We Are Family

Arabella’s POV

As people began to notice the shouts of the guys whose nose I had broken, I turned pushing through the crowd as I made my way to the exit. The loud music and vibration of the bass were adding to my already forming headache. The phone call I never in a million years thought I’d get had shaken me and now I felt numb and nauseous. 

Walking past the taxis that queued down the road, I sat on a bench holding my head in my hands. My parents had asked me to come home for my birthday, my twenty-first was one traditionally celebrated in your pack. Now my head was full of all these what ifs and if only’s. Would my presence have made any difference, would I have been killed as well. I shouldn’t be thinking those things I know, but how could I not.

Death was a part of life. Everyone would fall victim to it at some point yes, but not him. Not yet. In my eyes he was invincible, the hero in the fairy-tale story. The hero in my story. He was my dad. The man that was always there for me whether it be a shoulder to cry on, someone to keep me in line or someone to keep me safe. Something he had done my entire life. We were more like best friends while I was growing up, not just a father and daughter. He was the man I had always looked up to. He was my King, and I was his Princess. Only now he was gone.

“Bella what the hell. You broke that guy’s nose!” Susie went to say more until she saw the tears falling silently from my eyes as I looked up at her. Instead, she fell to her knees throwing her arms around me holding on for dear life.

“He’s gone! He’s really gone!” I thought I was strong but the moment she embraced me my dam burst and I couldn’t hold it back anymore. A sob tore though me, a pain that threatened to overwhelm me.

“Who’s gone Bels?” My breathing was heavy and uneven as I tried to put myself together enough to answer Sara as she arrived and sat beside me.

“My dad… he’s… he’s gone. They came and… they killed him.”

“Oh, my goddess Bella I’m so sorry.” Her arms grew tighter around my neck and right now I couldn’t have been more grateful. Without them holding on to me I’m sure I’d have collapsed and with the pain I felt in my heart I doubt I’d have been able to get myself back up.

Susie and Sara had become my everything whilst I’ve been here and in this moment, I was glad they were here. Finding the strength, I got up from my seat knowing what I needed to do. My father didn’t raise me to be weak, he raised me to be a fighter. ‘Strong warriors do not cry Arabella. They get even.’ His words ringing in my ears as a painful reminder of what now needed to happen. A part of me wondered if he knew this day would come, if this is what he secretly trained me for. One thing I was sure of was that I needed to go home, back to the Spring Lake Pack.

Tonight was a full moon, which meant if I shifted I would be home in under three hours of solid running. My wolf Willow would have burned every muscle in her body to get me there, but Susie wouldn’t shift. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, it’s just that she didn’t like too. She had never told either of us why, and I would never force her too. In my eyes she would tell us when she was ready. So instead, we were going to drive, which also meant we could take some things with us. Packing was certainly the last thing on my mind, but I didn’t know if or when I’d return.

“You girls ready?” Sara stood in the doorway her bag on her back as she did her jacket up.

“Yes and no. You girls really don’t have to come.” And I meant it. I wouldn’t blame either of them for wanting to stay here.

“Will you shut up Bels. We are family and we will not let you do this alone.”

“Susie’s right Bella. We may not be blood, but we are family and families stick together.” Wrapping my arms around the girls my tears again fell. I had always wanted sisters growing up an only child, and now I finally had some.

“What did I do to deserve you two. Thank you.”

Grabbing my bag, I took one last look at the place I had called home for the last few years before heading out of the door. What was it the humans say? When one door closes another opens, or something like that. Once in the car we wasted no time in hitting the road. It would take us four hours to get there but it was something I needed to do.

As we hit the highway the weather changed from calm to stormy. It was as if it knew how I felt mirroring my emotions perfectly in every way. My hands gripped the steering wheel as the wind blew harder and harder attempting to push the car from the road but to no avail. No matter how bad the weather would get it would not stop me from reaching my destination. Glancing out of the tinted windows at the bright road it hits me how much life is just like one long choreographed dance. One that even without one of the brightest souls it still goes on, never skipping a beat.

Susie fiddles with the radio beside me trying to find some song that could lift the heaviness that surrounds us. Could a song like that even exist? As the lights of passing cars flew by, I couldn’t stop my mind wondering to that of my mum. She and my father had been together since they were children. He was all she ever knew, and she relied on him for everything. No amount of music nor change in scenery would help with the pain I knew she felt.

A part of me felt guilty as I wondered if my mum would even want to see me. I knew she loved me with all her heart and always would, but I was the spitting image of my dad. How would she be able to heal while looking at me if all she saw was him?

Pushing that thought from my mind I silently cursed as the fuel low light began to ding. With everything that had happened tonight I had completely forgotten my tank was almost on red. I had planned on filling up in the morning.

“Not going to lie but I really need a wee!” I couldn’t help but chuckle lowly as I shook my head.

“I did say to go before we left. There isn’t anywhere for me to stop Susie.”

“You need to stop for fuel anyway. I’ll go when we stop. Though out of curiosity and not the throbbing of pain in my stomach how long will that be?”

The second my lips parted to respond a loud pop sounded from outside sending the car to spiral out of control. The three of us screamed as the car spun off the road tumbling down the embankment. The car landed on its roof, the glass shattering everywhere.