The Lonely Wolf

11

Rodrick

It was a good meet. Most of my team finished with great times. They were not kidding when they said Ronnie could run. She stayed in the front with me the whole time. I decided to use the meet to see if it would get her to talk.

“Hey, you finished with some good times. No wonder the coach was excited to have you in the team,” I say, sitting next to her.

“Thanks,” she looked up to acknowledge me, then back out the window.

“Are you looking for him?” She looks at me with a puzzled expression. “ Your uncle.”

“Oh, nah. He’s long gone,” she says now, looking down and scrolling through her phone.

“So how are you doing?” I asked, not knowing what else to say.

“Dont worry. I’m not about to freak out again. This is all normal. There’s nothing to see. No need to be concerned,” she said, not looking up from her phone.

“Look, I can tell you are upset. I don’t know what it is, but there’s a connection between you and me. “

“Disconnect it. I don’t want to be part of your pack, and I’m not looking to date anyone. I appreciate you being nice to me, but I am just trying to finish this last year of high school and move on with my life,” She said, putting her ear plugs in and looking back out the window.

She obviously does not want to talk. I don't want to linger too long, so I go back to my seat next to Bass.

“Yo Alpha. She’s not worth your time anyway. She’s the most stuck-up rogue I’ve ever heard of. I’m sure there will be some baddies at the party tonight that will look way better than her and be begging for your attention,” Edwin says, sitting in the seat behind me.

“You’re just saying that because you actually thought she liked that blood you brought her,” Bass replied.

“Yea, well, at least she just shot me down. She used you to clean the floor. We all heard about that,” Edwin retorted, gesturing like he was mopping the floor.

“Man, I wasn’t trying to holler at her. I was just congratulating her on her time, but the harvest moon festival is definitely going to be lit,” I said, pulling them back in before things went left.

“Tonight is just gonna be the kick-off. You know how many guests are scheduled to arrive tomorrow? And I got the keys to the lake cabin since no guests are staying there,” Bass said, wiggling his eyebrows.

They continue talking about the weekend plans and the girls they plan on inviting to the hot tub. I laughed, but I knew I needed to clarify what I meant to Ronnie, so I asked Bass to cover for me while I tried to mind link her.

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you knew when I said we had a connection I did not mean that I was trying to get with you. I do not want you like that. I mean connection like there is a reason we can mind link.” I try to explain.

She sat there for a moment not saying anything back. I was starting to think she didn’t hear me, but then she shook her head. I heard her sigh before lowly saying, “disconnect it.”

“What do you mean to disconnect it?”

“Stop talking in my head. Stop checking on me. Disconnect whatever connection you are talking about. It’s better for the both of us.” I felt the sadness as she said this.

“Ok. Well, my pack is having a party tonight. You can come as you want. Just tell them you’re my guest. Maybe one of the elders can tell us how this is happening.”

“Nope.” She quickly said.

“You will need to shift for the moon.”

“I know, and I will,” she says.

“Well, it will be safe there and someone can tell us about the connection. We might be related.”

“You think that would end well for me? I was rejected by my family. If you want to protect me, let me you have to stay away from me, especially if we are related,” She said, now glancing back over her shoulder.

Veronica

I feel like a desperate loser. Looking out the window as the bus driver go back past my family’s estate. We used to live at the north end when I lived here with my mom. She probably has a different car from the one she had the last time I saw her.

My uncle still looks the same. Growing up, he would sneak and give me blood chocolates when I would play with his son and daughter in the courtyard. They used to tell me all the secrets they would hear around the house since I wasn’t allowed to roam as freely as they were.

“It still looks the same,” Sasha says.

“It does. There’s Armstrong driving up the road. I wonder if he’s driving mother.” I watch the Mercedes-Benz drive up until the bus passes and I can no longer see it.

“You know he is right there is a connection. I know you feel it. “

“I know, but I have read about how wolf packs treat outsiders. They attack to kill and if they bring me in they will probably make me go through all types of tests just to be treated like an outcast in a pack.”

“Are you talking about that wild wolf documentary we were watching?” she asks.

“Yes and the material Mrs. Lewis told me to read.”

“What if our mate is part of a pack? He will have to accept us, and we will have to choose if we are going to be part of a pack.”

“Or he is more likely to reject us like everyone else has because I’m a hybrid. The book did say that could happen, and I can’t imagine our mate being any different from anyone else in our lives.”

She whimpers a bit at the thought of being rejected.

“The moon goddess takes a lot of time and thought into choosing mates. How can he reject that blessing?” she asks.

“The moon goddess obviously makes mistakes. She cursed my parents an gave them me, didn’t she?" I asked, causing her to whimper some more. “I’m sorry, Sasha. I know you want to be part of a pack, but it will never be an option with us. As long as we have each other we will be fine. I promise”

She was so upset she refused to speak to me the rest of the ride back to school. I had to make good on that promise, so I used the rest of the ride to continue scrolling for local job listings on my phone. I applied for a few places and set up an interview at a café for tomorrow.

When we got to the school, I stayed seated a moment to allow all the rowdy wolves from the back off first. Roderick gave me a quick look before he turned to Sebastian to talk about some girl that had just sent an RSVP for their party.