Furry Humans | ✓

49.

↠C h a p t e r F o r t y- N i n e↞
BROKEN FAÇADE

❝bitter are the wars between brothers.❞

♦ ° ♦ ° ♦

Mid-day rolls around, Stella, Samantha and I move to the living room, officially starting the day with watching shows to occupy our time. I don't remember the last time I was able to sit down and just watch television, flickers of images would cross my sight as I recall a time Mom, Dad, Mason and I stayed in on a weeknight and bundled up on the couch: enjoying each other's presence.

The image was short and hazy yet it didn't stop that sharp, expected pain shooting to the center of my heart. Xavier came down shortly after I had taken the pills and he couldn't keep his hands to himself, last night seemed to lift whatever he was feeling as well, the smile not too far from his face. He wrapped me in his arms as he sat in the single chair with me pressed against his chest on his lap, floating in his affection.

Then again, every happy moment can't last when I'm involved.

The sound of footsteps approaching the entrance gathers my attention from the screen to look over and see Logan entering the room with Dylan, Mason, Susan, Justin, and Riley, all wearing the same expression; seriousness. I'm alert in an instant, the muscles in my body tensing as I watch Logan move to the front of the room, in front of the television, something in his hand.

Xavier feels my body tense against his and squeezes my hand within his as he turns his attention to his Dad. The television was turned off and nothing but silence now filled the room.

"You all know what went down a few days ago, correct?" Logan speaks with authority.

"Yes, Alpha."

I look off to the side, sighing through my nose, Xavier rubbing small circles on the inside of my palm to try and call down the beating of my heart. This is what I dreaded the most, talking and reliving exactly what I wanted to escape from.

"As far as we know, there are no further clues that can lead us to the attack besides one," he tosses something on the coffee table that resonates a clinking sound.

I can feel Xavier's body tense beneath mine sparking my interest, the air shifted, molecules bunching together and creating a tension that sat in the air. My gaze finds everyone's faces before I turn to look at the object on the table.

My blood runs cold as the arrow that haunts my dreams sits a couple of feet away, the tip still splattered with small amounts of blood, all but bringing me back to the depths I had once crawled from. I quickly turn away, breathing heavily before the images could rise, I suppress the whimpers that want to escape.

"That's a dïck move, Dad," Xavier growls.

"Look," Logan sighs, "this is the only piece of evidence we have at even getting a step closer to finding out who killed Noah and what brought those wolves to our location."

I swallow thickly, building enough courage to even turn my head, not looking at the arrow but everyone's expression that crosses their faces. Samantha met my gaze and her eyes spoke a question to which I nodded my reassurance to before I skipped over her and looked among the others but anywhere towards the table. I was momentarily distracted when I stared at Susan, her expression unlike the others as she stared in the direction, I drowned out Logan as he began to speak about the matter, everyone putting in their own inputs.

Her face was void of any emotion, the air around her shifting from the timid, scared one she usually has to her to a darker, dangerous one. From the corner of my eye, Logan lifts the arrow and holds it out in front of him, lips moving soundlessly as I continue to watch Susan.