The Girl Next Door

Elena

Lana Davis has been my best friend since kindergarten. We’ve lived next door to the Davis’ my whole life. Mr. Davis was our packs Beta, second in command to the Alpha. My dad was a Gamma, third in command and part of the Alpha’s inner circle. With our families being so close we never really had a chance of not becoming friends.

Lana and I always hung out after training, floating in the pool, talking about boys, or just goofing around. During training today she told me she had a secret. I kept asking her what it was, but she just kept saying she’d tell me later with a giggle and mischievous smile.

I headed over to her house after a quick shower, thinking about what her secret could be. Maybe she had a new crush. But that didn’t seem likely, we were both completely in love with Logan, the Alpha’s son and next in line to take over our pack.

We would dream about being his mate, and we had a pact that no matter who he chose we would still be friends forever.

I walked towards Lana’s house still smiling over my thoughts about her secret. I could smell the blood the second I neared the house. The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention as I reached the front door.

The smell had me on edge and I opened the door slowly peeking around as I walked into the foyer. It was empty, my uneasiness was growing, “Lana!?, are you here!?,” I call out in a shaky voice. Something just feels off.

My call is met with silence. The eerie ness of how quiet the house is is almost as unnerving as the heavy scent of blood. I follow the scent through the house towards the back, my senses are on high alert and my muscles are tense. The patio doors are open and I head into the back yard. That’s when I see her, my best friend, laying on the ground in a pool of blood.

“Lana!,”

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I ran over to her. My legs felt heavy like I was wading through water. I dropped down to my knees as I reached her side. Shes not breathing, and I can’t hear her heart beating. There’s a huge gash across her temple, I can see bone. I gathered her into my arms, hugging her lifeless body to my chest. I screamed for help, tears streaming down my face. I kept praying that she would heal herself.

I’m not sure how long I was screaming for or when the others arrived. The pack guards just seemed to appear, they pulled me away from Lana, but I fought to hang on to her. I felt a sharp sting in my neck and before I could process what was going on, I felt myself drifting off into oblivion as I was lifted up and carried away.

I woke up in the pack medical wing, my dad at my bedside holding my hand.

“Dad?,” I croaked out trying to find my voice. When he offered me a sip of water I gladly accepted practically sucking every last drop of water from the styrofoam cup he handed me.

“It’s alright baby, I’m right here,” he soothed, stroking my hair back like he used to do when I was little. His eyes were red rimmed and he had bags under his eyes. His worry was written all over his face.

“What am I doing here?”

“You were hysterical when the guards found you, they gave you a sedative and wanted the pack doctor to check you out.”

I flinch at the memory of Lana and all the blood.

My thoughts are gratefully interrupted by a knock at the door. Hastings, one of the pack guards, walks in, “Elena, can I ask you a few questions?”

I knew this was coming but my stomach clenches anyway. My dad sees my anxiety, and steps in between Hastings and myself, “Do you really have to do this now?,” he asks in an attempt to spare me. My mom died when I was 5, so my dad is extra protective of me.

“I’m sorry sir,” Hastings says, “but we have to do this while the memories are fresh.”

“Dad, it’s ok, I’m ready,”

“What were you doing at the Davis residence?,” Hastings asks quietly. He has kind eyes and his voice conveys concern and sadness for me.

“Lana had invited me over, we were gonna swim for a little while and then just hang out,” I told him. “But when I got there I could smell blood and something just didn’t seem right, it was too quiet, Lana almost always had her stereo blasting.”

Lana had a terrible singing voice, but that never stopped her from belting out Mariah Carey’s greatest hits. The tears start falling again as the memories of my friend wash over me.

“I know this is hard for you,” Hastings says, patting me on the knee and handing me a tissue as he sits on the edge of my bed, “but did you happen to see anyone, or hear anything ?”

“No, I didn’t see anyone,” I tell him as I pat my face and wipe my nose, “ I didn’t hear anything either, I just saw her laying on the ground and I ran to her, I thought I could help her.”

“I’m sorry, but Lana was already dead before you got there, there was nothing you could have done to help her,” he says.

Fresh tears fall and I nod my head in understanding. My dad sits next to me and pulls me into a hug. My crying turns into sobbing.

“Who would do that to her?,” I ask between sobs.

“We think a rogue managed to sneak onto the property, maybe hoping to catch the beta unguarded and settling for Lana instead.”

I shake my head, “That doesn’t make any sense, I didn’t smell any rogues or any other scent that didn’t belong there,” I told him.

“Is there anything else you can remember, anything that seemed off?”

“No,” I sigh, “That’s all I remember.

“Thank you for your time Elena, please come see me if you remember anything else.”