Clentine:
Silence hit us harder than anything before. Our team, in particular, was even quieter. I noticed Ian counting sothing on his fingers, but I couldn’t tell what until he lowered his hands and turned to look at all of us. He gave everyone a quick glance before his eyes landed on , and I saw a very slight narrowing of one eye, like he was trying to figure out.
"Are you guys seriously going to mourn over a moron who stayed behind and blad soone else for his girlfriend’s breakdown?" Ian asked, and heads turned toward him.
"Ian’s right." Troy snapped, shaking his head.
"Matthias had a fucking nerve, making Clentine look guilty. Forget about him. I hope sothing gets to him before he tries anything else." Haiden added that Matthias had threatened . As if dealing with the crazies wasn’t enough, now our own crusaders might punish us. It was so exhausting.
"She was kind enough to agree to take care of Jessie. Dude, you should’ve been there to see how she acted. I get that everyone grieves differently, but she was going to drag everyone down with her," Yorick complained, fisting his palm.
I appreciated their support, but it didn’t change the fact that Matthias had stayed behind, and accused .
"Anyway, why are we even talking about it? It’s not like he can do anything. Before he even tries sothing, I’ll get my hands on him. He’ll be caught and tortured in a million different ways before he lays a finger on Clentine," Ian comnted, clenching his jaw.
What Ian didn’t expect was that others were watching him too intently. I could tell questions were forming in their heads. Mine included. Because it was odd. When there was a chance for him to co forward and say he was my mate, he stayed silent.
He even told the others to sort it out, as if it didn’t matter whether I picked soone else. That hypocrisy hit , since I was the one who told him I didn’t feel anything and didn’t want to pursue anything because of the past. I sighed and looked out the window.
The best excuse I could use was, I’m a girl, I’m emotional, like they always claim won are, until they ss up and suddenly want us to be strong. The silence after that felt heavy. I noticed movent in the front carriage with the white squad. Joshua was basically throwing a tantrum, probably finally shaking out of his frozen state.
There was sothing else we’d noticed. Initially the train ride had only been ten minutes, but now it stretched to twenty, and those twenty felt like ages. When we arrived and the train stopped, the doors opened and there was silence from every carrier.
No one jumped out excitedly to tell the ringleaders they’d finished the task, or to loudly describe what had happened there and how many monsters we’d slayed. The ringleaders were there with bouquets, looking thrilled to announce that we’d saved the mainland, but none of the students shared that feeling. We were all too quiet and too upset.
As others began to leave, my squad let go out first. The first step I took onto the ground made dizzy. I’d lost a lot of blood on the train, and I was bound to feel it the minute I moved.
Before I could understand what was happening, everything went black. I felt my body fall, but it didn’t et the ground. Soone had helped . Soone had carried . I heard commotion around , but I had no strength to open my eyes and see what it was about. It was about , and more specifically from my squadmates.
I’d fallen into a deep sleep and woke up in the hospital two fucking days later. The nurse told that when I arrived I’d been in a very bad state. I’d lost too much blood and my body had been weak.
I guessed it was from all the stress and hurt, and from finding out that I’d found two more mates. Everything hit hard. We were just teenagers watching our friends die. It was honestly too much. Others would never understand that.
Nobody was allowed to see while I stayed in the hospital and healed. The nurse asked if I wanted to transition and I said no. The only lie I could give them was that I was mourning the Crusaders and wanted to feel the pain. I felt bad using that excuse, but it was important to keep my wolf in hiding for now.
I would have happily gone into the woods to heal, but I could tell they were going to stay with . The ringleaders and headquarters had strictly told the nurses that if I wanted to go out, I’d have to do it in front of them because they were afraid I might hurt myself or not reach the woods in ti.
It was my last day in the hospital before they would finally let go alone into the woods and transition, because I was well enough to stand, go into the woods, and transition by myself.
The minute I closed my eyes to spend the last two hours in peace and let them pass, I heard soone chuckle. I opened my eyes instantly and turned to see soone standing in the corner of the room.
"Wow. And I thought you’d co early to check on your squadmate," I said, teasing him, even though it was odd he was there.
He stepped out from the shadows and tilted his face.
"They were keeping us under heavy suspicion," Ian said.
"Then how did you sneak into the hospital?" I asked.
He ca closer, hunched with one hand on the wall and the other on the side of my mattress. It looked almost cozy how he leaned over .
"I don’t know. I just know I did, and I’d do it again and again." With every ’again’ he drew closer until he lowered himself enough to crash his lips against mine. This ti I didn’t stop him or push him away.
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