Chapter 3 Fear

Maureen's POV

'Should I wait with you till he arrives?' Lucia asked me after one hour of waiting for Lance.

It was our routine. He came to my school to take me home every day and any day he couldn't come he would call me. I have tried calling him several times but he would not pick up.

'Will you try to call him again?' Lucia asked. I knew she was impatient to get home. Her father was off duty that day and she wanted to spend time with him.

'I have called him several times but he wouldn't pick, what makes you think he would pick now?' I snapped at Lucia.

'Hey, don't take it out on me, Maureen. I am only trying to show concern,' Lucia said surprised at my behaviour.

I realized what I had just done and apologized,' I am sorry, Lucia, it's just that he has been acting weird since his birthday,' I sighed sadly.

Something suddenly occurred to me.' You know what Lucia, give me your phone.'

'What are you going to do with it?' Lucia asked looking at me suspiciously.

Despite her reservation, she handed me the phone. I called Lance's number on her phone, put it on speaker, and pushed the phone on her to speak to him. Lance picked up almost immediately after it started ringing.

'Hello.' Lance's sleepy voice answered from the other side. I breathed a sigh of relief that he was fine. Why then was he not picking up my calls?

'Em, em hello Lance,' Lucia said looking lost for words. I signaled for her to ask him about picking me up at school.

'Hello, are you there Lucia, is everything ok?' Lance asked, his voice seemingly losing its sleepiness. Lucia's silence must have made him wonder if something was wrong.

'Yeah, everything is fine. I was just wondering if you would be coming for Maureen or if you would be sending Dominus,' Lucia rushed everything in one breath.

There was a long pause on Lance's side. 'Are you there?' Lucia asked not sure of what to make of his silence. I looked at the phone intensely as if I could see Lance by staring at it.

'Yes, I am here. Are you with her right now?' Lance asked. I shook my head telling Lucia to say no.

'No. I left her believing you would be there,' Lucia gritted her teeth. Lucia was all sorts of trouble rolled into one person but lying was not her thing especially not to her crush.

'She is no longer a child Lucia, she can take care of herself,' Lance's words broke my already hurting heart to a thousand pieces.

I looked back at Lucia with tears in my eyes. She looked sorry for me. I didn't want her to feel bad and spoil her time with her father so I tried hiding my pain and smiled at her but she wasn't fooled.

'When did your baby suddenly become so grown up? Because you turned eighteen?' Lucia got back to her normal self and decided to question Lance.

'You won't understand Lucia. There is a lot I am trying to process right now,' Lance sighed from the other side.

'Maureen has been calling your number all day but you are not picking,' Lucia accused him.

'Tell her to get herself home or better still sleep in school if she wants.'

'Tell her yourself I am not with her.' Lucia and I were surprised by what he said.

'You really underestimate me, Lucia. Have you forgotten that I have my wolf now? I heard two people breathing on the phone.'

'What!' Lucia and I said together forgetting the fact that we didn't want him to know I was there.

'My ears are four times sharper now than before as well as my sight. Imagine your sight better than what it already is now,' Lance explained further.

'Lance,' I called his name with a trembling voice.

'See you around Lucia,' Lance said and cut the call pretending not to have heard me call him.

I looked at Lucia with tears rolling down my eyes. I did not understand what he was doing or why he was doing it to me.

'Why is Lance treating me this way, Lucia?' I asked crying bitterly.

Lucia hugged me and patted me on the back gently.

'It's ok Maureen, don't take it to heart. He said he is going through a lot. Why don't you give him some time to adjust.'

'He is not the first person to get his wolf. Why then is he behaving like this?'

'True, he is not the first person to get their wolf but how many Beta wolves have you met in this lifetime?' Lucia asked.

I shook my head indicating none. Lucia smiled at me, she wrapped her hands around my shoulder and urged me towards the school entrance.

We walked in companionable silence till we got to the bus station and sat down waiting for the bus.

'I thought about something just now,' Lucia started a conversation to break the silence. 'I am thinking that you should try talking to Lance.'

'I tried talking to him yesterday,' I said stubbornly.

'Don't be hard-headed Maureen.'

'I am not being hard-headed, I do not like the way he is pushing me away,' I said close to tears again.

'He might just need somebody to talk to. Maybe then he can stop behaving this way.'

'I will try Lucia. I am his sister, we are closer than most siblings. I expect that if anything is bothering him, he should be able to talk to me.'

'Have you thought maybe he may not want to bother you with whatever he is going through?'

'Who then will he bother with it?'

'I am sure he will confide in Dominus now and then. You know boys and their ways,' Lucia said looking thoughtful.

'What is going on in your head?' I asked rolling my eyes. I know her too well not to recognize that look in her eyes.

'I am thinking maybe...' she suddenly stopped and shook her head lightly before she continued. 'You know what? forget about it.'

'Out with it Lucia, you know I would not let go, so just say whatever it is already.'

'I am just thinking of something. Is it possible that Lance is terminally ill?'

'What do you mean?' A fear I have never known crawled right into my chest and sat.

'You know, maybe when he got his wolf he discovered they were both going to die soon. You know your wolf will know these things,' Lucia explained.

I was too dumbfounded to say anything. My hands started trembling. Losing Lance was the last thing I wanted to happen in my life.

He has been with me from the beginning of my life. I trembled in the hot afternoon sun.

'Can being terminally ill make him behave like this?' I asked Lucia with my voice shaking slightly.

'I guess he is trying to make you hate him so that by the time he is gone, you won't hurt too much,' Lucia explained.

Each word she spoke felt like a sword piercing my heart. The thought of him dying turned my already shattered heart to shambles.

My hands trembled slightly as I adjusted the strap of my folder. As I was about to open my mouth to ask Lucia how best to ask him then her bus arrived. Right behind hers my bus also arrived.

I waved Lucia goodbye and boarded the bus. I intentionally went to the back of the bus to sit.

I was so lost in the thought of losing Lance that I burst into tears without even knowing I was crying until tears dropped on my folder.

I have never been that scared in my life. Losing anyone was strange to me. The fact that I might lose my brother soon scared me to no end.

When the bus got to where I was to alight, I was too carried away in my thoughts. But the bus driver had to shout to make me come out of my musing.

I was always the last to alight each time I used the bus. The Alpha and Beta's houses were built on the edge of the park's land, close to the forest. so the last bus stop was called AlphaBeta Line.

Since my father was the Beta, I was well-known in school and among pack members.

I walked the rest of the distance home with the fear of opening the door and finding Lance lying dead on the floor of the sitting room.

I opened the door and rushed towards Lance's room but was stopped when I heard a sound in the kitchen. I turned to check what was happening in the kitchen first.

I entered the kitchen to find Lance drinking directly from the bottle in front of the refrigerator.

'Lance, can we talk?' I said forgetting that he might not have noticed me coming in.

Lance nearly got water in his windpipe as he coughed hard from my interruption.

'I am sorry I scared you,' I said when his cough had subsided.

'It's ok. I should have paid more attention to my environment.'

'Lance, please can we talk?' I repeated my first question l.

'I am all ears.'

'Please be my brother again. Even if you are dying, I can take anything. But please don't keep me in the dark.'

'Wait wait wait. Dying? Me?' I am not dying,' Lance said looking surprised.

'Why then are you behaving like this? Why are you treating me like you don't love me anymore? If I did something wrong please tell me I will apologize Lance. Stop punishing me this way. You are all I have got please, Lance please,' I broke down totally in front of him.

Lance looked pained looking at me crying like that. He came close to me and held my hand firmly in his.

'Maureen, You have not done anything to offend me. You can't understand even if I explain it to you. Besides, you shouldn't know.' He paused a little cleaning my tears with the pad of his hands. 'You will understand someday but until then, no matter what I do to you, you must always remember that I love you, my dear sister. But for now, stay away from me.'

After saying that he walked out of the kitchen leaving me crying profusely. For the first time in my life, the fear of losing someone I love gripped my heart and squeezed hard.