Read Online Sundered by Shannon Mayer - Free Book Online Page A

me howl all the louder. Sebastian got up, left his plate of food and went outside, the back door slamming behind him.
     
    I lay on the cool tile of the kitchen floor till the laughter subsided and the tears threatened to start. I forced them back, refused to let them get a hold of me. I wouldn’t let the fear rise again. We weren’t going to die here, we were going to live and survive. Nero lay down beside me, ever attentive, the perfect puppy, and I was grateful he took to his sit-stay commands so well. I couldn’t have handled an unruly dog with all that had been happening. I let my hand rest on his quickly-growing body for a moment. What were we going to do about him? We could barely feed ourselves and the dog food was diminishing as fast as our own.
     
    I stood slowly, wobbling a little, the distant thud of axe and wood telling me where Sebastian was. I ate half my meal and covered the rest with plastic wrap, something else we were nearly out of.
     
    Crap. I knew I’d made a mess of it with Bastian. I headed outside, Nero at my heels and Sebastian’s plate in hand to find him chopping wood, sweat dripping down his rapidly slimming frame. He would always be a big guy, but it was scary to see how fast he, especially, was losing weight.
     
    “ I’m sorry. I’ve pulled it together,” I said in between chops. Sebastian lowered the blade and half turned to me.
     
    “ It’s okay. I suppose from time to time you’re going to have breakdowns. It’s to be expected. As long as you can always pull yourself up and out of it,” he said. I handed him his plate and he sat down on a log to eat.
     
    “ Well, it’s not like I’m going to be here by myself, right? You’re not planning on doing a walk about in the middle of the night, go for some sort of marathon run to see if you can outdistance the pack, are you?” I smiled at him and he gave me a half-hearted smile back.
     
    “ No, not planning on it.”
     
    I blinked hard, wondering at the sudden fear that gripped me. Was he trying to say something without saying it?
     
    “ What’s wrong, Bastian? I know this is a crap situation, I know it’s not how we planned our lives, but we are alive and we still have each other. That’s all that matters.” I sat down beside him. A rattle drew our attention to the gate, Scout making motions at us, more than usual. He grunted and pointed at the food on the plate.
     
    Sebastian stood and walked to the gate without a word, Nero whining the closer he got to the Nevermore. Scout backed off, obviously intimidated by his size until Sebastian held the plate of food out to him.
     
    “ What are you doing?” I asked, the scene disturbing me. Why was he showing kindness to the Nevermore? Why would he give him food that we had so little of, which we so desperately needed?
     
    Scout slunk forward cautiously, his eyes downcast until he was right at the gate, Sebastian towering over him. One shaking hand reached out to grab some noodles, streaking back to his mouth so fast I could barely track it with my eyes.
     
    A second time he reached out to grab the food and as his hands grasped noodles, Sebastian’s big hand clamped down on his arm. Scout squealed - which set Nero off barking like a mad man - and tried to pull away but couldn’t. Sebastian held on to him, not doing anything but holding, Scout squealing and screeching so loud and high pitched I found myself on my feet, heart pumping ready to run.
     
    “ Bastian, he’s calling the others,” I said, fear blooming once more. We’d been almost back to normal; I could almost forget the scene of Tom’s death, of the pack surrounding our property, of Jessica going off with the Alpha.
     
    “ I know.”
     
    Two words, so simple and yet they meant so much. He wanted Scout to call the pack in, but, why?
     
    Rustling in the bushes was the only warning we had before the Nevermores exploded onto the road, screaming and gnashing their teeth. They were thinner than the last