147| DECISIONS
Eventually, Blue manages to make the trip through the crowd of Azures, arms full of stacked to-go trays. I’m smacking my lips by the time he passes me my tray and settles on the step beside me with his own tray of food. To my surprise, he’d managed to bring back enough for the two of us and five other plates. The remaining four members of my Pack shuffle off from our group gathered by the steps of the house to get their own platers of breakfast.
Khadija and the others remain silent as they eat, their eyes lingering over the crowd like the predators they are. Surprisingly enough, they seem calm, despite their roaming eyes and twitchy movements. I dig into the freshly made breakfast of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and pancakes. All the while, I allow my mind to wander of the two conversations I’ve had in the last few hours, letting it all settle and process.
If Blue knows the exact direction of my lingering thoughts, he doesn’t show it.
I glance at the changing light from the sky, my eyes scanning the clear darkness as the first rays of sunlight begin to bring light to the world. Stars wink out slowly, like the many thoughts in my mind…until one stays strong. A singular thought echoing in my head and burning bright with confidence.
*I’ve made up my mind*, I decide as the last start fades, a gentle smile pulling at my lips.
Still, I can feel something nagging at the back of my mind. A little mental reminder I know I’ve forgotten about. *What was it?* I tip my chin in thought as I continue to search the sky, breathing in the fresh air and soothing scents. Soon enough, my mind begins to wander off topic of remembering and begins to fade into a more stupor-like feel. Despite being in another territory and not being part of the Azure Pack, I’m oddly at peace here. Though maybe that’s all just because I consider these people around me as my allies and friends.
“Got any plans tomorrow?” Blue asks me once the food is gone and I’ve set my tray aside. We’re lounging on the steps now, the sky going from the dark indigo to a rosy pink above the trees. The hum of satisfied voices is like a lullaby, so it takes me a second to register what my mate’s just said.
“Hm?” I murmur, turning to look at him through my sleep-heavy eyelids. Food and the run have exhausted me. “Yeah, I-” My memory clicks into place and the food in my gut twists as realization of what day it is slaps the ‘sleepy’ from my brain. A groan rips through my throat and I sag against Blue in defeat. “I’m meeting Dr. Chambers and Shola.”
“I figured it was something like that,” Blue chuckles, wrapping an arm around me, soothing calm settling back over me. “It’ll work out, Red. Don’t stress.” He reminds me. We both know it’s not so simple, but his words help the twisting in my gut.
The path I’ve imagined for myself, for the rest of my life, has changed so much over the last year, but one thing remains fixed. Even if things with the apocalypse aren’t one-hundred-percent settled, I know if I can just deal with the Darklight issue everything will be alright for a little while. It’s one of the very last things Nikki wanted me to deal with, after all. Then college and…well, the rest of my life. The endless road of my life stretches out before me as I watch the pitch-black sky becoming a familiar indigo.
My mind calms as the food settles in my stomach and starts to digest, my inner wolf bathing in the comradery all around me.
*Right now, things are good.*
