Reveille (The Hybrid Disasters, Book One)

Chapter 13: Call It What You Want

It didn't take long to find Lolly in the bay area lounge and impart the good news. She was elated. I'd never seen anyone so wonderfully ecstatic in my entire life. I wasn't even this happy when my father rented out a spa for me and all the girls in my class for my fifteenth birthday.

"Addy, tell me you're kidding! Just say it already!" Lolly cried. She was spinning in circles. Literally. It was making me dizzy just watching her.

"I'm not kidding, Lolly. Do you want me to be kidding? This is all you ever talk about. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask."

She stopped spinning. "No! Of course, I don't want you to be kidding. It's just too good to be true. I'm waiting for the inevitable shoe to drop."

"It's true. I swear it. No shoe is dropping. We start Monday. Together," I smiled.

She screamed so loud that I jumped, and other people turned and stared at her with confused expressions on their faces.

"Lolly, you might want to calm down a notch," I giggled. "Other people are probably thinking I cast some kind of crazy spell on you."

She laughed and wrapped me up in a tiny wolf pup hug. "I can't ever thank you enough for this. I know you didn't have to do it, but I'm so grateful that you did."

I hugged her back. "It's no big deal. Besides, who would I have to study with if you weren't in the program? It's not like anyone else would be willing to help me."

"Trap is in the program," she said. "He would help you with anything."

I frowned. I was surprised I hadn't run into him since our little episode earlier.

"Yeah, I don't know if Trap even wants to talk to me anymore."

"You found out about the imprint," she said.

"You knew?" I asked. I figured she did. She was a Lycan too after all.

"Yeah. I talked to him about it once I caught the scent. He was upset. I'd never seen him so vulnerable. He made me promise not to tell you. He wanted to tell you himself. I'm sorry I kept it from you."

"It's okay. I'm not mad. Well, not anymore. I snapped on him," I explained. "I even accused him of peeing on me."

Lolly giggled, and I felt a little better. "Don't worry, Addy. He will remove his mark if you want him to. It won't hurt anything but his pride."

"He'll be able to find another mate?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course! And whether Trap is annoying or not, the guy is H-O-T and ridiculously strong. Most Lycans would be honored to carry his scent. He's definitely pack leader material."

"Why is he training with DPO then? Shouldn't he be with his pack preparing to become the next leader or something?"

"Trap's father is the leader of the largest pack in America, the South-Western Maicoh. His father sent him to DPO as a show of good faith for integration. I think Trap's father wants to be the Lycan representative."

"How did a British Lycan become the leader of the largest American pack?" I asked.

"The pack was originally a large Navajo tribe with the Lycan strain. As the country developed so did the pack. They eventually began accepting outside members. You have to remember, though, Lycan leadership is determined mostly by strength. Trap and his father have only been with the pack for two years, but Trap's father didn't like the guy who was in charge, so he challenged him for leadership. It was the first challenge for the pack in over twenty years. They made a spectacle of it. There was a huge celebration and everything. Trap's dad won and took command last Fall. He's only the third, non-Navajo leader in their pack's history, and the first non-American one."