With the help of a few other wolves, Celia managed to get Jed back to his dorm. Her frustration continued to get the best of her as she watched his broken face looking for any sign he'd wake soon.
She should have prepared him better for the challenge. She should have fought harder against him. They should not be in the situation they're in now. This wasn't supposed to happen.
"Celia?" Jed groaned, pulling her thoughts away from the what if's.
She handed him the frozen bag of peas she had stolen from the kitchen, instructing him to position them on the bruise that had already formed on his cheekbone. The cut on his lip had already reopened from when he called her name.
Jed cursed to himself as he seemed to remember the challenge. Biting her lip, Celia studied his features in an attempt to gauge how explosive his reaction would be.
"I'm going to kill that asshole," Jed growled, leaning forward like he was going to sit up but Celia could tell every movement hurt.
"Hold your horses there, cowboy." Placing her hands on his chest she forced him back down onto the bed. "You took a couple of good blows to the head. I think you could have a concussion." After years of doing dumb things with Jed, Celia considered herself decent at diagnosing a concussion (dilated pupils, drowsiness, etc), and Jed was definitely displaying the signs. Dazed in particular.
"I can't just lay here," He groaned, struggling against her grip.
"You can and you will. You need to recover. Can't have you limping around to classes like a grandpa all week. The littles may start bullying you."
Jed rolled his eyes, though a small smile betrayed his annoyance. "The littles are going to bully me anyway for losing." Though she could tell he was attempting a joke, there was something about his tone that made him dead serious. Celia whacked him with a pillow, causing him to wince as every bruise on his body probably stung.
"Stop being so dramatic, Jed," she scolded. "It's not a good look for you."
Before he could retaliate someone knocked on his door, causing Celia to jump up and greet whoever needed their attention. When she opened the door little Kenzie was standing there with a smile.
"You told me to come to get you when they were starting voting," Kenzie's voice trailed off. Celia nodded a thank you in response, expecting the girl to leave right away. However, as the girl's eyes pried over Celia's shoulder she realized her true intentions. She wanted to see Jed.
Celia positioned herself so she blocked any view of the dethroned alpha. "I'll be down in a minute," she forced a smile at the young girl before shutting the door.
Part of her knew that she shouldn't be mad at Kenzie. After all, what had occurred earlier was history. But still, it unnerved her. Despite his dethroning, Jed still used to be her alpha. He should still be treated with respect, not like a zoo animal.
Forcing another smile on her face, Celia turned back to face Jed. "I'll be back later. Don't fall out of bed while I'm gone."
Despite his obvious pain, Jed cracked a smile. "Believe it or not I actually can take care of myself."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
-
Most of the wolves had already gathered in the great hall by the time Celia had gotten there. In fact, most of the school was already there. She saw MG who was running for the vampire vote. She had seen his "Free Kaleb" posters up across the school. An interesting tactic, she wouldn't lie. Sitting front row with the witches was the Saltzman Twins. Though Celia had seen Lizzie's "I'm With Her" posters scattered about, she swore she had heard a rumor about voting for Josie. Then there were the wolves. Even with the chaotic events of the day, they had a decent turnout. She saw Kenzie in the middle within a cluster of middle schools. Robert and a couple of Jed's other old groupies say in the front, next to the one person she expected them to be by. Power-hungry assholes.
Celia's eyes slowly made their way over to Rafael, the one person she wasn't looking forward to seeing again. Compared to Jed, he seemed to come out of the fight with only superficial wounds. His bruises were already healing and his cuts seemed surface level. Nothing compared to the damage Celia feared was done to Jed's ego.
Tearing her eyes off the wolves, Celia made her way to the podium where a large golden bowl sat. The whole situation gave her Goblet of Fire vibes, though she doubted Cedric Diggory's name would come shooting out of it. Maybe Cedric Davison, a junior witch, but that would be as close as they would get.
Taking one of the slips of paper, Celia wrote down the name she was supposed to: Rafael.
When she finished, the surrounding wolves were all patting his back, probably reassuring him of their votes too. They didn't even notice when Celia walked by.
To seal off one of the last votes, Penelope Park blows her card in. The magic touch really solidifying Celia's earlier Hogwarts feeling.
Slipping out the back, Celia didn't bother waiting for the inevitable results. Instead, she went back to where she knew she was needed: Jed's room.
She wouldn't admit it to him, but it stressed her out leaving him alone. There has been more than one occasion where Jed has been reckless, hell they've done reckless things together, and she did not want to add anything today onto that list.
The only time she stopped was outside the door. For such a small room, she was amazed at the trouble it had caused her. If she had trained with Jed harder. If she had advised him better. If she had been there when Rafael challenged him. Maybe then she could have changed the course of action, but she wasn't and she couldn't. And she needed to stop thinking about the "what ifs."
The moment her feet set foot on the hardwood slacks of the routine came back. She rolled out one of the punishing bags, strapped on her gloves, and went to work. For hours she attacked the bag. Punching it and kicking it until all of her frustrations felt nonexistent. By the time she had finished her wrists and ankles ached and white powder surrounded her. Collapsing on the ground, she gave herself a break. By then, she was sure the voting was long over and many of the students were in their beds. That was where she should have been too, checking on Jed and maybe curling up beside him, but instead she chose to not move. To remain on her back among the snow of her own creation staring up at the LED lights that took the place of the night stars.
For the first time in weeks Celia felt peace.
It didn't last long.
"What the hell did you do?" A voice screamed as one of the gym doors slammed open. The silhouette in the door was one she had gotten to know all too well, and one that looked a lot angrier than he had just the few hours before: Rafael Waithe.
A/N
A little bit of a boring chapter to follow what just happened but wanted to give you all a long-awaited update.
More to come soon!
Don't forget to vote, share, and comment on your favorite parts!
Much love,
Kate
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To Be Found ♧ Legacies
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