Strained

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Wait, how did Sage lose the scent?" Ivelyn asked fists clenched tightly around her juice box. I went to tell her to watch her juice, but it was too late. The contents of the juice exploded upright, somehow missing Ivelyn and spilling all over the table. I sighed, wishing people could contain their emotions while we were at lunch.

It was Friday and we were no closer to figuring out who it was Troy and Sage had smelled. It had been two days and we were still in the same spot as last time. It was hard not to be frustrated as Witches -- Lycans and Cursed Ones were telling us the same thing: be patient. Technically, we really couldn't do anything until the Solar Eclipse, which was nineteen days away. I think everyone was counting the days down.

The Coven didn't like sitting around doing anything. None of us were the type of people to wait for something to happen. For so long, we had been simply reacting to the things around us. Instead, we now had a plan and we had to wait for that plan to unfold. We couldn't rush the Solar Eclipse and we couldn't afford the risk of performing the spell sooner. Kate had assured us there was no way we could do the spell before. It had to be on December thirty-first. We need the power of the Solar Eclipse to count as a Trinity, which was an ingredient (so to speak) to break the Curse.

So, this is why Ivelyn was visibly upset. Last night, Sage, Jack, and Troy had been running laps around our houses. The three of them had split up to cover more ground. The buddy system didn't apply to them. Sage was checking on my house when she smelled the corpse smell. Troy was telling us the story of what happened next.

"She followed the person: she didn't get a good look at them, but said they're male and a Cursed One." Troy was doing his best to stick up for Sage. I knew it wasn't his fault - he was just the messenger. Still, it would have been nice to talk to her.

This was almost impossible. Since the Lycans were watching the Coven at night, they had to sleep during the day. Troy had school, so he had to be here, which was why he only took half the night shift.

Everyone was tired: Lycans and Witches.

It was making everyone a little grumpy.

"Oh, wow! Make sure to tell her to thank you for me," Ivelyn rolled her eyes, mocking Troy.

"Ivelyn," he trailed off, his tone warning.

"What?" She snapped back.

"You could be a little more respectful. She is my Alpha," his top lip curled around teeth, almost snarling at her. Ivelyn didn't even flinch. She was completely unphased by his outburst.

"And I think you could be a little more respectful." She challenged. I could feel the flames before I saw them. I kicked her under the table and the flames went out. "What?" She nearly barked at me.

"Why don't we all take a deep breath in," Mir pleaded.

"I just don't understand how she lost him. Aren't you guys faster than them?" Ivelyn continued without a deep breath. Mir looked like she had given up on Ivelyn ever be calm. It was probably a good idea.

"He led her to a cemetery," Troy exclaimed. "Do you know how hard it is to identify which the dead body is coming from a Cursed One? It's hard," he glared down at Ivelyn. They weren't back together. I found out, Ivelyn was still very much dating Tony Max. The two of them were always together, except when she was at school.

No one talked about the age difference. Most of us tried to avoid the topic altogether. It was one of those things none of us wanted to fight with her about. Ivelyn did what she wanted to do, it was always like that.

"Wait, he led her to the cemetery and then what? I mean, he had to have left the cemetery at some point," I asked, wondering what had happened to the Cursed One in the cemetery. Troy looked thankful for a reasonable question. I didn't blame Sage for not stopping the creep that was hanging around my house. It did make me wonder if she had lost him on purpose. Was she hoping he would kill me and she wouldn't have to worry about Erik?