First, I want to thank all of you for your kind words for my dad. He was in the hospital a little longer than we expected, but he's home now and feeling better. Second, I want to thank you for being patient with me. I am way behind on getting this chapter out. With that said there are just over 25,000 words in this story so far. My goal is 75,000. Chapter 10 should be out by this weekend, and I am a little excited about it.
Thank you all for reading, voting, and commenting.
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I spent the rest of the week confined to my bedroom. When my mother came home, she made a dramatic scene about me being sick. I was already in my bedroom when she stormed into the house, even so, I could hear her yelling at my father. He came upstairs only long enough to reinforce that I was not to leave my bedroom until whatever I had was gone.
Unfortunately for me, it wasn't gone. It'd gotten worse. I went from feeling like crap and having a fever to throwing up and having tremors. I'd never been sick before, so this was new to me. And as sick as I felt, there was no way that I was going to miss my first day of school.
I stood in the driveway wearing my nicest pink skirt paired with my white cotton three-quarter sleeve shirt. My backpack is light on my back only holding a few notebooks and some pencils. I was the only one out on our street waiting for the bus. I wanted to escape before one of my parents could stop me. If they even noticed that is.
Just before the bus came bumbling down our street, Nathan stepped out of his house. Shutting his door behind him, he froze as he spotted me. His gaze was curious, and I didn't understand why. We held each other's eyes until the sound of a garage door opening had us looking away. I turned my head to see Kota walking to his car. Nathan jogged across the street toward him, and while he kept giving me backward glances Kota never looked at me once.
As soon as the bus came into view, Kota had backed out of his drive and was pulling away. The bus came to a stop in front of me, and my trembling legs almost had me tripping over the steps. I threw myself into the first open seat that I found. The bus was nearly full. When the bus started moving, nausea hit me like a freight train. I breathed slow, deep breaths through my nose to try and hold it off. I was not going to throw up on the bus. I would not miss my first day of school.
The school parking lot was packed full of cars. I rushed inside and nearly ran for the bathroom. I barely made it to an empty stall in time to empty my stomach. By the time I was done, my throat felt like it had been shredded and my abdomen hurt from heaving. I rinsed my mouth out with water from the sink then I dragged myself out of the restroom and headed to the first class on my schedule.
It was a bit of a struggle to get through the crowd of students just to make it to my class, but I managed it just before the bell rang. There were only three desks open, two were next to each other towards the back and one was in the very front. The tremble in my legs told me that I had to take the seat in the front.
Just as my butt hit the seat, a middle-aged man with dark hair strode into the room. He dropped the bag that was slung over his shoulder on top of the desk in front of the room and pulled out a notebook. Everyone talked quietly as they waited for him to speak. He moved to the front of the class standing before my desk as he looked at each of the students. He opened his mouth, presumably to speak when the door opened revealing a familiar grumpy giant and his blond brother.
I focused my eyes on the teacher. Kota told me to stay away from them and after how he acted in my bedroom, I wasn't quite sure that I wanted to push him. I hadn't really understood what he was talking about, but I did understand that he was angry and my experience with people's anger was that pain usually followed.
The teacher gave the boys a pointed look and said, "don't be late again." Neither of them responded. He introduced himself as Mr. Ferguson then started calling out student's names and marking them down in the books. A shudder ran through me, and I wished I had worn warmer clothes. How I could be so cold when it's so warm was beyond me.
Throughout the duration of homeroom, I felt eyes burning into the back of my head. I didn't dare look back at them. If they all felt the same way about me that Kota does, then it was best that I didn't acknowledge their attention. Towards the end of the class, the door opened revealing a bald man in a suit. You could see the bulk of his muscle beneath his clothing. His dark eyes skimmed over the room pausing on me before settling on the boys.
"Good morning, Principal Hendricks," Mr. Ferguson said hesitantly.
"Aren't you two from the Academy?" The principal asked them.
My eyes drifted over to the boys. Luke was sitting straighter in his chair and North would have looked unbothered if he weren't so tense. I looked back at Mr. Hendricks. I remembered my conversation with Owen. He was from an Academy that was here to help the school because this school was dangerous.
"Yes, sir," Luke said. North didn't seem to be in the mood to make conversation.
The principal hummed and looked them over. "Where are your uniforms?" I could hear the fake concern in his voice. He was putting on a show, but why?
"Uniforms?" Luke's brow furrowed, twisting a little so that he could look at North. "We don't have uniforms, sir."
"I believe there was a misunderstanding. Have your teacher call me." He straightened his tie before looking at me. His frown tipped up into a small smile. "Miss Sorenson, it is so good to have you here. I've ensured your father that I'd look out for you."
My cheeks heated and my heart came to a crashing halt. Why was he talking to me? How did he even know my father? It wasn't like he came with me to registration day. The principal left after apologizing to Mr. Ferguson for the interruption. I looked over at the boys, my confusion plain to see. North's dark eyes were on me and Luke looked concerned as he typed something into his phone.
I wasn't sure what just happened, but I knew that it didn't mean anything good for me. People kept bringing up my father when I was sure he'd never met them. I knew for a fact that he didn't know about Kota. I would have been punished by my mother if he knew. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew that something more was going on here.
When the bell rang, I was out of my desk and walking down the hallway. I peered over my shoulder to find that Luke was right behind me. I was too tired to care. Any energy I had regained after expelling the contents of my stomach, seemed to have been sapped from me. It was a bit of a walk from homeroom to the trailer outside. I practically collapsed into the first empty desk that I saw in my AP English class.
Luke poked me in the shoulder, "Sang, are feeling all right? You don't look too good."
No, I imagined that I didn't. If I looked half as bad as I felt, then I could perfectly understand why he'd seem concerned. I turned in my seat, the movement making my head spin a little.
"I'm fine, Luke." My voice was quiet and a little scratchy. "You should probably sit elsewhere. Kota wouldn't like us talking to each other."
"Kota?" Now he sounded confused.
I sighed and turned back in my seat, resting my head on my forearms. Students began streaming in, and suddenly I was overwhelmed with the scent of spice and something woodsy. I knew Kota was amongst the students. I looked up to see a scowling Kota standing next to me with Gabriel standing beside him. Gabriel looked a little sad.
"Luke, you need to move," Kota said.
Luke shook his head and leaned back in his seat. "I'm fine here."
A low growl left Kota as he looked down at me. Unsurprisingly, I answered his growl with one of my own. Well, it wasn't surprising to me. I have been growling quite a bit lately. Kota looked a little surprised as did Gabriel. Luke only grinned.
"Now Luke." Kota's emerald green eyes stared down at me with something akin to hatred, and I still didn't know what put that look there.
"Last I checked, Kota, you weren't my Alpha," Luke said quietly. "I'm free to sit wherever I want. If you want to push it though, maybe we should talk about why Sang thinks that you don't want us talking to her."
Kota's face blanked and stormed over to an empty seat. Gabriel looked torn but ended up following him anyway. Luke's brown eyes darkened as they tracked the two boys to their seats. He leaned forward, his breath brushing against my skin.
"Can we talk about this later? You don't have to stay away from us, Sang. No matter what Kota says." Luke spoke just loud enough for Kota to hear, and if the scathing look I received because of that comment meant anything I knew that Kota planned to do something about it.
"Sure, Luke," I said, but I didn't mean it. I didn't intend to have any conversation about it. Kota may not have clued the guys into our conversation, but I wasn't going to be the one to talk about it. I had other things to focus on.
My attention drifted during my classes. I kept seeing the boys in my classes. The only class I had that they weren't in was my study hall. As the day went by, I started feeling worse. By the time sixth period started, I wished I hadn't come to school. Especially when I remembered that Sean was my teacher. Victor took the seat beside mine, and I dropped my forehead to the desk. I couldn't deal with this today. He didn't say anything though. The whole class period went by quickly with Sean and Victor tossing me looks.
Thankfully for gym class, we didn't have to do anything. By the time I was seated on the bus I was simultaneously sweating and freezing. My heart thundered in my chest when I saw my father's car parked in the driveway. Was he going to be mad that I went to school while I was unwell? At least if he saw that I was still sick, my break from my mother would continue.
Walking into the house, everything was silent except for the quiet clicking coming from the kitchen. I dropped my backpack by the stairs and moved quietly through the house. My father was seated at the table with his laptop in front of him. He didn't notice me until I was behind him. He looked over his shoulder at me, his brow furrowing.
"Are you still sick?" He asked.
I nodded. "I think it's a stomach bug."
His lips pressed together as he waved me forward. He pressed a hand to my forehead, "you've definitely got a fever. You shouldn't be going to school when you're sick."
"I didn't want to miss any school. It makes mother upset." I said quietly, my eyes darting toward their bedroom door.
"If you're still feeling bad while you're at school tomorrow, let the nurse know." His brown eyes lit up. "I may have to take you to the doctor."
I nodded my head. It took a moment for the words to register in my head. My father had never taken me to the doctor. He always looked me over himself. I turned to see my mother standing behind us. Her face was pinched, and her greasy hair was slicked back into a ponytail.
"How dare you come into this house while you're sick." She yelled. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, a clear sign that she had taken her medicine.
My father stood up, pushing me towards the back stairs that led up to my room. "The girl has nowhere else to go. Stay away from her while she's sick. You don't need to catch anything that she has."
I made my way to my room as quickly as I could. The sight of my bed made me sigh in relief. I collapsed on my bed in a heap. My body was exhausted to the point where sleep almost seemed to be out of my grasp.
I wasn't sure how long I laid there waiting to succumb to sleep, but I woke suddenly to the sound of a howl. Something in me felt the need to answer the pained cry. Knowing that going down the stairs wasn't an option; I went out of the window and onto the room. Just beyond the tree line was a wolf. Vibrant yellow eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. I looked toward the driveway to find my father's car missing. I leaped from the roof to a sturdy branch and climbed my way down, sticking to the shadows as I followed the wolf.
As I trailed after the wolf, I caught glimpses of its fur from the moonlight. Its fur shone a familiar gray. Owen. I picked up my pace only coming to a stop when I found myself in the small clearing. The wolf looked at me expectantly. I cautiously moved towards him, holding my hand out. He sniffed my hand once before leaning into it.
I took that as a good sign and kneeled before him. The wolf, Owen, leaned in and sniffed at my neck letting out a whine. I wondered if he could smell that I was sick. He laid next to me, his heat warming my cool sweat-slicked skin, and rested his head on my lap. I shifted, bring my feet out from underneath me, and ran my fingers through his fur. I suddenly wished that I hadn't asked North to take me away when Owen told me about them.
Maybe Kota wouldn't have forced me to stay away. Would I still be staying with Owen or would I have ended up back at home anyway? Would my parents have noticed my absence? They never seemed to notice when Marie was gone.
We sat there for a long time, but even Owen's warmth wasn't enough to keep me completely warm. The more I shivered, the more I sweated and the more my stomach churned until I couldn't hold it back. I pushed the wolf's head off my lap and crawled a few feet away. I heaved try to expel the non-existent contents of my stomach. It seemed to hurt more when I had an empty stomach. I could taste something coppery on my tongue and I immediately spit it out. The wolf was beside me in a second sniffing at my sick before pressing his nose to my cheek and whining. I didn't have the strength to get up, so I collapsed right there. He pressed in close letting out another howl as he tried to keep me warm.
Dark spots filled my vision and Owen's howl seemed so far away. I tried to force the darkness away, but it seemed to grow closer. My slow, deep breaths turned into quick shallow ones. The darkness swallowed me up and I was gone.