Chapter 29 

-Lincoln- 

I swear, if I have to watch my mate fawn over another man again, I’m going to go on a killing spree. It was the most frustrating thing in the world. Even though Tia and I have mated, we are still unmarked, and watching her talk to Neal left the worst taste in my mouth. 

The three of us head back to the packhouse, and I’m sure Landon plans to finish what we started in the training area. Tia was so aroused from our little warning, and I’d imagine Landon’s ready to ride that wave. I would love to join them, but fair is fair. I lost my virginity to Tia alone, and Landon is allowed that same opportunity. 

We are about to walk up the deck to the backdoor when we are met with a very unpleasant sight. Adela is sitting on the steps of the deck, and when she sees us, she springs up. I swear it has only been 24 hours since the last bout of drama from her and her sister. No one is ready for round 2 this soon. I can feel Landon’s anger through the bond, and I just hope she doesn’t sign her own death certificate, being here right now. 

“What do you want?” Adela looks at the three of us before setting her sights solely on me. Just my luck that whatever this is has a focus on me. 

“I need to speak to Lincoln.” Landon scoffs, and Tia says nothing. 

“Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of my brother and our mate.” That last bit gets to Adela, making her make a disgusted face. She quickly puts her face back to its neutral state in an attempt to seem on board. 

“It’s Aida……” I hold my hand up to stop Adela before she even starts. 

“I’m not in the mood for one of her games. I spoke with her yesterday, and I made things perfectly clear. There’s nothing left for me to do or say.” I make a move to continue walking, but Adela gets in my path. 

“That’s just it. She hasn’t been seen since after your talk yesterday. She has been in her room since she got home. She won’t even let our dad in the room. You need to see if she’s okay. She will answer you for sure.” Damn it, Aida. She could be in trouble; then again, she could be playing a game right now. Aida will go to interesting lengths to get someone’s attention or to get what she wants. Either way, I can’t fall prey to her and her schemes. 

“I can’t, I’m sorry. One of you will have to figure out how to get to her. I’m done.” 

“Are you serious?! You’re the future Alpha of this pack, and this is your answer when one of your pack members is in need? It doesn’t matter what you two were in the past. She needs help, and you’re turning her down?!” I have to admit Adela does make a reasonable point, and I hate it. I am soon to be Alpha of this pack, and I’m meant to care for all pack members no matter what. I shouldn’t hesitate to see about Aida and make sure she’s alright. It’s just that a part of me feels like this is some trick, and seeing Aida will be very bad. How do I do my duty as an Alpha yet still be safe and cautious? 

“I’ll go,” Tia responds before I have a chance to. Landon and I both turn to look at her with dumbfounded looks on our faces. Tia chuckles. “Don’t look at me like that. Aren’t I to be the Luna of this pack? This is the type of things that a Luna would take care of, correct?” I nod but am still amazed. Just 24 hours ago, Aida was trying to poach me from Tia, and if she got hurt in the process, so be it. Now, here Tia is, trying to help her sister out of a tough spot. 

I turn to Adela, expecting some type of pushback. That would solidify that this is all some elaborate rouse. Much to my surprise, Adela doesn’t argue. You can tell she isn’t fond of the idea, but she doesn’t argue with it either. “Fine, you can do what you want. I just need my sister to be okay. I won’t go with you since you know where to go. I have other things to take care of.” Adela walks off, not sparing us a second glance. I’m not sure if I should be happy or suspicious. 

Chapter 29 

“I know I don’t, but at the same time I do. I have to be the Luna, and that includes everyone that is a member of this pack. You and Landon, go ahead and get cleaned up. I will be back in no time.” Tia kisses us on the check and heads off to her family home. 

I don’t like this, Linc. 

Neither do I, but who can argue with her logic? 

I’m going to send a warrior with her and just have them stay far enough behind that she doesn’t suspect anything. I nod in agreement. That isn’t a bad idea. Hopefully, things go well for Tia, but she will have backup just in case. 

-Tia- 

Stupid, I know, but what was I supposed to do? Let Lincoln head over to Aida only to find himself caught in a trap? Let Lincoln ignore Aida, and that is an argument that can be made against him being an effective Alpha. The best thing to do is to go myself and see what’s going on. Either Adela’s worries are valid, or she is playing us. I guess time will tell. 

It takes me no time to get to the house from the packhouse. Since my dad is the head warrior, we have always had the benefit of living pretty close to the Alpha family. Mom’s status as a pack doctor doesn’t hurt, either. Speaking of which, I need to see Mom. I haven’t spoken to her since I’ve been back with everything that has gone on. 

I stop at the front door to get my bearings and take a deep breath. I hope Dad isn’t here right now because I don’t have the energy for an ambush. I place my hand on the knob and slowly turn, making sure to take the time to listen as I do. I hear nothing out of the ordinary, so I push the door open and step into the house. 

Closing the door behind me, I take a look at my surroundings. Nothing has really changed in all of these years. The furniture and layout are still the same. There are family pictures everywhere, which mostly consist of the wonder twins. I may be in a picture here or there, but that’s purely by accident. I head up the stairs, wanting to get this over with quickly. The first door to the left is Aida’s room. She and Adela have always had grand rooms with bathrooms inside. I had to make the attic my room and use the guest bathroom downstairs. Thankfully, that one has a full shower and tub. 

Yeah, my life kind of sucked, but I know some people had it worse, so why complain. I notice Aida’s door is ajar, but I knock on the door anyway. I don’t want to be accused of anything. I wait a bit for an answer to my knock, but none comes. I peep into the room, using just one eye, but I don’t see Aida anywhere. 

I slowly push the door open and take a few steps inside. That’s when I hear water falling and notice a door closed with a light shining underneath the door. She must be in the bathroom, and I take that as a good sign. If she has the strength to bathe herself; she may not be in too deep of a funk. When I turn to exit the room, a few things catch my eye. There are unframed pictures all over the walls. The pictures are of Lincoln. Every single picture has Lincoln in it. Some have Aida with Lincoln, some have Lincoln and Landon with Lincoln blown up, and yet some are just portraits of Lincoln. This is actually creepy, to be honest. It’s almost like a shrine to Lincoln. 

Just as that thought enters my head, I notice a big frame on the wall next to me. It holds a football jersey from the high school that we went to. I look a bit closer, and it’s the number that Lincoln wore when he played on the team. Taped all around the jersey are pictures of Lincoln in high school doing various things. A shiver runs down my back, and I’m creeped out. 

I take a small step toward her desk and notice a very recent picture of the twins and me. How Aida found time to get this, I’ll never know. In the photo, my face is scratched out so badly that there are holes in the picture. It seems that my sister has turned into a crazy person, and that just isn’t healthy. I can hear the water start to ease up, the pressure not as much as when I walked in. I hurry to the door and step out quickly. I leave the door as I left it because I don’t want Aida to think anything. 

I hurry down the stairs with my single intent to inform the twins of what I saw. My sister has to be examined by a therapist at this point. Nothing I saw in that room is healthy by any means. I run to the door, not looking in front of me. I make contact with a brick wall, falling on my ass. I look up, and my breath is caught in my throat. 

10.11 Thu, 14 Dec 

Chapter 29 

p 

“What the hell are you doing in my house!* 

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