Protected

The Final Stage

Riley and I were both pacing back and forth outside of Farkle's door. It was the final stage of his transformation. If everything went smoothly, he would live. Zay kicked us out because he said that this part is really sensitive, and it would be better if we stayed outside.

"I'm sorry, Riles," I said.

"For what?" She asked, looking surprised.

"For Farkle going through this. It's my fault," I said, ashamed.

She hugged me tightly, "Maya, none of this was your fault. It wasn't my fault, or Farkle's fault, or even Lucas's fault. It was that stupid asshole Alpha's fault." She said.

I gasped, "Riles, did you just curse?" I said incredulously, "I've never heard you curse!" 

She looked guilty.

"That's because I've never cursed," she stomped her foot, "It just makes me so angry! What makes him think he has the right to do that to Farkle?"

The door opened, and Riley and I both jumped and ran over. Farkle walked out, stumbling a little bit, but walking fine. He was in his boxers, and he had Lucas and Josh on either side, with Zay following behind. The most astounding thing was the bulk of muscle Farkle had. He was washboard abs, a perfectly sculpted chest, and bulging biceps.

"How did it go?" Riley asked anxiously.

Their faces betrayed no trace of emotion. We were so focused on trying to read their expressions, that we didn't notice that Farkle was clenching all of his new muscles, an expression of concentration of his face. All of a sudden, he turned into a wolf. I gasped, and Riley's whole face was lit up by a smile that I hadn't seen since Farkle got hurt.

"It went great!" Josh roared.

Lucas ran to hug me, clutching me to his chest. Josh and Zay were shoving Farkle around as he took advantage of his new muscles. His wolf form had light brown fur, just like Farkle's hair. Riley was crying tears of joy, and Farkle finally muscled past the guys and changed back, getting dressed quickly so we wouldn't see anything. He ran to Riley, spun her around in the air, and kissed her so forcefully and passionately that I almost cried. 

The hallway was full of yelling, Riley crying, and Zay and Josh pounding each other on the back. After Farkle put Riley down, I ran and tackled him to the floor in a hug. I punched him, then I kissed him on the cheek and helped him back up.

"Don't you ever do that to us again!" I growled, but I was crying, and Farkle grabbed me up in a bone-crushing hug. 

I went back to Lucas, burying my face in his neck.

"You saved my best friend," I muttered.

"Well, he kind of saved himself-" 

But Lucas couldn't finish. I grabbed his face and kissed him as hard as I could, jumping into his arms so we were at the same level. I shoved my lips against his, and then pulled away, smiling hugely.

"Everything's okay, Maya!" He yelled.

 Everything's okay!" I yelled back.