Page 5 of Supernova

“Hey Vee!” She chirped with a massive smile as she strolled towards me and picked up one of the bags from the floor. Her brown, highlighted hair was let loose today and cascaded down her chest. She wore black ripped skinny jeans, converse and a light blue loose-fitting shirt on top that made her eyes pop.

“Hey Sky,” I greeted. “Thanks for coming down to help.”

“Anytime girl, thanks for going shopping. You saved me the trip,” she replied as we walked to the large open kitchen. The midday light that cleared the canopy of trees streamed through the windows.

“Of course.” I smiled at her.

“Are you gonna hang around? We can do something. I’m sure the boys will be fine without me,” she asked, unpacking the groceries onto the beige island bench.

“No, I think I’ll head home. Spend some time with Celeste while I have the chance. Plus the boys seem like they could definitely use your genius with whatever they’re dealing with.”

“You’re a sweetheart. And not wrong.” She grinned at me. “Tell that gorgeous girl I said hey and that I miss her.” My sister never came to the pack house as we had agreed it would be a bit suspicious and didn’t want her to find out about them being shifters, but occasionally in the past she would tag along when we’d hang out after school or go to parties. These days though, it was a rare occurrence.

“I will.” I promised. “Hey, Sky?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you keep an eye on Riv for me? He seems stressed and a bit distant. He won’t talk to me about it and that’s okay. But I just need to make sure he’s alright,” I pleaded. I knew Sky would understand and want to make sure her alpha was okay.

“Of course, Vee. He’ll be alright. The guys and I have his back. We always do. I’m sure it’ll be over before we know it and things will go back to normal. You know he only keeps things from you to protect you.”

I offered her a small smile. “I know. That’s exactly what he says.”

“Great minds,” she crooned with a proud grin.

CHAPTER 4

Celeste plonked herself down on the couch next to me with a large bowl of popcorn. She tucked herself into the blanket that I had already nestled into, waiting for her to gather the snacks while I searched for a movie to watch.

Her long dark brown hair flowed over her shoulder. If I looked similar to mum, my younger sister was basically her twin. We were both around the same height, with her being slightly taller, but she had the same brown doe eyes, golden skin and petite features as mum. We both had her full lips and long thick hair but Celeste’s was a lighter shade and naturally curlier than mine, making her identical to mum when she was that age.

My sister was only two years younger than me and we were always quite close. But she’d been going through those independent young adult years and was living her life right now in her first few years of college. She was a driven young thing, studying business with a major in economics. If she didn’t have her nose in her books studying these days, she was hanging out with her friends.

I, on the other hand, didn’t have the same sense of direction or purpose as she did. I was an artistic soul and knew I wanted to do something creative so I studied an art degree with a major in photography. Since then, I’d been working casually in a coffee shop and taking up photography gigs whenever I could, but most of my time was spent in the pack house.

In typical sister style, it took us about forty minutes of talking before we even picked a movie. Finishing all the popcorn and refilling it before we even began. We spoke about her classes and friends, the cute boys and her new job at one of the only bars in town. I was grateful that she didn’t live in the dorms at college and instead commuted from our home, so I at least ran into her at breakfast or dinner.

Celeste stared at me with her big brown eyes. “So, you seem quiet. How is everything with Mr Perfect?” She was quite perceptive when she gave us the time of day, and always pretty straight to the point. Unlike me, who was usually more reserved and withdrawn, often too caught up in my own head and too scared to speak out.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Yep.” She smiled at me. “Spill.”

I put my empty glass of coco down on the coffee table and turned to her. “I just feel like sometimes River doesn’t confide in me about things that trouble him. And I just want to help, you know? I want to be there for him but I can’t if he doesn’t tell me what’s wrong.” I couldn’t tell her the specifics of what was going on so it was always difficult trying to have these conversations with her. But at the same time so nice having a sister to lean on.

Celeste looked at me with an expression that showed she was deep in thought, analysing the situation and going through every possible solution. “And do you think what he’s hiding has something to do with you? Will it affect you?” she finally said.

“No, I really don’t think it has anything to do with me, or our relationship. He’s not treating me any differently and is still his amazing self. It’s something that he’s always done, kept quiet about things he was dealing with, at least to some degree. It just never seemed like anything this big before.”

She took a long sip of her hot chocolate before setting it down next to mine. Her face serious, ready to dive into it all with me. “Do you think he hides things from you because he doesn’t want you to worry? He has known you forever and knows just as well as I do how you get.” She raised her brow in question.

“Shut up!” I laughed as I threw the nearest couch cushion at her.

The pillow flew right into her face and then tumbled to the floor. She gave me a death stare and I knew she’d get me back for that one later.

I sighed. “Yes, I think that’s exactly why he isn’t telling me. He thinks he’s doing me a favour. He doesn’t want to worry me. He’s literally told me that. But whatever it is, I can handle it.” I looked to the ground before I continued, my voice just above a whisper. “It makes me feel small. Insignificant. Like he thinks I’m not strong enough or something.” My eyes slowly trailed up until I met her sympathetic gaze.

“Did you tell him that’s how you feel?” She asked.

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