Her life went into a lull and to Page sometimes, it didn't even feel like living. It felt like she was just waiting for life to happen to her again. How long was it going to be on hold? Page had no idea, but it felt like far too long for her.
Then, about three months after Randall and her were separated, things started to change. Page could feel something was off with her body. It wasn't like anything she had ever experienced before. Every part of her was awake, and the children inside of her were moving now more than ever. It didn't seem natural. Page didn't know what was going on, but she knew that something inside of her was off. She was desperately hoping that she could talk to other shifter mothers and get some advice. She needed community, and she thought about Randall’s pack.They were just the sort of place she wanted her children to be raised. Right now, the idea of them being raised by her alone, in Washington, on the run, sounded like one of the worst things she could think of. Page tried to push the thought out of her mind.
By the end of that day, she was scrunched over in pain and since she knew that she couldn't go to a regular doctor, Page was starting to freak out. She needed help, but where was she supposed to go? If it was just her, maybe she wouldn't have worried about it too much. She would have been more eager to put herself in danger and take the risk, go to Randall's people and see what happened and where Randall was. Page didn’t know what to do. She worried about what would happen if she popped her head up. What would Randall’s people do to her? What was going to happen to the babies if she didn’t go?
Chapter 15
Randall
“So, what do you want me to do, Ben? I’ve been in this damn cell for almost three months now, and I still don't understand what the hell your plan is. Are you just going to keep me here forever?”
While Randall was trying to sound like he didn't care and that it wasn't bothering him, it obviously was. He didn't know where Page was and since Ben had promised that he would tell him if she was found, he knew that she was still out there and that was a good feeling, knowing that she was safe from Ethan. The problem was though, what did that mean about where she was? He had no idea and his poor mind kept coming up with a lot of possibilities that he honestly didn't want to think about. He needed to get to her, find her wherever she was before it was too late. She was going to have the babies soon and he wanted to be there. He had to be there for her. There was just no other option, but it didn’t feel like he was any closer to getting free either.
“I don't know how long it's going to take. Ethan is insisting that we need to find her first.”
“It's good to see who you have chosen in the end my brother,” Randall said. The betrayal he felt and showed was avery small amount of what he actually felt. How could he ever forgive him for taking Ethan’s side?
“What do you think happens if he wants what is owed to him? You really didn’t think any of this through, and you didn’t listen at all to what Ethan did for money with his humans. He boxed and fought most of his life. You had it a lot easier.”
Randall was sick of hearing the threat of Ethan in his face. He said exactly what he felt should happen. Obviously, they should fight it out and let that be the end of it. He didn't hate Ethan, didn't have a real desire to kill him, but if that's what it took to get him off of his back and away from his wife, that was surely what he would do. His brother didn't have faith in him though. He was afraid that something would happen to Randall and maybe he should have taken it as a real threat. He never had been much of a fighter, choosing to do something more constructive. Now though, he was willing to get a little violent if that is what it took.
“I say you should just let it happen and stop acting like I can't defend myself, brother. I may not be as tough as you, but I am not weak. This could be over and done with by now. Why won't you let it happen?” Ben started and stopped several times and finally just said that he didn't want anything to happen to him. Randall felt like he was being honest. He could see the worry on his face, but it didn't make Randall feel any better. He was not there to be told that he wasn't strong enough to keep her safe. Randall would do what was necessary to make sure that it happened.
Ben just shook his head. “I'm not going to have my brother killed because he's too stupid to have some patience. She will be found; this will be righted and everything will be fine. You're just going to have to trust me on this.”
Randall could see that his brother was about to walk away, and he tried one last play to see it through. Randall merely wanted to get out of there. He wanted to get back to Page, nothing else mattered. Why couldn't his brother see that?
“She is carrying my children, and she's out there all alone. How much longer do you think I'm going to let this stand? Whether you were trying to help me in your own way, Ben, you’re going to have to let me fight.”
Ben just gave him a dirty look. “I don't have to do shit. I'm the Alpha or have you forgotten?”
He walked away, and Randall was left speechless and unsure how he was supposed to move forward. He never thought that he would be on the outs with his brother in the way that he was, but it was obvious that there was nothing he could do about it right now. They were seeing this from two very different sides and Randall didn't know how to bring them over to his side. Anything he said at that point felt like it wasn't going to be listened to. Randall was on his own. He was going to have to find his own way out.
His brother left and he was no closer to an answer. All he was close to was some sort of oblivion. Randall couldn't see how any of it was going to work out the right way and he dreaded it all.
***
More time went by, and Page still hadn't been found. While he loved the fact that she was able to disappear so perfectly when it was needed, he was so worried about her. Pregnancy was a delicate time for women, and he hated the idea of her being alone. She wouldn't go home; Randall knew that for sure because of how her family was. So that left the possibility that she was having to deal with everything all by herself.Randall really did hate the idea of that. He wanted to be there with her, but it didn't look like that was going to be a possibility.
Ben came to see him less, and Ethan showed up once to try and get information from him, but he made it clear that he would not be getting any from Randall. Randall hated Ethan and tried to get him to finally just fight him. Ben was so convinced that he was going to lose, but Randall didn't see it that way. There weren’t too many times that he had lost a fight, and he was sure that he wouldn’t lose such an important one.
“Why don't we just skip all this and me and you end it with a fight? I know that is what you want to do.”
Ethan grinned in response. “I would love for that to happen, but I am still trying to be a nice guy. Your brother for some reason is attached to you and wouldn't take kindly to me killing you. Not yet anyways. It will only be a short time before this is all over and you will have an accident. Trust me, you're going to have one of those accidents that you can't come back from, and I will be here to make sure that your brother is able to get over the devastation of losing you. He'll have another brother to take over the load, of course.”
Randall had always thought that Ethan was trying to take his place, but he hadn't figured he would do it so easily and with no pushback. It had been Ethan’s suggestion that he go to jail and there he was, arrested and held like a common thief. How could he ever forgive his brother for it? It was not something that could be easily forgotten.
“You think that he will be so easily confused? He’s already started to see you for what you are. It won't be long at all until he can see all of it and will know that you are worthless.”
Randall wasn't sure if that was true or not, but he didn’t want it to be. He liked to think that Ben would help him more.He never would have imagined that his brother would lock him up for months on end. After what happened with his sister, Randall knew that there would be some consequences, of course. He just never would have imagined anything like that. When it was all over, how were they supposed to move on from that?
He wasn't going to let Ethan take note of any of it though. He wanted desperately for the two of them to finish whatever it was between them, so he could move on and get to Page. If it was a fight to the death and he had to kill Ethan, then so be it. He certainly wasn't worried about Ethan winning. Randall wasn't a fighter, but he was sure that when the need arose, he would be able to do what was necessary.
Ethan mentioned how he couldn't wait to find Page and for some reason Randall reminded him that she was carrying his child and she was his mate. He really didn’t want to make him feel better. He wanted Ethan to get off of the idea that he was going to have her. In no world did that happen.
“I know that you defiled her and like I said, there will be hell to pay for it, but for now we’ve got to find her first. Are you sure you don't want to give me an idea where she is? I'm going to find her; it would be easier if I found her before she died in birth. Is she really going to do it all herself?” He acted like he cared, but there was a grin on Ethan’s face as he said it. The look was haunting to Randall, and it might have been the first time that he started to wonder if it was all wrong. Was he wrong to think that he could win against a guy like his half-brother? Ethan seemed capable of more than him, far more in the cruelty department.
He must have shown a little bit of the fear that he was feeling, because Randall got the biggest smile out of Ethan. He was smug as he looked back at him. “Got you nervous?”
