Adelyn
"So we missed you by hours?" I asked, unable to believe that we'd camped literal minutes from Markus' mate's pack. I didn't know all that much about werewolves, except for what Markus had told me, and that wolf was more of a cunning fox who dramatised everything and no doubt embellished every aspect he could, but I had to admit there was something beyond lucky about that close call and the subsequent chance meeting in the forest. Like fate. Aww.
"Yeah, you have no idea how frustrating it was," Noah replied as we picked our way through the forest. "I used every bit of my influence to find this place."
"Well, I appreciate it. Very noble of you," Markus commented, glancing at Noah and smiling widely. "Am I worth the wait?"
Noah studied him. "I'm still debating." He laughed, nudging Markus' shoulder lightly.
"I'm taking that as a yes," Markus retorted.
"Markus?" Chloe called back. She was up ahead with Caleb, and they both glanced back at us.
"Yes, dearest friend?" He replied, making me and Caleb glare at him.
Chloe either took no notice of our betrayal or just ignored us. "You said last year that mates are people that are made for you," She began.
"Last year? How good is your memory?"
"Exceptional," She answered, "I was just wondering if your father was always...uh--"
"Such an ass?" I filled in. Caleb looked away to hide his smile.
"Not always," Markus told us, an odd touch of nostalgia and pain lining his voice that sobered us immediately. "He was strict and had the pack's best interests in mind-- or, that's what he believed. He always had us training, even before we first shifted. He'd make my brothers and I chop up firewood for hours on end, but he made sure to take care of the land and replanted triple whatever we took down. And at night we'd sit around the fire and listen to his stories. I was too young to realise it, but he wasn't happy being below Kaden and Callum. He claimed that he was next in line to be alpha in his own pack - whether that was true or not, I'm not too sure - but he gave it up to be with my mum. So he thought it was his right to become alpha of this pack, instead. He had a mate and three kids to continue his line, so in his mind, he had more of a right than Kaden to be alpha. So he challenged him. And he lost.
"Things were rocky after that, and Kaden only agreed to let my dad stay because of my mum and us. He didn't want to tear our family and pack apart, unlike Damien. There was always some animosity between them, and my dad became consumed with the thought of power and usurping Kaden's title. When Kaden found his luna, Sierra, we thought Damien would back down a little and accept his place. But then we found out that, well, Sierra couldn't have children, and my dad, like a damn psycho, thought that was even more proof that he deserved to be alpha. It didn't really help that, around the same time, Caleb helped me out with some hunters. My dad was a little obsessed with the werewolf legacy and having a pure pack with absolutely no outsiders. Especially not vampires."
"He chased my brother and me out the house with a stake," Caleb added, his eyes narrowed slightly as he held up a low-hanging branch for us all to pass. "Like Lyn said, a complete ass."
"That was almost the last straw for Kaden and the others. Even my mum was less forgiving of his behaviour. I guess she realised he didn't really love us-- he only loved the idea of his perfect little family. And when Reece and Ash wandered into our territory and we took them in and didn't execute them - shameful, I know - Damien sort of...lost it. So Kaden kicked him out and warned him to never come back. I can only imagine what he thought when he first came back and saw all the new people we've taken under our wing. Tyler, Renée, you three..." He trailed off, his gaze fixed on me, Chloe and Caleb before shifting to study the forest.
"Fuck him and his prejudiced mindset," Noah muttered. "In this world, you take allies wherever you find them and you keep them close. No matter who they are."
Markus stared at Noah with admiration before snapping back to his senses. "Yeah, he was so obsessed with the half-wolf thing that he kind of...forgot we're also half-human. The whole Amelie thing happened not long after, and because Damien didn't come sulking back to us, we thought the hunters had gotten to him first. Unfortunately not," He muttered the last part to himself.
"The whole Amelie thing...?" Noah echoed, frowning lightly.
"It's a long story."
For the rest of our walk through the forest, we took it in turns to explain the hunter mess of last year for Noah's benefit.
"A dramatic first year at university, then?" He commented once we'd finished.
"You have no idea." Chloe laughed lightly.
"When did you find out about everyone?"
"I'm not exaggerating - a week in."
"We're not the best at keeping secrets, it seems," Caleb said. "Still, if we had to get stuck with anyone, I'm glad it was a supernatural-lover like you."
Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. "Charming."
He grinned in response, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her along before she could protest.
We reached the house soon after, thankfully with no rogues or hunters or leaves trying to kill us.
"You didn't forget about our spontaneous pizza order, did you?" I asked Markus, having only just remembered myself.
"Lyn, I love you so much--" He began.
Caleb cut us off by hitting us both in the face with a good dose of reality. "It's half two in the morning. Nowhere is going to be open for pizza delivery."
To say Markus and I took the news well was nothing but a lie. We were heartbroken.
"Look at him - crushing our dreams and carrying on with his life," Markus muttered darkly as we glared at Caleb whilst he unlocked the front door and let us all in.
Noah chuckled at our behaviour, glancing around the neighbourhood. "It's a lovely place. Close to the forest, too."
"I swear it's usually not so full of rogues and hunters," Markus assured him. "All this mess only began when Caleb got back. Omen of bad luck. Destroyer of dreams."
"Asshole," Caleb shot back.
"Yeah, that too."
I decided that if we were going to get anything done in the next few hours, I would have to take charge. Heading to the kitchen, I found out a pile of breakfast bars (technically speaking, it was morning, and so these would have to do) and began distributing them to the others.
"Alright - have these now and know that Caleb owes us all pizzas tonight, so don't kill me. Markus, give Noah the tour. Noah, make yourself at home and it's great to meet you. Caleb, please don't keep Chloe up with random facts about the war--"
"--when have I ever--?!"
"--and Chloe, get your perfect self to bed. We're up at seven, people!"
"Welcome to boot camp," Markus muttered to Noah, who had to hide his smile behind a hand when I glared at them both.
Everyone knew how serious I was, and Noah caught on, too, so they all saluted and disappeared to complete their respective roles.
I couldn't wait until these exams were over. Not that the spring semester would be any easier, but at least some of the stress would be taken off us. Maybe we'd even be so lucky as to have some free time. Fingers crossed. Otherwise I was starting to see the appeal of running to the devil to bargain. It worked for the first occult members - why would the guy deny me an extra hour in bed a day?
Despite how eventful the last few hours had been, and my mind was racing with thoughts of rogues and hunters and mates (still not quite able to believe that last one), I fell asleep quickly, and those racing thoughts became dreams, instead.
I woke up to my alarm, hating life itself.
Groaning in annoyance into my pillow, I barely had time to consider sleeping in when there was a sound like thunder on the other side of my door.
Oh, wait. Not thunder. Just Markus. "Get up, witch! I'm way too energised to be the only one awake, right now!" He exclaimed.
"Not for much longer if you keep screaming," I muttered reproachfully.
"I can hear you!" He sung back in response, doing a creepily accurate rendition of a psycho-murderer.
I glared at the door from beneath the mess that was my duvet, grumbling under my breath as I got up and faced the icy hell that was my room.
"Could you put the heating on?" I pleaded as I shrugged on a thick hoodie.
"Already ahead of you," He answered, smiling smugly when I opened my door and leading the way downstairs.
His screaming technique had worked wonders, and not long after, as we sat at the dining table eating cereal surrounded by lecture notes, Chloe and Caleb wandered into the room.
"I think he needs a muzzle," Caleb was saying.
"Agreed," Chloe and I replied.
"Charming. I am right here."
We spent the next hour or so in unusual silence, each of us lost in our own little world of stress and work. Chloe at one point put her head on the table, I think to double-check whether the information would flow into her brain. Alas, no such luck.
"It's so quiet - I thought you'd all died," Noah commented when he came downstairs a little later on.
"I wish," I mumbled.
He sat down next to Markus and tried his best to understand whatever was written down in front of him. Probably a bunch of coding rules, or something. His lost-but-still-determined look was adorable, and I shared a look with Chloe and found it almost impossible to stop the smile from creeping up my face.
Markus, sensing his confusion, began to explain one of the many concepts he had to learn, and Noah listened intently. Maybe I was too busy focusing on them and not enough on my own notes, because I noticed the way they seemed to gravitate towards one another until their shoulders were touching (whether on purpose or accidental, I couldn't tell). It was beyond adorable.
Eventually, it was time for us to head out. Chloe and I both had an exam at nine, and Caleb was going to come along with us and study in the library before his test at eleven. Markus had the choice of staying in or heading to the library to complete his coursework, and I was almost certain that I knew which he'd rather choose. After all, you couldn't take a duvet (or a Noah) into the library.
It was going to be another long day - I could already tell.