FRIDAY
1594 Words
EPISODE 11:
*FRIDAY. 3:00PM. PACK HQ. ARMORY*
I was picking between 2 jackets.
Both Mooncrest.
Both bulletproof.
Kade stood in the doorway. Arms crossed.
“You’re not wearing Kevlar on a date.”
“I’m not getting shot on a date.”
“You’re not getting shot, period.”
“Then stop looking at me like that.”
He sighed. “Fine. Wear the black one. It hides blood better.”
I threw a fry at him.
He caught it. Ate it.
“An army,” he reminded me. “6 cars. 12 guards. 2 drones. Thomas on comms.”
“And burgers after,” I said.
“And burgers after.”
The twins were with Elena.
Again.
She kissed my cheek before we left. “Come back to me.”
“We will.”
---
*5:30PM. THE DINER*
Same diner.
Same booth.
Different everything.
Two guards at the door.
Two at the windows.
One on the roof.
Thomas in a van across the street.
The waitress, May, took one look at us and whispered, “Do you need me to call someone?”
“No,” I said. “Just burgers. Two. And two milkshakes. Chocolate.”
“You got it, Luna.”
Kade sat across from me.
No jacket. Dress shirt. Sleeves rolled.
Gun under the table.
I pretended not to see it.
For 5 minutes we didn’t talk.
Just listened to the hum of the fridge.
The bell on the door.
The radio in the van.
Then Kade reached across.
Took my hand.
No audience.
No Council.
Just us.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
“Is this weird?”
“Everything is weird.”
He smiled. Small. Real. “Good. I like weird with you.”
Burgers came.
We ate.
Like normal people.
Like the last 5 years didn’t happen.
“Do you remember our first date?” I asked.
“Yeah. You ordered onion rings and stole all of mine.”
“You were wearing that stupid leather jacket.”
“You said it was hot.”
“I lied.”
He laughed.
I hadn’t heard him laugh in days.
Then his earpiece crackled.
“Thomas to Alpha. White van. Parked 2 blocks down. No plates. Been there since 4.”
Kade didn’t let go of my hand.
“Copy. Keep eyes on it.”
“Yes, sir.”
I squeezed his fingers. “Friday. Still on?”
“Friday’s still on.”
---
*6:15PM. PARKING LOT*
We walked out together.
Guards fell in around us.
Formation.
The white van was gone.
Thomas: “It moved. Heading east. Toward the highway.”
“Follow it. But not us,” Kade said. “We go home.”
Home.
Not HQ.
Home.
In the SUV, Kade’s phone buzzed.
*Unknown: Nice try. Dinner was cute. Next time, bring the kids.*
Photo attached.
Of Elena’s house.
Taken 10 minutes ago.
Kade’s jaw ticked. “Turn around. To Elena’s.”
“Sir, protocol says—”
“Turn. Around.”
We peeled out.
---
*6:40PM. ELENA’S HOUSE*
3 SUVs in the driveway.
Guards at every door.
Elena on the porch. Holding Lila’s hand.
Leo behind her.
They were safe.
They were fine.
I was out of the car before it stopped.
“Mommy!” Lila ran to me.
I scooped her up. Checked her.
No scratches.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Elena made cookies.”
Kade was already talking to Thomas.
“Who sent it?”
“Tracing now. Same burner. Same city tower.”
Elena pulled me aside. “Ava. A man came to the door. Asked if the ‘Mooncrest pups’ lived here. I said no.”
“What did he look like?”
“Tall. Dark hair. City clothes. Not pack.”
Kade heard.
His face went still.
“City,” he said. “Not Marcus.”
---
*8PM. BACK AT HQ. WAR ROOM*
Whiteboards.
Maps.
Photos of the van.
The drone.
The boot print.
Beta Thomas pointed. “We have 3 suspects. Marcus in holding. Darius, who’s missing. And this.”
He pulled up a file.
*Name: Adrian Voss*
*Affiliation: Crescent City Pack*
*Relation: Selena’s cousin*
*Record: 2 counts assault. 1 restraining order.*
“Selena called him from holding,” Thomas said. “Once. 3 days ago.”
Kade stared at the photo. “He wants revenge.”
“He wants the Alpha seat,” I said. “Through chaos.”
Kade looked at me. “You were right. About Friday.”
“I’m usually right.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
He was teasing.
But his hand was shaking.
---
*10PM. MY ROOM. HQ*
The twins were asleep.
Finally.
I was sitting on the floor. Again.
Going through old photos.
Me and Kade. 5 years ago.
Prom.
He had the leather jacket.
I had onion rings.
The door opened.
Kade.
No shirt. Sweatpants.
Like he’d just come from training.
“Can I come in?”
“This is your house.”
“Still asking.”
He sat next to me.
Looked at the photos.
“God, we were young.”
“And stupid.”
“And in love.”
I looked at him.
“Are we now?”
He didn’t answer right away.
He picked up a photo.
Me, 17, laughing.
His thumb brushed my face.
“I never stopped,” he said. Quiet. “Even when I rejected you. Even when I married someone else. Even when I told myself it was for the pack.”
“Kade—”
“I’m saying it now because I don’t know if I get to say it later.”
“Don’t do that.”
“I’m serious, Ava. Adrian Voss isn’t Marcus. He doesn’t care about politics. He cares about hurting me. And the fastest way to do that is through you. Through them.”
I took his hand.
“Then we don’t let him.”
“How?”
“Together. Like you said.”
He nodded.
Then he kissed me.
Not soft.
Not gentle.
Desperate.
Like 5 years of regret and 2 weeks of fear all at once.
I kissed him back.
Because I was tired of waiting.
Tired of almost.
When we pulled apart, both of us were breathing hard.
“Friday,” he whispered against my lips.
“Still on,” I whispered back.
His phone buzzed.
We both ignored it.
It buzzed again.
And again.
He groaned. Checked it.
“Thomas. Adrian was spotted at the city bus station. Heading this way.”
“How long?”
“2 hours.”
Kade stood.
“Stay here. With the guards. Don’t leave this room.”
“I’m not a child—”
“Ava. Please.”
I saw it in his eyes.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Okay,” I said. “But you come back to me.”
“I will.”
“Promise promise?”
He smiled. Sad. “Promise promise.”
He left.
---
*12:30AM. SIRENS*
I was awake.
PackNet was blowing up.
*Breaking: Shots fired near pack border. Alpha Kade Mooncrest on scene.*
My blood froze.
Thomas burst in. “Luna, we have to move you. Now. Secure bunker.”
“Where’s Kade?”
“He’s fine. He’s with Beta. They engaged Adrian.”
“Is he hurt?”
“I don’t know.”
I stood. “I’m not going to the bunker.”
“Luna—”
“I’m going to the border.”
Thomas stared at me.
Then nodded. “Fine. But I’m driving. And you’re wearing this.”
He handed me a vest.
---
*1:00AM. PACK BORDER*
Floodlights.
Guards.
Ambulances.
And Kade.
Standing.
Bleeding from a cut above his eyebrow.
But standing.
Adrian was in cuffs.
On the ground.
Alive.
I ran to Kade.
He caught me.
“I’m okay,” he said immediately. “I’m okay. It’s not mine.”
“Whose is it?”
“Adrian’s cousin. He’s in the ambulance.”
I checked him anyway.
Hands. Arms. Chest.
No bullet wounds.
Just that cut.
“You scared me,” I whispered.
“I know.” He pulled me in. Tight. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making you come here.”
Behind us, Thomas was reading Adrian his rights.
Adrian was laughing.
“Your mate’s pretty,” he said. “Shame about what’s gonna happen to her.”
Kade went rigid.
Two guards pulled Adrian back.
---
*2:30AM. BACK AT HQ*
Adrian in holding.
Marcus still in holding.
Darius still missing.
Kade cleaned the cut in my bathroom.
I sat on the counter.
Watched him.
“You didn’t have to come,” he said.
“I know.”
“I’m glad you did.”
He finished. Pressed a kiss to my temple.
Lingering.
“We won,” I said.
“This round.”
“Then we take the next one.”
He nodded.
Then he kissed me again.
Slower this time.
Like he had time.
Like we had time.
---
*4:00AM. BED*
We didn’t sleep in separate rooms.
We didn’t sleep on the floor.
We slept in Kade’s bed.
With the door locked.
And guards outside.
The twins were down the hall.
Safe.
Finally.
Kade’s arm was around me.
My head on his chest.
His heartbeat steady now.
“Friday,” he murmured, half asleep.
“Still on,” I murmured back.
And for the first time in 10 episodes,
we got to have Friday.
Just us.
No threats.
No Council.
No past.
*The trap was set.*
*We walked into it.*
*And we walked out.*
*Together.*
- Writer
