Fatal

*Anna’s P.O.V*

I sing along to the radio while Alex rolls his eyes. I actually have a really good singing voice and have been playing the guitar since I was ten.

My brother was driving me to the airport, and then flying to Manhattan with me. Mom and Dad wanted to come, but as my father was the Beta of our pack, they rarely get time off for such events.

Alex was tall for his age (when he's not in wolf form. I'm bigger than him then, why, I don't know), he has close-cropped brown locks and I have long, wavy brown hair that tumbles down my back. But we both have the same startling light blue eyes.

I was sitting in the passenger seat of our old Toyota, staring at the window and making a mental list of everything I’d miss from the packhouse.

So far it had four items.

1. My mom and dad, were super supportive of me when I wanted to move away for college. Even though Manhattan has no good places to shift.

2. Alex, my amazing brother who I loved and trusted with my whole heart.

3. My basketball team. I love basketball and all my friends on the team.

4. My entire Black Ridge pack. They were my family and I'd probably not survive without them.

Okay, and maybe I’d miss our big packhouse. I’d definitely miss my big bedroom. And I’d miss my huge bookshelf of books...

I willed my tears to vanish and told my brain to stop thinking of things from home.

I was sure moving away from here to go to college was the best thing to do. But I still wished that things had somehow turned out differently.

“Anna, you’ll be fine. After all, you get to go live with Aunt Em and Uncle Mason. Plus Jake when he visits. And don't forget Addie,” Alex said, squeezing my hand. I blinked back my tears and nodded.

“Annnd, Claire,” he added. I rolled my watery blue eyes. Claire was my best friend and had moved to Manhattan a few months ago to start college early. I'm pretty sure those two are mates but we can't be sure until Claire's nineteenth birthday, which was in a month, and Alex's (and mine) nineteenth birthday, which was in three weeks.

“I know,” I sniffed, “It’s just that I’ll miss you guys so much,”

“We’ll miss you too. But there are weekends, and vacations, and cars and planes,”

I scoffed "Plus you can, you know, run,"

We can run faster. My wolf Leya muttered. I could feel her pacing around. We hadn't had a good run in a while.

"What would people think, seeing a wolf run down I-95?"

I smiled. Alex always knew how to cheer me up.

We reached the airport, and I grabbed my bags out of the trunk. I walked inside, with Alex right next to me.

***

After checking in, we sat on a bench by the boarding gate. The plane was supposed to depart in an hour.

“I’m hungry,” I whined.

“Sometimes I swear you act like a four-year-old,” Alex grumbled, but he was already getting up.

“Two slices of pizza, one with mustard sauce and Italian sausage, one with pizza sauce and cheese. And a lemonade, and something for you,” I requested, smiling.

He rolled his eyes and walked away.

I heard my phone ring in my pocket. I pulled it out and answered without looking at the caller ID. Yeah, yeah, very stupid of me.

“OmigodAnnaareyoualmosthereI’vebeenwaitingforever!” Claire gushes. I just try and hold my laugh back. Over the years, I had gotten good at speaking the language of Claire Lavange.

“I can feel you smiling,” Claire complains, slowing down her speak.

“Maybe I am,” I say.

My family really knows how to cheer me up.

I try to listen to her plans about what we are going to do when I reach Manhattan, but my mind wandered.

“You’re going to try out for the basketball team at school, right?” Claire asks, snapping me back to attention.

“Yes. Yeah, I am,” I say, and as I say it I know it’s true. I can’t live without basketball.

“Great. They have two new spots on the team because two people quit,”

I smiled and thanked her. I saw Alex coming back with my food, so I said goodbye to Claire.

“They didn’t have your pizza so I just got you a burger and some fries,” I groaned.

“Airport food,” We said at the same time and laughed. I grabbed my large lemonade out of his hands and took a giant sip.

Do we have to get on the plane? Leya whined.

"The sooner we get on the sooner we land and can go for a run," I told her.

The things I do for you. She sighed. I rolled my eyes internally.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered aloud.

"Flight 23, Manhattan, boarding now," The attendant says.

***

Alex and I stepped off the plane. Aunt Em and Uncle Mason's house was within walking distance, so we decided to walk. Alex came with me, as his flight home didn't leave for another day.

We walked towards the house. Em and Mason belonged to some pack that lived in Manhattan, (why they would choose a crowded city is beyond my understanding), but they chose to live in an apartment because the pack put most of their land towards training, so there wasn't much room for houses.

Every day they would walk or drive the distance to the packhouse to train. Usually, they would leave Addie with a babysitter, but because I'm moving in, I'll take over half of that.

I love Addie. Leya purred. I nodded in agreement. My baby cousin Addison was only two years old and was the cutest baby ever.

Alex rang the doorbell and I was snapped out of my thoughts, realizing that we were already here.

This has happened a lot... are you okay? Leya asks.

"I'll be fine..." I internally reply. I can feel her rolling her eyes.

"ANNA!!" Aunt Em shouts when she opens the door. I laugh.

"Hey, Aunt Em," I say. Alex just rolls his eyes.

"What am I, raw liver?" he asks. She pulls us in for a hug.

"So, tell me, have you found mates yet?"

I laugh again. "Em, you know we aren't nineteen yet,"

"I know, I know," She shakes her head, "Well, come on in,"