Bound by the Hollow Moon

Chapter 17

I hobbled my way out of the Mess Hall late that evening. It figures that I was volunteered for dish duty after testing with Dante, but at least I wasn't the only one. 3 other poor souls joined me in tackling the skyscrapers of dishes that followed the community dinner. With my new senses, it was particularly challenging, a grotesque bouquet of leftover food and cleaning products. The whole pack pitched in doing daily chores, so aside from the stench, I wasn't too heartbroken about it. ...just really fucking sore.

The night air was crisp and relaxing, the smell of pine and oak burning in the small fire pits ahead was cleansing my overloaded senses. I was intent on getting a shower and then staring at the ceiling until I passed out, like most nights that Marcus left me to myself. Lost in mindless auto-pilot, I squealed like a baby pig when arms wrapped around my torso and lifted me off the ground. I heard Ezra laugh against my shoulder and I tried to elbow him in vain.

"Come hang out with us, Adri! You never come to the Forum bonfires after dinner!" he exclaimed as he carted me from the cobblestone path and across the green lawn of the Forum. A handful of fire rings were creating silhouettes of the people gathered around them, their bright yellow flames like beacons dotted the Forum grounds. This was a standard end to evening meals. Small groups of pack-mates would branch off and snag one of the many smaller fire pits, they would hang out, drink, and wind down from their day. My evenings mostly consisted of 'procreating' with Marcus or avoiding him, so I'd never been a part of this Pack activity. With all the shit they assumed of me, I doubted they wanted me there anyway.

Ezra unceremoniously plopped me back onto solid ground, facing a group of amused faces. "Adri, this," he gestured dramatically towards the group, "is my loyal band of minions!" The group roared to life, laughing, yelling, and even throwing popcorn at Ezra. He ignored them and continued his theatrics, "Here we have Zara, Dante's sister," he pointed out the girl with a purple mohawk and amber eyes, she nodded in greeting, glaring at me the whole time. Continuing around the circle, "that's James," I was met with wild green eyes and huge shit-eating grin. My heart fluttered involuntarily at the ash blonde Casanova, but I expected that any red-blooded female would react the same. His voice was a smooth and playful baritone when he spoke, "hey! I saw you at the FTC today, are you training there now?"

I bowed my head and smiled, "not yet, gotta get approval from Marcus."

"I hope you do! This chick," he was addressing Ezra, pointing a thumb at me, "she was cursing like a drunk sailor. It was hilarious! Creative too, some of the shit she was throwing together was making even Dante blush!"

The group chuckled lightly and Ezra continued introductions, the last person in the group was a slender copper-haired beauty with huge green doe eyes, her name was Josie and she was Ezra's girlfriend. She smiled timidly and waved, quickly tucking herself in to Ezra's side as soon as he sat down on the log next to her. There was an open seat on his other side, so I sat there, with James on my left and Zara still glaring in front of me, looking even more sinister being framed by the flames dancing in between us. We made small talk for awhile, and shared funny stories about the antics Ezra and I get up to when the Clinic is empty. A little while later, Caius came to join us. He shot me a curious look before his lips stretched into a boyish grin. He finds a seat next to Zara, who immediately perked up and beams at him. Her standard murderous expression had been replaced by puppy love as soon as she laid eyes on him.

Well that isn't obvious or anything.

"Long meeting today, huh Caius?" James asks as he handed a beer to him.

Caius grumbles and nodded, "It was standard updates, requests, and decisions until he blew up over a PT request." his eyes darted over to me, but he looks away quickly.