Isa gives Joaninha a pointed look. “Maybe we can—”
“Jo, no. She said no. The answer is no.” Neither girl looks happy with my answer.
“She has classes. She’s—”
“I spoke with the admin. They notified her teachers of the situation.”
Isa’s eyes widen. “Oh. Wow. That was really thoughtful of you.”
I grunt. “She’s got enough to worry about.” They both do.
Zheng’s in the other room, phone held up to his ear. He’s been handling funeral arrangements. Trying to get the body transported back here so he can host a funeral, but it’s a slow-going process with a lot of paperwork and hoops to jump through since his mom officially joined the South Atlantic Pack, even if it was for less than a month.
“How's he doing?” I ask Isa.
She purses her lips. “As good as can be expected. He’s talking about it which is good. He’s not holding everything in and letting the pressure build but—”
He snaps the phone shut and throws it across the room, where it shatters against the wall. Yeah, he’s handling shit well alright.
“Zheng?” I call, drawing his attention. “What’s up?”
His chest is heaving as he fights to pull himself together. “I have to fly out to Florida. They won’t release the body without me physically confirming it’s her and signing off on some bullshit paperwork.”
Fuck.
He runs his hands through his hair, his movements agitated.
“When do you need to go?” I ask.
“As soon as I can get there. I need to check flights and—”
“I got it.”
He frowns.
“Peretti and Pierce has a company jet. I’ll set it up. Just tell me when.”
He swallows hard and nods. “Thanks, man.”
“No worries. You want me to go with you?”
He looks at the door leading to the guest room, and I know what he’s thinking. I don’t like the idea of leaving Meiying alone any more than he does, but the thought of him dealing with this alone doesn’t sit well, either. His beast is unsettled. Being hunter-born has me more attuned with the animals that lurk inside all our skins, and I don’t like the grief and rage that all but bleeds from his pores these days. It’s a dangerous mix of emotion that, even without the shit he was already dealing with would be a challenge for anyone to put a leash on.
“You should talk to her,” I suggest, but he shakes his head. “I’m serious, man. She could use her big brother.”
“How does that help her? I can’t tell her it’s going to be okay when I don’t believe it myself, man. So what can I do? How can I fix this? Because as far as I see it, I can’t.” He hangs his head and walks out of the room, his shoulders hunched and head hanging low.
“One of us can go with him,” Isa says. “You take care of our girl. They’ll get through this.”
I want to believe her, but it’s been four days since I brought Meiying back to our place. Four days and she’s barely moved from the guest room. She’s not eating. She never talks. It’s like the girl has gone catatonic. I don’t know what to do, and Zheng’s been fucking worthless, not that I can blame the guy.
He’s either gone to Isa and Rafael’s or he’s locked in his room, and now he’s going to fly to Florida. How long will that take? How much longer can Meiying hide before shit gets serious? Her body has got to be eating itself. Shifters need to consume insane amounts of calories to keep up with our rapid metabolisms. What she’s doing now is slowly starving herself and her beast, and the Lyc-V in her system can’t stave off the pain of that starvation much longer.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll make some calls and set up his flight. Just …” I hesitate, but someone else needs to know. I can’t watch them both twenty-four seven. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
Without needing to be asked, Joaninha excuses herself. “I’m going to head home. Call me if she changes her mind and wants to talk, okay?”
I nod and give her a quick hug goodbye, being careful of her swollen belly. She has a few months left, but already she looks ready to pop. When she’s gone, I turn to Isa and consider what to tell her.
