Werewolf High School

Part 8: The Calm before the Storm (Wednesday)

The next day was just perfect. When I arrived at school, Adam was waiting for me in front. He jumped off his bench when he saw me, kissed me lightly, and we walked hand in hand to my class. Whenever we met in a hallway, he would stop to say hi or kiss me on my cheek. By now, everyone knew we were together, and the fact we were mates spread like wildfire among wolves at school from both packs. We also told everyone we didn't want to see any fights anymore. If they had any problem, they should come to us, and we would resolve it. We thought it would be good for the atmosphere at school.

Lunchtime at the school cafeteria was very different today. Adam and I got our own lunches early and sat down at an empty table. Both our pack members seemed confused by that because they had usually sat with us at a separate table. First, Gina and Lara came to our table, then about five guys from Adam's pack joined and sat at his side. The last ones to join us were Johny and two others from my pack. Johny was cautiously looking at Adam as he sat down, the incident from last Friday still fresh in his mind. Adam didn't look too happy to see him either, but he seemed to let it go for now as everything else was going great. 

"Hi guys, you already know me; I'm Julianna. These are Johny, Gina, Lara, Sam, and Lars" I introduced my pack members to the rest of the table. Adam followed: "Alright, these are Lee, Don, Franky, and Carl." He didn't even bother to introduce himself. He assumed everyone knew him, and he was actually right. I still couldn't decide if he was really cocky or just so easygoing.

Each member nodded after they were introduced, and after that, there was an awkward silence. I tried to strike a conversation by saying: "I saw you guys play rugby yesterday. I thought you were all great! Are you playing often?" Some of them started telling me that they played after school sometimes. Don added that he only comes to school to play rugby and that he doesn't care for anything else. Everyone laughed at that. Franky teased him that we can tell from his grades. Don punched him jokingly in the shoulder, but he couldn't offer any comeback to that, so we all laughed even more. 

The situation grew more serious when Lee suddenly asked me: "So are you going to be our new Luna?" Everyone at the table looked at me and waited for my answer. I was slightly embarrassed because I didn't really have an answer to that, especially now when he asked me in front of the whole table. For the past couple of days, I was just enjoying my time with Adam, trying hard not to think about the future anymore. I knew I didn't want to leave my pack, but I just couldn't imagine exactly how our arrangement will look like. 

Luckily Adam saved me from this one: "We are still discussing the details, but don't worry, you will all find out everything you need to know in good time." That seemed to calm them down for now, and they all started eating and talking again in small groups. I became aware that I really needed to talk to my parents since these things involved everyone from both packs. Pack members also seemed to be eager to know what exactly our union meant for the future of both packs.

When I got home from school, I was going to talk to my parents, but soon I realized there was no need for that since they already knew. They were both waiting for me in the living room and jumped at me as soon as I entered our house. 

"Julianna, what is going on? When were you going to tell us about your mate? Do you have any idea how stupid we felt for everyone else knowing except us?" my dad was shouting at me. "Dad, I'm sorry, I can explain!" I said hurriedly. "Honey, we don't like you to be anywhere near wolves from Knight's Blood. It looks bad on us." my mom added. "Thomas, I knew we shouldn't have sent her to that school!" she said when she turned to my dad. 

"Mom, dad, listen, here is the thing. Adam is my mate. I didn't choose him; he just is my mate!" I was getting nervous, but I didn't know how to get my message across when they were so angry at me. I understood they were upset for not telling them earlier, but last week was one big confusion for me, and this week I just got a taste of what it meant to be with your mate. "Alright, if you didn't choose him, you can still reject him!" my dad argued. "No, dad, I really can't! I tried, but I can't do it!" 

I felt tears building up since the pain I had felt when I tried to reject him was still all too fresh in my mind. It was only two days ago when I almost went through with it. If Adam hadn't kissed me, I really would have done it. I cringed just at the thought of it. My dad fell silent after that, and my mom just stared at him, waiting for him to say something. 

After a few moments, he finally said: "Go to your room. You are grounded for now. You will not go to school this week. I will call and say you are ill. I need time to think what to do about this issue, and you can't see Adam in the meanwhile." "But dad, that's not fair! Also, didn't you tell me before that I needed to stay in school?" I tried to reason with him, but he was firm in his decision. "This is different now. I need time to think, and I need you to stay here for now. There will be guards outside at all times, so don't even try to do anything stupid!" When I saw I couldn't move him, I stomped upstairs and threw myself on the bed. I was crying while burying my face in my pillow. 

Mom came in a few moments later and sat next to me. She started gently stroking my hair. "Don't cry; it will all be well," she told me. "No, it won't. How do you know that?" I said shakily through tears. "You can understand why your dad is angry. You know he cares about you, but he must think of our pack first." Those were the words I really didn't want to hear. I knew exactly what he must be thinking because those were the exact thoughts I'd had last week. He must have felt betrayed too, for not telling him earlier. Anyway, it was not his mate involved, so how could he decide anything for me? 

"Mom, you don't understand! I need to be with Adam! You can't keep me away from him!" I tried to tell her. She only said: "Honey... Give your father some time. I'm sure it will work out for the best in the end." I didn't know how she could be so sure of that. "Best for who?" I asked, fresh tears streaming down my cheeks. She only looked at me sadly and stayed with me for a little while longer. I knew deep inside she meant to comfort me, but I resented her for not taking my side on this.

I stayed in bed for the rest of the day. I was afraid my dad would react badly, but somehow I didn't expect him to ground me. All this wasn't my fault after all. It just happened, and I tried to fight it in the beginning. I didn't want to do that anymore, so I had no idea what the purpose of grounding me was. If he wants me away from Adam, he can throw me in a cell for the rest of my life. I will not be able to lead our pack in that case, so that won't do any good for anyone either. I fell asleep, lost in my own thoughts. 

I woke up at night as my phone was vibrating wildly under my pillow. It was Adam, and I really didn't want to talk to him with my crying voice, so I cut off the line. He called again, and I had to cut him off several times before he finally stopped. 

I did want to tell him what was going on, so I quickly texted him: "Hey, sorry, I can't talk right now. My dad found out about us, and he is really angry. He grounded me!" He replied: "Oh, no, that's bad! I heard him call my dad before, but I have no idea what they talked about." "How did your parents react? Did you tell them?" I asked him impatiently. "I did. My dad asked me to tell him everything, so I did, and then he was just quiet. He doesn't talk much, but I bet he is thinking about it now. My mom said she was cool with it." "She sounds like you, haha," I replied. He didn't text back for what seemed to be forever. Then his text came: "I want to see you." When I read it, a few tears slipped down my cheek. "Me too. But maybe not today," was my reply.

*a-ha: Take On Me  <3