AFRAID OF THE DARK

CHAPTER 16

"Worse. Vacation. Ever." I grit through my teeth as I hold an ice pack to my forehead.

Locus winces and looks away. Adam grunts his agreement with me. He has a diminishing shiner around his eye from fighting the boy that pushed me against the lockers. Logan rubs the back of his hair guiltily. The packs happiness of my return was short-lived. Their happiness dwindled when they saw the mark on my neck from another Alpha. It completely disappeared when Logan notified the pack we were not getting back together. I, and the others, are only there for protection. Logan and I have been treated disrespectfully since.

Hillary and her crew are the worst. She's pretending to have changed and be a better person, but she's the same when she's not in view of the pack members. She and Maisy should get together. They are so much alike. They're fake and all they want is the power that comes with being a Luna.

Speak of the she-devil. She waltzes into the school cafeteria wearing a knee length flower printed skirt, a white blouse, and a rose colored cardigan. A one-eighty from the barely there outfits she used to wear. She puts on a friendly smile and walks our way. She thinks I owe her for helping me get back into school. She convinced her mother, the principal, to let me back in after it had been over two months since I've been in school. Her mother had said it was too long without education and I should repeat my senior year.

"Cassie. I heard what happened. I hope you are okay." Hillary places a hand over her heart mocking concern.

"It's Cami and I am fine." I growl out.

"Leave, Hillary." Logan says with annoyance.

"Hey, Logan. Do you want to sit at our table and tell us about your trip." She flutters her eyelashes.

"No. Hillary." He breaks his fork when he tightens his fist. "Leave now."

"Well, you know where I will be if you change your mind." She winks and walks to her table of Logan's ex-friends.

"Are you okay, Logan." I ask when his shoulders drop.

"They keep shaking the drugs in my face. I'm afraid I'm going to break." Logan sighs.

I get memories of the weakness he had when we found out he was to be my mate. Logan must know what I'm thinking. That day had been painful. It wasn't the worst pain I had been in, thanks to Alicia the lunatic, but it was still extremely painful. I hold his hand and let him know I forgive him.

"You're strong, Logan. You're going to be okay. They have to grow up one day, too. Right?" Locus looks at his old group of friends with a questioning brow raised and we do the same.

"You're better off without them." Adam snorts.

We startle when we hear an aggressive feminine growl next to us. A familiar dark haired she-wolf is standing on the other side of the table growling angrily. Her eyes are locked on my hand still holding Logan's hand. Logan pulls his hand away and stands. There's shock written all over his face, but there's also lust.

"Oh my gosh, they're mates!" Locus claps her hands.

I smile at my cousin. Not Locus, but my cousin Rachel. "Rach, Logan is like a brother to me. I'm not going to lie, Logan was once my destined mate, but it didn't work out. It's a long story, but I have another mate. I'm happy you are his mate."

"You were his first mate?" She whimpers.

"For only a few hours." Locus rolls her eyes. "Anyway, oh my gosh, girl. What are you doing here?"

We stand to give our cousin a hug. She confirms my suspicions about Uncle Reg sending her here to be safe. She fidgets and apologizes for growling. I let her know it is okay by introducing her to her knew mate. Logan again looks at me with guilt, but I shake my head. I'm happy for them. I do feel some jealousy. Not for my first mate finding another, but that I can't be with my mate. We had talked after he felt my injury, but it is not enough. I want to be with him.

"Luna, we should go before the hallways become crowded." Adam places his large hand on my shoulder.

"Grizzly, how many times do I have to say you don't have to call me Luna." I huff.

"I know, but sometimes I think you need a reminder our Alpha is fighting for you and that you are the rightful Luna of our pack." He smiles as warmly as the big grizzly bear can smile.

"Thanks, Adam." I shake my head. "I still can't believe you're in high school. You're much older than you seem. Very wise and mature for a teenager."

"It comes with my charm and good looks." He winks.

I laugh and nudge his arms. He went from a guy that scared me to a guy I hated. Then finally, he's become like one of my best friends. Adam is friendlier than I had pictured and he's playful at times. He's going to make a good mate. I hope he finds her soon. She's going to be a very lucky girl.

We say goodbye to the others and head to our class before anybody can catch us in the halls while we are vulnerable. It goes on this way for another week. Each day I have another inflicted injury from a pack member and Adam is always right there fighting off my attackers. I know he wants to do worse, but we are on their land.

"Adam, you're bleeding." I frown.

"I'll go wash up." He pauses not wanting to leave me alone.

"I'm bleeding too." I show him my small cut. Small, but Logan is going to get an earful from Aidan when he returns from his search.

"How's our Alpha?" He asks as if knowing where my thought have gone.

"I can feel his anger, but we can't talk yet. They are on the hunt." I feel a pang in my heart.

We go our separate ways to wash off our injuries. The bathroom door bangs when I walk in. The girl in the restroom jumps with fear. I apologize for scaring her and she gives a slow nod. I can tell she's shy. She's tall, but almost seems frail. She moves her hair forward as if she's hiding behind it. I pick up the book she had dropped and scrunch in my eyebrows.

"Were you reading in here?" I ask.

She doesn't meet my eyes when she nods. "People think I'm weird."

"People here are weird." I turn on the water to wash off my cut.

"I have a bandaid." She reaches into her backpack to grab a bandaid for me.

"Thanks." I scrunch in my eyebrows again when I see the first-aid kit. "Do you get injured a lot?"

"They injure me a lot." She again looks away.

"I'm sorry. It's because you're shy, right?" She shrugs when I ask. "Will you consider joining my pack when we leave."

"Yes!" She finally looks up. "I mean, yes. I would like that very much, Luna."

There's another ache in my chest from not being at Aidan's side. "I'm glad. I'm hoping things turn around for this pack. Alpha logan has a new mate, but I have worries some people will never change."

"No. They won't." She turns away again and puts her things in her bag.

"Come on. I'm going to introduce you to Grizzly Adam. He's my bodyguard and a good friend. He may seem scary, but he's a big teddy bear when you get to know him. I know he'll feel protective over you too." I lead her out, but I'm suddenly pushed down again.

I grumble and lift myself up from the floor when I see who had knocked me down. He makes me want to take back my words. The girl from the restroom is looking at him wide-eyed. I giggle at the unlikely match.

"Mate." Adam growls and lifts her up over his shoulder. "Luna, let's take the rest of the day off."

I hesitate for only a second before I agree. I could use a day off. I mindlink to Locus and she links back saying she will meet us at the pack house. I giggle at the girl again when she takes in the tall and muscular size of Adam. Her eyes land on his backside and her wolf purrs. She blushes a deep red.

"What's your name?" I ask to help her get over her embarrassment.

"Mindy." Her voice shakes slightly. "Is he going to hurt me?"

"Don't worry, mate. I will be gentle." He teases and this time I blush with her. I'll be sure to give them their alone time.