If you want me to give up the position, I will. For you, I’ll do anything, he whispers to me, completely shocking me with his words. I turn in my seat as best as I can to look at him as he keeps glancing at me while trying to also focus on the road in front of him.
Joey, no, I would never want you to do that. This is your passion and I get to see it everyday. It’s one of my favorite things to be able to witness. Every time you have to deal with something in the pack, I get to see you live your dream. You grew up with this position, you grew up with your pack members, and I would never, ever dream of taking that away from you, I whisper to him, taking his free hand in mine.
He glances over at me before looking back at the road. Have I told you lately that I love you ?
I chuckle, nodding my head as he pulled into my driveway. You might’ve mentioned it.
When he parks in front of my house, the door opens to reveal my mom and Emilie coming out. Emilie wears a long-sleeved orange shirt and some leggings along with a pair of white Converse while she has her bag slung over her shoulder as she opens the back door to slide in. I roll down my window as my mother approaches, kissing my cheek before looking down at my leg.
How’re you feeling ? Is it any worse ? She asks me.
I shake my head. Not any worse, not any better. It’s fine. If I need to leave school early, I’ll text you, okay ?
If I don’t answer, call-
Your office, I know, Mom. Don’t worry so much, you’re getting wrinkles, I joke, reaching up to run my thumb across her forehead, making Joey and Emilie laugh from their seats as my Mom lets out a small smile.
Don’t be rude, she jokes, kissing my cheek before taking a step back from the car to wave at us as Joey pulls out of the driveway. I had been given make-up work from my teachers, thanks to Melissa, so I wasn’t too far behind.
So how’re you actually feeling ? Emilie asks from the backseat as I can hear her typing away on her phone. I let out a sigh as I run my hand through my hair.
Just like I told Mom, not any worse, but not any better, I tell her as I play with the loose fabric of my joggers, trying to get my mind off of everything that didn’t matter at this moment. I just wanted to see all my friends and get through this school day without anything bad happening, which probably won’t happen because my boyfriend kinda is the alpha of a werewolf pack that was constantly targeted by rogues.
We stay silent until we get to school where Emilie kisses my cheek before getting out of he car and going over to her group of friends who were surrounding a car as they talked. Joey grabs the keys from the ignition before rushing over to my side where he grabs the crutches from the back before helping me out. I wince a little when I accidentally put some pressure on my leg and Joey’s hands immediately move to my waist to help me balance.
You alright ?
I nod my head. Yeah, I’m okay.
I get comfortable on my crutches before moving towards the school building as Joey follows behind me. His hand sets lightly on my back as he slows down to keep the same pace as me. I’m going to try my best to keep the stress down for the day, alright ? The last thing either of us needs is even more stuff piling on top of us.
I give him a small smile. I don’t think the rogues will accommodate with that.
He chuckles, softly. Well, I think we won’t be hearing from them for a little bit.
Why do you say that ? I ask as he holds open the door for me to go into the school before making my way to English where Cody and Melissa were probably already.
The elders and I both think that they’ll take a break from the pack because they hurt the alpha and they know that the whole pack will be searching for blood for that, so I don’t think we need to worry about them anytime soon. We have another tracker trying to find their hideout and, hopefully, we can finally know where they are and have the upper hand, he says, trying to keep his voice down so no humans can hear.
Well, I’m perfectly fine with that, I say with a long sigh. I turn a corner and suddenly see Isaac rushing over to me to throw his arms around my body.
Oh my god, hi, he whispers as he gives me a tight hug.
Hi, I whisper as he pulls away to look at my body, specifically at the boot that’s covering my leg. I notice the guilty look on his face when he sees it along with my crutches before he looks back up at me and Joey.
I’m so sorry I didn’t come visit you. My mom wouldn’t even let me leave the house, she was so scared something was going to happen, he told us.
Joey cleared his throat, stepping to stand next to me. Tell your mom that we’re putting in about 30 new guards around the perimeter and that she has nothing to be scared of. We’re putting in new safety precautions and no one should be able to get into camp anymore, alright ?
Isaac nods his head, giving us soft smiles. The bell rings to warn us that we have five minutes to get to class and I’m pulled into another hug before we’re forced to say our goodbyes and make our way to our classes. When we get to English, Cody, Melissa, and Tyler are sitting at the table and waiting for us to show up.
Joey and I get comfortable in our chairs as we join in on their conversation about some new project that we’re starting on today in class. Melissa turned towards me and I gave her a small smile when I noticed it. So I talked to Coach Erixon this morning and she told me that she would find a replacement for the dance routine, but you’ll have to help her teach whoever it is.
I nod my head. Yeah, that’s fine.
She reaches over, grabbing my hand in hers and I notice the sad look on her face. I squeeze her hand to get her to look up at me before giving her a soft smile. She opens her mouth to say something before closing it, not knowing what she actually wants to say.
Hey, I’m okay. You don’t need to worry about me so much, I am okay, I say, giving her a soft smile.
She nods her head. I know, I just hate seeing you hurt.
The teacher walks in, silencing us all when she starts talking about the project and I give Melissa one last smile before turning towards the board as Joey sneaks his phone underneath the desk, not caring one bit about what the teacher’s saying. I lightly hit his shoulder, making him look at me with a small smirk.
Pay attention, I mind link to him. He chuckles softly, sliding his phone into his backpack before reaching over to grab my hand as he looks up at the teacher who’s writing up bullet points on the whiteboard as everyone listens to her talk.
Kade’s POV
Baby, come on, we gotta do this, Joey said to me as I pulled on my shirt as I sat on the edge of the bed. I let out a long sigh as he twirled in his desk chair as he stared up at the ceiling, waiting for me to be ready.
Yeah, I don’t think I can do this, I whisper, running my fingers through my wet hair.
He stomps his foot on the ground to stop his chair from spinning in circles before standing up, taking a second to balance himself, and coming over to me. He wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him before kissing the top of my head. I’ll be right there the entire time, I promise you. We’ve pushed this off as much as we could, so it has to be tonight.
I look up at him, hating the way he gives me that goofy smile meaning that he knows that I’m about to give in. I won’t say anything.
That’s okay, he whispers. we’ll take it all one step at a time.
I let out a sigh as I fall back against the bed, my back hitting the soft mattress that’s beneath me. In about an hour, I was going to be up on a stage with more than 500 people staring at me, something I never thought I would ever have the courage to actually do. I guess that since Joey and I have been together for a long time and I’m going to help him run the pack, I should probably let all the pack members know who I am at this point.