Abducted

~ Chapter 3 ~

Ben was still playing video games with Brett when I got there.  They had switched games and were now playing Mario Kart.

             “I thought you were hanging out with Madison tonight.”  Ben said as I walked into the living room.  I could tell he was annoyed.  I had not wished him happy birthday yet and as far as he knew our parents were both out of town on a business trip and they have our younger sister Maggie with them.  In reality, they are all at the pack house.  They had called him around five pm from one of the offices on an upper floor at the pack house to wish him a happy birthday and apologize again for not being here for such a big birthday.

             “I am, I forgot to grab something earlier, so I came back for it.  What are you guys up to tonight?”  I asked.

             “What’s it look like?”  Ben flails his arms in a big circular motion.  “Just another typical Friday night for us.”  Ben continued sarcastically.  Brett’s phone chimed and he glanced at it quickly without picking it up.  “Dude, are you ever going to check that thing?  It’s been going crazy for the last thirty minutes.”  Ben mentioned to Brett.

             “Naw man, it’s only Amanda.  She can wait.  I think she’s into me, but it is not reciprocated.”  Brett stated as he shivered and shook his head as if to clear the image of himself with Amanda.  I could feel Brett’s eyes follow me again as I walked through the room.  As I went into the hallway, I heard a soft thumping sound.

“Ow… geez man, what was that for!?!?”  Brett exclaimed.

             “Dude, that’s my sister!  Keep your eyes off her!”  Ben responded.

             “And what if she’s my mate?”  Brett asked.

             “Then you’ll keep your eyes and your hands off her!  Let’s keep playing.”  They return to their video game.  At least I was not imagining Brett watching me.  I smiled happily as I went upstairs to finish getting ready for the party.

Once in my room I quickly took the braid out of my hair and ran my fingers through it.  I was happy to see that the braid had created the waves I hoped it would.  I added a thin white headband to keep my hair off my face and left it loose down my back.  Then I turned to my makeup table.  I usually kept my makeup simple, only opting for mascara and lip gloss most days, especially for school.  Tonight, I applied a light layer of foundation, eye shadow and tried to do some contouring.  I chose a light pink shade of lipstick and applied it under my lip gloss.  I finished the look with some shimmering powder around my eyes and a soft dusting on my chest.  With a final look in the mirror, I turned to my closet to grab a light wrap for later tonight as the heat was finally supposed to break and get cooler.  When I turned back around, I was startled when I saw Brett leaning on the doorframe of my room.  I gasped and took a step backward.

“You look beautiful.”  Brett told me as he smiled.

“Thank you.”  I replied.  I felt my cheeks turning red.  My cell phone chimed.  I pulled it out and looked at it.  “The Luna says they’re ready for us.”  I put my phone back in my purse and moved toward the door.  Brett had not moved from where he was standing.  When I tried to walk past him, he reached out his hand to stop me.

“I really meant it.”  He said softly and reached his left hand up to cup my cheek.  “You are beautiful.”  I look up into his ocean blue eyes and he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips.  The kiss did not last long, maybe a total of five seconds, but it was enough to leave me breathless.  It also did not feel right, and I had no idea why.  It was almost as if I was kissing my brother.  “Let’s go!  We have a party to get to.”  Brett said reluctantly.  We both made our way downstairs.

“Hey man, what took you so long?  You said you were going to be quick.”  Ben said over his shoulder when we walked back into the living room.

“Sorry bro, my fault.  The Luna texted.  She wants us all up at the packhouse right away.”  I told Ben.  He sighed and stood up from the couch.  He was still in his sweatpants and tee-shirt from his workout earlier.  “Maybe you should shower and change first.”  I said when I saw the state he was in.

“Maybe I want to go looking like this?”  Ben asked jokingly.

“Not today Bro!  It’s your birthday.  Can’t have you leaving the house looking and smelling like a bum.  Go shower and change.  We’ll wait.”  I told him bluntly.  Ben turned and gave me a salute.

“Yes ma’am.”  He said jokingly as he left the living room and went upstairs.

Neither Brett or I knew what to say and the silence in the room started to get awkward.  Once we heard the bathroom door upstairs close, Brett walked across the room and closed the distance between us.  My heart was pounding.  This is what I had hoped for.  But at the same time, I suddenly knew I did not want it anymore.

“I guess we have a few minutes to kill.”  Brett said as he slid his hands onto my waist and pressed me back against the wall.  He lowered his face toward mine.  Just as his lips were about to reach mine, I turned my head to the side and pushed him back, creating some space between us.

“Brett, I can’t.”  I told him.

“I don’t understand.  I thought you liked me.  I thought we both wanted this.”  Brett said through his confusion.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want this on some level.”  I told him.  “But it doesn’t feel right.”

“If we both want it.  How is it not right?”  He asked.

“I want to experience these things with my mate.  And only my mate.  It’s not right for us to do them if you are not my mate.”  I told him.

“But what if I am your mate?”  He asked, probing further and pulled me closer to him again.  I placed my hands firmly on his chest to hold him back.

“If you end up being my mate then things would be different.  Then it would be right.  Until we know though, I can’t do this.  I can’t do an us.  It also wouldn’t be fair to whoever your mate is if it’s not me.  She deserves to have all of you.  Not just the parts that are left.”  I explained further.

“And when you find out that I am your mate?  What then?”  Brett asked, clearly hurt by my rejection.

“If and when we find out we are mates, then I will welcome and reciprocate the attention.  Until then, I have to wait.”  I told him.  “I’m not going to compromise on this.  Please don’t push.”

“Ok.  I won’t push.  I promise I will wait for you too!”  Brett stated.  The bathroom door opened upstairs and Brett took a few steps back creating more space between us.  Ben came down the stairs freshly showered and in clean clothes.

“OK, I’m ready.  Let’s go.  Can’t keep the Luna waiting forever.”  Ben said as he headed for the front door.  I followed him with Brett behind me.  The three of us made our way up to the pack house together.

When we got to the front door, Luna Cassia was waiting for us.  She gave Ben a huge bear hug and wished him a happy birthday.

“Come on in you guys!  I have dinner waiting out back.  I hope you’re hungry!”  She announced.

“Starving!”  Brett told her.

“You two go on ahead out back.  The Alpha and I want to give Ben his gift before we go out.  As if on queue, Alpha Davis came into the room smiling and greeted us all.

“There you guys, and Alyssa, are.  Took you long enough to get here.  Alyssa, you look beautiful tonight.  Doesn’t she look beautiful?”  Alpha Davis asked.

“Thank you, Alpha”  I bowed my head in respect.

“She always looks beautiful, this one.”  The Luna stated.  I can feel my cheeks turning pink.  I always thought I looked average and plain no matter what I did.  My hair is a light copper colour, not light enough to be considered strawberry blonde and not dark enough to be considered red, and it is pin straight most of the time.  Putting it in a braid like I did today will create waves for a few hours before it naturally straightens on its own again.  My eyes are a light blue colour.  I am five foot four inches tall, so I am not too short, but not tall either.  I train hard with the other pack warriors, so I am in shape physically, but that is about it.  I am just plain ordinary in my own eyes.

“My dear, you’re right.  You are always right.”  Alpha Davis said before leaning down and kissing his wife passionately.  Brett and I walked down the hall toward the back door leaving Ben alone with the Alpha and Luna even though he was motioning for us to stay with him.  We took our places with our families and friends in the dark and waited for Ben to be brought outside.

We did not have to wait long.  Luna Cassia came out first with Ben right behind her.  She was talking as they walked.  “….hot dogs, sausages, chips…”  The lights were turned on and everyone in the pack yelled “Surprise!!!”  Together.  Ben looked like he was going to cry.  He really must have though that his birthday was not being celebrated this year.  He looked right at me and asked,

“Did you know?”

“Of course I knew!  I helped plan it.”  I replied laughing as our younger sister Maggie ran up the steps and wrapped herself around Ben tightly.  Maggie is only seven and is a ball of energy.

“Did you like the surprise?”  She asked him.

“I did!  Did you know about it too?”

“Yep, and I wasn’t allowed to told anyone.  I had to keep it the secretest from you!”  She told him.  “And I didn’t told anyone!  Not even Violet or Priscilla!”  You could hear the excitement in her voice as she told him about how she kept the secret.  “Oh, and Happy Birthday Ben!!”  She finally remembered to say.

“Ok, Mags, let’s not monopolize Ben too much.”  My dad said as he walked up the stairs.  “Happy Birthday son!  A big one for you today.”  He hugged Ben with tears in his eyes.  My mom was right behind him and squirmed in between them to make it a three-way hug.

“Happy Birthday Ben!  My little boy is all grown up now.”  My mom said.  “I hope you didn’t really think we would miss your birthday.”

“Yeah, I did actually.  I thought everyone did.”  Ben stated.

“And now?”  I asked.  He punched me in the arm and said.

“You dork!”

Now that Ben had seen our parents and Maggie, the Luna announced, “Let’s get this party started!”  And with that, the music was pumping, and food started to be served.  It looked like the whole pack was here to celebrate.

A couple hours later I was sitting at the bonfire with my friends, watching Ben, Brett and Alex goof off nearby.  Ben was definitely enjoying his party.  I was glad it all worked out.  Alexis was beside me and still anxious about something.  Maybe it was not about the party like I had originally thought.

“What’s up?  You seem on edge tonight.”  I asked her.

“I’m not sure.  I feel weird.  Like my mate is close by.  But I can’t tell who it is.”  She replied.

“You think it might be Ben?”

“Possibly, but I don’t think so.  After I….”  Alexis suddenly stopped speaking.  I looked at her to see if I can figure out why.  She was looking around at all the faces that were near us, a worried expression on her face.

“After you….”  I probed when she did not continue.

“I can’t…”  She said before getting up and moving to the other side of the fire.  At that moment a blazing shower of sparks erupted from the fire, spraying in all directions.  I looked across the fire to see Henry standing there with a grin on his face.  Clearly pleased with himself for causing the disturbance.  He was obviously drunk and had just launched a fresh log into the fire.

“That’s enough Henry!”  Alpha Davis was suddenly on the other side of the fire with Henry.  He was using his Alpha tone.  I could visibly see that it had no effect on Henry at all.  He must be really drunk.  He picked up another log and threw it into the fire, openly defying the Alpha’s command.  “Get him out of here and sobered up Aislynn!”  The Alpha commanded Henry’s mate.  Aislynn sat for a long minute staring at the Alpha and contemplating before getting up from her spot.  She did not seem to be affected by the Alpha’s command either.  Was she drunk too?  Usually when the Alpha gave a command, all pack members were compelled to obey.  This was weird.  Aislynn reached out for Henry,

“Come on babe, let’s go somewhere we can be alone.  It’s too crowded here.”  She told him loudly so everyone could hear.

“Did you see the sparks?  It was awesome.”  Henry told her.

“Yeah I saw them babe, now lets go make our own.”  Henry grabbed Aislynn and threw her over his shoulder, smacked her on the butt and announced to everyone that they were leaving for a better party.  Alpha Davis watched until they had left the backyard, not sure what to do.  He had clearly just been disobeyed in front of the entire pack by an Omega.  Luna Cassia approached him and pulled him to the side into the shadows and out of view of the pack.  She could somehow sense that he needed that.

I watched all of this happen silently from my spot, seeing things I had never noticed before.  I also noticed that Kelsey was watching me closely from across the fire.  It was creepy.  I did not know what her deal was.  She always seemed to be watching people.

As it got later, the pack started to thin out as parents took their younger children home to put them to bed.  By 11:45pm there was my group of ten friends left and the four remaining members of The Six.  It was almost time for Ben to shift for the first time.

“I wish they would leave.  I don’t want them around for this.”  Ben said motioning toward The Six.  Michael laughed and said,

“Too bad.  We’re staying for the show.  The entire show.  We’ve placed bets.”  Kelsey was sitting in his lap and they started to make out.

“I don’t feel right.”  Madison said from beside me.

“What do you mean?  Have you been drinking?”  I asked her.

“Unless someone spiked the punch, I don’t think so.  Too many parents around for that.  Including my own.”  She answered.  Xander and Stefanie were sitting beside us and he started to pay more attention to Madison when she said that.  Stefanie was doing her best to get his attention back on her.

It was 11:55pm now.  Only five more minutes for Ben to wait.  He stood up from the fire and announced,

“I’m going into the woods to do this alone.  No one follow me.”  And he left without another word.  No one from our group of friends got up.  I found that I was unable to even think about following Ben into the woods.  It was almost like an Alpha command.  Except that he was not an Alpha.  Our family is pack warrior rank.  The rest of us sat for hours together at the bonfire.  At some point The Six had become bored and left when Ben did not come back.

I must have fallen asleep at some point as the sun was beginning to rise when I heard Ben come out of the woods.  He was still fully clothed in what he was wearing when he disappeared just before midnight.  He still looked exactly the same as he did when he left.  Something was wrong.  Everyone else was still sleeping.  Ben looked at me, held out his hand to help me up and said,

“Let’s go!”  Then he started to drag me away from the bonfire toward our house.  He did not stop until we were safely inside.

“Ben, what’s going on?  Why are you so freaked out?”  I asked once we got into the living room.  Our parents and Maggie were still sleeping, so I was trying to be quiet.

“Nothing is going on.  Nothing!  Nothing, nothing, nothing!”  He paused before continuing, “I didn’t shift.”  My jaw dropped.