TW: talks about homophobia and suicide
Lupita had been staying in the bakery for the past couple of days. Her vision was returning and she had been helping around in the bakery since she felt guilty for being a burden to John. He had said on multiple occasions that he wanted her to rest and didn't care about what she had said and that she was in no way a burden to him.
After that night he had explained to her why he had acted the way he did. It was his son's old room. When Lupita asked what happened he had become distant and Lupita could see the tears quickly forming in his eyes. John explained that his son had taken his own life and he felt guilty. He hadn't been there for him when he needed him and had detested him for what he was. So his son had taken his life and John had been crushed. He had almost closed the bakery, but then he told Lupita he and his son had started it together. Closing it wasn't an option, so he kept going and worked on himself.
Lupita was happy that he had been working on himself, and she would have never guessed that he was that kind of man before. He was kind to everyone he met. And if the popularity of his bakery was anything to go by, you could see that everyone loved him.
And his son seemed to have been a wonderful boy. He was 18, just like Lupita. He liked to bake and he liked to fix motorcycles. He had been fascinated with the supernatural world and had gotten himself a boyfriend who was a werewolf. John, in his words, was a different man and didn't accept any part of his son's choices in lover. So he had kicked him out and been awful to him. And a few months later he had gotten the news.
"Muffin!" John shouted from downstairs.
"Coming!" Lupita said as she pulled a loose black sweater. John had said she could use his son's old clothes and she was happy about that. He had been a strong and big man so his clothes fit Lupita wonderfully. They didn't stick to her skin and she guessed they were stylish. She didn't dwell on it and hurried down the stairs, grabbed the lunchbox set out for her, and took the sandwich filled with meat placed beside it.
"Your friend is outside," John said and quickly kissed her forehead as she slipped into her slippers.
"Love you!" Lupita howled back at him as she hurried out and jumped into the car. She guessed John found it amusing with her wolf tendencies because she could hear him chuckle before she closed the door.
"You are full of energy," Elizabeth said. She only got a mumble and growl back as Lupita began to eat her sandwich while placing the box with her lunch in her backpack. "That's good to hear," Elizabeth chuckled.
"You understood that?" Jazmyn asked and looked curiously at Lupita as she devoured her breakfast.
"Of course," Elizabeth said with a smile. "Wolves communicate through growling regularly so most of us understand it in human forms as well. You could say it's a different language. You will have some difficulty understanding it in human form - even I do - but your wolf will understand it.
"Ok," Jazmyn said and turned back to Lupita. "We have gym day today with the vampires. I asked North to bring a set of gym clothes for you."
"I still think gym day only a few days after the new moon is a horrible idea. For most of you it's the first day back," Elizabeth grumbled. "And with the vampires no less."
"We have gym days with the other ones as well," Jazmyn said and moved to face forward again. "You shouldn't be saying this so close to school Mom. What will they say when they hear you badmouth a whole race of students?"
"Shut your mouth, young lady," Elizabeth said in a joking tone. "There are worse teachers than me when it comes to this." The two in the front laughed and Lupita was left with a few questions but didn't bother asking.
Gym day with the vampires. She didn't even know what gym was, she hadn't had it yet. It didn't truly matter to her what it was, she felt her excitement stir as she thought of the vampire. Then she felt the soft leather brush against her neck and she swallowed thickly. Her feelings were confusing and she could feel her head hurt. The question suddenly echoed in her mind. The memory stone. What should she do? What would be the right thing to do? Maybe it would help. Maybe.
"We're here," Elizabeth said and Lupita jerked her head up. She looked outside the window and saw the school approach. She could see North and Valeria standing outside the school, talking.
"Bye Mom," Jazmyn said as she hurried out of the car. Lupita smiled and took her backpack before opening the car door. She wasn't as fast as Jazmyn and stayed to give Elizabeth a small hug and received a motherly kiss on the top of her head. Lupita smiled as she had to lean down slightly for the woman to reach her.
"Don't push yourself too hard," Elizabeth whispered to her and started walking with her to the school. "And don't push yourself too hard either young lady. You are only half wolf," Elizabeth said and pinched Jazmyn's cheek.
"Hey, Lupi!" Valeria exclaimed and jumped on the girl. Lupita just managed to catch the fox and stabilize herself. She could feel her tail wag rapidly and hit the sides of her arms. "We didn't hear anything from you, are you ok? The new moon really isn't fun."
"I'm fine," Lupita said and made sure to try to hide the collar around her neck. "You?" she turned to North who was walking towards them.
"I'm great," she said and carefully pealed Valeria away from her. "A little tired, but good." Lupita nodded and almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey fluffy," a familiar voice said. Lupita turned and saw a big head of fluffy curls.
"Hi," Lupita said frowned at the witch.
"Just wanted to wish you good luck today," MJ said and leaned into her ear. "Give me an answer by the end of the day... please." Lupita then felt a small peck on her cheek before the witch disappeared.
"What was that?" Jazmyn asked as Lupita straightened up.
"Something," Lupita said and looked at North. The shifter looked after the witch before looking back at Lupita. She scanned her face before moving to her neck. Lupita felt her hand move to her neck as North's eyes burned into her skin.
"Let's go get you changed Lupi," North said. "You guys get to your classes."
"I can come with you," Jazmyn said and made to follow the two but North put her hand out.
"You are already changed and if we are late you can vouch for us," North said. She didn't let Jazmyn get another word in before she moved with Lupita toward the room with the showers. Once they entered North closed the door and Lupita heard something click. "Here," North said and handed her a bag. Lupita opened it to reveal a T-shirt and a pair of loose shorts. "They should be your size. They're mine and we are about the same build and height."
"Thank you," Lupita said in a low voice and went to take off her clothes but hesitated when North's eyes stayed on her. Lupita wasn't shy about her body, or, she wasn't. A lot had changed. Her body had changed. "Are you gonna watch?" she asked as she held onto the hem of her sweater.
"Do you want me not to?" North asked but made no move to look away.
"N-no," Lupita stammered but she turned to face away from North and began taking off her sweater.
"Who did it?" North asked once she threw her sweater onto the ground.
"What?" Lupita asked and quickly reached for the t-shirt.
"The collar," North said in a dark tone. "Is it real?"
"It's real," Lupita said and quickly changed into the shorts. "I can't say who did it." She went to walk to the door but North stood in her way. "I won't tell you."
"It was the vampire," North said and Lupita felt her shoulders sag. "I won't tell anyone," North said and handed her a piece of cloth. "To cover your neck," she explained when Lupita gave her a questioning look. Lupita nodded and pulled it over her head and down to her neck to hide the collar. "Cool tattoos," North said and motioned to the moons on her arms.
"Thank you," Lupita said and subconsciously rubbed her arms.
They walked outside and met up with the other werewolves and vampires. Lupita's eyes immediately fell on Ambrosia who was standing off to the side beside the vampire that MJ was dating. She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks as a pit formed in her stomach at seeing the girl. She was wearing all black, just like all the other vampires. However, Lupita saw that most of the girls wore clothes that were a little tighter compared to the boys' loose-fitting t-shirts and/or shorts.
"I can kill her if you want me to," North whispered in her ear when she saw the vampire.
"No," Lupita said and shook her head. She smiled and waved when Ambrosia's eyes landed on her. "She is my mate. I just need to be patient."
"For her sake, I hope she is quick," North said and Lupita heard the wolf growl beside her.
"Who stepped on your tail?" Jazmyn said as she appeared beside her.
"Asshole vampires," North grumbled and Lupita saw their canines grow and their shoulders tense.
"Ok!" They all turned to the teachers who were standing on top of a small stage. "We all know the werewolves are tired so we will have no teasing and petty fights amongst you. We know that there is some petty rivalry between vampires and werewolves. Today is about fitness and to start the new moon cycle on a happy note."
"These teachers are idiots," Lupita hears North mumble beside her. She had to agree. An agelong war between the two would leave everlasting wounds on both sides that wouldn't so easily be fixed by running and messing around.
"Now," A new teacher said. Lupita took her time to look at each of them. Two were women. One of them was a vampire with dark but pale skin who had dark hair and was wearing a tight black outfit. The other had shoulder-length, fluffy black hair and dark skin and was wearing more loose-fitting clothes in neutral colors. The men were the same, only that the werewolf was blonde and pale for a werewolf, and the vampire was paper white with slicked-back, short, black hair. "We will be doing some activities here and then you will all run for a few hours in the forest."
"Hours?" Jazmyn said in disbelief and sighed.
"They expect top speed as well," North said with a wicked smile as Jazmyn hit her arm.
"We will divide you into groups now," the female vampire said and brought out a clipboard. She started listing names that Lupita had only heard in passing or role-call at the beginning of class. Lupita zoned out and absentmindedly leaned on North. In turn, North wrapped a comforting arm around her. She soon realized that they were calling out in groups of four and paring two vampires and two werewolves, often two girls and two boys. Who would she end up with? She hoped North or Jazmyn, she didn't want to be with someone she didn't know.
"Lupita, North, Rowan, and Ambrosia!" Lupita snapped her head up at the mention of her name and felt her stomach bubble.
"I'll see you guys," Jazmyn said and waved. "Got paired up with Isak and two other vampires. Good luck."
Lupita waved back and moved slightly away from North as the two vampires approached. From the corner of her eye, she could see them raise an eyebrow but she didn't get to comment on it before the vampires reached them.
"Hi," the boy said. "I'm Rowan. Though I think you know that, and this is Ambrosia." Lupita had forgotten his name completely and was glad he told them. "We don't want trouble so let's just make peace for this day and then we can go back to bickering."
"You really think I believe you don't want trouble?" North said in disbelief and Lupita carefully nudged them. "Idiots."
"Now, now," a voice came from beside them and they turned to see the male werewolf teacher. "No petty fights. And I'm gonna contradict myself by saying we are "fighting" as our first activity." This man seemed way too happy for Lupita's liking. He was smiling and fiddling with the big box in his hands. "You two" - he pointed to Lupita and North - "take a pair of mittens. We don't want anything bad to happen now do we?"
"Why don't they need those?" North asked as she took a pair and handed them to Lupita. She could feel a slight buzz in them as she held them in her hands. Magic.
"It is just a standard rule and most of them don't have that sharp nails and your clothes should protect you," the man said with a genuine smile.
"You know you can just say they have anger issues," Rowan commented without a single emotion on his face.
"You are paired with me," North said immediately, grabbed his arm and dragged him away.
"They are going to kill each other," Ambrosia mumbled and smiled at the teacher when he gave her a scared look. "Oh, they are not the only ones."
"Ok," he said and adjusted the box in his hands. "I'll get someone to look after them. I also need someone to look after the halfling." He stood there for a while with a thoughtful grimace on his face. He then turned and smiled brightly at the two. "Don't kill each other." Then he walked away to the next pair to hand out the mittens.
Lupita looked down at the mittens she received. They were made of thick, brown leather and were buzzing with magic. She could also see a small blue hue around them.
"Are you gonna put them on?" Ambrosia said after a few moments.
"They're magic," Lupita said and looked back at the vampire.
"Of course," she said and shrugged her shoulder. "If they were normal gloves you could easily rip through them."
"Ok," Lupita said and slowly put them on. The buzz became stronger as she put them on. It felt wrong. She felt restrained. Her feet absentmindedly started to tip toe and her hands shook.
"It's not comfortable, I know," Ambrosia said and moved in front of her. "Listen about the co-"
"OK, everyone!" Once again they turned to the stage to see the teachers. It was still the cheery werewolf who was talking. "We will start with a bit of fighting, or wrestling, to get comfortable with your partner. You werewolves have gotten enchanted mittens to not cause any unintentional harm. Without further ado, let's begin."
"Ready?" Ambrosia asked as Lupita turned to her.
"No," Lupita answered truthfully. She looked around the big field and saw everyone start to wrestle each other to the ground. Some seemed like they were having fun, others seemed to be out for blood. One of them was North and Rowan who were rolling around in the grass, trying to get a good grip on each other's necks.
"Then let's just start easy," Ambrosia said and Lupita felt her place her hands on her shoulders. She felt a small spark, but it was faint. "Place your hands on my shoulders." Lupita wasn't able to protest as her hands immediately flew to the girl's shoulders and she felt the collar on her neck tighten ever so slightly before loosening. "Now we are just going to try and get the other on the ground and to yield. So you just press my shoulders-" Lupita felt her muscles tighten as she pressed her palms onto the vampire's shoulders. She was startled but regained her footing and pressed back. "I forgot about the collar thing," she said in a strained voice. "You don't need to continue, but this is what we have to do."
Lupita felt her will return but continued to press into the vampire's shoulders. They stood like that for a while before Lupita quickly moved her foot behind Ambrosia's leg and swept her off her feet. She quickly caught her and carefully put her down, but placed herself on top of her to try and make her yield as she pinned her arms to the sides of her head. Lupita never knew vampires could become as red as Ambrosia was at that moment. Something which made her a little proud.
"Do you yield?" Lupita asked and couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face. Ambrosia answered by quickly flipping them over so that she was straddling Lupita and pinning both her hands over her head with one hand.
"No," she said with a smug smile on her face as Lupita felt her cheeks burn.
Lupita quickly freed her hands from the vampire's grip, hugged her waist, and pushed off with her legs to do a cartwheel. She then quickly tried to get Ambrosia on her stomach, but the vampire was surprisingly quick and placed a foot on Lupita's stomach and pushed her away. Lupita quickly gained back her footing and placed her hands on Ambrosia's shoulder as the girl charged for her.
"You are surprisingly strong," Ambrosia said as they pushed on each other.
"Same," Lupita said and let go of her shoulders to crouch down, grab around her stomach, and slammed her into the ground. An act which caused her collar to tighten and in turn, gave Amboria enough time to recover and pin Lupita on her stomach and capture her hands behind her back.
"You yield?" Ambrosia asked.
"I yield," Lupita wheezed out. She hadn't been able to register it as a question.
"Good," Ambrosia said and got off her. "You fight good," she said and Lupita saw her hand out to help her get up.
"Are you ok?" Lupita asked as her head began to spin from the lack of oxygen.
"Yeah, of course." At the confirmation, Lupita took a deep breath as the collar loosened around her neck. "You ok?"
"Mhm," Lupita said and nodded as she took the vampire's hand. She felt the sparks again and then she was back to the ground as the hand disappeared. Lupita grumbled and slowly sat up. Her eyes fell on the vampire, but she was looking anywhere but at her. "How long are you gonna be like this?" Lupita felt herself ask, just not with her voice.
"Shut up," Ambrosia said and Lupita's mouth slammed shut.
They weren't the first ones done and soon heard a loud whistle blow as time was up, or the teachers understood that people would actually kill each other. Many were still rolling around on the grass so the teachers spent an extra few minutes pulling everyone apart and assessing any damage that had been done.
"You good?" North asked as she and Rowan came over to them. Lupita gave her a thumbs up and grimaced when she saw the bruises on North's face. "It's fine," she said and waved her hand. "Had he been able to get bruises he could look worse."
"As if," Rowan mumbled and walked over to Ambrosia. "Let her speak." Lupita's eyes flew to the boy. She didn't think he would care.
"Excuse me?" North said and walked over to Lupita. "She used it?" Lupita only looked away and absentmindedly scratched her neck. "You can't do that!" North shouted and Lupita quickly covered her mouth with her hand. They couldn't let the whole school know.
"You can talk," Ambrosia mumbled and focused her attention on the teachers.
"Thank you," Lupita said and removed her hand from North's mouth, the wolf shaking in anger.
The teachers introduced the next game, and then the next, and the next. Lupita realized that Ambrosia was in a better mood when they were doing the activities, but as soon as they ended she became sour and distant. It hurt, but Lupita was happy for the few fun moments they had, and she was grateful for the activity, though she could see that many of the werewolves were struggling. She could also see a few that were thriving and guessed they were shifters or high-ranked.
"Good job everyone!" The male werewolf teacher said as they finished a particularly tiring exercise. Lupita was laughing with Ambrosia as they lay in the grass after they had toppled over each other and North and Rowan. "Take a ten-minute break and come back because we are running the rest of the school day as our last exercise."
"You guys have terrible coordination," Rowan said and pushed them all off him.
"That exercise was hard, you need to agree with that," North said as she rolled off Lupita and swiftly stood up.
"Can't say I can. I feel nothing," Rowan said and dusted off his shorts.
"Then... do you not feel anything for MJ?" Lupita asked and basked in the feeling of her mate lying in her lap.
Rowan's eyes narrowed. "I do feel like that. It's complicated you wouldn't understand." He quickly moved away to a group of vampires who were all laughing and drinking what Lupita assumed was blood.
"You need to think before you speak," Ambrosia said as she stood up. "Some things are more sensitive than others. Vampires generally don't speak about not being able to feel certain things."
"Ok," Lupita said with a nod and smiled at the vampire. In turn, the vampire looked away and hurried off after her friend.
"She is a piece of work," North said and helped Lupita to her feet. "I don't envy you but I hope for your sake that she comes to her senses." They walked to a group of werewolves and Lupita nodded. She could understand the vampire's feelings somewhat, what she didn't understand was the goddess who did this to her. Or, maybe Loki had gotten involved. Wouldn't be the first time one of the big ones had done something that would come with permanent consequences to her life.
"Hi, Lupi!" Jazmyn cheered as they came over to her. "How was it?"
"I don't like Rowan, but I have some level of respect for him," North said and rubbed her jaw. "He has a strong fist."
"I ended up with a really nice girl. She helped me understand most of the games. Isak helped as well, of course. He's a sweetheart," Jazmyn said with a smile and waved at a boy with semi-long, brown hair, a slight stubble, and wearing painfully yellow shorts, shoes, and a red t-shirt. The werewolf waived back comically exited with a big smile and turned back to the people he was talking to.
"He seems nice," Lupita said and absentmindedly looked at the vampires and Ambrosia standing off to the side. Lupita scrunched her eyebrows as she looked at the girl. She didn't seem to participate in any conversation and simply stood off to the side. Why wasn't she spending time with the other vampires? Wasn't she worried that Lupita would mess up her image or something?
"You stare a lot," North whispered in her ear which caused her to jump slightly. "It's not polite you know. Then again, she doesn't deserve it." Lupita looked away from the vampire and glared at North who simply shrugged their shoulders.
The break was over quickly and they all lined up by the edge of the forest. Lupita felt a small chill run down her spine as she stared into the dark space between the trees. Something was... wrong.
"You will have the rest of the period to run around in the forest. We will be running with you and when you hear the whistle the day is done and you can go home," The female vampire said as everyone slowly made their way towards the forest. "Don't kill each other." She then blew her whistle and people everyone started running into the forest.
"Don't push yourself, Jazmyn," North said as she and Lupita sped off and rapidly took the lead amongst the other shifters as well as a few vampires.
"Hey, freak!"
Lupita turned to see a tall, tan boy with a shaved head. He was running at an incredible speed and he reeked of power.
"Shut up Jack," North said and shoved him, causing the boy to stagger and slow down enough for Lupita and North to take a good lead. "You are very fast," North stated after a while they were in the front with a few others and a good portion of people far behind them. Lupita hummed and kept running. "Focusing. I get it."
They continued to run for several minutes, many had fallen behind and even North was starting to show signs of fatigue. Lupita realized then that she needed to slow down and tried to match North's pace.
After what seemed like hours of mindless running, jumping, and playing, Lupita slowed down. The others had started to run at a slower pace but she slowly slowed to a stop by a big tree. She could feel the wind of the others passing her as she looked up at it. There was a small tugging feeling on the tips of her fingers as she stared. Something was calling her. Something was there.
A small red ball suddenly flew at her face. She fell to the ground as she felt the furry thing crawl around her face.
"Idiot!" she shouted and let out a breath of relief. Tyven sat on top of her face with his paws on her face and his beady black eyes staring into her soul. "Du skremte livet av meg," she said and picked him off her face. He squeaked slightly and moved his head to look into the forest. Lupita hummed and stood up. He pushed against her hands and Lupita took that as her sign to follow his command.
They walked deeper into the forest and Lupita felt her ears flick and the hair on her skin rise as they continued to walk. Tyven was becoming restless and Lupita could feel the tiny creature shake in her hands. She felt the fear from her familiar transfer to her as they continued to trudge through the dense forest.
"Hvor er vi?" she asked the squirrel and brought him to her chest. He climbed up her shoulder and up before hiding in her hair. Lupita looked around and sniffed the air. It smelled... rotten.
Rouges.
AN: wow, this was long. I hope 8ll be able to write the next chapter quickly but no promises.
Also, if my profile suddenly changes it is because I am scared of being outed to my friends.
Also, I kinda wanna do a QA. But I don't know if I have enough people. But if y'all are interested, write your questions here.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and if you see any spelling mistakes it would be lovely if you pointed them out (kindly please).
Hope you are all taking care of yourselves both mentally and physically. Make sure to eat and drink something.
If no one has said it to you yet: I am incredibly proud of you!!
Hope you have a lovely day/night/evening.
Love you all and thank you for reading. Leave a vote or comment, they are very appreciated! ❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖