“No!”
Chapter Fourteen
Sophia
Frankie and Connall were mysteriously murmuring to each other in the corner but I didn’t allow their secrecy to bother me. I was more focused on Benji and his friend Liam who were in the midst of a match of arm wrestling that had spawned from a disagreement over the winner of the last game. Milo and I were laughing at their dedication. It had been almost three full minutes and neither their expression nor arms had moved in the slightest.
“Are you guys even breathing?” I whispered, leaning closer. The only response I got was a quick jerk of the head from Benji. Milo laughed.
“They’re crazy competitive.” He shrugged and I nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, I can see that.” Suddenly I felt warm arms wrap around my shoulder as Noah leaned over the back of the couch.
“How’s it going over here?” he murmured in my ear, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I leaned back into his embrace, and placed a hand over his forearm.
“Hard to say. I have no idea who’s winning.”
“I am,” Benji and Liam declared at the same time. Noah laughed and jumped over the back of the couch, sitting close beside me. He mimed a yawn and placed his arm around my shoulders and I looked at him incredulously.
“You know,” I raised an eyebrow, “I’m already your girlfriend. You don’t have to try and maneuver your arms around me with a move like that.”
“Good to know.” He smiled and leaned forward, but I turned my head straight before he could get a chance to kiss me. He knew I didn’t allow much PDA in front of his friends, but that didn’t stop him from trying to sneak some kisses in every now and then. He chuckled under his breath at my involuntary blush and brushed his lips across my cheek before turning back to observe the match.
“That’s it!” Benji broke away and stood up angrily.
“Ha! Forfeit!” Liam jumped up, excitedly pointing at him.
“I think it’s a draw,” Milo said honestly.
“This isn’t over.” Benji poked Liam in the chest with a finger. “You. Me. Outside. Now.”
“You’re on,” Liam said as his eyes narrowed. Without another word the two of them stormed off towards the door to the backyard. I looked around the room to see if anyone else was taken aback from the dramatics but everyone’s faces appeared to be rather unimpressed. Everyone’s face except Noah’s that is. He looked worried and my heart warmed at the notion that he cared so much about them.
“Uh, guys?” he called out, getting up to chase after them. Milo stood up and dramatically dusted off his pants before moving to follow him. There was no way I was going to miss out on a real life-wrestling match, so I trailed after him excitedly.
As we made our way out the back I saw Noah put his hand on Benji’s shoulder and lean close to say something. His face looked very serious but Benji swatted his hand away and said,
“Shut up, Noah. I got this.”
Noah looked pissed for a second until his eyes connected with mine and he broke into a guilty smile, shrugging.
“Sorry. Game Night’s been taken over by testosterone.”
I laughed and moved to sit atop the picnic table, the perfect stadium seats for the entertainment. Benji and Liam were working on arranging the boundaries with various items they found among the backyard.
“This is exciting, huh?” I whispered, hugging Noah’s arm as he moved to sit down beside me.
“Just make sure to keep your distance,” he murmured.
Finally the boys were all set up and they squared off in the center of their homemade arena. Milo had volunteered to be referee and he stood between them with an arm raised in the air. He seemed just about to throw it down when Noah jumped up and jogged over. I figured he was trying to set some rules for safety to make sure the boys didn’t hurt each other too much. I couldn’t hear exactly what he said but whatever it was, it only made Benji angrier.
“What’s the hold up?” I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth.
“I just think this might be a little too intense for you,” he yelled back. I rolled my eyes and scoffed.
“Thanks for the concern, gonads, but I think I can handle it. Come on; let’s get it started already! Fight! Fight! Fight!”
He flashed a smile, no doubt amused at my ferocity, and jogged back over to me. As he hopped up on the table again, Milo placed his hands on the boys’ shoulders and prompted them to get ready. Once again they squared off and the instant Milo’s hand dropped they smashed into each other.
It was incredible. Almost exactly like their arm wrestling had been, their strength was equally paired off. It was like two boulders pushed up against each other. They kept shifting their arms and taking side steps, but not much changed in their position. What really impressed me the most was the strength the two of them were demonstrating, particularly since they were so young.
“It’s like they both take the exact amount of steroids,” I thought out loud. Noah laughed as he placed his arm around me, which I promptly shoved off.
“I thought you told me I didn’t need to use the Yawn maneuver,” he whined.
“You don’t, but I’m warm enough out here without your abnormally hot arm.”
He grinned and flexed his bicep, which I pretended to ignore. “You think my arm is hot, do you?” I laughed and shoved him.
“Shut up, you know what I mean.”
“Oh, I think I do,” he said, leaning closer. This time I didn’t know if I had the strength to turn him down again, but the sound of an angry shout caught our attention. Benji had slipped in the grass, and comically Liam had grabbed him by the foot and dragged him over the line. Benji was kicking and yelling in protest, but it was too late for him. Milo called the match.
“That’s not fair!” Benji yelled standing up, “The grass is wet!”
“The game had to end sometime,” Milo said with a shrug, “Just accept it. Take the L like a champ.”
“Ha!” Liam fist-pumped the air and turned to us to dramatically take a bow. We laughed and applauded as Benji balled his fists. He spit at the ground, shaking with rage.
“Jeez, he really doesn’t like to lose, does he?” I turned to Noah with an amused smile. His arm shot out in front of me and I looked at him in confusion as his eyes went wide. Suddenly the sound of ripping and snarling seized my attention and I turned my head to see Benji’s body writhe and transform into that of a big gray wolf, the size of a bear. He snarled into Liam’s face, his teeth dripping with saliva, and I screamed.
➹➹➹
Noah
I had to get Sophie out of there as fast as possible. She was clamping onto me tightly and screaming as Milo and Liam circled Benji with widespread arms to calm him down. I gripped her arms and forced her to face me.
“Run! Get out of here! Now!” I yelled in her face. Without another word she ran into the house and I turned and charged at full speed at Benji, knocking him down.
I wrapped my arms around him tightly as he thrashed about and roared, until finally the realization of what had happened hit him and he shifted back to his human self. I rolled him under me and punched him square in the nose, breaking it with a loud crack.
“YOU ASSHOLE!” I yelled, “I told you that you couldn’t control your temper! What if Sophie had been closer? You could have clawed her head off!”
The next thing I knew, I was being taken down to the ground by Frankie who had tackled me. She gripped my wrists above my head and yelled,
“Keep your filthy hands off of my brother!”
I threw her off of me and we squared off, shifting into wolves and growling in each other’s faces.
“I guess we’re all going wolf now,” Milo said with a tired shrug, somehow calmer than all of us in the situation. He reached out a hand and helped Benji up, passing him his pair of pants. Benji dressed hastily with one hand clutching his nose as blood poured down his arm. The image stilled me, and I turned my focus from Frankie and shifted back, panting on th
e ground on all fours.
“Noah, I’m sorry.” Benji’s voice was nasally and garbled from behind his hand.
“How long have you been a shifter, Benji?” I spit on the ground in anger. “Liam’s first shift was only a couple months ago and he can control his temper better than you!”
Just then Connall opened the back door and called out to me saying, “Just thought you should know that Sophia got in her car and sped off like a NASCAR driver.”
“God dammit,” I cursed. I had hoped she just had run into the house, not left completely. She had already proven that she was an unsafe driver when emotional. I shifted again and broke off into a run towards the woods. Angrily in my head, I ranted and raved about how much of a hypocrite she was to accuse me of being an unsafe driver that first day we met, and here I was for the second time going to try and save her from her recklessness. Though my head spat fury, my heart held on desperately to the hope that I could cut her off before anyone got hurt.
Chapter Fifteen
Sophia
I opened my eyes and found myself looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. A sharp pang hit me above my right eyebrow and I reached my hand up to find the source of the pain. As my hand entered my field of vision I noticed a white plastic clip on my index finger, which I followed to find was attached to a heart rate monitor.
I jolted up and looked around the room, the sudden movement making me dizzy. I was in the hospital? I tried to rack my brain over what had happened. The last image I could remember was an open road and a sudden blur.
“It’s good to see you up,” Milo said from against the wall across the room. He was holding a sandwich and a coffee, and he moved to set them down on the table next to me before taking the seat by the bed.
“Am I in a hospital?” I asked desperately.
“Of sorts.” He nodded, looking around the room.
“Milo, what the hell happened?” I panicked. He moved to rest a hand on my shoulder assuredly, but then decided against it.
“You were in a car accident,” he began and I held my breath as he continued, “You hit an animal as you were leaving the ranch. We brought you to a doctor who lived close by, since he runs a private hospital in his house. You probably have a minor concussion, you needed three stitches, and he said you might have some uncomfortable bruises. Other than that, you should recover just fine.”
Okay. That was only one of a thousand questions answered. I wasn’t even sure how to go about clearing up the other confusion I felt. I needed to work through what was real and what my brain had clearly imagined.
“Milo, back at the house-“ The next thing I knew Milo’s hand was over my mouth and he raised a finger to his lips.
“We can’t talk about that right now,” he whispered, removing his hand.
“Why not?” I asked, my eyes wide.
“One: because Noah has to be the one to tell you, and two: because we can’t risk your dad overhearing.” I gasped.
“My dad’s here?”
“He was pretty difficult to get in touch with, but since you were in an accident and all we felt it appropriate to fill him in. Your car wasn’t totaled, by the way, but it will need some work. We’ll take care of it.”
They took me to a private hospital and they had already arranged to get my car fixed? This seemed way too caring a thing to do for someone who was simply dating one of the family members. Their generosity choked me up.
“Where’s Noah?” I asked, my eyes watering. I needed to see him.
“I’m afraid he’s a little indisposed right now,” Milo murmured as he looked down, “Trust me, he wishes more than anything that he could be here. I had to suffer through him shouting and complaining about it for hours.” Noah was hurt too?
“Will he be okay? Is he in pain?”
“He’ll be fine, and he’ll come the second he is able.”
The lump in my throat only grew larger as my brain flooded with worry and questions. I felt on the verge of a total panic attack.
“You’ve been through a lot,” Milo interrupted my wrestle with anxiety, “The doctor told me he has some sedation available, if you want it.”
“Do people in car accidents usually need sedation?” I asked. He looked down and I realized the sedation wasn’t to help me through the accident; it was to help me cope with what happened before the crash. I shook my head and refused to think about it. “Where’s the doctor?”
“I think he’s talking to your dad right now.” He looked over his shoulder just in time to see my dad enter the room. He was still in his business suit, which looked a little disheveled, and his Bluetooth was in his ear. He must have come straight from work.
“Soph?” he asked softly. I could no longer hold in the tears.
“Hi, Dad,” I squeaked, my eyes overflowing.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Milo said with a small nod. My gut wrenched at the idea of him leaving, knowing he had all the answers I wanted, but it was clear he wasn’t going to say any more. He left without another word.
“Sophia you scared the crap out of me.” He took a seat and took my hand in his. “I’m so glad you’re okay. What happened?”
“I don’t know.” I looked out the window. “But I’m going to find out.”
➹➹➹
Noah
I struggled against the restraints placed to set my bones back in place. Pain shot out from all over and I growled loudly in protest.
I could barely catch my breath knowing that I had put Sophie in the hospital and I couldn't be there for her when she woke up. Just knowing that I was the cause of her pain made me feel like throwing myself in front of seven billion more cars.
It happened so quickly. I thought things would happen just the way they had before when I tried to stop her reckless driving. But it was different this time. Her eyes look haunted and frightened, and even though she was looking right at me she looked right through me.
"WHERE IS HE?" I shouted out. Immediately Milo was out the door, his hands up in surrender.
"I'm here, jeez, you barely give a guy a chance to get a glass of-"
"How is she?" I interrupted, not in the mood for his casual conduct.
"She's bruised all over. Nasty cut on her forehead. She needed three stitches and might have a minor concussion. She’s hanging in there and she's mostly worried about you."
"Me?" It seemed so absurd for me to be in her thoughts the slightest bit. I was the monster who did this to her. "Is she scared? Is she lonely?"
"Well yeah, Noah, she's unbelievably confused and generally traumatized. But her dad’s there for her and I told her that when you were better you would come and explain everything."
"WHAT?" I shouted. Milo stared at me blankly.
"Noah, she saw Benji transform and she hit you head on with her Audi but you're still alive to tell the tale. Don’t you think this is the time to fill her in?"
Before I could answer, Dr. Cain entered the room. As a vampire, his pale skin and grey eyes brought a shiver to my spine every time I saw him. Since my bones were currently in the process of healing back in place, the shiver was particularly painful.
He went about examining me and I clenched my jaw in discomfort. I hated that we had to call on him for his medical services, but the supernatural can’t be treated at regular hospitals and we also couldn’t risk Sophie waking up and being placed in the psych ward with her story of a boy turning into a wolf. I was grateful for that, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from finding him immensely creepy.
“You seem to be healing nicely,” he murmured, his cold hands lightly tracing over my ribs. I held back a wince at the chill.
“When can we remove the restraints?” I hated feeling imprisoned when Sophie was only a couple rooms away feeling scared and confused.
“Let’s give it the night,” he said decidedly, “It won’t be a comfortable sleep, but it will ensure the complete and proper healing of your body. You’ve been through quite an ordeal, you should consider yourself lu
cky.”
I didn’t. I wished as a shifter I didn’t heal so quickly and that I felt every broken bone as punishment for putting Sophie in so much danger.
As if on cue, Benji entered the room. His nose had been reset and both nostrils were plugged with bloody tissues.
“Have you only come to apologize now because he’s in restraints and can’t break your nose again?” Milo guessed. Benji shot him an angry look.
“No,” he said indignantly.
“I’ll leave you all alone,” Dr. Cain said, “Noah, I advise you try to get some sleep. I’ll come and check up on you throughout the night to administer pain medication if you need it.”
“It goes through me so quickly anyway it’s not necessary,” I disagreed, “I’d rather you spend the night looking after Sophie.”
He looked as if he was once again about to assert her healthy condition, but as I had ignored his words of encouragement all night it was clear it wouldn’t be of any use.
“Very well,” he said instead, leaving the room.
“Why doesn’t he float?” Benji asked, his voice still nasally. Milo snorted and punched his arm.
“Shut up, he can hear you. Ears of a bat, remember?”
“You guys are so immature,” I groaned, rolling my eyes. Secretly I also wondered what was fact or fiction when it came to vampires, particularly doctor vampires. Did he perform blood tests by tasting the samples himself?
“Noah, I’m really sorry,” Benji interrupted my thoughts, “I can’t shake the feeling that all of this is all my fault.”
“It is,” I insisted. Milo gave me a look and I took a deep breath, “I’m kidding. I’m the one who put Sophie in the most danger today. I know your shifting was unintentional.”
“I really thought I could control it this time.” Benji hung his head and Milo clapped a hand on his shoulder, playfully shaking him.
“No one can relate more than this guy right here. Back when Noah was fresh, he hated the whole idea of being a shifter. He rejected the entire lifestyle. Unfortunately, this gave him a lot of daily frustration that had him shifting constantly.”
Arrowed (Arrowed Series Book 1) Page 11