The Secrets of The Reverence Pack

Chapter 8: Electricity

"Strength is all in the mind," his grandfather told him. "It doesn't matter how you look at the end of the day, or who you are. Strength comes from within."

"How will I know that I am strong then?" he asked him. His grandfather was so much taller than him. He never felt like he was growing at all with his grandfather standing next to him.

"You will know you are strong when you must use that strength," he said. "And it is only then that you will be able to realize just how much of that strength you have."

"Shiro, are you even listening to me?!" Tammy snapped him out of his thoughts. They were at lunch at the time.

"You were talking about how worried you were about your finals tomorrow," Shiro said. He had been distracted quite a lot lately. But he would not let his mind grow stagnant like it wanted to. He had to stay sharp.

"No, Shiro," Tammy pointed at him. "I'm worried about you and your tests tomorrow."

"It would be best that you worry about yourself, Tammy," Shiro shook his head. "I'll be fine."

They had all been worried about him after last night. Jin made sure that he brought him home right afterwards. It definitely soured the evening. But that was to be expected. Every time Shiro celebrated his birthday it never stayed fun for long. He learned early on to enjoy the moment while it was there, and to remember the good memories above the bad. For the bad would just weigh you down.

The curse had affected him this morning as well. He woke up feeling as if he was burning. His sheets were drenched in sweat. Nikita spared no time getting an ice bath ready for him. He asked no questions as he helped him in it. He was a good servant; a faithful one.

Nothing could take up his strength as much as this at the moment. It was difficult hiding the bond in which the Spirit of the Moon showed him just a few short days ago. He didn't know just how long he could keep it up before his mate found out. He couldn't even think his name, for it alone had enough power to inflict pain on him.

It could be worse. His sister had been through some horrible spells because of the curse. Trying to keep things like this hidden was not easy. The longer that you go without your mate, the worse the curse gets. That was the punishment that the Spirit of the Moon had given them many, many years ago.

"Were you even able to get any sleep?" Tammy asked. She could always see past his calm demeanor. Her and Geo were the only two that could.

"Some," he answered truthfully. "I should do well on my final exams, though. I'm not worried in the slightest."

"Eh," Geo shrugged. "My classes are the easiest."

"How can you say that when we all have calculous?!" Tammy whined. "I've been studying for the past two weeks and I still feel like I'm going to fail."

"Tammy, you do this every time we have tests," Geo rolled his eyes at her. "You always wind up passing with an A anyway."

"One test I remember I got a B in," Tammy buried her face in her arms. "My parents yelled at me for a century for that."

"Your graduation present should be moving out of that hellhole, then," Geo popped some more food in his mouth. He was always hungry. "Your eighteen, you technically could."

"I don't know where I would go," Tammy sighed. "I'm just going to have to work for it a little harder."

Shiro listened silently to his friends. Then his eyes started to drift off into the crowds of people that were all walking by. Their lives all seemed so much simpler. Even if they were having issues with their home or a person that they were dating. Sometimes he longed to simply have those problems. But that would be selfish of him to wish of such a thing. He had plenty of nice things in life. There were plenty of friends that eased his mind, and plenty of activities to keep him company. He should never complain about such a thing.