CHAPTER 3

NEAH

The first week of senior year went exactly how I expected. Classes were fine. Training was good. The mean girls were mean. Same old routine.

What I didn't expect was how much harder the nightmares would hit.

Every night that week I woke up screaming. Every night Caleb came running. By Friday we were both exhausted and snapping at each other over stupid things like who left the milk out and whose turn it was to pick the music in the car.

"You need to talk to someone about this, Neah. It's getting worse and I don't know how to fix it." Caleb said it quietly while we were sparring after school. The others were rotating in and out, working on his stamina for the Alpha transition.

"I've talked to every doctor your mom has sent me to. Nothing works except you being there." I ducked under his arm and landed a jab to his ribs. A good one too. He grunted.

"Then maybe you shouldn't leave for college." He tried to sound casual but I heard what was underneath it. Fear.

"Don't start."

"I'm serious. The nightmares are connected to me somehow. We both know that. What happens when you're three hours away and I can't get to you?"

"I'll figure it out." I went for another jab but he caught my wrist and pulled me into one of his stupid bear hugs, locking my arms at my sides.

"You always say that."

"Because I always do." I shoved him off and stepped back. Shane tapped in to take my place and I grabbed my water bottle, sitting on the bench to catch my breath.

He wasn't wrong though. The connection between us was something nobody could explain. We felt each other's emotions. We could almost communicate without words. Not through mindlink because I couldn't do that. I wasn't an official member of the pack. The elders said that trying to induct a human could kill me, and Aunt Diane shut down that conversation permanently.

So I existed in this weird in between space. Part of the pack but not really. Loved but not bonded. Home but not permanent.

"So this trip this weekend," Shane said while dodging Caleb's punches. "What's the deal? Just meet and greet with the other Alphas?"

"Pretty much. Dad wants me to start building relationships with the other packs in the alliance. There are two other Alphas around my age going through transitions too, so it should be fine. Mostly political stuff." Caleb swept Shane's legs and he hit the mat hard. Miles stepped in to rotate.

"When do you leave?" I asked even though I already knew the answer. I just wanted to hear him say it.

"Tonight. Mom and Dad are coming too, along with Delta Harris." He looked at me. "You know the drill. The guys stay with you."

"I don't need babysitters, Caleb."

"It's not babysitting. There have been rogue attacks along the southern borders. Three packs have reported incidents in the last month. We're not close to it but that doesn't mean we're safe, especially during a transition."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know you can. But you're human and you're connected to me. That makes you a target and you know it." His voice was firm now. Alpha mode creeping in.

"The guys are targets too. Are you putting a security detail on them?"

"That is their job, Neah."

"And it's mine too. I'm a warrior, remember? Or does that title only count when it's convenient for you?"

He stopped fighting Miles and turned to face me fully. The gym went quiet. Shane stopped stretching. Theo looked up from the weight rack where he had been pretending not to listen.

"You got taken last time." Caleb's voice was low and tight. "They had you for two days."

"And I got myself out. You know that."

"You got lucky."

That one stung. I set my water down slowly and stood up. "Lucky? I fought three wolves by myself with no shift, no claws, no healing. I tracked my own way out of wherever they took me and I walked back to the border on a broken ankle. That wasn't luck, Caleb. That was training. Your dad's training. So don't stand there and call it luck."

The silence stretched. Shane looked like he wanted to disappear. Miles studied the ceiling. Theo just watched me with those dark steady eyes that never gave anything away.

Caleb rubbed his face with both hands. "Fine. You're right. I'm sorry. I just can't lose you. You're all I have."

"You have a whole pack."

"You know what I mean."

I did know. And it made what I was about to say even harder. "You need to stop depending on me like this. When you find your mate, she's going to be the one standing next to you. Not me. I need to learn how to stand on my own before that happens."

He flinched. Actually flinched. Like I hit him harder than any punch I ever landed in the ring.

"That's not happening anytime soon," he muttered.

"You don't know that. It could happen this weekend for all you know."

He didn't respond. Just grabbed his bag and jerked his head toward the door. "Let's go. Mom has food ready and I need to pack."

The ride home was quiet. Not angry quiet. Just heavy. Like we both knew something was shifting between us and neither one of us wanted to name it.

Back at the packhouse, Aunt Diane had the kitchen island covered with food. The guys showed up within minutes and demolished most of it. I slapped Shane's hand away from the last piece of garlic bread and he pouted like a five year old.

Diane hugged me tight before she left. "We'll be back in a couple days. Call me if you need anything."

"I'll be fine."

"I know you will." She squeezed me one more time, that worried look in her eyes that she couldn't quite hide.

Caleb found me in the hallway. He wrapped me up in one of his bone crushing hugs and pressed his chin on top of my head.

"I left a shirt on your pillow. Just in case the nightmares come."

"Thanks." I squeezed his arm and closed my eyes. His scent wrapped around me like a blanket. Safe. Familiar.

Then he was gone. The house felt bigger without him. Emptier. Wrong.

Three hours later my phone rang. It wasn't Caleb. It wasn't Diane.

It was Theo.

"You need to come to the border. Now."

"What? Why? What's going on?"

His voice was tight in a way I had never heard before. Theo didn't panic. Theo didn't even raise his voice. But right now he sounded like he was barely holding it together.

"There's a wolf here. Injured. Crossed onto our territory about ten minutes ago. He's not a rogue but he's not from any allied pack either."

"So? Take him to the clinic. Why do you need me?"

A long pause. Too long.

"Because he's asking for you, Neah. By name."