Lola (Completed)

26 The Storm

Lola

Word has spread through the pack like the blaze of a wildfire. Samuel and Brett came for me right after the confrontation with Alpha, taking me to my room in the packhouse and holing us up inside. Marley and Cassie are here, too. The only one who is missing is Jacob.

And Bastian. Bastian's not here, because alpha challengers are isolated in the pack's cells to wait for the fight to come. Both Bastian and Alpha will be locked up all night to ensure no one cheats by taking enhancers right before the Challenge.

I curl up on my bed under my blanket tightly. Someone grabbed a comforter for me. I've cocooned myself in it. Underneath it I am clutching one of Bastian's t-shirts, occasionally burying my nose in it and inhaling deeply. Brett is stretched out on one side of me, his phone dangling from his fingertips with his head tipped back against my headboard while he sleeps a little. Sam is curled on the floor just below me. I think it's as close as he can get to me without actually climbing into bed with me.

Marley and Cassie are lying on the beanbag chairs they dragged in. Marley is in here under protest, but with her brother here she stayed last night. Cassie left for a little while, but with all of us in here she came back.

Now that the challenge has been issued the pack is splitting apart. We are all orphans or abandoned children in one way or another. My parents are absentee, a good thing when I think about their parenting skills. Brett and Marley's dad can't seem to raise them on his own after their mother passed away. Cassie really is an orphan. Samuel is here for the same reasons that Bastian stays in the packhouse. As future leaders they stay close to the heart of the pack.

We are all isolated in our own little bubble here, and Bastian is the obvious ringmaster. It makes all of us uneasy. Technically, Alpha Roland is our alpha, but for so long it has been Bastian who has been taking care of us. Training us, making sure everyone gets to school on time, scheduling kitchen duty, and keeping the bickering to a minimum. Our wolves are torn, but we are all leaning towards loyalty to Bastian.

Well, I'm not leaning, I'm definitely loyal, but no one other than Samuel knows that Bastian is my mate. I've been keeping that information on the down low even while Cassie and Marley glared at me from across the room for two hours straight last night.

Staring out of the window into the pre-dawn light, I shiver and check my phone. Only two hours before the fight. The sun peeks over the horizon. Just under two hours.

"Lola, you didn't sleep," Brett mumbles from behind me.

How do I sleep when Bastian is in the cells and may die today?

"He'll win, sweetheart," Sam's gruff morning voice growls up to me from the floor.

I catch my breath. He can't lose. I never even had the chance to say goodbye. Mackenzie's dad pulled Bastian and Alpha Roland away before I could understand that the it was said and done.

I get up to go get dressed. This morning the routine is so different. No sky-high heels, no fuck-me skirt, no too-tight shirts. I choose a simple white sundress that falls to my knees and shows only the hint of cleavage. I pull my hair back into a elegant, smooth ponytail. My makeup is natural, beautiful, normal. I don't wear any perfume or jewelry. I want to honor Bastian by being myself, for once.

I look in the mirror and only then realize that I've left my neck bare. The skin there begs for my mate's Mark, for a wound that every fiber of my being, of my wolf's spirit, prays for.

I stand and take Samuel's hand in my own when he offers. The tiny pack follows us out of the room. Bastian's little pack of misfits are ready to see his triumph, or his fall.