Page 10 of Eclipsed Legacy

He nods slowly before looking away. I hear him sniffle, but he looks back at me with a genuine smile. “Thanks, Tala,” he says, his voice deliberately deeper and his posture more relaxed, almost nonchalant, but it’s somewhat forced. Right, because at fourteen, tears aren’t cool. His eyes are still red-rimmed, so I know this isn’t over, but I can take a hint. He doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“How about you jump in the shower, and we’ll go to the mall? We could get you a new pair of kicks, then you can return from your suspension looking like one of the cool kids.”

Michael chuckles and shakes his head at me. “I’m embarrassed for you. No one talks like that anymore.”

I glare. “Or, I could leave your ungrateful ass here and save my money.”

“I mean, thank you, oh awesome sibling!” he quips and mock bows before heading to his room.

I make my way to the kitchen as Michael comes out of his room with some clothes before heading to the bathroom. I almost feel bad, but it’s my mom’s house, so I unashamedly raid the fridge and freezer. I heat up some hot pockets, grab some Italian ice and Dr. Pepper, and flop on the couch. I’m halfway through an episode of my favorite hospital drama when the door to the bathroom opens. Steam pours out into the hall as Michael exits.

“I hope you turned on the vent. Mom’ll kill you if you ruin those walls.”

“I know,” he says, and he turns and reaches into the bathroom to— I assume— turn on the vent.

When we get to the mall, it’s pretty empty, which makes sense for a Tuesday morning. We window shop for a bit, laughing and mimicking some of the mannequin’s dramatic poses. It’s mostly me posing, with Michael turning red and looking around to see if anyone notices my antics. Eventually, we make our way to Michael’s favorite store where he decides on a new pair of shoes. They are about fifty dollars more expensive than any pair of shoes I’d buy for myself, and part of me wants to say no because I know he’ll probably outgrow them in a few months, but I smile and buy them anyway, along with some newly released game. It’s not like I spend money often, and I work hard enough to deserve blowing some cash, even if it is on my brother. By the time we’ve finished shopping, the food court opens, so we get Chinese. We find a semi-clean table and sit across from each other to partake in the spicy goodness.

Michael and I are finishing our food when movement out of the corner of my eye catches me off guard. It’s the mall, so other people being around should not be alarming, but something in my gut tells me things are not okay. My stomach begins to turn, and my pulse quickens. Attempting to appear casual, I pull out my phone and put the camera in selfie mode and angle it so I can see behind me. It’s the asshole from the bar and three other guys, two of whom look a little older than Michael. This can’t be a coincidence. Did they follow us here? They don’t seem to notice us yet. Still, four of them and two of us…I don’t want anything to happen with my kid-brother around. The bald guy turns straight toward us, and I know he sees me.

I put my phone in my bag and say quickly, “Hey, I just remembered that I’m supposed to be at work in an hour.”

Michael gives me a quizzical look. He knows I work the graveyard shift. I’m hoping that’ll be enough to tip him off and he won’t cause a scene questioning me. I lean slightly over to grab my purse. I see his eyes widen. He’s seen them. Good.

“Shit…all right,” he answers slowly, stiffening. I collect our belongings, trying to appear casual. Briefly, I glance over my shoulder to see the bald guy pointing at us. A young man in a white shirt turns toward us, meeting my gaze. Immediately, he begins stalking toward us.

“Michael,” I say. “Hurry.”

We leave the food court and walk hastily to the other end of the mall before finding the exit closest to our parking spot. But my car, which I’ve had for five years, has three slashed tires. Damn. My insurance will only cover it if it’s all four. Those assholes!

“Come on,” I command Michael. He follows behind me without a word, somehow managing to keep up despite my quick pace. I’m not going to stand around the car, waiting for them to jump us. As we walk, with me already sweating from the stress, I pull my cell out and call Ray, but I hang up after two rings, only just remembering that it’s only one, so he’s still working. I’d call Mel, but I really need another wolf here…very few of them are available at this time.

My pack is mostly made up of my family members. A few members aren’t directly related to us, but Grandma’s kids and grandkids make up the majority. We are close to three dozen strong, an abnormally large pack. We’ve had plenty of aggressive lone wolves that we’ve had to chase off or eliminate, but only two other packs have ever passed through our little town. One came through thirty years ago and another two years ago. Thanks to a very enthusiastic member of the second pack, I learned a lot about the way other packs run. Most alphas are male, not because of any rule; it just works out that way. Many packs relocate periodically, though some are nomadic and others will migrate every ten years. Some develop their own communes and use some religious front as an explanation to the outside. Somehow Grandma has managed to stay on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for decades without drawing attention. Apparently, our pack was unusual for several reasons. Most packs hover around seven members. Fifteen is considered a large pack, so our pack is massive. The enthusiastic member— I think his name was Jake? Jason? Something like that— said he had only come across one other pack that came close to our numbers. He never said their name. He was too shocked that our pack didn’t have a name. We’re the unnamed, sedentary, matriarchal pack that is also huge…huge. So why am I struggling to think of one member to call?

“Shit,” I curse before selecting the contact I just hope will pull through.

“How’s yer head? Ya know there really are some things that you just can’t beat me at,” Ricky says. I can almost see him wiggling his eyebrows in mockery.

“Fine, but my car’s not. Michael and I are at the mall. We saw four other wolves here and went to leave, but three of my tires are slashed.”

“Fuck!” he says.

“Yeah! Can you—”

“Already headin’ yer way. I’m actually right aroun’ the corner. Do you need to stay on the line?”

I snort. “Uh, no?”

He chuckles, and I hear his car door shut and the engine start. “Didn’t think so.”

“We’re parked at the eastern entrance, almost right by the door.”

“All right,” he says. “See you in a bit.”

“Bye.”

Ricky ends the call, and I turn to Michael. “Ricky’s on the way.”

Michael raises an eyebrow, reminding me of his dad for some reason. Now that I think about it, the kid may not bulk up. His dad’s pretty lanky, too. “Ricky?” he questions.