Her Brother, Her Mate

Carli POV

A f*****g motorcycle! I never even thought about wanting a motorcycle, but now that I have one I’m so f*****g psyched. I love the way the wind is shooting past us, running through my hair and the rush I get as Uncle Nathan zips through traffic.

“You doing okay back there?” he calls back to me at a stop light.

“This is f*****g amazing!” I yelled back. My dad’s SUV pulls up beside us, the windows rolling down in the backseat.

“Hey, good looking. My friend here would like your number,” Courtney giggles at me. Parker leans over and smirks, nodding at me suggestively.

“Sorry, I’m taken,” I teased him, lifting my necklace and bringing it to my lips. He smiles lovingly at me as I giggle.

When we get to school, Uncle Nate follows my dad’s SUV and parks by the field. It’s like the energy between all of us visibly shifts, becoming slightly more tense and we scan our surroundings without being obvious. Vincent’s parents could be watching me right now. Watching me and Uncle Nathan. It’s showtime.

“Dad,” I stressed the word as I addressed Uncle Nathan, “Can you help me put on my robe?”

“Sure, honey.”

He walks me to check in, and even k****s my cheek like he does to Courtney before he walks off to join our family.

The ceremony goes by super slow. Maybe it’s just my nerves. I can’t detect anything amiss. If I was being watched, there were no signs.

Dad informed all the other warriors in attendance of what was going on, so there were eyes everywhere. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary.

As our principal drones on about how our lives are just beginning and to learn from our mistakes, blah blah blah, I look back, scanning the stadium again, when I notice my mom and Alpha Jared in attendance. What are they doing here?

I shrug it off, figuring they’re here as alpha and Luna to support all our pack members. They never mentioned anything to me about attending. Not that we talk much. They usually just demand and yell at me. When my eyes meet my mom’s momentarily, I almost swear I see her smile softly back at me.

Casey and Simone are across the aisle, a few rows back. Casey looks pissed. I know he’s not. Just tense as he keeps looking back towards Courtney. He had his parents sit by her, and even talked a few of the older warriors into nonchalantly sitting around her, guarding her in his place. I could take care of myself. Courtney, not so much.

Simone keeps using her finger to redirect his head towards the stage. She has been a little exasperated with all of us since yesterday morning when she woke up at my dad’s to find us all whispering around the table about today. Elena told me not to tell the other students in case the school staff hears and ends up canceling our graduation. I wasn’t trying to leave her out. I just didn’t want her to worry. I will have to make it up to her later.

The school secretary starts reading off our names, one-by-one. Soon, my row was directed to stand and line up by the stairs of the stage. When she gets to ‘Childes’, Carli Childes, the whole section of my family starts whooping and hollering, embarrassingly loud. I’m blushing by the time I step up to the platform, receive my diploma, and walk back down after shaking 4 different staff members’ hands.

I scan the crowd again, and my eyes land briefly on my mom. She is staring back at me, pride in her eyes. I’ve never seen her look at me like that before. Was she proud I was finally an adult so she could wash her hands of me? I scoff and shake my head.

When it’s Casey’s turn, Courtney stands up and cheers, probably louder than she should. He smiles lovingly at her, but I can see his worry at her bringing so much attention to herself. She wore a blonde wig Elena had, and she was wearing sunglasses, but it didn’t look natural. I think the wig was from an old Halloween costume of Elena’s.

As we finish the ceremony with our final reciting of the school’s song and mission statement, I see it. There’s a black sedan parked but running just outside the emergency exit used for ambulances in case of an injury during a game. That has to be them.

“East gate emergency entrance,” I mind link to our group.

“I see it.” my dad tells me.

Good. Now that we know where they are, we can know how to set the bait.

All the seniors toss their caps in the air, then a frenzy of proud parents and family members come pouring onto the field. I unzip my gown, but am forced to zip it right back up when I reach my parents and Parker. They want pictures. I rolled my eyes. Even in a situation where we have to be on high alert, dad wants a picture.

I took one with Uncle Nate first, so as not to raise suspicion. Then, take one with my overly proud dad and Elena, one with everyone, then one with just Parker. I place my cap on his head as he wraps his arms around me.

“You better be careful,” Parker whispered in my ear, “Don’t do anything rash or reckless. Wait for us to get there before you act. Got it?”

I rolled my eyes. Through the mate bond, I can feel his worry. There was no doubt about my abilities there. He was just worried about his mate.

Vincent told us that they would follow us throughout the day, and then tell Satrina of our location tonight so she could come and kill me when I least expected it. We were hoping we could wait till tonight and I could walk off on my own and be the bait, but I know their plans could have changed. Parker is scared I’m going to rush off to confront them now instead of being patient and waiting for them to make the first move.

Courtney ran off with Casey and his family to take pictures. When I looked over, I was surprised to see she had discarded her wig and glasses while they snapped pictures of them together. What is she doing?

It’s crowded, people everywhere, so hopefully she goes unnoticed, but she should still have it on.

“I’m going to go see Simone and Casey. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll come with you,” Parker urged.

“It’s fine. Look at the crowd. Nothing will happen here.”

He looks around, then glances briefly at the black sedan before nodding, “Hurry back.”

I rushed to the Lewis’s. Simone stripped from her robe but still has her cap on her head. She is rocking it, which is probably why she kept it on. She smiles brightly at me.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Come take a picture with me!” she squeals. I take a couple with her, then her parents urge me, her and Casey to take a few together. We’ve gone through all of school together, and now we will probably rarely be together like this again with Casey moving to Canada.

When the pictures are done, I pull Courtney to me, “You need to get your wig back on.”

“I know, I know. But I can’t get my hair back in it. I tried!” She whispers back.

“Follow me,” I told her, pulling her towards the bathroom. It’s a little less crowded here, but there are still people all around.

I help Courtney twirl her hair and pin it back on her head, then maneuver the wig in place, straightening it out so it sits right. I brush some of the baby hairs over her forehead to help make it look more natural. When we’re coming out, I get a mind link from Parker.

“Where are you?!”

“Bathroom. Courtney took off the wig. I helped her get it back on.”

“Tell someone. Jeez. All of us started freaking out, Carli.”

I huffed in exasperation, about to give him an earful, when my mom came around the corner approaching me and Courtney.

“Carli! There you are. I was looking for you.”

I try to keep the disdain off my face. Courtney, not so much. She is scowling at my mother, reaching out and gripping my hand for support.

“Why?” I asked her, genuinely curious.

“I, uh, wanted to congratulate you. You’re now an adult! Happy….”she bites her l*p nervously,” Happy birthday. I was hoping that maybe you wouldn’t mind having lunch or dinner with us to celebrate?”

Her voice sounds so hesitant and nervous. She’s never been like this with me. Why? Why would she want to be nice to me? Because I’m no longer her daughter? Because I’m Parker’s mate?

“I have plans with dad,” I tell her, going to walk away, but she stops me, reaching for my arm. I flinch back slightly without meaning to, making her face fall.

“Carli, I….”

She never gets to finish what she’s about to say. All of a sudden, 2 figures come out of the shadows, spraying something in our faces, and my world becomes dizzy, all the colors fading to black.

“Parker,” I cry out, through the mind link, but I don’t know if it gets through before I lose consciousness.