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“I’ll take care of it.” Felix, the biggest guy in the group, stepped outside, probably to bury the sack underground. He was the one always taking care of everyone’s mess.
“Aww, thank you, Felix!” Gretta grinned before shoving a spoonful of potato salad into her mouth. “That guy’s the best, isn’t he?”
“I’m not following,” Huxley chimed in, baffled as he scratched his head. “So, Rainer is no longer in the pack? After all the trouble I’d been through searching for his dead ex-girlfriend’s murderer, he gave up on us?”
I nodded. “It’s been a while, actually. When I shot him, he quit. But it wasn’t until tonight that he turned up again, and now … I’m still trying to let it sink in. It really is over. He’s gone.” I sighed, not knowing what else to say. I settled down next to Huxley.
Stan was seated in front of me, observing us in silence.
“Any luck with Willa’s murderer?” I asked.
“Of course not. This hunter, whoever they are, is good. I can tell they’ve been doing this for years.” Gretta swallowed hard. “But Willa was a wild one, so I’m not surprised they killed her.”
“I’m not either. What do you want us to do now, Alpha?” Huxley asked, pushing a bottle of Soju beside me.
“I know what my alpha wants.” Gretta’s arm shot into the air. “Lure Rainer in so we can kill him?”
“Just watch your back,” I said, ignoring both the Soju and Gretta’s motivated response. “Prepare yourselves for a fight later. Rainer knows all about us, but we don’t know anything about him—and what he’s got up his sleeve. We haven’t seen him at school, and we don’t know where he’s hiding either. All I know is that he wants war.”
“War?” Huxley and Gretta said in unison.
“You don’t think he’s alone?” Huxley asked as I bit my cheek.
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “For him to be this daring, I’m guessing maybe he teamed up with another group.”
“Don’t you want to talk to him first?” Old Maurice, who was casually smoking tobacco in the corner, chimed in. I wouldn’t have noticed him if he hadn’t spoken. “You kids used to be friends before he started dating Willa.”
Gretta raised a pierced brow, disagreeing. “Rivals, you mean.”
“He would never listen to me.” My quietness seemed to rub off on the others as they all fell silent.
Stan got up from the table and grabbed another plate. He filled it with a little salad and a massive amount of brisket and pork on top of some rice and took a bowl of stir-fried glass noodles on the side. Finally, he set the plate in front of me.
“Lift your head up, kid.” Stan’s calming voice forced me to look at him. “Why don’t you eat first? After that, go to sleep and prepare for school. Go on dates, have fun. You’re still too young to carry the world on your back. But once you come up with anything new, let us know. The same thing goes for us. Rainer may have left, but you’re not alone. You still have us. We still have each other. For now, how about you eat first and not worry about anything?”
Stan always knew what to say. His forty years of existence made sure of that; it also gave him the authority he needed. Even though I was the one who called the shots, Stan was highly respected within the pack.
With everyone gazing fondly at him, he grabbed another piece of meat, raw this time. He placed it on the portable grill before topping it with soy sauce. “This is how we do it here. You have to dress the meat well so that it cooks perfectly. You also have to leave out the problems so the flavor is perfect,” Stan explained. “Don’t use up your energy over something you can’t control now.”
As we listened to him, I had this urge to give Stan a bear hug, to let out all my tears, but I held back. I took in each one of my pack instead, smiling and nodding in agreement, soothing my hopeless heart.
Huxley swung his arms around me, shoving a piece of brisket into my mouth. “Stan’s right. Cheer up, Gray!” he shouted; and it was followed by the pack’s wholesome laughter around the room, one I wanted to keep in my memories forever.
“You guys,” I started. “Stay alive, okay?”
Unkiss
“Get your shit together,”I muttered to myself.
After the kiss, I panicked. I ran home, heaving and imagining what would have happened if neither of us had run away?
But we both did.
* * *
The next day,I woke up like any ordinary person would. No death visions. No repeating timeline. But sick with the flu? Yep. A little too normal, but it proved I still had my humanity and mortality intact.
Gray also called me first thing in the morning. I answered my phone with a groan.
