Now I realized where the panic, fear, and anger had come from. There was only one way Godric could become Alpha. According to Anna, either Alpha Ken would have to give up his title or he would have to die. And since Alpha Ken was nowhere to be found I assumed the latter.
I swallowed hard realizing the worst had come. "Are you guys saying what I think you're saying? Is Alpha Ken dead?" The pit of my stomach began to knot over. I was sick just thinking of the thought. Alpha Ken had been nothing but kind to me since I got here. He made sure everyone made me feel welcome while my parents were away. And then it hit me. These two had just lost their father. "I'm…I'm so sorry to hear that. Are you guys OK?"
Alex could hardly make eye contact with me. And Godric wouldn't stop looking at me. Finally, he said, "There's something else you should know."
"Godric. Gently." Alex said. "Gently."
Godric nodded to his brother. "Zaya, the pack where my father was attacked, was the same pack where your father last checked in. We are still waiting on a confirmation to see who all has been taken prisoner and who all is dead." The air around me became thin. "And my mother," I asked. "What of my mother?" I feared the worst. That everyone I loved in life was gone.
"We are still waiting to hear more. I'm sorry I don't have any more information." I grabbed onto the edge of the desk trying to hold my balance. And when I couldn't hold on anymore I collapsed and everything went black.
I opened my eyes, and I was back in my room. Tucked tightly in the bed. My eyes were blurry, and the room smelled kind of sweet. I glanced around expecting to see a plate of dessert. There was none. But something else caught my eye. Someone was sitting at the edge of my bed, with his face buried in his hands. At first glance, I thought it was Godric. But then I remembered, Godric has never entered my room. I could hear silent sobs escaping his mouth. I raised my hand to touch his arm letting him know I was awake.
Alex looked up at me and then away. Wiping his eyes before he started speaking. Trying to sound like a cheerful person. "Glad to see you're up."
I shook my head. "You are not glad at all. Why are you lying?" I asked him. "You know you don't have to act like you're okay all the time. You just lost your father. It's fine if you want to cry."
He looked back at me with sorrow in his eyes. "You're right. I'm not okay, but my brother and I have been preparing for this since we were kids. We were taught nothing last forever and when the Alpha goes down we need to be able to step up. Those people down there. Everyone in town. They lost their father too." He wiped his eyes again. Talking more to himself. "We just didn't think it happen this soon. It's too soon."
There was a light tap on the door and Anna peeked her head in. "Oh great, you're up. Godric asked that I bring you some food." Alex asked if she could give us a few moments before coming in. She respectfully nodded and went back into the hall.
Then he whispered to me, "Not a word until Godric announces it to everyone else. I know this is hard, but we need you to keep this to yourself." I simply nodded while agreeing to his request. He exited the room allowing Anna to come in with her tray full of food.
"I'm so happy that you're up. Godric told me that you passed out. Is that true? Are you still feeling bad?" Concern was evident in her voice.
"I'm alright. I must have been lightheaded or something." I tried to think of a reason for fainting while sitting up in the bed.
"Well good thing you didn't have to train today or else Sophie would have taken advantage."
I let out a small chuckle trying to not give away my sadness. I wasn't successful, seeing in her eyes she knew something was wrong.
"Are you sure you only felt lightheaded?" Anna placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature.
I joked with her. "Are you training to be a healer now?" I teased her. Trying to change the subject.
"Of course not. I'm going to be the best warrior any of them will ever know."
"I know you will," I said encouraging my friend. I could tell she had a lot to prove. Although I still didn’t understand why. In time, I’m sure Anna will tell me why she tried so hard to do everything perfectly. And why it meant so much to her to exceed everyone's expectations.
"Eat up my friend. I want you to be nice and strong for tomorrow's training."
As soon as she left my room, I grabbed my cell phone.
First, I called my dad. No answer.
Next, I called my mom. No answer.
I felt helpless. I was helpless. There was no way for me to find out if they were okay. And Godric only had so many answers.
With my phone in hand, I decided to call one more person. "Hello." A girl answered the phone. I looked at the screen again to make sure I dialed the right number. I definitely dialed Luke's number. I heard the phone fumbling around and finally, Luke's voice rang through the phone.
"Hello. Zaya?"
I was silent, as the emotions inside me ran wild. I was sad, angry, and full of resentment. All at the same time. "Is that your new girlfriend Luke?"
"No that's not my new girlfriend. But what if it was? It's not like I have another girlfriend to worry about." He said in a rude tone. "Why are you calling me anyway? It's not like you've been calling me all this week. I haven't talked to you not one day this week."
I thought about what he was saying. Luke was right. I hadn't called him not one time this week. And then I asked myself, why had I called him just now.
There was no way I could tell him what was going on. What was I going to say? My werewolf dad went to a pack of wolves to teach them how to properly heal and in the process got killed. Or kidnapped. Or both. I knew then, that this relationship was going nowhere. And so I did the only thing I could.
"I called to tell you we are over and that I only want to be friends."
I could hear the hurt in his voice as he asked, "Friends? We've been together for two years and now you just want to be friends."
I stumbled on my words. "I mean...I mean. You live there. I live here. This isn't going to work Luke. We are not built for a long distant relationship. You are already hanging out with an unknown girl. We can't even make plans to see each other. This relationship is going nowhere."
He was quiet for some time. "Zaya, I can't force you to do something you don't want to do and clearly you don't want to be in this relationship with me. If you want to be friends, then fine. But don't try to make it seem like I didn't try to make this work." He hung up the phone without saying another word.