Evolution

7

Ch 7 Sweet 16

The Darkwood pack prepared to celebrate the Sweet 16 birthdays of Alpha Blake's triplets and Coen's mate Trinity. Camillia and Trinity were finished dressing and Grandmum Marigold was fixing their hair and makeup when Callen burst in begging, "Help me, I can't tie my tie."

Camillia offered, "I'll strangle you with it." Trinity laughed.

"Come here, Callen." As Grandmum Marigold tied it, she told Trinity, "Go check on Coen."

She walked down the hall as Cami and Callen continued to taunt each other. Coen was sitting at his desk, writing in a book when she knocked and pushed open the door. "Hey."

"What?!" He snapped the book closed rudely. He stared at her, wide-eyed, like he didn't know who or what she was, then looked away.

"Grandmum Marigold wanted me to check and make sure you're ready," Trini said tentatively. Things with Coen had been different since the baseball tournament two months ago. He had become distant. It hurt.

"I'm fine, Trini," he answered stiffly without looking at her.

She licked her lips, her throat felt dry, "Oh, okay." She didn't move.

"I said I'm fine," he repeated. The pencil twitched in his fingers like he was agitated.

Her wolf growled and her demoness thrashed its tail, and suddenly she was very angry, so she snapped, at him, "Are you going to tell me what I did or just keep being a butthead?"

He stared at her stunned.

After a long moment, she snarled, "Fine! Arg! I'm sorry. I am sorry, sorry, sorry for whatever! Happy birthday! I won't bother you again!" She turned and in a rustle of blue silk and a shimmer of shadows, she was gone before he could stand up.

"Trin." He trembled, staring at the space she had just vanished from. He had never seen her that angry at him before. Downstairs, the front door slammed.

The cold air of the night cooled Trinity's flushed cheeks as she wrapped her cloak around her and started toward the pavilion. Autumn was like a yo-yo this year and it felt like snow was coming but Trinity hoped summer would return. She knew that probably wouldn't be the case. Winter was almost here and she had been lucky the warmth lingered as long as it had.

They would all graduate school the second week of November and then leave six weeks later. After the winter holidays everything would change. She would go to her grandfather's coven so he could introduce her to court life. In a year, she would be across the ocean and training under her great-aunt, the Blood Queen while in college. Camillia would attend a private Luna college and take medical courses, while Callen and Coen would be gone to perform their tour of duty with the Guardians and Alpha training, which was basically military college. They would rarely see each other for the next four years.

A tear ran down her cheek and Trinity brushed it away angrily. Ahead, she could see the light and hear the music from the town square, she couldn't face it yet so she turned off the trail and wandered away into the woods. She didn't even know where she was going until she stopped under a familiar oak. On the surface was carved, T + C then +C +C. She smiled, Coen had carved their initials, and been so angry when Callen had added the rest. Cami once said together the four of them could overcome anything, but could they overcome the distance that was facing them. Her fingers trailed over the letters, and she wished they were all ten years old again. But then again, ten had been the worst year of her life, she had lost her parents and one set of grandparents and almost everyone she knew and loved. She longed to hear her father's laugh and feel his strong arms, or hear her mother and grandmother singing while baking, or run through the vineyard, trying to hide from her grandfather's wolf. She wrapped her arms around herself and fought the tears. She looked up at the moon, waning gibbous just like that night.