by Anya Nowlan
As the incident in the park showed, he obviously had some unresolved mental issues he needed help with. Maybe it would be a wake-up call.
“You’re right,” Karen agreed.
Eleven
Evan
After filing a report at the sheriff’s office, Evan dropped Karen off at his place and went to get her suitcase from Joe’s. He quickly filled Joe in on what had happened and told him that she wouldn’t be by for a while. He rushed back to his apartment, not wanting to leave her alone for more than was absolutely necessary.
Karen couldn’t stop shivering, so he wrapped her up in blankets and sat her down on the couch, turning on the TV.
“I’ll make you some tea,” Evan said. “Then maybe I’ll head down to Maisy’s and pick up some dinner.”
“That sounds good,” Karen whispered with a strained smile.
After a couple of minutes, Evan sat down next to her with two steaming mugs in his hands. Karen sipped hers slowly, her eyes glued to the TV, probably trying to get her mind off things by focusing on something else.
After a while, she started nodding off, her head resting on Evan’s shoulder. He gently pried the cup from her hands and lay her down on the couch.
Coming down from all the adrenaline, he thought.
He scrawled a little note on a piece of paper and left it on the coffee table in case Karen woke up while he was out getting food. He got his jacket and keys and snuck out of the apartment, locking the door behind him.
After ordering a couple of burgers to go, Evan sat at his usual booth, waiting. His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from Ethan.
Joe told me what happened. Is there anything we can do? his brother asked.
Part of Evan wanted to tell Ethan to back off and mind his own business and part of him was grateful for his concern. There had been two warring sides to Evan ever since their father died and Ethan took over.
You might have replaced dad as Alpha, but not as my father, the bitterness inside him had wanted to say many times.
He held his tongue, knowing it was the pain talking. Maybe he should have said something, instead of letting the distance grow between them.
I’ll let you know if I need anything, Evan typed back.
Maisy came over with a to-go bag.
“Here you are. You know, some fella was around earlier, said he was a friend of Karen’s. Did he manage to get hold of her?”
Evan’s blood ran cold.
Must’ve been Kyle, he thought.
“What did you tell him?” Evan demanded harshly, startling Maisy.
“I… I just said that by the description it must be Evan’s friend, staying at the Bluejay. Was I not supposed to say that?” Maisy rattled.
“Just don’t give out any more information to strangers, alright?” Evan spurted, annoyed. “Thanks for the food,” he added, making his way to the exit, leaving Maisy standing by the booth, taken aback.
Walking home, Evan started to feel bad about how he had left things with Maisy. She didn’t mean to put Karen in danger and was just trying to be helpful. It was unfair of him to be so curt with her, but the thought of Karen being in danger made him irrational.
When he got home, Karen was still asleep on the couch. He thought about waking her but decided against it. Better let her rest. Evan had barely settled in beside her, when there was a loud knock at the door. Karen jumped up, fervently scanning the room.
“It’s just someone at the door,” Evan reassured her.
If it’s Ethan butting into my life again, he better turn his ass right around.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Jamie Clearpond. Open up, we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Jamie. Go home,” Evan warned, hoping the man would take his advice.
Karen had had enough excitement for one day.
“Rita’s dead,” Jamie said matter-of-factly.
“What?” Evan coughed, the air knocked out of his lungs.
“You heard me. You gonna make me tell you how she died from the other side of a door?” Jamie responded.
“Hold on,” Evan said, making his way back to Karen.
“Oh my god. Who’s Rita?” Karen asked.
“A girl I used to date. Jamie, the guy at the door was hopelessly in love with her. Resented me for 'taking her away from him'. It’s been almost two years since we stopped seeing each other and she skipped town,” Evan explained, trying at the same time to figure out what he should do.
“Well you gotta let him in,” Karen insisted.
“You’ve been through enough today, I’ll get rid of him and –”
“You just found out your ex-girlfriend died! You’re owed some closure. Stop worrying about me, I can handle myself,” Karen wouldn’t relent. Evan sighed and went to open the door.
The ghost of girlfriends past, he mused grimly, trying to ignore the sinking, twisting feeling in his stomach.
Jamie walked past him without a word, plopping down on one of the armchairs in the living room. His eyes moved to Karen, sitting on the couch.
“Aren’t you gonna introduce me to your lady friend?” he asked, smirking. “Who did you steal this one from?”
“Leave her alone and say what you came to say,” Evan demanded, looming over Jamie, irritation boiling within him.
Jamie was a medium height man with dirty blonde hair and tired, gray eyes. He bared his teeth in a bitter smile, revealing canines a little longer than what one would consider usual.
“It’s too late for Rita, but you can make the right decision,” Jamie hissed, still addressing Karen.
“Enough!” Evan rumbled.
He was a second away from grabbing Jamie by the collar and throwing him out.
“Fine, fine. After you basically ran her out of town, Rita got into drugs. Got her some new lowlife boyfriend. An acquaintance contacted me last week, they found her overdosed in some sleazy motel room,” Jamie shot, venom dripping from his words.
“Last week? And you’re telling me now?” Evan asked, incredulous and wary.
“Well, I had to come up with a plan first.”
“A plan for what?”
“A plan to kill you, of course,” Jamie admitted, hatred burning in his eyes.
Something heavy crashed into Evan’s front door, making it splinter and crack. He could hear nails on wood, growls and teeth snapping. The door flew out into the hallway, a large man flanked by two wolves bursting through it. Karen screamed.
The bear inside Evan thrashed and bellowed, yearning to be released. The man let the animal’s rage spread across him but held back the shift. With so many opponents, he needed his speed more than the strength of a lumbering bear.
His fingers turned to claws, his teeth sharpening and growing, shoulders rippling and widening. In his periphery, Evan could see Karen inching towards her purse and slowly taking out her phone. The big guy snatched it out of her hands and smashed it with his boot.
The wolves charged at Evan, fangs bared. Without even thinking, he grabbed a chair from the kitchen and used it to knock the mutt with lighter fur back mid-air. The other managed to latch onto his arm. Evan roared in pain and used his free hand to rip the brown wolf off and throw him at the large stranger stalking towards him.
Evan glanced at the couch, but Karen was gone.
The white wolf stayed down, but the other was back on his feet, snarling, the fur on his back bristling. Jamie finally got up and joined his buddies, creating a half-circle around Evan, edging him towards the corner of the room. Evan was outnumbered.
If he went down, what would happen to Karen? Jamie’s beef was with him, but Evan wasn’t sure he wouldn’t hurt her out of spite.
The circle was closing in and Evan made a split-second decision. Jamie was the leader of the little gang, so Evan barreled towards him, grabbing and lifting him up before smashing him back first into the floor with all of his bodyweight.
The room shook.
Picture frames fell
from shelves and countertops, glass shattering everywhere. Evan got up as fast as he could while Jamie remained on the floor, eyes closed and groaning. The large man hesitated for a moment, torn between attacking Evan and helping Jamie. Evan used that opportunity to land an elbow strike straight to his face.
The man stumbled backwards, disoriented. As Evan steadied himself to charge again, the brown wolf crept up behind him and sank his teeth into Evan’s leg, shaking its head and tearing at his calf. Evan stumbled into the kitchen cabinet, dishes flying everywhere. Before he could do anything about the wolf clutching to him, a pained yelp erupted from the animal.
The jaws around his shin released.
Evan turned around to see Karen standing there, white in the face, her hands trembling. The wolf lay slack on the floor, a kitchen knife sticking out of his back. Evan turned his attention back to the strange man.
He was already in the hallway, dragging both Jamie and the white unconscious wolf towards the door. Evan grabbed a towel from the mess of a kitchen and sank onto the floor, wrapping it around his bloody arm. He could barely put any weight on his right leg, so pursuing the attackers was out of the question.
Karen rushed to his side, tears streaming down her face.
“Are you okay? I’m going to call an ambulance,” she stuttered, standing up.
Evan grabbed her arm.
“No, just bring me my phone. This is clan business. I need to call Ethan,” he grunted, growing woozy from the blood loss.
One of the bites had probably nicked an artery.
“You’re hurt! I’m calling you an ambulance!”
“Please, just call my brother,” Evan mumbled, drifting out of consciousness.
Twelve
Karen
Karen ran to the hallway, frantically searching the pockets of Evan’s leather jacket for his cellphone. She scrolled down in his contacts, finding Ethan’s number. After just two rings, a deep male voice answered.
“Brother, I’m glad you –”
“Evan’s hurt, please help,” Karen cut him off, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating.
She could hear Ethan shouting commands to someone in the distance.
“Stay calm, I’m on my way. What happened?” Ethan’s tone had been jovial at first, but now turned to business.
“Oh god, there’s so much blood, I need to call an ambulance!” Karen stammered, terrified.
“Doctors can’t help him, not in the way we can. Try to calm down, I’m already in the car and on my way. I’ll stay on the phone with you.”
Karen took some deep breaths and made her way back to Evan’s side, stepping over pieces of wood and glass. His breathing was steady, but he was still unconscious.
“It’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna be okay,” Karen whispered, grabbing another towel from the kitchen and using it to put pressure on the bleeding wound on his leg.
Ethan kept talking to her on the phone, saying how Evan was strong and how help was getting closer.
It seemed like hours but had probably been minutes when Ethan rushed through the door. He knelt down next to Karen, assessing Evan’s wounds.
“It seems he’s lost a lot of blood. But don’t worry, he’s gonna be okay. Jen, my wife, has already called some of the guys, they should be here any minute,” he assured her, looking more concerned at Karen’s disheveled state than at Evan bleeding all over the floor.
Except… he wasn’t bleeding anymore. The wounds had already started to clot over, the blood flow stopping.
Karen’s mouth opened, questions flying through her mind. She was cut off by two men bursting in, stopping just short of where she and Ethan were crouched over Evan. They sniffed the air, snarling.
“Dirty Clearpond mutts,” the taller one growled. “We should go track them down,” he continued, already turning towards what was left of the door.
“I would love to rip into them, but our brother needs us right now,” Ethan said sternly, stopping the man in his tracks.
“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Karen finally all but shouted.
“Shifters heal faster than humans, especially when they are surrounded by their kind. His wounds are already closing, probably thanks to the fact that you have been by his side all this time,” Ethan explained, simultaneously gesturing to the two other men to come closer.
Karen’s mind was going a million miles a minute.
“I’m not a shifter, what help could I be?”
“You’re the one he loves, the one who’s meant for him. That’s some powerful stuff,” the shorter man affirmed, a slight smile on his face.
Karen faced him, raising a brow in a way that said, “And who the hell are you?”
The man cleared his throat and spoke up.
“I’m Jameson and this here,” he said, waving a hand towards the tall man Karen already recognized from the pictures around Evan’s apartment, “is Everett, one of Evan’s brothers.”
Just then, Evan groaned softly, his eyes fluttering open.
“We’re here, you’re going to be okay,” Karen whispered to him, clutching his hand in hers.
“This place is a mess and we don’t know if they intend to come back to finish the job. You should stay with us,” Ethan cautioned, looking around the battlefield of an apartment.
“Should he be moved?”
“Don’t worry, Evan’s taken beatings a lot worse than this,” Everett grinned.
“I’m feeling better already,” Evan said, propping himself up on his elbows and smiling at Karen.
Jameson and Everett half-carried Evan to Ethan’s car, laying him down on the backseat. They had their own ride and said they would see Karen, Evan and Ethan at Ethan’s place. Karen sat in the passenger seat, glancing back at Evan every few minutes to make sure he was alright.
He is going to be fine, she chanted to herself.
Karen hadn’t really taken the time to explore her feelings towards Evan. Of course there was an undeniable attraction between them, but it was more than that. Karen hadn’t allowed herself to admit it, because relationships are difficult and take hard work and she just wanted a break from tough decisions and challenges.
Evan was a truly good man, caring and protective, honest and kind, and exciting and dangerous in a good way. She trusted him completely. He felt like home. Thinking of him bleeding and hurt was unbearable. It felt like her heart had been put in a vice.
Ethan’s house was a cozy two-story family home outside of town. Ethan propped his brother up, supporting him with his shoulder. Karen held the door open for them. Once inside, they were greeted by a beautiful blond lady who guided the brothers to what Karen guessed to be the guest bedroom. Ethan started taking off Evan’s bloody clothes while the woman nudged Karen back towards the living room.
“I know you’re worried, I promise you, I’ve been there,” she reassured her kindly. “He is safe now. He’s going to be just fine. Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”
Karen looked down at her hands, caked with dried blood and nodded.
“I’m Jennifer, by the way, Ethan’s wife,” she said, leading the way to the bathroom.
“I’m Karen, Evan’s… friend,” Karen hesitated.
“I’m sure you’re more than that,” Jennifer retorted with a knowing smile.
Once Karen had been cleaned up, Jennifer sat her down on the living room couch. Everett and Jameson had already arrived, sitting in the kitchen and discussing something in hushed voices. Karen noticed toys scattered on the floor and realized there were probably kids sleeping upstairs.
Ethan emerged from the bedroom and sat down next to Jennifer, kissing her forehead and pulling her close.
“He’s resting,” he said quietly. “Are you ready to talk about what happened?” he asked, turning towards Karen.
“A man came to the door, said his name was Jamie. Told Evan they needed to talk, that someone called Rita had died. Evan told me it was his ex so I said he should let him in… He was clearly an
gry, blamed Evan for the woman’s death, I think. Then some huge dude bust through the door with two wolves and they attacked Evan,” Karen tried to summarize everything that had happened.
“Rita is dead?” Ethan raised a brow, glancing at Jameson.
“But I don’t understand,” Karen said, thinking aloud. “Why does Jamie blame Evan? He said himself that she died of an overdose.”
“Did Evan tell you why he and Rita broke up?”
“Wasn’t really a good time for a heart to heart,” Karen remarked, maybe a bit more snarky than she had intended.
Ethan chuckled. “Evan caught her sleeping around with one of his best friends,” disapproval clear in his tone.
“Evan cut ties with both of them. Somehow, the story got out. Half of the town was gossiping about it. Rita was mortified, shunned. She got into drugs. Last I heard, she skipped town. That was about two years ago,” Ethan explained, staring into the distance.
Is that the hurt in Evan’s past Joe mentioned? Karen thought, mulling over the information.
So they both had bad relationships that had come back to haunt them.
That’s probably why Evan hasn’t been snatched up yet. What happened with Rita must’ve made him cautious to open up again.
But he had with Karen, while she kept herself back due to fear. In that moment, she felt terrible.
“I’m guessing you boys are staying around? I’ll make up the couch,” Jennifer said, addressing Everett and Jameson.
The men nodded. Karen got up, anxious to get back to Evan.
“Up and at ‘em early tomorrow?” Ethan proclaimed, throwing Everett and Jameson a knowing look.
The men grinned in response, Everett even rubbing his hands together. The room filled with predatory expectation. Karen felt like a lamb in a lion’s den.
Wouldn’t want to get on their bad side, she thought.
Thirteen
Evan
Evan opened his eyes, scanning the room around him in confusion. It took him a couple of seconds to realize he was at Ethan’s place.
