Chapter 2 The Bet

• Erica's POV
• ***
• I have been hiding from the triplets all day. Their relentless taunting is driving me insane, but for some reason, I seek them out. This summer is different from the rest. I can't manage to stay out of their path. Even hiding under the bed in the next room feels too far away. I strain my ears to hear what they are saying, but their voices are too low.
• Then, the clomping of feet on the hard floor stops outside the room I am hiding in. Sucking in a sharp breath, I hold it. I don't dare to breathe. They promised to do awful things to me if they found me.
• "I think she went in here," Chris says.
• "I can't smell her," Ace scoffs as if he knows everything.
• "You don't have your wolf yet, Genuis," Bryce snorts with laughter. "You couldn't smell her if you wanted to."
• "How do you know I don't have my wolf?" Ace grumbles.
• "Because we are barely sixteen," Chris groans in return. "Stop pretending you are better than us."
• "Shut up," Ace spits. "This is stupid. I am tired of hunting for her. She isn't worth our time."
• The sound of his footsteps fading away is like a danger to my heart. I should be relieved Ace is finally giving up on hunting me down. It is what I have always wanted, but then why does it hurt so damn bad.
• "Ace is right," Bryce continues. "This is stupid."
• Tears prickle at the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall down my cheeks, but I don't let them. I will not cry over the loss of their torment. That would be stupid.
• The door creaks open, and Chris walks inside. He settles on the floor beside the bed. "You can come out now. They are gone."
• His hand reaches under the bed, and my fingertips graze his palm. A weird bolt of lightning pulses between us, and I jerk my hand away. My body begins to shake. I am terrified of what it might mean. Not him. Anyone but him.
• ***
• THUMP!
• My head bounces against the cool window of the airplane, causing my eyes to fly open. The dream that I just had echoes in the recesses of my mind. It is just a reminder of what I have tried to suppress for years. I haven't seen the triplets since that day. We packed up and left the next morning, but they were not there to say goodbye. It was just another danger in my heart.
• A lump forms in the back of my throat. I know that the triplets will be waiting for me at baggage claim, and they are the last people on earth I want to see right now when my life is in shambles.
• As I exit the plane and grab my luggage, I look around and try to see the triplets. I don't see them or their massive bodies anywhere I look.
• "Great," I mumble to myself as I wander around the baggage claim, looking for any sign of the triplets. Finally, I drag my luggage out of the airport. "They fucking forgot me."
• I stand on the edge of the sidewalk and try to hail a taxi. I can feel hot tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes. I cannot believe that they forgot me. Actually, that's not true. They probably forgot me on purpose. I raise my hand, trying to wave down a taxi, but each one of them drives by me without even slowing down. My hand falls to my side, and I can feel a rush of tears running down my face.
• "I told you she would cry," a deep voice comes from behind me.
• I turn around and bump into a massive chest and I know instantly that it is one of the triplets. I take a step back from the body that is standing in my way so I can look up to see which triplet's ass I need to kick.
• The three brothers are standing side by side, and I can no longer tell them apart. Three pairs of identical blue eyes are staring at me with an amused smirk on all of their faces. Over the years, they used to dress differently or cut their hair differently, so it was easier to tell them apart. Looking from one brother to the other, I can see that they have all decided to wear the same light blue t-shirt, and their dark hair is all cut the same. It is not until they begin to talk that I get an idea of which one they are.
• "Now, now, Brother," the one on the left says. "Let's not make the little Fox cry harder."
• That one must be Bryce. He was always the one to compliment me in a backhanded kind of way. He slaps a twenty dollar bill in the hand of the one in the middle.
• "Can we just get out of here," the one on the right says. "I am tired of being here."
• That one must be Ace. He is the one with the most level head of the three.
• I wipe the tears that are falling from my cheeks and glare at the three brothers who are standing before me.
• I slap the one in the middle, who must be Chris, across the chest somewhat playfully, and I burst into embarrassing sobs. Ace pushes Chris out of the way and wraps his arms around me. "I told you two that now isn't the time for a joke. She has just lost everything."
• I sniff as I look up into his icy blue eyes, and I notice that there are small flecks of green mixed in with the blue. "Thanks, Ace," I say as I pull myself out of his arms.
• Bryce and Chris groan loudly and slap twenty dollars each into Ace's hand. I stare at them in confusion before Bryce fills in the blanks.
• "Ace is the only one that thought you could tell us apart," Bryce shrugs his shoulders. "So we made a bet."
• "Wait... wait..." Chris interjects before taking his twenty dollars back out of his brother's hand. "She only recognized Ace. Which one am I?"
• I roll my eyes in anger. I don't feel like playing their silly games right now.
• "Come on," Chris says playfully. "We won't leave until you tell us."
• "Bryce, Chris, and Ace," I say, pointing to each of them as I say their names. "Can we go now?"
• "Damnit," Chris says as he slaps his twenty-dollar bill back in Ace's hand. "I thought for sure you wouldn't be able to tell us apart after being gone for two years."
• "I cut my hair for nothing," Bryce complains as we head towards the parking deck.
• As we walk to their shiny, black SUV, I keep my mouth shut. I don't want to end up in the middle of another one of their pranks. Luckily, the three of them are so busy arguing with one another that they barely notice that I am here.
• Ace loads my suitcase in the back of the SUV and slams the door shut. "Goddess, Erica." He acts like he pulled a muscle in his arm. "How long are you planning on staying?"
• "Just through the summer, and then I am heading back to school," I murmur as I climb into the back seat.
• I wait for a few moments before I realize that Chris and Bryce are flipping a coin. Bryce climbs into the back seat with a smile on his face. "I won," he says simply.
• "Won what?" I raise an eyebrow at him.
• "The chance to sit beside you," he wiggles his eyebrows up and down.
• "Your pretty boy moves might work on other females, but they won't work on me," I groan as I plaster myself up against the door, trying to put as much distance between Bryce and me as possible. But it is no use. Bryce just moves to the middle of the back seat. He spreads his legs open wide and leans back in the seat. His leg brushes up against my own, and I feel like I want to puke.
• "So you are saying that you think I am pretty," Bryce laughs as he places his hand on my knee.
• "Please don't touch me," I say as I squeeze myself closer to the door.
• "Leave her alone, Bryce." Ace's voice is sharp as he looks in the rearview mirror at his brother.
• Bryce raises his hands and scoots back to his side of the rear seat. I let out a sigh of relief and pry myself away from the door.
• The ride back to the North Pack Pack house is loud and obnoxious. The brothers are joking around and hitting one another as Ace races down the highway. I find myself gripping the sides of my seat in fear as Ace weaves in and out of traffic.
• Suddenly, I realize that this is my life now. Until whatever issues are resolved in the West Pack with my parents, this is what the next few months of my life will be like. Me alone with the three people that I hate most in this world.