by Nissa Gordon
Lucy smiled at this; she had known that her mum had been worried. "She did seem worried in her letters. Dad never wrote...just the other day telling me to come home,"
"Because I knew that you were alright," Charles told them.
"Stuarts been checking you out every time he went to the school," the man in the chair told her.
"Arvin, you don't need to tell her all of that," Charles told him sternly.
"I already knew that he had come to the school, without anyone having to tell me of course," Lucy told them. "He never talked to me or any of my friends. Even though Will saw it in the field and we were chased through the underground tunnels by it,"
"You were chased by it?" Charles demanded.
"The teachers knew," Lucy said as off handily as she could moving closer to Jarvia, not wanting to be on the bad end of her dad's temper, not that he would ever hurt her, but considering that there were people around he wouldn't say much to her.
"You really must have been scared going through something like that, I had no idea." Jarvia said concerned as she directed her over to the sofa.
"You can tell Stuart everything about what happened after we've talked here," Charles told her. "Unless you know who it is,"
"I don't even know what it is," Lucy told him. "I couldn't really get anything off of it, as though it wasn't there enough for me to sense anything from him. But at the same time, it didn't sense like a ghost. But, also before you say anything, I have no idea if it's Wrath or Phantom of any kind, because I've never seen any before,"
"I forget sometimes that you're so young, especially when you talk like that; so grown up," Jarvia said smiling silently. "Corey wants your honest opinion honey,"
Corey sat down again next to her as Charles took another chair to one side of those in the Pack.
"I'm sure that you've heard about what's been going on here?" Corey asked her, which she nodded. "There's a lot of angry people because of what happened with Fritz and then with Aaron turning...he's doing alright by the way,"
"He let my little brother die!" Arvin shouted angrily.
Corey shook his head. "I can't change what happened. Fritz didn't disserve to die, but he did save lives. That's the problem, the Pack has lost faith in me,"
"What does that mean?" Lucy asked nervously.
"We're thinking of leaving, honey," Jarvia told her.
"What?" Lucy asked upset, she didn't want them to go, she had known them her whole life.
"We don't want to abandon anyone, but the Pack can't go on like this either," Corey told her kindly. "We all think that it's best, we'll start over somewhere else, and the rest of the Pack will be able to get over my letting them down,"
"You didn't let them down," Lucy told him. "You protected the territory and the others...it wasn't your fault..."
"Lucy, you may understand a lot, but you are still too young to understand everything, especially everything that goes on in here," Corey told her.
"He's right, he goes and everything can go back to normal," Arvin told them.
Lucy looked over at him, he was sat on the edge of his chair as though he was ready to pounce if he didn't get what he wanted.
"What we need is just someone who can step up, until we can get someone to come into the Pack as Alpha," Corey told her.
"I can just do it," Arvin told them angrily.
Lucy didn't want to be put in the middle like this, especially considering that she already knew that Arvin wasn't strong enough to lead the pack, but at the same time she wasn't even sure who else once.
"Well...err...do I have to say anything straight away?" Lucy asked nervously.
"No, honey," Jarvia told her smiling. "But we would like it, if you could tell us before you go back to school,"
"Whoever you put forward, they'll have to be trained to handle this position," Corey told her.
Lucy nodded nervously as she slid off of the sofa between the two of them, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible, before anyone started to ask her questions. She had known that this is what they use her power for, for a couple of years now, but it was still kind of hard to do this sometimes; it was harder when she knew them. Her dad let her go without saying anything, which she was glad of, but also knew that he probably wanted to talk to them more about the situation. This time, she actually agreed with Corey, she really was too young to be put in this kind of situation, but could she tell her dad that without getting into trouble, him thinking that she was trying to run away from all of this.
She walked out into the main entrance, but it empty now; she looked over at the door wondering if she should just go back home and see her mum considering that she hadn't seen her for months, the longest she had ever gone without seeing her. But then she sensed Aaron in the back, she wondered if she should see him, he hadn’t long been changed and she had told him the bad news, and now the pack was being torn apart because of the incident with how he had been changed.
She went off to her right, deciding that she was here she might as well say hi before she went back home; she wouldn't be back here for a couple of days when she would go shopping with her mum and sister for the winter solstice.
Lucy went down the back corridor, knowing that she wouldn't bump into anyone as they were either in the main section or up in their rooms upstairs; it kind of worried her a little if he was still considering himself an outsider. At first she wasn't sure where he was only that he was back here in one of the rooms, but then she realised that he was actually in one of the training rooms, which made her smile. He wasn't rejecting being a Lycanthrope; in fact he was trying to improve himself. Lucy knocked gently on the door hoping that he wouldn't be angry with her interrupting him.
"Come in!" Aaron shouted through the door.
Lucy took a deep breath, then opened the door and went inside; the lights were set on dim and the room was littered with obstacles and frozen figures.
"Lucy, I didn't realise that you were home already," Aaron said brightly as he ran over, jumping over several fallen trucks and then stopping in front of her.
"Hi," Lucy said shyly.
"Are you alright?" Aaron asked stepping back, he sat down on the closest truck and patted next to him.
Lucy looked at him for a moment, it wasn't that she didn't trust him to be alone with him, if so then she wouldn't have been here to begin with; after several seconds of hesitation she finally she went over and sat beside of him.
Aaron smiled. "Not sure if the others would consider this as being safe,"
"Why?" Lucy asked. "You don't look as though you're going to change, and if you were going to, you would have, probably while you were training,"
"You're good," Aaron said.
"I don't want to be good," Lucy told him. "Corey and Jarvia have just told me that they're leaving. They want me to tell them who would be best to look after the Pack after they’re gone, and I don't want to. Why do I have to do something like that?" Lucy stood suddenly. "I don't want that sort of responsibility..."
"Lucy you’re special," Aaron told her. "Everyone here thinks so. I think you are, when I was told how old you were, I couldn't believe it,"
"I don't want to be special...but...but at the same time...I...err...I wouldn't want to not know anyone here," Lucy told him.
"Lucy...it's tough, everyone’s finding it hard," Aaron told her. "I am...I've been in touch with my family, but I can't tell them what's happened to me. Your families got me a new job and everything, and my family are quite proud of that; I mean that I've gotten a good job finally. I was angry at first that all of this happened to me. But then...yeah it's hard Lucy. But this whole new world that you lot have opened up to me, it's just incredible,"
"Do you really believe that?" Lucy asked him kind of unsure.
"Yes," Aaron told her honestly. "Just be honest, tell them the truth. If we can't handle it, then it's our fault,"
Aaron smiled at her, and she smiled back; she couldn't believe how well he was dealing with all of this and that he was now
the one giving her advice on all of this. He had come so far in the under a year, more so than some of the others who had been Lycanthropes for years or even those who had been born that way; he was just a natural.
It kind of made her worried if perhaps he could be Alpha one day, it was possible with the right training and if he really wanted something like that; but she didn't want to say anything just yet, not to him or to the others. She'd do what she said, check everyone out and then speak to the elders as it would probably be their responsibility to take care of the Pack anyway until a new Alpha was chosen.
Chapter Twenty-Five
A group of men and women played instruments by the edge of the forest, that glittered with freshly fallen snow, the branches swaying to the music as Lucy and her friends danced around the bonfire smiling and laughing. Children of all ages ran around excitedly, as their parents and the rest of the adults talked amongst themselves; a small group gathered around the grill cooking a constant stream of food to keep them all going. Everyone from the apartments were out celebrating, even though it was freezing and snowed every so often, no one really seemed to mind as there were bonfire's dotted around the field where they were all gathered.
Alex grabbed Will before he could run past him, and pointed out his parents to him. "Do you see them? They're still arguing, he's been like that since I got back,"
Will looked over at the two of them, they had moved back from the rest of the group, probably so that they wouldn't be over heard, but anyone could see that they were arguing even if they couldn't be heard.
"What's he going on about now?" Troy asked stopping behind them.
"He's still going on about the sensors...and he doesn't want to tell if family about us," Alex told them. "I don't get it...he's lived with us all these years...he's my dad and now...all because the world knows, he's a shamed of us,"
"Maybe...I don't know...worried about what people will think..." Will suggested. "Not that we are...but some are worried about how all of this is going. Dad said a lot of people have left Earth, moving to Alliance Worlds. He also said that he could find something for your mum if she wanted,"
"Really?" Alex asked surprised. "Does she know?"
"Course, he told her...your dad weren't happy about that," Will told him. "My dad told him, that he had to decide what he wanted to do, because he was only hurting you and your mum the more he dragged his feet like this,"
"Wow...I know you said that he said he would look out for her, but I don't know..." Alex said kind of speechless.
"We're all friends, it's what we do," Will told him, this time it was him who stopped Lucy before she could get past them. "Lucy..."
"Have you guys eaten yet?" Lucy asked looking over where they were doing the food.
"Have you found out anything about the rose?" Will asked her.
Lucy quickly looked around hoping that no one was listening to them, but that didn't really mean anything if they weren't looking over at them, they could still hear everything that they were talking about; and she didn't want them all knowing what they were up to.
"We should talk about it later," Lucy told them, trying to get them to move off as she wanted something to eat now that she had stopped. "Jess, Ella; we're getting something to eat!"
"And why can't we talk now?" Will asked quickly before the other two girls came over.
"In case someone hears," Lucy told them.
Troy looked around at everyone, no one was even looking over at them."I doubt that anyone will hear us, or even care what we're talking about,"
Jess ran over to join them with Ella at her side, who was just a little shorter and wore a long sleeved red and purple dress with a matching body warmer over it, her hair was styled like Lucy's in a bob framing her face.
"I think someone's a little paranoid," Alex teased.
"About what?" Ella asked confused.
"She thinks that someone will over hear us," Troy said off handily.
"If you are up to something, we'll be putting a stop to it before you even get a chance to do it!" Stuart shouted over to them as he walked by several feet away grinning broadly at them. "Lucy, you should know better!"
Lucy waved dismissively at him, looking pointedly at the others, as though that had just proved her point.
Alex turned around staring after him, walking away with a couple of other men. "How did he even know...?"
"You can't really get away with much around here," Ella told them as she came up on Lucy's other side as Jess went around to her other, and they walked over to the food, with the guys looking around nervously now. "Okay...that just looks as though you’re up to something, you're not helping,"
"Hurry up, I'm staving after all that dancing," Lucy told them over her shoulder.
They slowly followed after them, not saying much as if worried that someone would overhear them.
"How many of these people do you actually know?" Troy asked.
"All of them," Ella answered.
"Same," Lucy agreed.
"Only a handful," Jess admitted. "But they always seem alright, I mean whenever I come over,"
"Why, what's wrong?" Lucy asked.
"Nothing...just wondering." Troy answered.
"Have you seen my dad?" Will asked them, as he hadn't seen him for a while and hoped that he hadn't been called away and had forgotten to tell him.
Lucy pointed over to the far end of the clearing, where the last bonfire was. "He's over there with my dad,"
"Oh...okay..." Will said following the direction that she had pointed out, and a little surprised that she had known that, but she had always been good at finding people, not that he knew how she did it.
There was a little bit of a queue for the food when they got over there, with Mark and his third Pete cooking, everyone waited in order no pushing or arguing.
"Hey Mark," Lucy said brightly smiling at him, making some of the others turn around.
"Lucy...come up front," Mark told her, as he grabbed a large tray and started to fill it with a selection of food.
Lucy walked around the others in front of them, her friends following closely behind her, and still no one said anything about her pushing in.
"This should be enough for the lot of you for now," Mark told her as he handed the tray to Will and Troy to carrying, while Pete handed her knife and forks. "If you need any more, just come back over; enjoy,"
"Thank you." Lucy said smiling, before she walked off with the others for an empty bench.
"See, I told you, you're everyone’s favourite," Ella told her grinning, pointing out an empty bench behind a group of talking men.
"And just why is she everyone's favourite?" Alex asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Lucy asked him.
"Well...err..." Alex said, not sure how to answer her question and just waved her off as they all sat down, and started on the food.
They talked about what they had been doing during the holidays while they ate, now that they had finally stopped; but it wasn't long until there was a buzz of activity going on behind them, phones ringing and people running about.
"I want security doubled now!" Mark shouted.
"I'll be back in a while Mark, call if you need me!" Stuart shouted across the clearing before he and several others teleported away.
Glen rushed over to their table along with Charles and Troy's dad. "Will, something's happened...I'll be gone for a while, but you can stay here,"
"Troy, when your mum says it's time to leave, you listen to her, and I'll be home as soon as I can," Lando told him.
"Is it bad?" Will asked.
"We'll talk about it later," Glen told him, then the three of them stepped back and teleported.
"Dad could have at least say goodbye to me," Lucy said upset that he hadn’t spoken to her.
Jake came over sitting next to Alex, looking around quickly making sure that everyone else was busy before he lent forward. "There's been an attack in one of the cities, it's bad as well,"
"What
do you mean it's bad?" Will asked.
Jake looked around again and then whispered. "I heard them saying that people have been killed,"
"Killed...people?" Troy asked.
"Are you sure?" Lucy asked.
"That's horrible...wait a minute...that guy said to increase security here?" Jess asked a little panicked looking around, everyone rushing about.
"It's not near here, but they're just increasing security anyway...and several of the others have gone now, so they need to make sure that the rest of us are alright," Jake told her.
