Rising Alpha

10

That day once again plays over in my mind. At first I thought I found an alpha that would take care of me, but after a day or two with Kevin, I realized that it had been wishful thinking. "I figured it would come in handy, and it seems to be the case. It's not a huge place, but we can at least stay there for a little while until we get a better game plan."

"I'm for wherever as long as I'm away from them." Alison sits back up, bumping into Abigail which causes her to wince.

We're going to have to do something with her broken arm, and fast. Since we're shifters, we heal fast so it's probably already setting.

"I'm glad you had the foresight." Dom squeezes my hand and gives me a smile. "Where do I go from here?"

What the hell? His fingers are now intertwined with mine and there's a warm buzzing where he touches. I don't even know when this happened, but it feels so natural. I can't bring myself to release his hand. "Turn left up here. We'll hit an actual road."

It doesn't take long before we're on a paved road and getting close to the place. The car is quiet and everyone's nerves are on end. Luckily the alpha call isn't affecting us any more so at least that's a small blessing.

My hand still buzzes from his touch, and I've angled my body towards him. s**t. My wolf is influencing me, and I'm not even freaking aware. "Slow down and turn up here on the gravel path." He nods and soon the gravel crunches under the wheels.

"Are we here?" Charlotte's quiet voice quivers. She has her arms wrapped around her, and her mom has her broken arm propped on her shoulder.

"Yeah." I glance forward again and see the tiny house up ahead. "There it is."

"Thank God." Alison leans forward and lets out a sigh. "When you said shack I was thinking like a leaning barely-standing place."

"Yeah, I was too, but it'll still be a tight squeeze." He pulls up to place and puts the car in park.

Calling it a shack probably was a little dramatic, but it's not big enough to be called a house in my opinion. The place has seen better days, but it's standing and will provide shelter. The wood is beginning to rot, but with a little tender love and care, it's still fixable. "It's just one large room with a bathroom right off the side. It's basically a shack."

We all get out of the car and walk through the door.

"Why wasn't it locked?" Dom frowns and glances around the place.

It's not much at all. There is a small fire stove in the corner of the room with a sink. The only furniture left is an old, dingy beige couch and a small bathroom with a shower so small I'm not even sure if Alison could fit in it. "Well, I didn't have the key. I found it one day and watched it. No one ever came or left so after a month of keeping an eye on it, I went in and cleaned it."

"It's spotless. How often do you come here?" Abigail scans the place while cradling her arm in

her hand.

Shit, that's painful to watch. Her arm is still stuck in the unnatural position. "Well, I came out here two days ago." Even then I wasn't sure I could go through with it. It was the coward's option, but the choice wasn’t easy either way. "Hey, I forgot something." I pivot around and run back outside.

I hate leaving them in there with him, because despite my weird connection with him, he's still a stranger. Yanking the car door open, I reach in and grab the bigger t-shirt I brought for Charlotte. I can't keep letting her wear those tattered clothes. It's even worse than a freaking bathing suit.

When I walk back in, Dom is examining Abigail's arm. He touches her arm gently and frowns.

"Dammit, it's already healing."

"What does that mean?" Charlotte's eyes go wide and her lower lip trembles.

Poor girl, she's already been through so much today, let alone having to watch her mom’s arm be rebroken.

"Oh, sweetie. It's fine." Abigail grimaces. "We can still fix it."

Alison catches my eye and winks at me. "Hey, Charlotte. Why don't we go find something they can use to set it?"

"That's a great idea." I'm so glad Alison offered. That should keep her away until we can fix the problem.

"But..." Charlotte bites her bottom lip and steps closer to her mom.

"You should go." Abigail gives her a small smile and kisses her forehead. "I'll need something sturdy for the base. You'll be helping me out a lot."

"Oh, wait." I hold out the shirt. "Do you want to go ahead and slip this on? We could use what you're wearing to secure the splint."

"Yes, please." Dom adds. He hasn't looked at the young girl once. It's hard to see her dressed like that. "It would come in handy."

She takes the shirt from me and enters the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Abigail mouths thank you to Alison while her daughter changes.

It doesn't take long before the door reopens and she appears wearing a shirt that falls to her upper thighs. It's one of my favorite sleep shirts, but I'm more than willing to give it to her. She gives me her ruined shirt. It's still together enough to make the ties we need, even if it's a little rough looking.

"Come on. Let's go. The sooner the better." Alison opens the front door and motions for her to come.

As soon as they are outside and a few steps away, Abigail frowns. "Will they be safe out there?"

"There is no way Kevin can get here that fast even if he knows where we are." Dom touches her arm once more and huffs. "You do realize we're going to have to break this?"

"Yeah, let's just get this over with." She glances at the door and back at me. "We need to do this fast before Charlotte gets back."

My stomach drops. I'm not good with this type of thing, but I've got to be strong for her. "Do you know what to do?"

"I've had to do this before so you're in safe hands." Dom glances around and grimaces. "I've got nothing for you to bite down on."

This is going to hurt like a b***h. "She can squeeze my hand." That's the least I can do.

"I'm not sure." Dom hesitates and frowns. "I don't want her to hurt you."

Oh, dear God. "It's fine." I walk over and grab her hand. "Are you ready to get this over with? You might want to sit on the couch."

"That's a good idea." She sits and then holds her arm out to Dom. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be so let's do this. I don't want them walking in so let's hurry."