Un•A•Were

17| Graduation

Bryan's POV:

It's been two weeks since I made an ass of myself. Two weeks since I tried to tell Amanda the truth, but although the alcohol gave me the courage, it did not give me the articulation. I messed it up so badly.

The morning after, we had a meeting to discuss what happened. I sent Mandy several texts apologizing. She easily forgave me for what she calls drunken ramblings. I even took her out on several dates to make up for scaring her. I've decided to wait until after graduation to have the conversation and to be completely sober, even though that scares the hell out of me.

We all finish our finals and the last day of school goes off without any issues. We have all been cleared for graduation and we picked up our cap and gowns from the guidance office. We plan to meet at the pack house to get ready. As the day fast approaches, I can feel the pressure building inside me. I've had to go on more and more runs in order to keep my composure and emotions in check. Max is on edge even though he is the confident one. This is going to hurt so badly. But, I can't keep her in the dark any longer. I just pray to the Moon Goddess that she can forgive me.

I hear my alarm clock blaring in my ear as it is finally graduation day. I'm mixed with excitement as I will finally be done with school and will start Beta training. James, Nick, and I will take over once we turn 21. Whitney will have her Luna ceremony and Claudia will be sworn in as the Gamma female. Nick found out Claudia was his mate at the party last year. The only question mark is will Amanda become the Beta female. Her absence sends sharp pains into my heart. Only thing to do is to focus on graduating and telling her the truth. I can't worry about the what ifs or hypotheticals. But, it doesn't stop the fear from invading my mind.

I hear voices downstairs and assume the future graduates have started to assemble in the living room. I go downstairs with my robe unzipped and cap in hand. I see our friends and Amanda standing together. She turns and gives me the biggest smile. I can tell she's super excited about graduation and going off to college.

That's the other hole in my plan, but if she forgives me, then I will support her through her efforts of getting her college degree and we can start our lives together after her goal is complete. Then I only have to explain to her that I'm a werewolf, and we're mates, and she's been living in a pack her entire life, and all of her friends are wolves. The list goes on and on, but I can't think about that now. I refuse to ruin this momentous occasion. I join our group and give Mandy a light kiss. She smiles at me again. She really has no idea how beautiful she is.

"Ready to go?" I ask her. She responds with a simple nod. We all usher out to the parking lot and climb into our vehicles to head over to the football stadium for the ceremony. Our families have already arrived and taken their seats as we are lined up in alphabetical order. Since Amanda's last name is Young, she will be the last person in our class to cross the stage. We hear the processional music begin, I sneak a glance back at her and smile. She smiles and waves. We march in and take our seats. Here we go!

The ceremony drags on as Alpha Xavier gives the graduating class words of wisdom; however, I can tell he's choosing his words very carefully as he knows Amanda is in the crowd. Finally, James takes the podium for the turning of the tassel ceremony. We all stand up, move our tassels, and begin singing our school song. At the end, we throw our hats into the air, not really caring if we get it back or not. I rush over to Amanda and wrap her in my arms. I swing her around and she laughs.

"Congratulations baby! We did it!" I shout. I kiss her excitedly before finally placing her back on her feet. She laughs at my silliness.

"Yes! Yes, we did! Congrats to you, too! Now, the real adventure begins!" she exclaims. She has no idea how right she is!