Page 31 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“But why not?” I asked. That thing inside me bristled and edged closer to the surface. “I don’t understand. What aren’t you telling me?”

“They were denied, because someone else already adopted Haven. Another family.”

“But—“ I furrowed my brow and looked at each of them. “But you said it could take a long time. Months. Or even longer.”

“Usually it does,” Dad said.

“So then, how did this other family adopt her so quickly? How were they able to do what you weren’t?”

“I don’t know, Wes. We did everything we could. We—“

“No, you didn’t fucking do EVERYTHING you could!” I snapped. “You focused too much on doing things the ‘right way,’ on keeping your reputation intact and not cutting corners or doing things under the table or getting your hands dirty. You could have done more!”

I paced from side to side in agitation, my hands running through my hair and tugging at the strands, trying to cause myself pain somewhere else on my body so I could ignore the pain in my soul. I couldn’t explain this intense desire to have her here with us instead of out there with someone else.

Maybe because she was human and younger than me and had already been through so much in her life. Or maybe because I was one of the few friends she had made in her life. Whatever the reason, though, I wanted—needed—her to be with us.

“Who adopted her?” I asked.

“We don’t know. They won’t give us that information or a way for you to contact her. They said the court sealed the file.”

My body stiffened and spasmed, and I stifled a cry at the sharp pain shooting up my spine.

“Boys, come over here,” my mom murmured, waving Reid, Nolan, and Seb over to her and our parents.

My dad started walking towards me with slow, precise steps. “Wes, you need to—“

“No, Dad! This is all your fault! All our fault! She should be here, with us, where she could be safe and happy and healthy, but instead, she is with Goddess knows who! And she probably thinks I abandoned her or didn’t care about her! And I’ll never get to tell her that I tried, that I tried to find a way to help her. Because you’re too worried about what others will think about us going out of our way to help a human girl!”

I held in another cry and bent forward at the waist, my hands clutching my stomach as it threatened to purge its contents.

My dad lunged for me and crouched down next to me, helping me keep my balance as I moved to be on all fours.

“That’s it, Wesley, just let it out,” he muttered. “Don’t try to hold it back. It will make it worse.”

“I hate you,” I spat.

“I know,” he said.

“I hate you! I hate that you failed her.” I gasped as my body twitched and stiffened even more, my bones cracking and reassembling under my skin. “I hate that I failed her,” I croaked out.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his hands gripping my shoulders.

“You wouldn’t have to be sorry if you’d done what you promised!” I yelled.

My spine gave out a resounding crack, and I threw my head back, letting out a pained cry, although it sounded more like a howl.

I groaned and clawed at the ground, barely noticing my elongated nails. Everything was brighter and stronger smelling. My heart raced, and my nose sniffed at the air as one last painful crack shook my whole body, sending a fire over every single nerve ending in me.

And then everything was quiet and loud at the same time. I could hear not only my heartbeat but my dad’s, my mom’s, and everyone else who was staring at me with wide eyes.

I stood up to my full height again, noticing my shredded clothes on the ground. My eyes moved to my hands, now dark gray and covered in fur, with long digits and long, sharp nails.

I heard my dad shift beside me, and his black lycan looked mine in the eye. I blinked at him and then heard his voice come through my head.

“Run with me,“ he said, his first words ever to me through our pack mindlink. “Run off your pain.”

He took off towards the tree line, and my lycan followed after him, letting out a howl towards the sky as he did.

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