Chapter Twenty Dylan
It felt like having my soul split in two all over again. I should have expected this to happen. This was why I didn't want to get close to Silas anyway. He broke my heart once, and I allowed him to do it all over again.
This was how my life went. As soon as I started to think I could have everything I ever wanted, the rug got pulled out from under me.
First, I thought I found my mate and would finally get my parents off my back, only for the asshole to reject me and send me to this godforsaken school.
Despite thinking I would get out of here unscathed, I found two more mates and an evil teacher wanting to take over the werewolves.
Now, as I try to get through school to return home, all this happens.
Why would I let myself fall for Silas? I told myself I wouldn't so many times. This was exactly what I thought would happen, and it did. Knowing that nothing is guaranteed with mates, I should have seen this coming. He rejected me once before, and clearly, he wanted to again.
Anger brewed inside me as I stomped through the halls until I reached outside.
I felt Hunter's presence behind me, but I didn't want to talk about this.
There wasn't anything anyone could say that would make this better right now.
Silas didn't want me. I pushed him away enough to hit his breaking point.
Because that's what I do.
"Dylan!"
Hunter grabbed my shoulders and spun me around.
He pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me, and through the bond I could feel his frantic feelings of wanting to pummel Silas for making me feel like this but also trying to keep me from doing something I'd regret.
I wasn't even sure how I felt right now or what I planned to do.
That didn't stop him from thinking he had to stop me from doing whatever I tried to do next.
The thought of pummeling Silas came to mind after feeling that through the bond.
But it was his voice that made me look at him. What he felt through the bond from me is what triggered this. I really needed to use my shields against my mates so they couldn't get into my head any time they wanted. Sometimes, it would be better if my thoughts were to myself.
"What the hell happened?" He growled as he lowered his mouth to my ear and then to my neck to deliver a small kiss.
Normally, that move would have me swooning... but I felt too broken for it to register.
"Silas doesn't want me as his mate anymore."
My voice fell flat as I spoke those words. How else could I even say that? That's what happened. My wolf whined again, and this time I joined her.
Hunter growled and held me tighter. The rumbling in his chest was more like a growl, and I wondered if he would go back into Silas's room to beat the shit out of him.
"Silas has gone through a lot. He may just need time to work through it all."
That was putting it mildly. What they did to Silas...I'm not sure we would get past this. He blames me, and he’s right to do so. If I wasn't trying to go after Lupe, he wouldn't have gotten caught up in this mess.
Stupid protective alpha bullshit.
"I don't think he wants to work through this. Can't really say I blame him, either."
I pushed myself from Hunter and turned back toward the trees.
The more distance I put between myself and this building, the better so I can try to push my feelings down into the back of my mind and lock it in a box.
If I didn't want this shit to affect me, then I needed to lock it away and not deal with it.
I didn't have a way to erase it from my memory, which is what I wished I could do.
The trees beckoned me, and my wolf whined, desperate for freedom to mourn our uncompleted bond.
Usually, I didn't give in to my wolf's every whim, but a run sounded amazing right now.
Without telling Hunter my plan, I took off toward the woods.
There was some shouting from him behind me, but I ignored him.
Once I got to the tree line, I shed my clothes and pulled on the magic for the shift.
By the time Hunter reached me, the black coat of my wolf was complete.
"All you had to do was tell me you wanted to go for a run, love. Will you stop giving me a heart attack and taking off?" I sneezed at him, and a rumble let loose from his chest. "You're going to be the death of me."
That sounded like an insult, but I opened my jaw and let my tongue out to be cheeky. He laughed, making my heart skip. At least one of my mates appreciated me for being me .
"Stop that, Dylan. Silas just needs time."
Why are you defending him? I thought you wanted to punch the asshole?
Hunter pulled off his shirt, showing off his incredibly perfect physique, and gave me a toothy grin. "I already knocked him out and put him in the infirmary. I think I'm good."
My laugh echoed through the bond, and his smile grew. What was it with my mates and their smiles? The sight left me so weak I could barely stand.
Another minute or so passed, and Hunter was in his gorgeous wolf form.
Last time I saw it, it had been at night and I didn't get the full glory of it.
Similar to my wolf, his coat was a deep black, looking like the midnight sky without the stars or moon to illuminate it.
The difference between our wolves was the size.
Hunter was massive. My wolf was bigger than average for a female, and somehow his was bigger than average for males.
With him coming from the Monarch's pack, and then trained as an Enforcer, it allowed his wolf to grow more.
The power the pack held created monster level wolves.
He shook off his fur and waited for me to lead.
Wagging my tail to show my appreciation and following up with a yip had him lolling his tongue with a wolfish grin.
I pushed off as hard as I could to throw as much speed as I could muster.
It felt too good to have the wind blowing through my fur.
The fresh dirt and the mustiness of the fallen leaves made me feel at home.
It felt good to allow my wolf to take over and run off all the emotional turmoil I felt inside me, reveling in the way I could just turn off my brain on a run.
It was nothing but the cool air blowing against my fur and dirt kicking up from my paws.
With Hunter keeping himself behind me, I knew nothing and no one could harm me, too.
I was free to do what I wanted, and the only thing I wanted was to forget about today.
The sun started to set as I grew tired enough to tell Hunter through the bond I wanted to go back to the dorm, realizing we didn't tell Jackson and Sera where we went. Hunter chuckled through the bond.
Did you think I wouldn't tell him the plan? Am I an amateur to you?
I laughed. I should've known Hunter would be on top of this. He didn't join us, though.
He's keeping an eye on Sera. She didn't feel like going for a run, and we agreed that one of us would stay with her.
Stepping out of the tree line where we left our clothes, I noticed dark figures stalking around the dorm.
I mentally groaned as I remembered about the curfews, though we at least had an excuse as to why we weren't inside yet.
Anyone could lose track of time when running in wolf form.
I shifted back but kept the night vision to assess how many guards we had to wade through.
That's when I noticed it wasn't a guard.
No.
She couldn't be that stupid.
It was Lupe.
Red stained my vision as I stomped over there, fully ready to go toe-to-toe with this piece of shit wolf.
She really had some lady balls to be stalking outside the dorm.
Did she think I wouldn't have smelled her dirty ass?
As I rounded on her, Lupe smiled sweetly at me.
If it weren't for Hunter catching my arm, I would've swung on her just for being in my presence and outside of my building.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing here, Lupe? Staking out the dorm to take more innocents in the night?"
Lupe’s exaggerated gasp and hand-to-chest gesture were a transparent act. There wasn't anyone around to see this conversation go down, so this act was purely for me. I struggled against my mate to let me go, but he kept his grip on me tight.
"Miss Pierce, what on earth do you take me for?"
"An egomaniacal bitch, for one."
That seemed to wipe the smile off her face. It was like the mask had finally come off from the haunting stare she gave me. It didn't do a damn thing to stop me from trying to get loose from Hunter's grip to get at her.
"Why are you outside of the dorm during curfew hours, Miss.= Pierce?"
This bitch seriously asked me that? "What's it to you? We went for a run and lost track of time. Considering I just went through hell and back, I think I deserve a break from everything."
"It is past curfew hours. You need to be in the dorm for your safety." The smile returned.
The yearning to rip this bitch's head off her shoulders was strong.
My wolf agreed, adding to my bloodlust because I was just tired of looking at this pathetic excuse of a person.
Why did she get to live, but Cole and his friends had to die?
If she never created this weird ass way to bring the destruction of our kind out, they wouldn't have died.
We fell into this stare off, and I looked for traces of her wolf being in charge.
If she wanted this for the rest of us, did that mean her wolf was the one in the driver's seat?
If so, that would explain so damn much. The wolf wanting all of this would be easier to digest. But she looked the same way she always looked.
There was nothing.
Not a single trace of her wolf calling the shots right now. That made it worse. What if she has figured it out, and she's completely merged with her wolf? There was a reason for the Great Moon to keep our halves separate.