Hello! So I seem to be having trouble logging into my Wattpad account on my laptop. I'm glad I'm not having problems on my phone, but on my computer it won't let me add a story part and I tried to log out and log back in but it won't even let me log in now! If anyone knows why this is happening, let me know. But at least I can publish this next chapter on my phone.
Enjoy! I know you've been waiting :)
Cooper's POV
~32 hours earlier~
I've been on this hot and smelly bus for what feels like hours. The teachers on this field trip- my biology professor included- say that we need to reach a certain campsite. I know that it's still on Lunar territory, but it's in the middle of fucking nowhere so we can "obtain objective knowledge of plants and wildlife without human influence."
Honestly, it's just the middle of fucking nowhere so we can look at green things.
Since we have some humans on this trip, this means that the werewolves can't run to the location, which would be way faster than stopping every thirty minutes for some kid to use the bathroom or to get more snacks.
I'm sitting next to someone in my AP Bio class. They're a human, and they ask everyone to call them Scout, even though their parents didn't name them that. I honestly don't give a fuck what their "given" name is as long as they use the name they feel most comfortable with.
I guess we're both outcasts, and that's why they sit down next to me. After ten minutes of silence, I can't hold in my chatter any longer and I ask them why they chose that specific name. Then, we start a conversation about identity and how we're a product of our surroundings but we don't have to follow the norm.
I don't know why I never spoke to them sooner.
Actually, that's not true. I know exactly why.
In the Lunar Pack, we're taught to keep our distance from humans. The closer we get, the more likely they are to catch on to the fact that they're surrounded by werewolves. Things would be much easier if we were in our own isolated town with no humans around, but instead there is a divide between our kinds that most don't cross.
Since I talk a lot, that much is fucking obvious, I have always be cautious of being around humans. I'm kind of a blabbermouth, and I know that I would end up spoiling something or saying the wrong thing- and that would only endanger the human.
Bad things happen to humans who find out about the existence of the supernatural. The council is forced to step in, and from the minimal information I have gathered from Sarah and Nik on the matter, I don't want anything bad happening to anyone because I can't keep my fucking mouth shut.
So, since I'm stuck on a bus with Scout and other stanky, unruly high schoolers, I figure it's safe enough to talk about surface level issues.
Talking to Scout, with their blue-dyed hair and purple contacts, makes me feel normal. Like I can actually get along with someone my age. They get a tad aggressive when discussing politics or religion, so I steer the conversation away from those topics. Even though we agree on almost everything, I would rather talk about lighter topics.
Like poptarts, the school hierarchy, and how generally idiotic our classmates are.
The idiocy of our classmates comes about when Virginia's top somehow ends up thrown in my direction as she sits on Brenden to make out with him. I will literally never understand that desperate hoe. We're on a fucking bus! I don't want to see that.
Thankfully, the chaperone puts a stop to that really quickly.
In a few hours, we're exiting the bus and entering the cabins we'll be staying in for two nights. Why this trip has to be so long, I have no fucking clue. But, it beats a ten page paper that I would most likely fail.
The cabins for the guys and girls are separated, which I guess I understand, but for someone like me, that doesn't seem to help. Thankfully, I'm not sharing a cabin with Brenden or any of his posse. It seems that my AP Bio teacher is a fucking angel sent from above because she rooms me with some kids from the chess club.
Since Scout "looks" like a girl, they get placed in the girls cabin. They may be uncomfortable being categorized that way when they identify as non-binary, but the school doesn't seem to give a shit about that. They never gave a shit about the bullying I received for being gay, so that doesn't fucking surprise me.
The first day of the field trip is just traveling, settling in and eating dinner, so Friday night is lonely and boring. I wish that I could talk to Axel. I've been thinking about him a lot, and I'm regretting going on this trip and not being able to see him. We usually spend Friday nights cuddling in bed- after we fuck, of course.
Spending the night in a strange bed with three antisocial humans is basically torture. I don't want to say the wrong thing, and I find myself being transported to a time when my insecurities ruled. In this new environment, and without my mate or pack friends, I get discouraged.
When Saturday morning rolls around, I thankfully wake up refreshed and ready to attack the day. I can do this! I just have to get through today and tonight, and then Axel will pick me up and hold me in his arms tomorrow. I'll get to smell his unique pine scent and listen to his low voice that makes me feel so many tingly emotions.
The day is long and surprisingly interesting. I pair up with Scout and a few people they said they "don't hate," so we all go collecting certain roots and bringing them back to the main cabin area between the boys' and girls' cabins. We have to compare them, record their properties, and then soak them in a certain chemical and measure their chlorophyll levels. It's kind of interesting, but after dinner, I'm fucking tired of looking at green shit.
The only green I want to look at is Axel's eyes.
Dinner is an option of hot dogs or hamburgers, and obviously I pick hot dogs.
I like wieners.
Scout chooses a vegetarian option, and after we eat, I say goodbye and head back to the cabins. It's almost eight at night, and curfew is right at eight when everyone should be done with dinner.
Eight seems early, but when you're in the woods with minimal light, it makes sense not to be wandering around. Well, for the humans, anyways. The werewolves can see fine, but it has to be fair for everyone.
I decide to go to bed early. I mean, the sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I'll wake up and get to see Axel. However, I find myself tossing and turning as I think about him more and more. I fucking miss everything about him. I feel a physical pain in my chest at not talking to him at all today.
You know what? Fuck it.
I get out of bed, making sure to grab my phone. I'll bet that if I travel far enough, I'll find somewhere that has a little bit of service. They already did bed checks, so I just need to sneak out of the cabin without the humans suspecting anything.
I actually kind of like how their hearing isn't as great as a werewolf's would be. They don't hear a thing as I sneak out of a window on the second story, leaving the window cracked so that I can get back in the same way.
The only sound I make is the light crunching of leaves under my bare feet. I make as little noise as possible. I check left and right, making sure nobody sees me. I already took my contacts out, but my glasses allow me to see enough. With no chaperones watching me, I run east, hoping to find a break in the trees where there will be service. After fifteen minutes of running around, I can't find a single bar.
Wait! The chaperones must have some sort of WiFi contraption so they can contact the school in case of emergencies. I decide to sneak over in that direction. Maybe I can connect to the server directly and quickly call Axel. I'm sure he would be fucking excited to hear from me.
Well, he wouldn't show his excitement. His tone of voice would probably be similar to if he was ordering food at a restaurant, but I know he would be happy to hear from me.
I sneak closer to the cabins and I almost blow my cover when I see that a single bar appears in the corner of my phone. Yes! If I get even closer, the connection won't be as spotty and I'll be able to hear his voice clearly.
I must be very excited to speak to Axel because I am caught completely off-guard when a forearm creeps around my throat and applies pressure. My phone falls somewhere on the forest floor, and my claws immediately form to scratch at the attacker.
One sniff is all it takes for me to identify the attacker.
I open my mouth to scream, but Brenden quickly turns me around and punches me in the gut. All air is released from my lungs as I double over from the unexpected blow. His familiar- and unwelcome- presence causes me to forget all of my training. When he punches me in the face again, my glasses go flying off of my face.
Shit! It's so dark and my vision is so blurry that I can't see a thing. My palms begin to sweat as panic overtakes me. I am tackled to the floor, and before my brain can catch up to what is happening, Brenden's forearm finds my throat once again.
"You think you can humiliate me in front of my friends?" He growls at me. I don't have enough air to scream, and I am too panicked to shift. What was the training Axel taught me? If I'm anxious, my focus will be misplaced. Anger, fear, and sadness are all extreme emotions that play into our werewolf sides. Those feelings enhance our abilities, while panic and anxiety lessen it.
Axel explained how there is a clear difference between fear and anxiety. Everyone gets scared, but when that fear overtakes us, that is when we are truly lost.
Well, I find myself truly lost at the moment. However, I can't just allow Brenden to do whatever the fuck he wants to me. I'm Cooper Bradenton, and I'm nothing if not sassy. If I can get him angered enough, he may lose focus and I'll have just the opening I need to get a hit in and shift.
"I did a pretty good job, didn't I?" I snarl at him, trying to lessen my panic.
It's not working so well. My heart is still working overtime to pump blood through my veins. His forearm lowers further, giving me even less air to breathe with.
"I tried being nice," he sneers at me. "I fucked you any time of the day. I know you liked it. Then your so-called mate showed up, and you ditched me for that fucking maniac. Everyone in our pack knows he's a fucking psycho who murders and rapes and tortures anyone who even looks at him the wrong way."
"That's not fucking true!" I say, angry that Brenden is insinuating that my mate is this heartless monster. If he saw how Axel really acted, he wouldn't be saying those things. Axel would never hurt an innocent person.
And right now, Brenden isn't looking so innocent.
"My mate," I say, emphasizing the word, "is a good man."
When I use the word mate, Brenden's eyes glow a brighter blue as he bares his teeth at me. His wolf seems very affected by my use of the term, which is setting off major red flags. I already knew that Brenden's wolf had a strange attachment to me, but now I'm freaking the fuck out even more.
With his canines extended, Brenden looks close to shifting. If he shifts, that will give me the distraction I need to shift into my wolf or run to the cabins. He won't be able to get inside without showing his wolf form to the humans, and even he isn't that stupid.
I think.
I just need him to be a little angrier so that the cracking and shaping of his bones will distract him for the few seconds it takes for me to make my next move. So, I say what I think will make him the most pissed off.
"I'm already mated. I'm not fucking yours, and I'll never be yours. I belong to Axel, so the sooner you get that into that sick brain of yours, the better."
Brenden's breathing picks up, and I know that I got to him. He looks two seconds away from shifting.
A lot can happen in two seconds, though. Because Brenden did the one thing that is the most forbidden action a werewolf could do. He commits the ultimate crime to the Moon Goddess, the most sacred act in the most deceitful way.
He marks me.
~
Who guess it?
Next chapter is Axel's reaction to this whole thing!
Q: Do you prefer the beach, the mountains, or the woods?
A: Mountains, sorry Cooper!