Chapter 15
Saxon
I stayed up the rest of the night, working on the papers Marc didn’t have the energy to finish. I couldn’t sleep. My wolf wouldn’t let me. He was too worried about her.
I have a reason to be worried.
‘You nearly Shifted.’
I have to see if she’s ok.
‘We’d know if she wasn’t.’
Saxon…
‘No. We’ll see her in the morning. At school.’
I don’t like school.
‘It’ll be fine.’
Do we have to go?
‘If you want to see your mate.’
Ours.
I sighed, running my hand through my hair. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t accept this girl as my mate. She was driving me crazy. Was it possible to reject a human who didn’t know what you were yet? Before my wolf could so much as comment on my thoughts, I turned the idea down. I wouldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t. So I guess I had only one more option. I had to talk to her. I had to apologize. I had to get her to like me. I didn’t think that would be very difficult, though. She’d feel the pull soon enough. What would I have to do to earn her trust? I couldn’t ask Dakoda. Marc didn’t really trust my ability to keep my wolf calm and his own wolf wasn’t going to risk putting her in the same room as me. Liza wasn’t an option either. She was pissed at me for whatever reason or another. I still couldn’t understand why. Did I say something wrong?
You’re getting off topic.
‘What do you want me to do?’
There’s really only one other option.
‘Wing it?’
Bingo.
The world seemed to be against me when it came to talking to Ginger. We had a test in US history and if someone so much as breathed too loud, Mr. Thomson was threatening to send them to the principal’s office, and for whatever reason, Ginger wasn’t in math class. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that. My wolf hated it. I had to admit I was a little worried too. During third hour I spent the entire class tapping my foot anxiously against the floor. Liza glared at me through most of it, but didn’t say anything. Marc fell asleep on his desk. Dakoda was tense. My stomach was alive with nerves. Where the hell had Ginger gone?
Thankfully, she was in lunch. Striding into the cafeteria, I saw her sitting with a couple of her friends, talking to them amiably. I walked right over, sliding into the seat beside her. The table went silent, their cool gazes turning towards me. Ginger froze mid-sentence, a faint blush on her cheeks. Cute.
“We need to talk.” I told her seriously. I had to do this. I couldn’t keep ignoring everything. She was my mate. I had to accept that. I knew if anything were to happen to her, my wolf would never forget it and I would be stuck living in regret for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t let that happen. Besides, a tiny part of me knew if I ever saw anyone show her any type of affection that was more than friendly, I would tear their throats out without a second thought.
“Oh?” Her tone was flat. The last time we talked, she was yelling at me. I gazed at her friends pointedly, before flicking my gaze back to her. She frowned, but before she could say anything, they stood and left, not wanting anything to do with me. Good.
“I’ll see you later Ginger.” One girl told her, watching me warily. She whispered something in Ginger’s ear, as if I couldn’t hear. “If he does anything, I have my dad on speed-dial.” Ginger pursed her lips and nodded, while I rolled my eyes. As if I would hurt her purposely.
“What do you want?” She began cautiously, rolling an apple between her fingers. I could practically feel every one of my pack mate’s ears tuned into our conversation. I could also feel the burning gazes of Josh and Brent. They were watching me. They knew.
“I wanted to say sorry.” I mumbled, rubbing my neck awkwardly. “I know I’ve been an ass, but I don’t mean to.” I told her, not quite meeting her green eyes. I sounded like an idiot. Ginger seemed dumbstruck, her pale green orbs unsure.
“Uhm, its fine...” She trailed off, seeming just as uncomfortable.
“Hey Saxon, hey Ginger.” Cece slid into the chair across from us. I tensed instantly. I wasn’t so sure if allowing the witch to get involved was a good idea. I didn’t trust her. Ginger gave her an wary glance, seeming uneasy with our guest.
“Hey.” She smiled anyways, although I could see it was forced around the edges. Why did Ginger act so friendly towards everyone if she didn’t like them?
“Rumor has it you’re back with Donavon.” Cece frowned at Ginger, completely ignoring me. I felt my fists clench.
If he so much as touches her he’s dead.
“That asshole from the other day?” The words slipped from my lips. A shudder ran the length of my frame, but I held it back, knowing the other wolves would be glowing at my agitated state. Ginger seemed surprised at the venom in my tone.
“I-Where did you hear that?” Her voice was very quiet as she turned back to Cece.
She didn’t deny it.
“It’s all around school.” Cece shrugged her slim shoulders, a slight smirk balancing on the edge of her lips. What the hell was this witch playing at? Ginger grew very still.
“Did Donavon start this?” I could barely hear her over the roaring in my ears.
“I didn’t believe him, but he swore it’s true.” Cecelia leered when a low growl rumbled in my chest.
“Did he?” Were those tears glimmering in her eyes?
‘Something’s wrong here.’ The shaking subsided and with it the corner of Cecelia’s lips crashed downwards.
I looked to Dakoda with a questioning glance. She nodded slightly at me, letting me know something was definitely wrong. What was going on through my mate’s head?
As if sensing he was part of the conversation, Donovan himself appeared, slipping into the other seat beside Ginger.
I’ll tear out his throat.
‘Wait. Just a moment.’
“Hey baby.” He grinned, sliding an arm over Ginger’s taut shoulders.
If he doesn’t pull his arm off of her-
‘Don’t.’
You can’t be serious-
‘Shut up.’
“Don’t touch me.” Ginger spoke, her eyes shadowed.
“So we’re playing that game, huh?” He grinned, leaning in towards her neck as if to kiss her. I felt myself go rigid and I stood, leaning forwards to tear him away, but within the next second, her brother beat me to it, ripping Donavon from the chair and throwing him to the ground.
“Don’t you fucking touch my sister.” His voice was cold. Had something happened between Donavon and Ginger that I didn’t know about?
“Garret.” Ginger said softly, a tremble breaking her voice. His eyes jerked up to his sister. She seemed ready to burst into tears.
“Saxon.” He said my name and I blinked in surprise. “Take her.” I nodded, pulling Ginger to her feet. Garret trusted me with his sister –at least enough to get her away from whatever Donavon had done. When he saw I had taken hold of Ginger’s arm, he looked to Donavon, who was still on the floor.
Good. That’s where the bastard belongs.
“Why the hell are you bothering her, huh?” Garret’s face was red with anger as I tugged Ginger away. She seemed ready to fall apart. It was killing me inside. Fuck. This shouldn’t be happening. She shouldn’t be having this effect on me. Not yet. We’d barely talked.
“Didn’t your mother tell you the news?” Donavon gloated. Garret didn’t wait for another response. His fist slammed across Donavon’s face. Repeatedly. I couldn’t help but a small flare of jealousy. I wanted to beat him senseless.
But we have someone more important to take care of.
Exiting the building, I led Ginger into the field by the school. Her face was pale and sweat sheened her forehead.
“Are you ok?” I asked softly. She opened her mouth to speak. Closed it. Then she burst into tears, falling to the ground in a heap. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. Oh hell. I couldn’t stand it when girls cried. What was I supposed to do?
Comfort her.
So I sat down next to her, wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders, and mumbled “It’s ok.” She shook her head, tears, like rivulets streamed down her pale cheeks.
“You don’t understand.” She whispered. I tilted my head in question. I wanted to understand.
“Explain it then.” I murmured. Her eyes widened as if she couldn’t fathom telling me, before that began to water again. “Or don’t. It’s none of my business.” I said quickly, wanting to console the distraught girl.
I beg to differ.
‘Do you want her to like us or not?’
“I just… he… I can’t…” She bit her lip, taking a deep, shuddering breath. Recomposing her normally warm façade, she shifted out of my arm. “It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Yea. Ok.” I snorted incredulity. Her eyes flashed in displeasure. “But Ginger? I promise whatever that bastard did to you won’t happen again. I won’t let it. Ok?” She bit her lip, shaking his head.
“You can’t stop it.” She whispered, her shoulders shaking in a way that caused the strings of my heart to tighten painfully.
“Have some faith Wolf. I’ll kick his ass any day.” Sensing her brother approaching us, I stood, wiping the grass from my jeans, before grinning. I could see confusion flashing across her face at the seriousness in my tone.
“Did he cry?” I turned to Garret, who gave me a quizzical glance, quickly followed by a dry chuckle.
“Unfortunately not.”
“Damn.” I shrugged. “Get in trouble?”
“Suspended. A week.” His eyes were shadowed and I saw Ginger throw him a concerned look. Their shared glance made me frown. Was something wrong?
“One? It could be worse...” I trailed off.
You better talk to Kendra.
‘Of course. No way in hell I’m letting him get punished for protecting Ginger.’
Garret gave me a wry grin.
“Worse?” He snorted skeptically, his eyes tight around the edges. “You don’t know my mother.”
(Ginger)
Garret pulled into the driveway and the sheer curtains hanging over the kitchen window fluttered. I knew my mother would be there waiting for Garret, silently fuming and building up her rage for the moment we walked in. No doubt news of his suspension had been immediate, as we weren’t a family who got in trouble often –let alone suspended. Genevieve danced ahead of us, wanting to reach the house before she had to listen to our mother’s reprimanding. I didn’t blame her. Taking a deep breath we entered the tense atmosphere of the kitchen, where our mother sat at the table. She was holding a cup of coffee in her tense, bony fingers.
“Garrett. Ginger. Sit.” Her tone was cool and my father stood in the doorway, his shoulders stiff. I wondered what he was thinking.
“Garret-” She began, clicking a perfectly rounded nail against the tabletop.
“Mom?” I interrupted quietly, knowing the second her and Garret began fighting I would never get a chance to talk to her. Her lips thinned at the interruption but she gave me a chance to speak.
“Yes darling?”
“Why does Donavon think we’re back together?” I couldn’t look into the blue eyes of my mother, so I stared at the table, twining my fingers together. Her tongue clicked softly, causing me to wince.
“You two are such a lovely couple-” I could feel my throat tighten. Tears stung my eyes. So it was true. “-So when he called me, practically begging for you, how could I turn him down? You do realize he’s the heir to-”
“How could you?” I whispered, feelings of betrayal twisting deep in my heart. I tilted my head to meet her eyes, feeling tears swell in my eyes for the second time today. For a moment she faltered, but it didn’t take much for her to push away whatever misgivings she had. “You know what he did.” I accused, wanting to scream.
“He says it was all a misunderstanding-”
“Nikki,” My dad cut in. “We discussed this.” His tone was tired, echoing with years of putting up with my mother. Why had he married her in the first place?
“None of you have taken the time to understand him. He’s such a charming young man. So sweet.” She insisted, before narrowing her eyes at my brother. “Which is why I don’t understand how you could attack that boy in the middle of cafeteria! What is wrong with you Garret?” I nearly recoiled at her statement. Garret went completely rigid beside me.
“All I do is for you three and you of course, have to go and ruin it! I only ask is that you act as model students and what do you do? You corner poor boys in the lunchroom! That’s beyond disrespectful and I will not tolerate that type of behavior in my family!”
“Everything you do is for us?” Garret repeated incredulously, seeming not to have heard a single word after that point.
“Aren’t you listening to me?” My mother snapped. Garret’s eyes blazed with an icy blue fire.
“You think you’re so fucking perfect don’t you?” He laughed sardonically, his lips twisting into a scowl. “Have you ever even asked any of us what we want? Do you even fucking know who we are?”
“You’re my children and that type of language is intolerable-”
“Intolerable? You want to start with intolerable?” His voice rose, while he stood from his chair, his fists still leaning against the table. “A mother who wants her daughter to go screw the guy who nearly raped her.” He hissed. I flinched at his statement, unpleasant memories flooding through my mind. My dad’s mouth crashed down at the corners. My mother, not liking his height advantage he had over her, stood as well.
“I told you, it was a misunderstanding!” She snapped. “Now if you’re done trying to change the topic, we can get back to the real problem where you went and ruined the reputation your father and I-”
“Hey mom?” Garret cut in. “Why don’t you go fuck your reputation.”
The whole room froze. My mother’s face purpled. My dad opened his mouth to –hopefully- put an end to this argument. Garret looked at me. Blinked once. Twice. Spun towards the door. Open. Close. Slam. Car engine. Silence.
He didn’t come back for the rest of the night.
A/N
First things first, I changed the name of the princaple from "Samantha" to "Kendra" because my genious self forgot that Marc's mom is already named "Sammy". *facepalms* Sorry for any confusion. Second, this chapter is slightly shorter than I was aiming for, but it's still longer than average, so oh well I guess. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think? Once again, I absolutely adore hearing what you think about the character and what's happenng, and first commenter gets a dedication! Constructive critism is also fantastic too, if you have anything you think I need working on, because I'm always trying to improve! I'll try and update soon!