming from the kitchen. Carefully, we treaded across the room and passed into the kitchen. My mother was there thankfully. She was busy cooking what looked like a big pot of soup.

"Mom!" I cried out in relief.

"Amelia?" she looked up and looked right at me.

"I was so worried. I had to know you were okay." I gave her my reason for being there.

"We heard you left the pack." she responded as she finally noticed the guys on each side of me.

"I did. It's a long story." I looked down.

I heard her shuffling around behind the counter and I knew immediately that she had gone back to cooking. She was busy and wasn't interested in seeing me at the moment. I turned to leave and the twins followed my lead. We walked back toward the front of the house. We got to the bottom of the stairs just as Cade was walking down the stairs. I couldn't keep myself from looking, he walked with such grace and elegance that he demanded attention and obedience. He was in a black shirt and blue jeans with a pair of boots. I finally took in the whole scene and realized that Amber was holding onto his arm.

I felt the anger well up inside my chest and I started to shake. Why would she be holding his arm? Why would she even be looking at him the way she was looking at him? She always said she couldn't stand him so I couldn't process the two of them being together. Is this why she never once came to see me? Neither of them had noticed me standing there staring at them so I quickly pulled the twins out the front door. Once we were outside, I yanked my arms free and took off running back to Agatha and David's house. I had to escape the sight I had just seen.

"Wait!" Brandon called out as they chased after me.

"Come back!" Brendon yelled next.

They caught up with me not far away from the pack house and made me stop. I couldn't get my mind to focus on anything other than Ambers arm laced through Cade's arm. They acted like they couldn't stand each other, so why were they walking and smiling together while their arms were linked? My mind was spinning and the feeling of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks. I knelt on the ground and put my hands on the sides of my head trying to stop the spinning but it wasn't working. Brandon and Brendon were both speaking but I couldn't understand anything they were saying. The feeling of nausea got so strong that I ended up getting sick right in the middle of the road.

More voices started to approach us but I couldn't force myself to care. All I wanted was for this feeling to stop. I needed to know the truth, but at the same time I didn't want to know. It hadn't been a full year yet, but it was getting close. Maybe they were only so close because he was getting ready to take over the position of Alpha and she was from the Beta family. They must be trying to put their differences aside for the good of the pack. There was no way those two could actually be a couple. I started to take deep breaths as I let these thoughts sink into my mind. They hadn't even been holding hands, so there was no way they were together.

I looked up to find the twins bending over me with concerned looks on their faces. I forced myself to smile up at them, but then I noticed the scene unfolding behind them. Cade and Amber were walking right towards us and all the blood drained from my face. Brendon and Brandon noticed the look on my face and turned around. They reached back down and pulled me up to stand between them but they quickly formed a barricade between the oncoming couple and myself. I could see just a little bit between the twins and I took the opportunity to look.

They were actually holding hands. Cade looked infuriated and Amber even seemed to be pissed off. I glanced down at Ambers' neck and saw the mating mark. She was holding hands with my mate and there was a mating mark on her neck. They had chosen each other as mates; it hadn't even been a full year. The summit was getting close but Amber gave up her chance at her one true mate and decided to be with my mate instead. I stepped to the side and completely hid myself behind Brendon as they reached us.

"What do you three think you are doing here?" Cade questioned.

"What we are or are not doing is none of your business." Brandon didn't even attempt to hide the hostility in his voice.

"You are speaking to the future Alpha of this pack and that thing you have behind you is the property of this pack. She is an Omega and must answer to her Alpha." Amber retorted.

"She is not a thing and she is not an Omega of this pack. She is ours and she left this pack to be with us. That being said, this little boy here is not Alpha yet, so we owe him nothing." Brendon growled.

"You are so disrespectful. You have to answer to the Alpha before you can enter a territory." Amber screeched back.

"This thing whose mark you wear on your neck is not an Alpha and we owe him nothing." Brandon shot back this time.

"Amelia actually left the pack?" Cades' voice broke through.

"You knew she was leaving with us. We told you we were taking her away from here." Brandon said.

"I didn't think she would actually leave." Cade actually sounded a little upset.

"She had no reason to stay here. You made it clear you didn't want her here." Brendon yelled vehemently.

"I'm glad the trash left. You still have to check in with the Alpha, otherwise you are trespassing and that is grounds for imprisonment and depending on what the Alpha decides, it could be grounds for war." Amber sneered.

"For your information, we did check in with the Alpha. Alpha Zane knows that we are here and is actually a really close friend of ours." Brandon sounded smug.

"Oh... Well then, I guess you had better be on your way then." Amber had to backtrack.

"Have you marked her yet?" Cade asked.

"If we have, it is none of your business. You have clearly moved on with the pack slut who is now wearing your mark." Brandon replied.

At that moment, the twins both tensed up in front of me, so I peeked between them again to see that Cade had bristled up. Amber's face was even red with fury. All of the guys looked like they were ready to throw punches, so I reached up and touched the arms of each of the twins. Brendon glanced back at me while Brandon kept his gaze trained on Cade. I pulled on their arms to let them know I wanted to leave. Brendon nodded and he wrapped his arm around me as we turned to walk away.

"I don't ever want to see your faces again!" Amber screeched again, causing Brendon to stop.

"You had better keep your little mouth shut because I could knock you down quite a few pegs. I have secrets that you would hate for your little toy to find out about. If you want, I could go ahead and tell him a few of those secrets and see how long it takes for him to kick you to the curb. When he rejects you, that mark will fade from your neck and it will be very painful, princess." Brandon turned back around and said to her.

She actually looked a little scared before Brandon turned back around and continued to walk with me back to Agatha and David's house. They held my hands the entire way and let me be lost in my thoughts. I couldn't believe that they had stood up for me against Cade the way they did. I was curious as to what secrets Brandon had that would make Cade reject Amber though. We made it back to Agatha and David's and they let me go straight to the bedroom as they went out to help the pack prepare for the storm coming tonight.