The 18th Time They Lost Me Chapter 02

The 18th Time They Lost Me Chapter 02

The laughter came in before they did.

Maya’s voice hit first. “Silas, you’re such a fool! I was at the eastern ridge the whole time and you seriously ran all the way to the south clearing?”

Silas was laughing too. “Oh, I’m the fool? There was a family hunt pass at the south clearing, four spots only, no room for anyone else.”

He stopped. The house went quiet, like they’d all just noticed the untouched food on the table at the same time.

Three seconds of silence. Then Mom cracked open the little door under the stairs.

“Quinn? You awake?”

I was facing the wall with my face buried in the pillow, holding my breath so hard my torso ached. My nose stung. Tears slid down the bridge of my nose and pooled at the corners of my mouth.

“Don’t be upset, okay?” Mom’s voice was gentle. “Maya wandered off near the border. We were scared out of our minds…”

I pressed my lips together and stayed silent. Not a sound. I wouldn’t give them a sound.

Maya had an annual pass to the pack activity grounds. She went every month.

How do you get lost somewhere you’ve been a dozen times?

Eight years. Eighteen attempts to register my pack identity. And every single time, Maya had some emergency.

The first time, she twisted her ankle at the training grounds. Dad hung up and walked out.

The second time, she fainted from low glucose levels. Mom left a line she’d been standing in for three hours.

The last time, everything was ready. Every document filed. One stamp away from done.

“Daddy, something huge flew into my room and I’m so scared…”

Dad bolted out the door without even grabbing his coat.

Every time. The same thing.

And every time, I stood at the entrance of that pack hall, clutching my forms, watching them walk away.

Through the crack in the door, I heard Maya’s small voice.

“Mom, can I sleep in your room tonight? I think I had heatstroke or something out there… I still feel really off…”

Mom turned and left without a word. She didn’t even close the door behind her.

Footsteps faded down the hall.

Maya’s voice carried back.

“Quinn won’t be mad, right?”

Mom almost laughed.

“Of course not. We’re family. She gets it.”

The stairwell door clicked shut.

In the dark, my phone screen glowed.

[Pack Relations Registry: Your pack transfer has been confirmed. New pack: Crown Ridge. Please present valid ID to finalize.]

I read it three times.

Then I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.