Cornered

“I-I can’t…” Lita’s heart raced, “I-I don’t…” *One. Two. Three. Four. Five.* She needed to calm down. Lita could feel the hot prickles of sweat on the back of her neck, anger growing in her. Why did she always feel this way?

“Yes you can,” Cole insisted, helping her up to her feet, “You need to tell me so I can keep you safe, okay?” She wanted to lash out, hit him, scratch him, *scream*. Her throat tightened, which only meant one thing: she needed her medication. Her emotions were getting the best of her. But she didn’t know where her pills were.

Taking deep breaths and holding them for five seconds, Lita tried to slow her heart rate. She shook her head, *no*, she couldn’t tell them. She shouldn’t tell them. It went against everything she kept telling herself this whole time. Telling them about her family, and therefore James, was opening too many doors that needed to stay closed. She’d admitted too much already.

And in exchange, they just kept asking for more information, not explaining what anything meant. Did they mean Alpha like a pack system? Like Cole was their leader? But then, it didn’t make sense because her mother wasn’t a leader, was she? But if she had an Alpha tone, something she could use against Lita that would override her sense, then she had to be an Alpha right? How else had her mother controlled her like that? Could Brian do it too? Lita thought about how many times he’d taken the fight out of her, made her completely submissive no matter how hot her anger had burned. She’d never understood why she didn’t fight back. Lita swore she was a coward. Someone who could only fight when it didn’t matter. But what if he’d been bending her will like Diane?

The group began talking, posing different possibilities for where Lita was from. Listing reasons why her mother would use an Alpha tone and what that meant for Lita.

“Just wait, everybody calm down, just…” Lita said, stumbling to her feet until she pushed away from the group. Cole reluctantly released her waist as she turned her back on them to clear her mind. “Give me a second, please.”

There was too much going on inside her body. She felt desperate, cornered as her palms began to sweat. Cornered by the group’s questions, cornered because her mother knew what happened, which meant Brian knew. She shivered, what if he got his hands on her again?

“Well, if you’re not going to tell us your name,” Brody growled, “Maybe you can at least explain this photo I found in your SUV?” He pulled the folded photo out of his jacket pocket and flattened it open against his chest. Lita’s heart immediately froze. Now she was really cornered. The choice to tell the truth wasn’t even her own anymore. Like always, her choice had been stolen from her. Had anything really changed if she was still being bullied into everything other people wanted from her?

“Why do you have a picture of all of us?” Stace asked, grabbing the photo from Brody and flipping it over, “Oh my god. This was James’ copy. I remember writing his name right here… on the first day we opened the gym.” Lita turned back to her friend, watching the immense sadness that took over her face. And Lita felt it too. The loss that never seemed to lessen. Her big brother dying while trying to protect her.

“Are you actually some type of sick psycho fan?!” she said harshly, tears in her eyes like she was genuinely hurt by James’ photo. The two were obviously close. Had they been together? The way Stace pranced about around the other men, it had never occurred to Lita that Stace might have had something more with James.

“ANSWER ME?!” Stace yelled.

“C’mon Stace, calm down,” Cole stood between the two women, putting his hands up though Lita could see his muscles bunching with tension. “I’m sure she has a good reason…” He didn’t sound sure at all.

“NO! Just ‘cause she’s your mate doesn’t mean she’s innocent! How else does she have this?!”

He growled harshly, “Stace!” It was more like a sharp bark, one that sent chills down Lita’s spine.

Lita’s panicked mind knew she needed to clear things up, but she wasn’t sure it would help. It could even make it worse. James always wanted her to stand up for herself. And she tried, she really did, but the last time she tried, well, she was still covered in bruises from the last time she tried. It could go badly again. If people were using some kind of power to control her, did Cole have that same power? Would he use it next? She needed to weigh her options quickly.

Even knowing that more and more of her private life was becoming public within the group, her old anxieties still had a hold. She wasn’t supposed to tell these people who she was or how she knew James! Why? Because if they knew who she was, they could use it against her, exploit her powerful family. The more she thought about that, the more ridiculous it seemed. These were good people, even when they didn’t take her seriously, they were never cruel. They hadn’t needed to intervene in her life but they did it anyway. She didn’t think they would use her… And if Cole really owned this whole industrial park, he had to have his own money, right? It seemed he actually preferred the more industrial, worn in look of his gym. And if James had been his business partner, he was used to being around someone with money. Someone with her name’s legacy. So, no, that wasn’t a valid reason.

What was another anxiety? That they would find out about James being her brother and hate her for it. That, too, didn’t seem likely. The more time she’d spent with them, the more she’d realized that their disdain was for people who were attempting to use his memory to their advantage. They gave every sign of having cared for him the same way she did. Likely, if they knew, they would sympathize with her. But that was another issue altogether. Did she really want her only friends walking around feeling bad for her? She looked at Stace once more and how the hurt seemed to crush her friend’s spirit. She knew what that felt like. And the anger burning in her eyes? Lita knew that too.

And the last reason she didn’t want to say? That one ran the deepest. She was scared it would get back to Brian and her parents that she was trying to get stronger. The way she seemed to fold to their will’s every time Brian or her mother told her to do something left her feeling low. She couldn’t fight back and she couldn’t say no, not to them. That was the whole reason she wanted to join the gym. Get stronger so she could start saying no. So she could rip that fucking contract up in their faces. And hell, that ship already sailed. Her mother knew *something* was up, and Brian did too. She couldn’t go back now. These people were now her only hope.

“Come on Lita, tell her it’s not what she thinks,” Alex insisted, trying to take her side, though not sounding too convinced himself. He’d always thought she was a psycho fan. Seeing him try to stick up for her, made Lita’s eyes tear up.

“He’s my… sorry, he *was* my,” Lita paused, rubbing the center of her chest as the pain returned, “brother.” The tears were involuntary, streaking down her face in thick little streams. It was as if she’d finally uncorked all the feelings she’d been bottling up all this time. All her pain suddenly crashed down on top of her and there was no air anywhere.

“Wh-wait- you’re the little sister?” Stace turned pale, her face softening as she looked back at Lita, who was now hunched over. “I’m so sorry. Moon above, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. I didn’t— I never saw a picture of you. He was so private about his family, Lita. I never put the pieces together.” Suddenly, her arms wrapped around Lita and she pulled her up into the tightest hug.

“Sister….” Alex mumbled, “The one he always talked about. There’s no resemblance—” Cole and he shared a look. They would figure the rest out later. Not in front of her.

“The human sister, unlucky enough to be born in a wolf pack,” Cole added, shaking his head, “He was always fighting with his parents about you. He wanted you to be told about this world. Wolf or not, you had a right to know about where you really come from.”

Brody scratched his jaw, “I feel like an asshole.”

“I-I’m s-sorry I-I didn’t s-say anything,” Lita wheezed, “It just h-hurts too m-much to talk about.”

“In your chest?” Stace asked quietly, still holding her tight. Lita nodded.

“And you feel like you can’t eat or sleep? Like your universe has just disappeared and you have nothing left? No motivation?” Lita nodded again, crying harder into Stace’s shoulder.

“That’s what it’s like when you lose your pack. The thing they never mention about wolves who become rogues,” she soothed, running her hands down Lita’s hair, “If your parents always kept you separate, then you couldn’t find comfort in them. But keeping you from the wolf world doesn’t keep you from having wolf blood. Just because the gene didn’t manifest in you doesn’t change that. You’re obviously more like us than your parents think.”

Stace pulled back to look at her, “And your mother probably hoped you would find a new pack in Brian. But when that didn’t happen, your depression only got worse, didn’t it?”

Lita didn’t say anything, just continuing to cry. Her mind couldn’t process what she was hearing yet but soon, she would put the pieces together.

“I always wondered why it seemed like your spirit bounced back so quickly when you started training with us. You *needed* a pack. And thank the moon goddess you found one, even though you didn’t know it.”

“Sorry to interrupt, BUT, she’s a Dillard? As in THE Dillards? As in the Betas of one of the wealthiest wolf packs in America?! The Beta couple to the ruler of the east coast?” Andres cut in, pacing, throwing his hands up. “We are in such deep shit. Such deep shit! No wonder they know who took her… this is not good Alpha…”

“We’ve got surprise on our side,” Alex insisted. “They don’t know where we are. James assured us no one outside of the circle knew about this place.”

“You think they can’t track down old bunnies? Old members? Fighters who had visited?” Andres snapped. “This place isn’t going to stay a secret for long. Money like that makes hiding impossible.”

“Money…” Lita muttered, “I have to finish moving my money. They’ll freeze my inheritance when I don’t get on that flight. I have to move it first.”

“Done,” Cole said, “We’ll help you get the money moved. You’ve got a few hours before they’ll know something is wrong. Your mother will expect you to be under her tone, she won’t worry until then.”

“That’s not what I want to know though,” Cole grumbled, walking off back towards the house, “Bring her back inside, Stace, I want to know why another Alpha wants a human for a mate.”