04 - Blue Box

***Beatrice's POV***

A gush of arctic air enters my car through the half-open driver's window, giving me a shiver. I am currently parked at the private-owned airport's runway, with my daytime running lights on, patiently waiting for the small aircraft to come to a complete stop. After a few minutes, the door opens, and a stairwell is activated. A single person descends and makes their way towards my car. The bright full moon allows me to perceive the figure near my location. The stranger wears a military snow camouflage outfit with a matching head cap, black gloves, and heavy boots. The closer they come, the anxious I get. I turn on the medium lights, lowering the already half-open driver's window as the stranger approaches.

-"Are you Beatrice Stevens?" The male voice asks, and I confirm. "You have thirty minutes to return, otherwise—."

-"I will be back." I cut his speech short.

The instructions over the phone were clear. Take the item to Liam and return to this exact area within thirty minutes. If I fail to do so, they will come after my family and me. The land where the aerodrome is located doesn't belong to any pack, meaning what happens here stays here.

Taking the small box from the man's hands, I safely place it in my black baseball jacket pocket, close the window, and drive off towards the hospital. My car's digital screen displayed 10:49 pm. It takes me ten minutes each way, so I still have 10 min to spare once I get there. I had said my secret goodbyes throughout the day and handwritten letters explaining the motives behind my actions which will be delivered once I am gone. Liam and I need a fresh start, his place is here with his pack, and I, on the other hand, need to find out about the origins of my powers and learn how to control them. Although my brain screams I am doing the wrong thing, something profound inside tells me these people can help me.

Everything goes as planned. I parked the car, made my way up to Liam's room without any issues. Being the Alpha's sister has its benefits. No one questions my visiting times. Approaching Liam's hospital bed, I pull the headboard night light string, remove the blue box from my pocket, and open it. Inside, nestled in cobalt blue silk, was a sparkling frozen water drop. Mother had shared with me the reason she got Blizzard in the first place. She had cured Maxine's mother with an Ice Phoenix tear. What I am holding right now looks exactly how she described it.

Lifting Liam's oxygen mask, I place the fragile cold sphere in his mouth. Within seconds the fast bleeping monitor that held his heartbeat slowed down to an average pace, his pale complexion became rosy, and all the dark veins vanished. Liam's agony frown became peaceful, and the heaviness in my chest fully dissipated at the sight of it.

With only a few minutes left before the nurse came to check on him, I had one last task to accomplish. From my other jacket pocket, I pull out a letter with my goodbyes to Liam. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I place a chaste kiss on his forehead.

-"Please, don't come looking for me and live a happy life. I will do the same." I whisper, wrapping his hand around the goodbye letter.

I barely had made it out of the room before a nurse went in there and started shouting for a doctor, incredulous of his recovery. Hasting my steps towards the elevator, I silently pray no one will mind-link Carl too fast. My finger repeatedly pressed the elevator down button, but the damn thing seemed to take its sweet time. Impatiently, I decide to take the stairs. It's only six floors, faster than waiting for the elevator, my time window is rapidly decreasing. I need to move fast. I just cured someone, yet I feel like a criminal.

As I exit the hospital, I gaze over my watch. It shows 23:11p.m. Despite running one minute behind, I knew I would still make it on time if I stepped on the gas while driving. But just as I had made it to the car and maneuvered it out of the parking, Carl appeared in the middle of the road, wearing only navy beach shorts. His heaved breaths create steamy clouds while his flashing emerald eyes looked straight at me through the windshield. Fuck, he knew.

Carl jogs towards me, and I lower the driver's window.

-"Bea, Liam is getting better. He will wake up soon." He chirps.

-"Wow, that's amazing news!" I try to sound as natural and excited as I can, meanwhile trying to keep my heart from pounding itself off my chest.

-"It is. Aren't you going to see him?"

-"I have a long day tomorrow, so I have to get going, but I will make sure to come to see him first thing in the morning." I press the button to close the window, but Carl holds the glass down, preventing it from closing.

-"Bea, step out of the car." My hands grip the steering wheel while my body remains glued to the seat. "Please, don't make me repeat myself."

Carl is a loving brother, a great leader, and an even better mate. He had carried me on his back for miles when I scratched my knees and held my hand whenever the nurse gave me an injection, even though he was terrified of them too. But there is one thing that upsets him, dishonesty. I had lied to him the moment I made that deal with a stranger two days ago. I can't disclose what was asked of me, either. Those were the terms. I step out of the car, Carl slamming the door behind me.

-"Bea, why are you lying to me?" He questions.

-"I'm not lying. I had a long day and want to go home. That's all." My gaze is focused on the floor while my fingers adjust the watch on my wrist.

-"Your heart rate is through the roof, you can't keep eye contact with me, and your hands are fidgety. Gosh, Bea. Come on. You are my sister. When things are off with you, I can tell from miles away. Not to mention, I don't recognize the scent of whatever you are hiding in your pocket."

-"Look, I don't want to talk about it right now."

-"Bea, Carl, What's going on?" My mother breaks the building tension.

Dad, Alpha Lee, Luna Morgan, uncle Leo and she had just parked their cars and stood before us. Great, not only am I running out of time, but I am also stuck giving excuses.

-"Uncle Leo, can you take Lee and Morgan to see Liam?" Carl hints. My uncle takes them inside, leaving Carl and my parents behind.

The chilled wind howls its way through the frozen grounds as my heartbeat stops the moment I perceive the two cerulean eyes watching us from afar. That alone wasn't what made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The thoughts on how this person successfully trespassed without being noticed by Carl's first line of defense and the way he avoided the light pattern cast from the hospital's glass doors onto the snow covering the parking flower beds' evergreens did. I didn't return, so they were here to hurt us.

-"Bea, you can tell me anything—." Carl's attempt to understand my off-putting demeanor is cut short. His Alpha reflexes plunge us away from the car, successfully avoiding the stranger's attack.

-"Identify yourself, shifter!" Carl growls as he skids to a stop on the frozen parking pavement, carrying me his arms.

The male who delivered the box earlier stands where we stood a few seconds ago. More intruders step into the light surrounding us. They all wear the same camouflage attire. How they manage to infiltrate the pack's land and remain uncovered is concerning. These people mean business.

-"Hand me the girl, and I promise no one will be harmed." A voice demands behind us.

Carl spins us around, facing the demanding voice. A foreign man with well-groomed dark blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin steps into the light. The man pulls his dark brown gloves finger by finger before stashing them inside his grey overcoat's pocket as Carl growls his discontentment.

-"You're a trespasser in my territory, yet you dare to demand to have a member of my pack. She isn't going anywhere. You are either ignorant or have a death wish." Carl places me down, hiding me behind his tall, muscular build.

-"Have it your way, then." The well-dressed gentleman waves his hand from left to right, causing a wind gush of sparkling mist to wipe across the parking lot. "Connor, bring me the girl." He orders. My brain wheels starting to realize who he was. The voice I spoke with on the phone two days ago.

Opening my eyes, I had briefly closed to protect them from the harsh wind. I realize everyone except me is now an ice statue version of themselves. What on Narnian tales?

-"Yes, your majesty." The first attacker responds, walking towards me.

I know self-defense, but starting a fight right now would be unwise—I am outnumbered and can't risk accidentally knocking down a frozen relative and breaking them into pieces. The adrenaline of facing a real threat has my mind go blank. With no plan, I decide to play along, lay low. The man, I now presume to be Connor, grips my upper arm, dragging me closer to his royal prick boss, who addresses me.

-"The deal was very clear. Resistance is futile, you either come with us and your family lives, or you don't, and your family dies. What's going to be, weakling?"