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14. Terrified

Austen shows me some great tricks. I originally went along with the three of them because I wanted to do something, anything. I've always been pretty adaptable. In the orphanage, I had to make sure to be part of a little group. You just don't survive on your own there.

But I have to admit that it's much more fun than expected. I can see myself picking this as a new hobby. Apparently, I get a kick out of the adrenaline. I soon do some more difficult moves, which make me drop to the ground sometimes. A few bruises don't matter; I can hide them from Ella and Dante.

I make my first moves over the skating slopes and ramps some of the other kids put up there, and it's so fucking amazing. Something in my stomach keeps tugging and tensing, but in the best way possible, like little butterflies being in there.

"Oh shoot!" Gisela exclaims when I slip and drop again.

"Are you okay?" Ty asks while skating past me.

I sit up, brushing over my arms. "Yeah, I guess so." When I try to stand up again, though, I feel a piercing pain in my left foot. "Or not," I mutter.

Austen approaches me, his expression worried. "Your foot?"

"My ankle."

"Okay, come." He and Gisela help me back to the benches to take a rest.

"Can you move it?" Austen asks, carefully circling my foot.

"Yeah."

"Doesn't seem like it's broken," he says. "Just cool it and be careful during the next couple of days. We are not heading out for skating until the weekend anyway."

"How come you know so much about this?"

"Austen's mom is a doctor, and his dad is a warrior with first-aid knowledge," Gisela explains.

I didn't know that. Originally, I bonded with Gisela because I'm not really in the mood for boys. "Cool!" I say, noticing how Austen blushes. Ty is the hot one, but Austen is kind of cute too.

"It's past midnight," Gisela says. "Maybe we should go back. Mom's pretty chilled, but I don't think she is going to be happy if she finds out that I'm not home."

"Yeah, same," Austen agrees. "Let's not push our luck."

He gets up and hurries to Ty, talking with him. Once he returns, he grabs my arm to steady me. "Ty's staying," he says. "I'll take you home."

Gisela grabs my skateboard. She looks very delicate, like a little angel, with her long blonde hair and her pink hair tie. I completely misjudged her at first, which makes me feel pissed at myself. I hate people who judge a book by its cover. I thought she would be too girly for me to click with her, but she is really nice and fun. We are going to be in the same class together in school too, which is great.

We make it back to the packhouse without anyone seeing us. The beta suite is located at the backside of the building, so at least we are not prancing around right in front of the entrance. To my horror, the light is on in Ella's and Dante's room, but I don't see any movement, so I don't think they noticed my absence.

"How are we going to get you up this tree?" Gisela mutters.

"I will climb up with Charlie," Austen says. "You are pretty fit; I think we can do it, Charlie."

I feel proud that he calls me fit. So, while the sheer height of the tree scares me now with my foot being hurt, I don't want to be a baby. With Gisela's help, I make it up to the first branch, and then climb up further with Austen pulling me along and helping me with my balance. My window is still open, which means neither Ella nor Dante noticed I was gone.

"My skateboard?" I whisper to Austen.

"I will take it with me. I have a few of them; my parents won't notice it," Austen answers in a low voice.

"Thank you. Good night," I say while climbing into my room.

"Bye, Charlie. See you tomorrow." He pauses. "You are kind of cool."

"You too," I say before finally landing in my room. I watch Austen while he climbs back down and then how he and Gisela disappear into the darkness. I hope they get back home without being seen, but I trust them. It's not the first time they have done this.

Once in the safety of my room, I feel all the stress falling from me. For a few minutes, I just sit on my bed, taking a few breaths. I have snuck around in the orphanage back then, but this is the first time I did something so risky.

What the fuck was I thinking? I feel shocked at the risks I took but also amazed and a bit guilty.

I don't regret it though… do I?

With a sigh, I get up to change and attend to my ankle. I thank God or rather Goddess that there is a little bathroom attached to my room, giving me some privacy and the chance to wrap a cold, wet towel around my ankle.

How am I going to explain this to Dante and Ella? I could tell them I dropped out of bed… or stumbled on the bathroom floor. I took a bath today, so I'm sure they will believe me when I say I fell on the slippery floor.

Good plan.

With that, I drop into my bed, and my eyes wander to my phone, thinking about Mom and how she twirled in her dress. I'm too tired to think about it further or to even dream.

Morning comes way too fast, and I'm woken up by Ella knocking at my door and by the scent of fresh ham and eggs.

"Can I come in?" Ella asks.

"Of course." I sit up, yawning. I love that she asks and doesn't just barge in. She is the best person I've ever met.

Ella peeks into my room and smiles. "Good morning." She looks me over with a worried expression. "You look tired. Didn't you sleep well?"

"I was nervous," I lie. "I… I stumbled in the bathroom at night, and I think I hurt my ankle. It's nothing too bad, though!" I feel sick at lying to her face. Ella has been my safety net ever since I met her. She is the only person I've ever met that I feel so safe with, yet I lie to her. My guilt grows when Ella's expression turns to one of worry.

"Let me check, hun," she says, sitting down next to me.

I show her my ankle. "It's not too bad," I repeat.

"It looks slightly swollen. Oh dear, next time just wake me up, okay? No need to suffer in silence. Dante and I will always be there to help you, no matter the time."

I nod. "Thank you," I mutter.

I see her eyes gloss over. This mind linking business is really awesome. I hope sooner than later I can use it too.

"Who did you link?" I ask curiously.

"A friend of Dante and me. She is a doctor," Ella explains. "I know for a fact that she is up early because her son is going to school too. She said she will be over in a minute."

I nod, waiting for Ella to leave before getting ready for school. I'm actually looking forward to it. This is the first good school I visited. The wolves from this pack all go to a private school in town. Ella explained that the surrounding packs fund it, which is why it's so cheap for us to attend. The humans have to pay as they are usually not pack members.

Also, this is the first time I have made friends. That is if I can count Gisela, Ty, and Austen as friends already.

I find myself getting ready faster than expected and walk to the kitchen where Dante is preparing our breakfast.

"Good morning," I greet him.

"Good morning, Charlie." He smiles at me. "I hope you are hungry."

I sniff the air, taking in the amazing scent of bacon and eggs. "I am!"

"Nicole and Linda are dropping by any minute," Ella says as she enters the room.

"Right." Now Dante looks worried, too, making my guilt return. "Ella told me you stumbled in the bathroom. Maybe we should change the tiles, Ella?"

Ella stares at him like he lost his mind. "You… want us to change the tiles because one of us stumbled?"

Her expression is so hilarious I have to burst into laughter. Dante looks completely flustered, which makes it even funnier.

"She could have gotten hurt," Dante says. "I mean even more hurt."

"I think as long as we don't wrap the whole bathroom in cotton, there is always going to remain some risk," Ella says.

Dante grumbles but eventually gives in.

Before we can start with our breakfast, Ella's friends drop by, and I instantly recognize the doctor, Nicole. She is Austen's mom; Austen looks just like her.

"Thank you so much for coming, Nikki," Dante says.

"Don't mention it, Beta," she says before she turns to me with a smile. "You are Charlotte, right?"

"Yes, thank you so much for coming. I'm sorry for causing you issues so early in the morning," I say politely.

She laughs and winks at me. "My, aren't you polite?"

She looks so nice. Wow, Austen is lucky to have such a mom. "You are Austen's mother, right?" I ask her while she checks my ankle.

"Yes," she looks at me in surprise before beaming a smile at me. "You must be Charlie! Austen told me he has a new friend."

"Oh, that's amazing." Ella looks happy. "Austen is such a good kid. I didn't know you befriended him."

"It's just been a few days," I explain. "But I have hung out a bit with him, Gisela, and Ty."

Dante sighs. "Ty? And she has already befriended the troublemaker."

Ella elbows him before he can say anything more, but I'm curious as to what he means. He doesn't look like he is going to explain it though, so I make a mental note to inquire later.

Nicole applies a cooling gel to my ankle before wrapping a bandage around it. "All done," she says. "It's just strained, dear. Make sure not to play too wild during the next few days."

"Thank you!" I beam.

While Dante and Nicole chat a bit, I glance at the young woman who came with Nicole. She looks very shy and has kept to the background while watching Nicole.

Ella approaches her now. "How are you doing, Linda?" she asks softly.

"O…okay," she stutters.

"Are you a doctor too?" I ask curiously.

"No." She shakes her head. "I…I'm just training to be a nurse. Nicole helps me. She was here when the pack got freed and Alpha Liam took over."

"Yes, ever since then we've become friends," Nicole backs her up. "Linda just started her training and is doing very well."

I notice how Linda has a mark on her neck, so she has a mate. She keeps subconsciously rubbing over it and scratches at her neck. Ella changes the subject and talks about an upcoming pack party, which slowly makes Linda more comfortable. Eventually, she and Nicole return home, leaving me completely curious.

"What's with Linda?" I ask. "I don't know how to say it. She is so nice, but she looked… hurt."

"You noticed?" Ella says sadly. When I shrug, she sighs. "She went through a lot."

I wait for her to say something else, but she remains quiet. To my surprise, Dante jumps in this time. "Linda was a pack member here before Alpha Liam took over. They didn't have a good alpha."

He looks at me insistently, like he wants me to understand something without words. I feel my heart clench slightly. Fuck, like Ella. Ella just told me once that the pack was crap before and that the alpha was a complete tool and abused his powers.

And I know he was the one who killed mom.

"I'm so sorry, Ella," I whisper. "You lived in this terrible place too."

Ella blinks at me before hugging me. "Don't be! I'm in a wonderful place right now. And I have Dante and you. What else can a girl ask for?"

"Breakfast?" Dante offers.

I giggle. "He has a point."

"He indeed has." Ella sneaks her arms around Dante and kisses his cheek before ushering me to sit down. She doesn't want me to help and instead rest my foot while she and Dante bring the plates to the table.

Breakfast is fun! Normally we eat in the dining hall of the packhouse, but because it's my first school day, Dante and Ella wanted to do something more private for me.

When I've finished my food, and Ella and Dante clean the plates, she approaches me with a bright smile. "We got something for you." She beams. "Show her, Dante!"

Dante looks equally excited as he hurries to fetch something. It's a bag, not one of these lame backpacks everyone has, but a cool bag I can carry both over my shoulder but also on my back, and it has an owl on it. Again, not a lame childish design. It looks fucking amazing. There is also a pencil case with it and a whole set of Copic markers in all kinds of colors. They are so expensive; I can't believe they got it for me! I love drawing comics, and they are perfect for it.

"And here," Ella hands me a little box. "This is a joint present from Annie, Dave, Alpha Liam…" She pauses.

"Aryanna," Dante adds. "And Jun."

The whole high society? I open it, noticing it's an actual iPad. When I arrived here, Dante organized a notebook for me. He had Dave set up his old one again and prepared it for me. It's amazing, and I never expected anything more.

But this… this whole set of presents, and all their kindness, it's just… I feel my eyes fill with tears. They are so nice, and I sneak out at night.

"Oh, don't cry." Ella hurries to me. "Don't you like it?"

"Are you kidding?" I whisper, hugging my new bag with all the stuff inside. "I love it."

"I'm glad," Dante says, sounding relieved.

I can't believe they thought I would hate these gifts. Even if I hadn‘t liked them—which I do—I would have still been so happy.

"A photo!" Dante exclaims. "Get together for a photo."

"No way," I groan.

"She is right, no," Ella backs me up.

"I want a photo of my two favorite she-wolves, so get together now," Dante says with a grin.

I giggle at his antics. For a man normally so serious, he can be silly sometimes.

"Okay, let's do it." Ella laughs, standing next to me and putting an arm around me.

Dante takes a few pictures with his phone before looking at us. "Now make silly faces," he says.

I laugh, feeling something warm inside me. It's the same feeling I had when I met Ella for the first time. Ella and Luna Annie explained to me I'm feeling a bond to her. And now I seem to feel it for Dante too.

Fuck, these wolf bonds are crazy and hard to understand.

And a bit scary.

I've always dreamed of having a family, and then eventually, I stopped dreaming and decided I never wanted one. I don't want to get hurt anymore or lose someone or be left behind. And now here I am, surrounded by people I'm really starting to love.

And it's such a terrifying feeling.

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