22. Purple Eyes

By how shitty the whole day started, it actually turned out not to be a bad one. Dante and Ella carried me to the infirmary like I was a princess. Then Gisela dropped by and argued for an hour with the nurses until they allowed her to stay the night.

Austen's mom, Nicole, who is a doctor here, allowed him to stay with me until it was bedtime. And to add to the fun, Felix, Dario, and Livia dropped by for a visit. I am shocked beyond words that my friends came, and even people I only just met. It gives me such a warm feeling but also disbelief that people… actually care.

Dante and Ella care. And my friends do too.

"We were scared you would feel bored," Livia says. "I will just briefly go to see one of the nurses and tell her that we are visiting you."

Once she has gone off, Felix begins to make himself comfortable. He really is a good-looking guy with his blond hair and tanned skin. I can imagine him with a surfboard under his arm, enjoying the sun.

"You are one of a kind." Felix grins. "First, you almost bite the ear of that loser off, and then you attack us with the nosebleed of the century."

"It's a superhero move," I retort. "Watch me learn how to aim and shoot blood at you."

Gisela groans in disgust, but Felix and Austen laugh. Meanwhile, Dario makes sure everyone has a place to sit. When Livia returns, she has a few snacks which she hands out to us.

"Please, can I boast in school that the hot twins were hanging out with us?" Gisela asks when Dario sits down next to her.

We giggle while Felix looks confused. "Is she talking about us?" he asks his brother.

Dario shrugs. "We are the only twins in the room."

"Come on," Austen says, truly sounding shocked. "You can't be that oblivious to the attention you receive?"

"Ah." Felix makes a dismissive gesture with his hands. "I like being surrounded by many people, so I never noticed anything special."

"I'm definitely not popular," Dario points out.

I shake my head. "You can't be serious."

Dario just shrugs. "I just don't pay attention to it," he admits.

"It's kind of funny how different the both of you are," Gisela says.

"Well, we are two individual people." Felix grins. "But Dario is still my best friend. Plus, he keeps me out of trouble and reminds me when we have an exam coming up or homework to do."

"And you?" Livia asks Dario. "You are more on the quiet side."

He shrugs. "I like being to myself," he says.

"I can understand that," she mutters.

"What?" Gisela says. "But you seem so lively!"

"Yes, but I only have a very few friends I trust," she admits.

"How come?" Felix asks.

"I was bullied in school," she says. "So first, I had a lot of trust issues. But then everything turned out for the better, and one of my bullies actually came to apologize to me, which I'm still completely shocked about."

"Is it good or bad that he came?" I ask.

"Good, it gave me some closure," she admits. "And then I personally realized that a big group of acquaintances doesn't mean much to me; I prefer a few really close friends. Quality over quantity, you know?"

"I get that," Austen says.

"You are Alpha Liam's youngest brothers, right?" I ask Felix and Dario. When they nod, I continue curiously. "So… will you become alphas too one day? Sorry if that's a weird question to ask."

"To her defense, she is still new to this," Gisela hurries to back me up. "But I'm curious too."

Dario smiles slightly. "We won't inherit a pack if that's what you want to know."

Felix nods. "Silverlake Pack, our home pack, was Liam's birthright, but he gave up on it when he took over Red Claw. Then Dad chose a new heir, and the mantle went to our sis, Aurelia. Auri is great, though; I think she will be fantastic." He pauses. "As for Dario and me, we don't know yet what will happen to us. We might become advisors or work for the Council or do something else…"

"He is right. Everything is still in the open," Dario mutters. "I don't mind for one."

"Don't you want to become alpha?" Livia asks.

He shrugs. "I don't think I'm suitable to be one," he says quietly, wearing a somber expression, but it passes soon. He is not particularly talkative in general, but he is still very attentive and seems like such a nice person. Meanwhile Felix is the exact opposite, but also really nice. They are a funny pair. I'm not surprised the alpha dotes on his younger brothers.

Before we can discuss further, there is a knock at the door, and the luna and Jazz enter. Luna Annalise smiles at us. "I see you have quite the party going on here."

Being in the same room as the luna makes even Gisela a bit shy. Livia saves us all by greeting her politely and offering her a chair.

"Don't make such a fuss about me being here," the luna says. "Jazz and I just wanted to check how Charlie is doing."

Jazz smiles at me. "We haven't had much chance to talk yet, unfortunately."

"Jazz is always busy with college and magic," Livia says, her whole body language changes to being more relaxed. She and Jazz hug briefly, and Jazz pats her shoulder in a friendly way. "Jazz is one of my closest friends here," she explains.

"Livia made the transition to the pack so much easier for me," Jazz tells me. "Most of my friends are in other packs. One is even in France, aside from Livi here and my other good friend, Marilou."

Marilou… I've heard her name before. The luna guesses my confusion and helps me out. "She is the one who is planning our menu for the week. She is still in high school, but she is going to do a culinary degree once she is done."

"Oh!" I beam. "She is the one with the deserts."

"She is even busier now," Jazz grins. "Because she found her mate when we were in Paris."

"You need to tell me more about that trip later," the luna tells her. "Aurelia is still there, so Liam and I still don't know much."

"Yeah, Auri is still really busy," Jazz explains. "There are some issues with some of the French packs. And she is helping as much as she can."

"Did you meet her mate already?" Livia asks the twins.

"Not yet," they grumble. "We are so curious, though."

"He is going to move to Silverlake soon," Luna Annie explains. "It seems like he is a very interesting young man." She turns to me to explain things further. "Aurelia, Jazz, and some of their friends went to Paris for the Christmas holidays and stayed for a few weeks. Aurelia met her mate during that time."

"You will like him," Jazz reassures the twins. "He is great."

"Poor guy," Livia mutters. "Aurelia has three older brothers, and her father is like a super alpha."

Felix laughs. "Yeah, but believe me, she can stand her ground. You think Dad announced her as his heir for nothing?"

"And if anything happens, we'll have her back," Dario says quietly. "She is the best."

"Auri and Liam are his favorite siblings," Felix teases.

"It's not like that," Dario says, looking a bit shy now that the spotlight is on him. "It's just… they both understand certain stuff better."

"I think I know what you mean," the luna says.

The others keep chatting a bit, and I try to follow all they say. I still don't know everything about werewolves and lycans, and it's interesting to listen to them. It's the first time in my life that I feel so fulfilled and like I belong.

That's why I don't notice it first. It starts with a slight ringing in my ears, nothing too obvious. I first think it's noise coming from outside the room, but the ringing gets louder, and even shaking my head doesn't make it go away.

My head starts feeling dizzy like the room is spinning around me. I don't notice what's going on until the luna is suddenly next to me and presses a tissue against my face. It's like the sight in front of me is blurred.

I can hear noises all around me. The others seem to be shuffling around and trying to get help.

"It's her eyes," Gisela breathes out.

"What's with my eyes!?" I gasp, but when I try to talk, blood fills my mouth. I try to move my hand up to my eyes, feeling warm liquid around them.

Am I fucking bleeding out of my eyes!?

The ringing in my ears gets stronger, my lungs constricting as I feel fear gripping every fiber of my being.

"Don't worry." The luna's calm voice reaches me. "It's not much blood. You are going to be fine." She keeps talking to me, telling me how as wolves we don't really get sick and how this whole shitshow probably has something to do with me getting older and my wolf getting stronger.

Her words calm me down a bit until…

"Wow," Austen says all of a sudden. "Your eyes… are they purple?"

The view in front of me clears up again, the bleeding stopping. "A mirror," I call out. "A mirror!"

"Here," Luna Annie hands me one out of her bag and holds it in front of my face. I look out of a horror movie, blood smeared over my face, but what catches my attention is my eyes. There are strings of purple going through them.

"Is this normal!?" I ask. "Does this usually happen to werewolf kids?"

The luna shakes her head. "Not necessarily, but it doesn't mean it can't happen. You tested beta, and I'm sure Ella told you what that means?"

I nod. "Something about me having a gift."

"Yes, and this might be part of it," she says.

"Might?"

"We will run a few proper tests," she says. "But I'm convinced it's not a sickness." Her voice sounds so secure and confident that I can feel myself calming down.

I mean, there are worse things than purple eyes, right? Besides, they are just purple-ish, not full purple.

I look around a bit. "Wow," I mutter when my gaze wanders to the window. "I'm seeing so sharp all of a sudden. It's like… everything is in super HD."

"This has to be your gift!" Gisela emphasizes. She and Annie help me clean up slightly before the others return to my room. "Something like supervision."

"I wouldn't mind that," I say, suddenly feeling much more at ease. If this weird condition gives me superpowers, it can't be that bad!

"Do you think it's her gift, Luna Annalise?" Livia asks.

"It's a possibility," she answers. I get the feeling she is being a bit evasive, but adults are sometimes weird, so I try not to think about it too much. Gisela, Austen, and Felix meanwhile try to come up with cool names for my bettered vision.

The mood gets all lighter again when Ella comes. I instantly notice her worried expression and wave at her. "I'm fine," I tell her. "I just have supervision!"

Ella and Luna Annalise exchange a gaze. "I fill you in later," the luna tells her.

"And she has purple super-eyes," Felix adds.

"I kind of want purple eyes too," Gisela says.

"So, I don't look too freakish?" I ask my friends.

"Not at all," Austen reassures me.

"You have to be very close up to notice," Jazz adds.

"Actually," Felix says with a beaming smile. "You still look hot."

Man, he is really something. The funny thing is that he never sounds sly or sleazy; he just sounds genuine. I'm sure if I didn't have that encounter with Rob, I might have gotten a crush on Felix too. But I'm really done with boys for the next couple of months.