"You're going the wrong way, Uncle Max!" I laughed, shaking my head, pointing down a little country lane as we went shooting past it.

"Oops," my Uncle laughed, slowing down the car, waving my disagreement away. "We can just loop round."

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day; the hottest day of the year so far, rays of sunlight burning down on the windscreen of the car, creating a glare in the corner of my eye.

"What time did your Dad say dinner was, kiddo?"

"Umm, six o'clock, and he's making chicken nuggets so we better not be late!" I yelled, laughing.

"We'll make it once this idiot moves out of the way," growled my Uncle playfully, beeping his horn at the black SUV in front of us, the car completely blocking the lane as it came to a standstill.

"Why is he stopped?" I wondered, causing my Uncle to shrug, beeping his horn again.

After a few more seconds, the dark SUV pulled away speedily, racing off down a sharp bend, disappearing out of sight.

"I hate when people go on their phones when driving. They're never paying attention." said Uncle Max, looking over at me with squinted eyes. "You better not do it once you start driving, kiddo."

"When I shift I won't need to drive anyway. Plus, I'll be a fighter, so I'll be super fast!" I said, kicking my legs excitedly, causing my Uncle to laugh.

"And you'll be the best one out there!"

"Yep! No one will want to mess with me!"

Suddenly, a horn blared from behind us, and Uncle Max swore under his breath, shaking his head, looking into the wing mirror.

I followed his actions, noticing the same large SUV from earlier on our tail end, the anger gesturing angrily.

"How did that idiot get behind us?" mumbled my Uncle, growling under his breath.

Again, the SUV honked, quickly over taking us down the narrow lane, nearly pushing us into the near side forestry.

"What are you doing you dumb fuck?!" yelled my Uncle out of the window, causing me to cringe at his harsh language, my heart rate starting to quicken as we skidded to a stop, my Uncle nearly losing control of the car, leaving it in the middle of the road, facing sideways instead of forwards.

"Jared, you okay?" panicked my Uncle as he looked over at me, giving me a quick look up and down.

I nodded vigorously, my hands shaking from the near crash, feeling relieved we hadn't been send flying into the bushes.

Suddenly, I gasped to myself as the SUV spun around quickly at the top of the road, the driver revving the engine as he began to accelerate towards us, his tyres hitting spinning against the gravel, sending small stones flying up into the air.

"Uncle Max, what is he doing?!" I yelled, as I panicked, my shaking hands attempting to unbuckle my seat belt, but I couldn't take my eyes off the large car hurtling towards my side of the car, his speed increasing rapidly by the second.

"No! Jared!" boomed my Uncle, realising that there was no time for me to move, quickly leaping out the car, shifting into his large black wolf, smashing through the windscreen, and moving so he was standing in front of the passenger side door.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled , tears streaming down my face as I watched my Uncle's wolf brace himself for the impact, my sweaty hands finally unbuckling my seatbelt in an attempt to jump out of the car, but there was no time.

A scream left my mouth as the SUV came into contact with us, the driver leaping out of the window just before he barrelled into us, landing on the stone floor with a thud. A deafening crashing sound met my ears as our car took the heavy blow, being launched up high into the air, the wind rushing past my ears rapidly, causing them to sting.

I was thrown around inside the car, my body bouncing off the walls like a pinball, causing excruciating pain to plough through my body, blood gushing out of my nose as I landed on the ground, hitting it with a loud smack, agony surging though me.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes, adrenaline surging though me as I attempted to focus my blurry vision on my surroundings, eventually noticing I was now out of the car, laying on the ground, the mangled up metal right next to me, almost crushing me.

Attempting to push myself up off the ground, I grunted as I struggled to move, my lower half completely numb, my legs tangled into a bloody mess, causing me to scream out in shock.

"Uncle Max!" I yelled as I bawled with tears, noticing his lifeless wolf laying on the ground next to the now smashed up SUV, the scene causing horror to surge through me.

Blood seeped from his fur, pooling beneath him, quickly tainting the gravel on the ground.

"Uncle Max!" I yelled, my voice cracking as I choked on my own blood, wiping at my gushing nose.

Terror overcame me as I attempted to drag myself across the ground towards my Uncle, grunting in pain as my body grazed against the stones painfully, cutting my already battered body.

"No! You have to wake up!" I weeped in fear as I reached him, clutching onto his fur, burying my face into it, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Wake up, Uncle Max! Please don't be dead!"

Please...

Don't...

Be...

Dead...

Please...

Don't...

Be...

Dead...

Please...

Don't...

Be...

Dead...

I shot up aggressively, my body drenched in sweat and my breathing heavy, the same words echoing through my mind again and again, causing my heart to beat against my ribs frenziedly.

"Fuck," I mumbled to myself as I ran my shaking hands through my wet hair, attempting to calm my breathing down.

Gazing around the dark room, I sighed, shaking my head. I hadn't had a dream about that day for a while, but all of the stress involving my mate was messing with my heart, bringing everything back to the surface.

I thought back to my younger self; a young child who had to watch his Uncle be wickedly murdered right in front of him. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have died that day, his wolf taking part of the hit.

I couldn't help but think it may have been better if I had actually died that day. I wouldn't be paralysed, and my family wouldn't have to deal with me. Nobody would. Including my own mate.

Giving up on going back to sleep, I shifted myself across the side of the bed using the strength in my arms, settling myself into my wheelchair, pushing myself down the corridor, entering the living room.

My eyes widened as I saw a figure on the couch move, but I quickly relaxed once I noticed it was Dylan.

After my argument with Amelia, Dylan had allowed me to stay the night at his, which I was more than grateful for, although he didn't know all the details, and thankfully, didn't ask.

"Can't sleep either?" I chuckled quietly, causing Dylan to smile sadly.

"Clara won't stop talking to herself in her sleep."

"Talking to herself?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

"Yeah, stuff about the baby, and Alpha Paul. Every time I wake her up, she goes right back to saying it all as soon as she falls asleep again, and then it turns to screaming."

"Oh shit," I sigh, rubbing at my stubbly jawline, feeling worried for my sister. I didn't know how she was going to get over everything, and I was scared she would never escape this constant circle of misery she was in.

"What about you? Why couldn't you sleep?" questioned Dylan, causing me to shrug.

"I just drank too much coffee," I lied, swallowing as the painful memory was brought back once again, my heart beginning to palpitate.

"The move is tomorrow. How do you feel about living here full time?"

I laughed, running my hands through my tousled mess on top of my head. "I don't know, man. Either way, I'll be in a pack with Amelia, and I just have a feeling it's not going to end well."

Dylan hummed in agreement, sighing. "I'm sorry about her, man. You don't deserve it."

"Dylan," I whispered, intaking a shaky breath. "I don't think I can stay here if she's here."

Dylan didn't respond, instead, he just nodded to himself in agreement.

"If she decides she can't do this with me, seeing her everyday will be too painful. I wouldn't be able to do it."

"I was afraid you would say that," sighed Dylan, running his hand down his face.

"I know it would break Clara's heart if I left, but I just wouldn't be able to cope."

"No, I know. I get it, and if you do decide to leave, I'm sure Clara would understand you'd be doing it for you."

"We'll have to see," I huffed, laughing to myself. "My life really has just been one big mess. I just need a break."

Dylan laughed along with me, but his face held pity, and I knew he didn't know what to say, because there really was nothing he could do.

"I could always..." he mumbled, scratching as his stubble.

"You could always what?"

"I mean, I could always ask Amelia to leave," he suggested, looking at me with an unsure expression, knowing full well it wouldn't be a fair thing to do.

"I wouldn't expect you to do that, Dylan. This is her home. She shouldn't be kicked out of the pack just because she decided to reject me."

"This is your home too though, Jared."

I nodded, sighing. "I know."

Suddenly, we both jumped out of our skin as a loud scream echoed from upstairs, and I grimaced, knowing it was Clara having yet another nightmare.

I watched as Dylan leapt up from the couch, quickly exiting the living room, making his way up the stairs as quickly as he could, and I felt a tinge of jealousy at how much he cared for her.

He would do anything for my sister, and I admired that. She was his entire world, and he was hers. They completed each other, and without one another, they were lost.

I only wished I could have the same one day...

...................................................................

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