Clentine:
After finding out about the mate bond, Troy, who already knew, went to take a shower. Ian seed to be in shock, not saying a word. He just watched silently. Then there was Haiden. He had quietly moved away, running his hands through his hair and pacing faster as he road the room. I felt like he was judging because he would glance at now and then. Finally, after seeming to process the news, he stepped closer. But before speaking, he turned toward Ian, acknowledging that he was watching us.
"We will talk about it," Haiden said. "And since we know the lurkers are outside, we won’t be allowed to go into the open field to discuss it, at least for now."
After Troy ca out, I went to take a shower. We weren’t even allowed to attend Sadie’s funeral. Her body was sent back to her pack, and they said her baby was too. He was handed over to her family. I just hoped they would treat him well, giving him all the love he deserved but never got from his mother.
We were so tired we decided to rest after we had a silent dinner in our room. Naturally, Troy and I needed the rest most. While he went to bed, Ian and Haiden also decided to sleep. I headed to the bathroom instead, just to clear my head.
Once inside, I heard them talking, almost like they’d waited for to be out of earshot.
"Isn’t it odd that she has two mates?" Ian said, bringing up the topic again. I knew why, he just wanted to keep the drama going. That kind of thing was fun for him.
"I an, don’t we know she’s special?" Haiden said.
"How? What makes her special?" Ian argued, making roll my eyes.
"Back when she could have boarded the train with her baby, she handed the baby to Yorick, then stepped out just to fetch Troy. Maybe that’s what you’re talking about?" I didn’t know why Ian had to spell everything out, but the mont he did, silence followed.
"Wait, she had a baby, gave it to Yorick, and then left for ?" Troy asked, his voice full of confusion, shock, and maybe a little relief.
"I an, yeah. She didn’t even tell Haiden her plan," Ian went on. At this point, Haiden stayed quiet.
"I truly feel bad for you, Haiden. It seems like she doesn’t like you much. She takes care of everyone except you, even though you’re a fated mate. That sucks," Ian went on, making reach for the door. My hand rested on the handle. I wanted to confront him for stirring up so much tension, but I was afraid Haiden might ask to choose sides in the heat of the mont.
"Hey, don’t say that. The fact that she’s doing so much makes think we were wrong about her at first," Troy said, stepping in for , obviously because he had just found out I left the train for him.
"And it’s you we should be worried about, because you haven’t proven your loyalty to the group," Haiden finally spoke, thankfully turning his fire on Ian, and for the right reasons. Ian had never shown he was committed to our team or that he’d rescue us if it ca to that.
"Okay, I didn’t know I had to prove my loyalty to you suckers. I didn’t co here for you. I don’t need to prove my loyalty to any of you, so fuck off and get off my back." Now that he was under scrutiny, Ian was suddenly aggressive, exactly what I expected from him. Silence followed.
After a few seconds, I opened the door and found Haiden and Troy sitting on the bed, while Ian had already laid down again.
"Here cos your special she-wolf," Ian said, still sprawled out with one leg bent over the other.
"Can you stop egging us on against each other? Just because nobody likes you doesn’t an we have to hate each other too," I replied, looking straight at him. He pulled his arm away from his eyes and clenched his jaw at .
"You’re talking a little too much. Don’t forget, you’re not stronger than ," Ian threatened. That’s when Haiden stepped forward, walking steadily to stand in front of .
"And what makes you say that, Ian Hunt?" His tone made it sound like a threat. Then soone moved to my left, it was Troy.
"Maybe he doesn’t understand the power a team can hold. So next ti we’re out there, you’re not getting any advantage from us," Troy told him.
Ian laughed, clapping his hands as he sat up in bed. "Since when have I asked for your help? I know not to rely on anyone. So don’t worry, if you don’t help , I won’t bla you."
I hated how smug he was. The truth was, he indeed hadn’t needed our help during the task.
"Leave him be. He just wants trouble," I said, giving Haiden’s elbow a light shake. He glanced at my fingers, and I caught a faint smile on his lips. It was so gentle that I quickly let go of his arm.
"And I’ll advise you all to do the sa. Teamwork is stupidity, it’s every man for himself out there," Ian said as we walked away to sit on our beds together.
"The white squad returned. All of them," Haiden said, letting know what happened after they got back.
"All of them?" I asked, confused.
When Haiden nodded, I scoffed and turned my head toward Ian. "And soone says teamwork is stupidity."
"And then, when teams fall apart, it becos the deadliest ever," Ian said, turning his back to us. We stared at him for a mont before rolling our eyes.
As soon as we shifted our attention back to each other, I noticed Troy and Haiden both watching . Troy kept his head down, looking up at through his eyebrows with a sad expression. Haiden’s gaze was steady, like he had sothing to ask.
"Are you going to accept—" Before he could finish, a whimper outside our door caught our attention. All our heads snapped toward the sound.
I was the first to move, but Troy quickly stepped ahead of , gesturing for to stay back. I didn’t need protection, but I wasn’t going to argue about it now. I was just grateful they weren’t bullying .
When he opened the door, the sight before us was unsettling. Goosebumps ran down my arms as I saw Oriana, soaked to the skin, her nightie clinging and almost transparent, kneeling in front of our door with her face buried in her hands.
"They are going to kill ," she whispered, her voice trembling. She whimpered again, leaving us frozen in shock.
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