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THIS HAS NOT BEEN EDITED.
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By the time I woke up, It's already the afternoon and everyone's up and running. For a while, I make no attempt to get up from my cotton fortress till Gabby insists on bugging me. As always.
"Come on, Ray. We're gonna play some volleyball!"
"Have fun with that," I grumbled and rolled over, placing the pillow over my head. I closed my eyes with a sigh and begin to drift off when Gabby swiped the pillow from me and hit me with it, swatting me over and over again. "Hey! Cool it!"
"No! Get up!"
I shot up from my place on the bed and shoved at her to back off. She didn't. Finally, once I pleased her with getting out of bed, she stopped and sent a innocent smile in my direction. "See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
"Bite me." I retorted and passed her, bumping my shoulders with her. I made my way into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I heard Gabby's mocking laughter from the other side of the door, but made no attempt to care for it. Instead, I took a brief and quick shower. Once I got out, I changed into a pair of shorts and V-neck.
I exited the room and found my way into the living room. Once I saw the room was vacant, I made my way outside to see Gage and Gabby setting up a net. A volleyball net, I presumed.
"Morning sleeping beauty!" Gage called to me, a grin on his face.
"Morning," I mumbled as I approached, "What are you up to?"
"Volleyball."
I nodded, pinching my lips together. "Why do we always play some type of sport when we're all together?"
"Because there's not much else to do," Gabby retorted, throwing me the white ball. "And you're team captain. Pick your team."
"I don't want to be captain."
"I'll be captain!" Elli chirped and jogged over to me, reaching to grab the ball from my grasp when Gabby snagged it from me first.
"Ray, you're captain whether you like it or not. Pick your team."
I sighed and nodded, "Whatever. I'll pick-"
"Wait till everyone get's in line, jeez." Gabby grumbled and turned, calling to everyone to get in a line straight across. I narrowed my eyes and glared at the back of her head. What was up with her and her bitchy mood lately towards me? First, this morning, and now demanding I be captain?
Once everyone was in line, Gabby then gave me the okay to pick my team mates. I stare down the line of people. I barely know any of them besides Gage, Gabby, Dustin, Zeke, Chace, Elli, and Chloe. The other five people here are blank, unfamiliar faces.
My first pick, of course, is Gage. He grins and jogs over to me, once he's by my side, he wraps a arm around my shoulder. I grin back at him but it quickly falters when I see Dustin with another frown on his face.
My eyes fall to the sand, and the rest of the picking is a blur.
Gabby chooses a guy that's name is Sav. Then she picks a girl named Charolette.
I choose Chloe, even though she's complete crap, I can't face Dustin. That's why I pick Elli next time around.
Gabby chooses another two unfamiliar faces and It's evident that she wants to stick me with Dustin. They're four people left. Including Chace, Zeke, Dustin, and another chick I don't know.
Gabby chooses Chace. I swallowed hard, looking over at Gabby who lifts a eyebrow at me and gestures to Dustin with her eyes.
I take the bait and finally pick Dustin. When I do, he doesn't seem pleased the least bit. He just sluggishly walks over and stands on my right side.
Gabby picks the girl and I'm left with Zeke, though I don't complain.
Finally, the game kicks into play and we're running around like chickens who've just had their heads cut off.
I discovered that volleyball isn't my forte. At all. I ended up hitting Charlotte in the face with the ball. She was understanding. She just smiled and claimed she was fine. Than I hit Elli in the face with the ball, and well, he wasn't as nice.
"My face!" He cried, clasping a hand over his swollen eye. "My beautiful face! It's ruined! How could you Ray?"
I gave him a coy grin and shrugged my shoulders, appearing innocent. "Oops?"
"Oops doesn't fix my ruined face!" He spat, then stalked off. Yeah, that was the end of our fun little game.
The rest of the afternoon was.. calm. Oddly. Almost too odd. I spent most of my time on the beach, while everyone was inside watching a movie or something. Even Gage didn't come by to see me, but I think he understood I had way too much on my mind right now.
Night fell quickly. And I didn't even attempt to move. I simply laid down and closed my eyes for a minute, hoping to just take a nap for thirty or so minutes. But those plans were harshly ruined once I heard voice. Familiar voices.
"Gabby, that kiss.. It almost ruined everything. Ray's still really sketchy about me. And I don't think being out here too long with each other will give the gang a good idea. Nonetheless, Ray."
Dustin?
"Do you really like Ray that much?"
I inch a little closer silently, hoping they don't catch me. I slide on my stomach and catch sight of two figure's. I can tell It's them when Dustin swings the lantern he holds in his hands in front of them before. I cower lower once I see his eyes rake the dark beach and I suck in a sharp breath.
"Yes, I do. Did I lead you on or-"
Gabby abruptly cuts him off. "She picked Gage, don't you see that?"
Dustin sighed, shaking his head. "Well, that's why I'm going to show her I'm the better choice and maybe-" Again, Gabby's rushes to speak first.
"Gage is her mate, Dustin! Do you think she'd choose you over him?" Gabby is frantic, flaring her arms around and everything.
Dustin doesn't reply. Instead, he trains his eyes on the sand. "I don't know," He said, after minutes of silence.
Gabby shakes her head gently. Nervously, she plays with her fingers, drawing in a shaky breath. "What I mean is.. they're meant to be. It's kinda hard to fight fate, don't you think? And about the kiss.." She pauses for a moment, pressing her lips together, "It was stupid. And totally impulsive. You were just saying those sweet things and.. and.. I don't know." She buried a hand in her, tugging on her black strands. "I'm so confused about everything in my life right now, to be honest."
Dustin laughs softly, nodding in agreement. "Tell me about it. Everything's such a mess. With Decklin, and Gage, and-"
"Ray?" She asked, cutting him off mid sentence.
"Yeah." He muttered.
I'm not even sure of what to think right now. Gabby was so lonely that she had kissed Dustin? Did that even make sense?
And why was he so hung up on me? I mean, I was just Ray. Weird, fucked up Ray. Who would be interested in me?
"Don't you ever wonder about your mate?" Gabby said abruptly.
"No," He replied. "Because I don't even know who she is."
"Well, maybe you'll meet her one day. Maybe if you and Ray did get involved, and miraculously, she chose you, wouldn't it be weird if you one day met that one girl who was made for you?"
"I guess," He agreed lowly and his eyes darted to the dimly lit cabin. "I should head back."
"Yeah," She nodded and raised her hand up, giving him a small wave. "See you later."
He gave her one last look before he walked off. Once he's out of sight and surely in the cabin, Gabby collapses, placing the lantern by her side.
"You can come out Ray."
I froze. How the helll had she- I stop myself before I can really question myself about that. Mainly because it's a stupid question.
We're werewolves. We can smell from miles away and hear things that no one can. But if she knew I was here the whole time, why hadn't she stopped Dustin?
I stand up reluctantly and dust my clothes off. I glance at Gabby to see her with a sad smile on her face. "Life sucks, huh?"
I frown at her and pad over to where she is, plopping down next to her. "What do you say that? You seem like the most happiest person on in earth in my eyes."
"That's because you don't truly know who I am," She muttered and turned away from me. We fall silent for a minute before she says, "I'm sorry for acting like a bitch today."
"It's cool," I answered with a shrug. Though it's really not, and I'm curious as to why, I don't push it. I figure she's had enough of fights for one day. But she seems to want to talk about since she insists on speaking of it.
"It's not though," She said, her voice breaking at the end. "I'm just so bitter about everything lately. I mean, I see all of the people in the pack settling down with their mates and here I am, alone."
I brushed a hair our of my face and frowned. "Who's settling down, exactly?"
"Everyone!" She cried loudly, making me flinch. "Even Chloe thinks Zeke might be her actual mate. Chloe, the biggest slut in the word gets a mate, but I don't. Is that fair?"
I'm shocked by her out burst so much that I'm not even sure how to reply. "I guess not." I replied, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.
I don't even know where this out break is coming from, but I decide to make the best out of it and just sit and listen.
"You even have a mate," She huffed and I don't know if I should be offended or not by that statement. "And you're just like Chloe. Selfish. Because you don't realize you have these perfect guys crying over you. Especially Gage. Do you know how much that boy wants you to be with him? Dustin wants to be with you too, though he knows you have a mate!"
I didn't deny any of it. Instead I sat quietly. My silence doesn't even bother, she just continues you on.
"I just want to know if my mate's out there. Do I even have a mate? Or do the Gods hate me that much that they won't let me find him? Those bastards."
"They might not now because you called them bastards," I joked. But Gabby isn't the slight bit amused. She fell back into the sand.
"I might die in a few weeks. I at least wanted to meet him at least. Do you think he's thinking of me right now? If he has a mate?"
"You can never be sure," I replied. "But I'm sure you'll meet him some day."
"That's easy for you to say. You've met yours already, so everything's butterflies and rainbows for you."
"Not really," I agrued. "Nothing has been butterflies and rainbows at all. I don't know if you've noticed, but Dustin's psycho path brother is trying to kill me. I don't worry about Dustin and Gage because I have way bigger things on my mind."
"I guess," She grumbles, rubbing a hand over her temples, "It's just-"
She's was cut off mid sentence when we heard a snap not too far away from us. We both immediately turn in the direction of the sound and jumped up to our feet.
My eyes scanned the dark beach, wondering what the hell caused that sounds. My question was answered once I saw a flash of copper hair.
Ava.
What the hell was she doing here? And was she trying to give us a fucking heart attack?
"Ava?" Gabby called, staring into the darkness. "What are you doing?"
It was completely quiet for a minute. Till we heard a voice reply, "Visiting my two favorite people in the world, what does it look like?" She stepped into sight, a wide smile on her blood red lips.
My eyebrows furrowed at her appearance. And the way she reeked of.. rogue's? Was that the correct scent?
When I was on the run, I had come across many. Surely I knew the scent by now. But there was something weird also mixed in with it. Something that spelt awfully familiar.
I took a step closer to her and breathed in the scent more clearly. Decklin? Was.. was I identifying this correctly?
Once I saw her grin widen, I knew I was dead on right. What was she doing with Decklin? "What are you doing hanging around Decklin? You have to know by now he's plotting to kill me, don't you?" I asked, echoing her thoughts.
She rolled her eyes at me, "Obviously. I decided once after me and Gage split I could no longer be apart of a pack with a murderer in it."
I froze. And the hold that Gabby had on me just tightened further.
"Ray!"
My breathing started coming in shallow once I realized that it was Gage's voice. And he wasn't alone. I could hear the pounding of numerous footsteps and soon enough, Gage was by my side, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his side.
"What's going on?"
"Still clueless as ever, It seems," Ava mused. A laugh slipping from her lips.
Gage's perfect eyebrows furrowed together, just like the expression I had on my face minutes ago. Now my facial expression was just horror.
Ava knows.
She knows what I did. She knows how I killed my family. Oh god. I felt Gage shake me and say my name, but I didn't reply.
"You don't know, do you?" Ava questioned.
"What are you talking about, Ava? And why do you smell like Decklin Green?" Gage asked frantically, all the while pressing me to him tighter. I figured I should enjoy it for now since Ava's about to reveal my deepest darkest secret. Once he found out, he would want nothing to do with me.
I closed my eyes. Preparing myself for her to say the words I hoped I would never hear.
"Ray's a murderer."
"What?" Echoes numerous members of the pack. Even Gage does too.
"She killed her pack and her family, you morons. That's why It's never been explained. She killed them!"
Everyone was silent. Probably unsure of what to believe. They were wondering, was Ava telling the truth?
"You're crazy, Ava. Ray wouldn't do that." Gage blurted. I shook my head at him, shrugging his arm off my shoulder. He turned to me with a pained expression on his face, "You didn't Ray, right?
I stared at him sadly. My eyes darting to the crowd of people watching the scene. I looked to Dustin to see him looking at me sorrowfully. He knew, didn't he?
I sighed, there was no more hiding it. I was caught. And now I had to pay the price.
"I did," I whispered faintly. Though it was low, everyone heard it.
Gasps sounded from everyone, whispers of horror. None of it hurt as much as looking at Gage and seeing disbelief in his eyes.
He probably would never want anything to do with me again. And I didn't blame him. My secret was out. Gone.
"See?" Ava gloated, a smirk on her lips. "And you all should know Decklin should be making an appearance soon. He's giving you one last chance to had her over willingly."
A pain struck me once no one objected to keeping me. They all just stared at the sand and refused to meet my pleading eyes. But they could never understand my reasoning.
I didn't even understand my reasoning of what I had killed my family.
Gage was the one to shock me when he shook his head rapidly. "No. We won't. Tell Decklin we'll be waiting."
Ava shrugged, "Your choice. Live up your last days of life. You'll need to." Then she's gone. Everyone continues watching me.
I know I have a lot of explaining to do.
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Weeeeell, there you go. Only two more chapters till the end and an Epilogue. Hope you enjoyed.
Vote, comment, and fan.
- CeCe.