(Caroline's POV)
I pulled my tight short sleeve shirt on before I exited the bathroom stall. I always changed in the stall because of my scars. No one knew about them or saw them except Danny, Mariana, and Stacy and I wanted to keep it that way. I weaved my way through the other girls, who were also changing, and to my locker. I pulled my knee pads out and slipped them on before sticking my feet in my shoes. I had to steady myself again as Natasha bumped me as she passed me. I glared at her back as I heard her laughing with her friends.
"She's pathetic," I caught her saying. She glanced at me with a smirk before she exited the locker room. I puffed out a breath before I stood and stretched gently. I made sure that the ace wrap around my stomach was smooth before I walked out also. Stacy slapped my butt as I got onto the court. She smirked and laughed at my expense as I rolled my eyes at her.
We were volleying today; almost like a scrimmage. I was serving first. I tossed the ball in the air and waited until it came down a little bit before my hand smacked it across the net. I sprinted to my position on the net as the other side hit it back to us. We had a good volley going, but finally, we got a point. Natasha picked up the ball and walked to the net as I held my hands out for it. She smirked and shoved the ball into my stomach. My tender scars ached as I doubled over and tried to catch my breath. The ball fell to the floor as I held my stomach. Tears sprung to my eyes but I held them in as long as I could.
"Listen here bitch," Stacy started as she stormed under the net and into Natasha's face.
"Don't test me, Stacy," Natasha growled back. I felt Mariana's hand on my back as she led me to the bleachers. I sat gently and she rubbed my back. Stacy and Natasha were still yelling at each other.
"Are you okay?" Mariana asked me.
"No," I managed to choke out. My insides were blazing and not in a good way. My scars were really sensitive to touch. From the inside, it was no problem, but if something hit it, I was in a world of unbearable, teeth grinding, and tear-inducing pain. And right now, I was in unbearable, teeth grinding, and tear-inducing pain.
"Just because no one wants your bitch ass, doesn't mean you can take it out on Caroline. She hasn't done anything to you!" I heard Stacy yell.
"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Natasha yelled in her face. The coach walked into the room and her eyes scanned the scene quickly before she blew her whistle. Stacy and Natasha didn't stop. And I couldn't stop the tears. My lip quivered as I silently begged the pain to go away. Mariana stood quickly.
"I'll be right back," she said before she ran out of the gym. Coach didn't even notice. She was too busy trying to break up Stacy and Natasha.
"That's why nobody likes you! You're a fake bitch and the freaking spawn of Satan! You have no idea what friends are supposed to look like because you don't have any. You're a twat! No wonder Keegan dumped you!" Stacy yelled at her. Coach blew her whistle three times and stepped in between the two of them. She put her hands out as she looked between the two of them.
"What in hell is going on here?!" she yelled at them. They both started trying to talk at the same time, getting louder and louder. I looked over as the doors burst open. Mariana came in... and Keegan was right behind her. I lowered my gaze as I held my stomach gingerly. Without a word, Keegan scooped me up bridal style and headed for the door again. His touch was comforting and I welcomed it.
"Hey, don't say that. Every inch of you is beautiful. Your scars tell a story. I don't have to know that story yet," he said gently. I let his fingers trace my scars. Eventually, I relaxed into him. He kissed my temple before he let go all together. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding before I turned to look at him.
"I-I should probably get back to practice," I stuttered quietly.
"I'm going with you... I need to have a chat with Natasha," he said with venom in his voice. We walked back to the gym to find it empty. I went to the coach's office and saw Natasha and Stacy sitting in the chairs in front of Coach. She saw me and walked out of her office, closing the door behind her.
"Is what Stacy saying true? Did Natasha shove the ball into your stomach?" she asked. I nodded slowly.
"Coach, I have... scars all over my stomach from the accident and the surgeries I had to have afterwards and it hurt me more than it would a normal person," I explained in a rush. Her eyes widened in realization.
"I'm sorry," she said knowingly. My accident wasn't a big secret. Almost everyone knew about it so she understood immediately. Her eyes went to Keegan. "And what is your roll in all of this?" she asked him. He hung his head.
"I'm the reason Natasha is acting this way. Her family is a friend of my family and she took something I said to heart and took it out on Caroline," he explained. Coach nodded as she processed this.
"Come into my office," she said, turning back to the door. Once the door was closed, she started yelling at Natasha. Stacy watched silently as her eyes went wide. Keegan discreetly rubbed small circles into the small of my back. It instantly relaxed me as always. Once Coach was done yelling, she kicked Natasha off the team. My eyes widened in shock. I knew Natasha was in trouble, but I didn't think Coach would go that far. She glared at me with glassy eyes before she stormed out of the office. Keegan followed her. He stopped her by grabbing her arm. She spun to face him, her glare was solid. I watched from the doorway as he glared back at her.
"You're stopping this, now," Keegan seethed. His voice was stern and authoritative. She only kept her glare. "You're going to leave Caroline alone for good. You will not physically or verbally assault her, got it?" he finished. She puffed out a breath and crossed her arms before she was throwing them in the air.
"She's not even one of us! You know how... they will react to her. You know you won't be allowed to pursue her because she's normal," Natasha yelled at him.
"Stop raising your voice at me and walk away. My decision is final," he barked at her. Her eyes flickered to me before she did as he said.
"What was that all about?" Stacy whispered from beside me. I shrugged. I literally had no idea.
~
(Keegan's POV)
I was furious with Natasha. I stormed into my house and slammed the door and grunted. I paced the living room and ran my hand through my hair. My mom came rushing in from the kitchen. She looked at me amused. I sighed and stopped as I ran my hands over my face.
"I need to talk to dad," I said softly. I walked around to the kitchen and opened the door that led down the stairs. I took a deep breath before I walked down the stairs. I hated going to see my dad, because I hated seeing him like this. Since werewolves couldn't really go to the hospital, this was our own personal pack hospital. Rooms lines up on both sides of the hallway and we had a pack doctor. I could see him in his office. At the bottom of the stairs, I went down the long hallway before opening the door to his room. The lights were brighter in here and the room was set up like a hospital.
"Hey dad," I said softly. His bald head turned to me and he smiled softly.
"Keegan, good to finally see you down here," he joked. I frowned as worry set in. My dad noticed and tried to sit up some more. He grunted as he tried to push himself up on his thin arms. He used to be ripped and fit and healthy with a full head of hair and even a beard and mustache, but that was all gone. I guess cancer could do that to a person. He was weak and skinny and completely bald. I hated seeing him this way. It made me sad beyond compare. I adored my father. I loved him. I was a daddy's boy, but I rarely visited him down here because it brought tears to my eyes. But I needed him; I needed his advice and counsel. I sat in the chair by his bed facing him and sighed.
"Dad, I found my mate. Her name is Caroline Holloway. She's so... she's strong and stubborn. She's got eyes like you wouldn't believe and she's so beautiful. I roll over every time she talks... even if she's yelling at me," I chuckled lightly. "I love her, and I know it too. It's just..." I trailed off to try and see how to word the next part. I had no idea if my father would approve of Caroline or not. He noticed my turmoil.
"What is it, son?" he asked gently. I sighed and looked around before I looked at him.
"She can't be Luna," I said carefully. He looked confused.
"What do you mean? If she's your mate, then she's going to be Luna," he said. I sighed ad ran a hand down my face.
"She isn't... dad, she's extraordinary. She's not normal by any means, but she is human... she's not a Lycan like us, and I know that's going to be a problem for the parliament," I explained. My dad looked off in thought. He hummed thoughtfully as he twiddled his thumbs.
"Well, you're obviously mated to her for a reason. It's the first I've heard of it, but she's your mate. Even if you ignored your wolf and mated with Natasha, you would be ruthless and mean; especially since you lost your true mate. Maybe I can ask the parliament as a dying wish to let this Caroline girl become Luna. Of course, there is the option to change her, but it hasn't been done in hundreds of years, and you know how dangerous if can be from your Alpha training. I wouldn't suggest doing that option. You should call a parliament meeting for here in a week or so to discuss it," my dad suggested. I frowned.
"Dad, I don't want your... last wish to be spent on me. I'm not going to be that selfish. You should save it for something you want," I argued. He chuckled and reached over to grab my hand.
"My real wish is for you to be happy... and your true mate will make you happy. I just have one condition," he said with a smile. I squeezed his hand back gently.
"Anything, you name it," I said quickly. He smiled fatherly at me, his teeth showing.
"I want to meet her," he said. I froze. I could barely work up the courage to come down here. I didn't know about bringing Caroline down here. "I just want to meet the girl who's going to be bossing my son around for the rest of his life," he joked. I laughed lightly before I nodded.
"She wouldn't hesitate to do that... I'll bring her," I agreed.
"Can you bring her tomorrow, son? I'm not getting any younger. I want to see her before things really start going south. My voice is already getting harder to maintain," he said with a cough. My heart dropped as I felt the salt water build up in my eyes. I immediately started nodding.
"Okay, I'll bring her after school tomorrow," I promised. He thanked me before he drifted off to sleep. I sniffled and turned. I rushed out of the room and took a deep breath. I covered my eyes with my hands briefly and calmed myself before going back upstairs.
I sighed to myself, entering the kitchen and telling my mom what he said. She giggled like a schoolgirl when she found out she was going to be able to meet Caroline tomorrow too. Oh boy...
I texted Caroline and asked if I could take her somewhere after school. She agreed eventually, but not without asking a million questions. I didn't tell her what we were going to be doing. She was under the assumption that we were just going to be hanging out with the guys at my house; which wasn't entirely a lie. We were going to hang out with them for a little bit, too. But I didn't know how to explain my dad's situation to her just yet.