Page 23 of Taken By the Pack

Maybe it’s the isolation of it all, or maybe it’s just the damn quiet in my head that’s louder than the crashing waves.

Either way, I can’t stand being here anymore.

Fuck, I hate this place.

I glance down at the cliffs, a wave of regret hitting me like a freight train. The tears press against the back of my eyes, but I hold them in. I’m not crying today. I won’t.

This spot, this stupid fucking place, always gets to me. I try to remember the good things, the times when life was simple and I wasn’t a broken mess.

But then I think of Lila. My sister. My best friend.

“God, I miss you so much, Lila,” I whisper, my throat thick with the words. I can barely get them out, but they claw at me like I’ve been holding them back for too long.

I take a deep breath, wipe my face, and turn around. I’m not staying here, drowning in memories.

There’s only one thing that might actually calm my head down. Only one place where I might find some peace.

I throw my leg over my bike, kick the engine to life, and start heading back into town.

It’s not much, but going to Lila’s grave always makes me feel closer to her. It’s like she can hear me. Like she’s still with me, somewhere.

I drive in silence, the engine’s hum the only sound filling the air, until I pull up to the cemetery. It’s not much of a place—just a small patch of land on the outskirts of town—but that’s okay. It’s hers.

I’ve been coming here ever since the accident, needing to talk, needing her to know that I haven’t forgotten.

I park my bike and walk up to her grave. It’s simple, just a headstone with her name on it. Lila Marshall. I’ve never been able to leave flowers. Can’t bring myself to.

I stand there for a long time, just staring at it, the weight of all these years pressing on me.

I don’t even know what I’m hoping for. Maybe some kind of sign, something to tell me I’m not a fucking failure. But all I get is the wind and the quiet.

“Hey, Lila,” I say, leaning down in front of her stone. I swallow thickly, try to clear my throat, but it feels like there’s something stuck in there.

“I miss you more than anything. You… you were the only one who ever really understood me. And look at me now. A mess. Just a fucking mess.”

I rub my face with my hand, feeling the familiar sting of regret.

“I keep asking myself why I wasn’t the one who went over the edge that day. Why it was you. God, I should’ve done something. I should’ve known the storm was gonna get worse.”

I look down at the ground, kicking a small rock.

“But I didn’t, and I couldn’t save you. And now, here I am, all these years later, still broken.”

I take another shaky breath, the air too thin in my lungs.

“But there’s someone else now, Lila. I… there’s this girl. Grace Halloway.”

The name feels strange on my tongue, like I’m admitting to something I don’t feel worthy of.

“I’m not sure what it is about her, but I can’t stop thinking about her. Every time I see her, something just... snaps in me, and I can’t let go of her. But I don’t know what the hell to do about it. She’s so much more than me. She’s… she’s a goddamn queen, Lila. You wouldn’t even believe it.”

I laugh bitterly, the sound harsh in the silence around me.

“I don’t know if she sees me like that, though. She’s an Omega, and I’m just… just another fucking Alpha in a town full of Alphas. I don’t know why she would ever want me. Hell, I can’t even get her to open up. She’s always closed off, always on edge, like she’s fighting with the whole damn world. I don’t know why I even think I can change that.”

I shift on my feet, kicking the ground again, trying to make myself focus on something other than the weight in my chest.

“And now there’s… There’s another Alpha. I don’t know who the hell he is, but it’s tearing me apart. I thought I could deal with it. I thought I could win her over with time, that I could believe she was mine—but she was with him. I could smell him on her. And that shit is eating me alive.”

---