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“No.” She straight up rejected me.
I pouted. “Why not?”
“Because I used to date your cousin,” she reasoned. “Don’t you guys have a bro code?”
“Who cares?” I brushed that off as a problem for a different day.
“Stop it,” Aera snapped at me.
“Huh?”
“Stop frowning.”
“I am?”
Her heavy sigh pulsated in my ears. “Fine,” she said.
“Fine what?”
“I’ll go on a date with you,” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “Now, let’s go to class, genius.”
Aera remained composed. After cleaning up in the infirmary together, I followed her to the classroom without another word. Noticing that our homeroom teacher wasn’t there yet, I decided to go to the men’s restroom and give Stan a call.
I made sure the bathroom stalls were empty before telling him, “Stan, we have a problem. It’s about Rainer. He’s an alpha. I saw his eyes turn red. He must have usurped his powers from another alpha. I need you to find out who and which pack.”
It took Stan a few seconds to reply, “Okay. I will.”
“And, Stan, be careful …” I paused, choosing my words wisely. “Let’s meet at the cabin before midnight. You, me, the rest of the pack—we need to come up with a plan.”
“I got it, kid. Don’t worry about it right now. Go to class. I can hear the bell.”
The school bell had been ringing the moment I stepped inside. I chose to ignore it. I had too much anxiety building in my nerves, racking my brain in the cruelest way.
“Hey, kid.” Stan’s deep, fatherly voice brought me back. “I can hear your heartbeat over the phone too … Relax. It’s gonna be okay.”
“I really hope so.” I sniffed the cold air and exhaled. “I’m sorry. I’m so bad at this. I can’t even keep the pack together,” I said, my voice breaking.
“No, you’re not bad.” He paused briefly. “You remember the first time I met you? It was on your sixth birthday. Do you remember what I said the moment you stepped out of your room to greet me? I said,‘Holy shit, this little one right here has an aura that tells me he’ll be the greatest alpha I’ll ever serve,’ and not once did I ever change my mind, kid. You are, and will always be, my greatest alpha. I believe in you.Webelieve in you. All that’s missing isyoubelieving in yourself.”
My chest ached at his words. I wasn’t exactly sure what bothered me anymore. Was it losing Rainer or the fear of losing the rest of my pack? I reflected back to everything the pack had been through together, and that time my parents passed away. Stan had always been there, yet I kept on brushing him aside and taking advantage of his kindness. I mulled over things that were out of my control when I could’ve just thanked him for not leaving me to crumble in despair–alone, for having my back.
“You got this, kid,” he reassured me. “I’m here for you. We all are.”
The side of my lips curled up at Stan’s genuine attempt to reassure me. He helped cease the heavy load in my chest, allowing me to breathe more evenly. “Thank you,” I managed to say after years of holding back.
Your Name
Most devastating blowsoccur when someone lies or keeps secrets, which are often accompanied by feelings of betrayal and irrelevance, both of which are natural reactions.
But what about the victim worrying about the liar? That was rare and unnatural.
And guess what?
I happened to be one of the rare ones.
Following class, I headed home without seeing Gray off like usual. He called me to kindly remind me of our date, though. Which was why, despite his physical absence, he managed to cling to my brain like a persistent leech.
We may have forestalled my visions and the cops that day, but something else about Gray made me feel uneasy. It had nothing to do with my relentless premonitions of him. It was about his incredible superhuman strength, his wounds healing way too fast right before my eyes, and … his overall suspiciousness, from the way he lookedatme to the way he lookedawayfrom me. I’d always believed in the supernatural, but I had no idea how close to it I really was. How had I missed the signs? I refused to believe Gray could be one of them.
