-Oliver-
I thought I'd be terrified when I approached the Blue Moons, but when I got closer to them, they didn't seem so scary anymore. On the contrary, they actually seemed friendly. I had no idea why people were so scared of them. Maybe it was because they had a bad reputation and mysterious aura surrounding them, but to me, they looked like normal kids. Well, in a breathtakingly gorgeous kind of way. I could've sworn they weren't humans. They were too flawless.
My heart was beating fast when I gave them the chocolate bars and hurried away. I knew a bunch of people were staring at me when I did that. I hated the attention, but... I had to thank them.
For whatever reason, Jaden had come for my aid and scared Nick away. I had no idea why, but it hadn't been a coincidence that he stopped right behind me. I just knew it. For that, I had to thank them. Even Tilly and Arch, because they were there too.
My good mood lasted almost the entire day. I didn't see Nick anywhere, and Jack just didn't seem to even remember me. I was finally left alone. Well, almost. I did see people staring at me a few times, whispering something behind their hands, and I had a bad feeling about it. Some of them even moved away from me as I walked through the hallways.
I had the feeling it had something to do with me giving chocolate to the Blue Moon members in the crowded lunch hall.
When it was almost eight in the evening, my good mood was fading away. I was alone in the living room, while the caretakers were helping the other kids go to bed. I just sat on the couch, looking out of the window. It was snowing quietly.
Wolfie wasn't coming.
I sighed and pulled my blanket tighter around my shoulders and pulled my knees against my chest. I had been waiting for him a few hours already, but he wasn't coming. I wasn't sure why I knew that. Maybe it was because last night, when I told him goodbye, he seemed sad. Or, maybe it was because he was my imaginary friend, therefore I knew exactly what was going on with him.
Or maybe he just... didn't want to see me anymore...
No. I shook my head. Wolfie was sad last night, when I asked if he'd come today. He knew he wasn't able to come today. That was why I wasn't letting myself drown in sadness. He would come again some other day. He probably had a family to take care of. Wolves were pack animals after all.
A thought occurred to me. Maybe the two wolves were part of his pack? I rested my chin on the backrest and smiled a little, trying to guess what kind of family Wolfie had. Maybe one day I could meet them.
If I did get to meet them, I wished they were just as cute and cuddly as Wolfie himself was.
-Jaden-
Since I was in trouble with my parents, Tilly and Arch wanted to hang out with me after school. In other words, they wanted to watch my parents roasting me. I had such good friends... Oh well, I did the same when they were in trouble with their parents, so I guess I deserved it.
It was almost seven in the evening, when we stepped inside my home. Before we could even close the door, we were greeted by my mother's voice.
"RYDER! IS THAT YOU?"
"No, Mom," I yelled back, and a second later, she appeared into the entrance hall.
"Dammit," she sighed. "He's late!"
"What's going on?" I asked while taking off my jacket.
"Your father," Mom hissed and glared at the ceiling.
I snorted in amusement. "Is there something to eat? I'm starving."
"Yeah – go ahead. There's enough for all of you," Mom said and the three of us followed her into the kitchen.
As soon as we were settled around our dinner table, I heard the front door being opened again.
"RYDER THAT BETTER BE YOU!"
"Yeah it's me," I heard Ryder replying to her. "What's the problem?"
"Rayleigh," Mom said with that same, angry voice. "I'm done babysitting him. It's your turn!"
Me and my friends tried not to start giggling, so we stuffed our faces with the chicken dinner we were eating. I heard Ryder letting out a deep sigh, before he started climbing up the stairs.
"RAY!"
"What?!"
"What are you doing...? WHY ARE YOU STILL IN BED?!"
"I was out on patrol the entire night!"
"You need to be in the Hall in less than an hour! Get your ass up!"
"I DON'T WANT TO!"
There was a dangerous pause of silence. No one yelled at Ryder. No one.
"You better get your ass up – right now."
"NO!"
But my father was a stubborn idiot.
We all ignored the loud thumps and muffled grunts for the next few moments.
"So, how's school?" Mom asked after a noisy crashing sound.
"Stupid," I muttered.
"Boring," Tilly sighed.
"It's fun," Arch said.
"That's my boy," Mom patted Arch's shoulder with a proud smile on her lips. "You're growing up such a handsome and smart young man."
Something big and heavy rolled down the stairs. Most likely my father.
"This family, I swear..." I muttered.
"AND PUT THE GODDAMN PANTS ON!"
"What happened with the 'no swearing in this house' policy?" I muttered with a salty tone.
"Oh, it only applies to you," Mom said, and I rolled my eyes.
"Stupid meetings..." My dad stepped in, rubbing his neck with only one eye open, looking tired as hell. "Why can't you go alone, Thisalee?"
"Oh, so it's fine if you don't show up, but if another Alpha is missing from the meetings you won't let it go for weeks," Mom spoke.
My dad flashed his teeth at her. She returned the gesture. Then, a pair of black pants flew out of nowhere, hitting my dad on the head so hard he stumbled a few steps forward before he got his balance back. He turned to glare at his Beta.
"Pants. Now," Ryder growled at him.
My dad took the pants and started pulling them on, glaring daggers at Ryder, who was joining us at the table.
"Now that our beloved Alpha is finally up, we should discuss the meeting," Ryder spoke, and my mom nodded.
"I'll show you beloved Alphas..." my dad mumbled quietly.
He wasn't a morning person. Even in the afternoon.
I tuned out with a sigh, and continued eating. That stupid meeting was ruining my mood. I was grounded, yes, so technically I wasn't allowed to leave the territory, but I would've sneaked out anyway the second no one was watching me. But since I was forced to go to that stupid meeting, my chances of escaping had grown pretty slim.
Meaning I wouldn't be able to go see Oliver.
I mean, go on my evening jog that always happened to end at the orphanage. What a weird coincidence.
I rolled my eyes at myself, and sighed again. A mate, huh...
I turned to look at my father just in time to see him getting slapped on the back of the head by my mother. Why was it so goddamn important for me to have a mate? I wouldn't be the Alpha anytime soon. And another thing, why was it so damn important for me to know everything there was to know about being an Alpha already? I would not be the Alpha anytime soon! They were all acting like I had to be ready right now – they had been like that ever since I turned sixteen.
And it didn't help that they made me feel like if I screwed up even once, the whole pack would be doomed.
I just... Sometimes I felt like I was suffocating... I just wanted to be a teenager and do teenager things and hang out with Tilly and Arch and just have fun...
But no... Let's throw in a mate as well and see how long it would take until I screwed up his life. If I hadn't already...
"Now – Jaden – we managed to convince Alpha Gray that you weren't feeling well last night, which is why you didn't show up," my dad spoke, giving me a stern glare. "You remember that."
"Sure," I spoke.
"You have to understand we can't make any mistakes when creating ties with other packs," my mom continued. "What you did last night was disrespectful as hell."
"Sorry," I muttered, and continued eating my now-cold dinner.
"Once we get to the Hall–" Ryder spoke to me, but I tuned out. Do this. Do that. Don't act like this, and whatever you do, do not open your mouth, got it?
"Sure," I nodded every now and then.
"If we're lucky, we'll find your mate as well," Ryder added, when he got up on his feet. I shivered when he said the word, mate. "It's about time too – Alpha Gray's son already found his mate, and he only turned sixteen a few weeks ago."
So he hadn't figured out that I already had a mate, even though he knew I was visiting Oliver.
"We'll go ahead," Mom spoke and stood up too, glaring down at my dad. "You better follow us as soon as you've cleaned your face," she told him.
"Fine, fine," my dad muttered – now that he had woken up, his mood was changing for the better. "Arch, Tilly – you can go now as well," he told my friends.
"Good luck," Tilly told me, and patted my shoulder.
"See you tomorrow," Arch said, and together they followed my mom and Ryder.
Once they all were gone, I turned to look at my food. Everyone else had finished theirs, but I had managed to eat only half of mine.
"Not hungry, I see."
I turned to look at Dad, who was looking at my plate as well.
"Guess so," I said, and pushed the plate aside and stood up. "I'll go change my clothes..."
"Jade," Dad spoke and stood up as well.
"What?" I sighed and turned around to face him.
"Forgive Ryder," he said and patted my shoulder with a smile. "He's had to deal with me his whole life. And he's under a lot of stress now that Ezra is away. Being the only Beta isn't easy, but you know he'll lighten up once he returns."
"And when was that again?" I asked, and he laughed.
"It won't take long," he said. "Ryder is pretty occupied with the Groves and all for a few days, so you and your Betas get to go around and cause havoc in peace."
"Yeah, except you made him take a job at our school – we'll never get away from him," I told him.
"Oh that – it's not just because of you three that he's there. Sure, now we get to keep better eye on you guys, but it's a good place to keep an eye out on other things as well," he explained.
"You mean that shit Thorns are doing in town," I guessed, and he nodded.
"Something like that," he said, and looked out of the window. "No swearing, by the way."
I rolled my eyes. "I'll go change my clothes, so I won't be late..."
"Nah, you're not coming," Dad spoke, and I turned to look at him. "Get the hell out of here," he added with a crooked smile, nodding his head towards the front door.
"What?" I asked with a frown.
"You clearly have better things to do right now, am I right?" he said.
"No, I don't," I lied.
"Yes, you do," he said, and turned to look out of the window. "You better go before I change my mind."
I stood still for a moment. I wasn't sure if I really was free to go. Then, I took a step towards the door.
"I hope I'll get to meet him one day."
"...maybe," I told him, before I exited the house, and turned into a wolf.