Ch. 133: A Battle Approaches

CHAPTER 133:
Kyle~
Two weeks go by. They are excruciatingly the same. I almost ask the Fae Goddess to let The Collective attack again just to break up the monotony.
“Dude, can we watch anything else?” Nick whines from the other couch, his arm around Ally.
I throw the remote at him with force. He catches it without even looking.
Yeah. It could also be because I’m really over having Nick live here with us. Well not ‘live here’ but yeah. He lives here. Ally’s mom thinks he goes home but no, he wolfs out and sleeps in the garage downstairs. And I pretend not to notice him creeping into Ally’s room every night and staying there until just before dawn. He’s quiet, sure. But I’m not stupid.
Every day now goes like this. School, home to practice, Jake comes by and takes Rachel home, Nick stays with Ally until nightfall, then Nick pretends to go home.
All of our training is really starting to go nowhere, which doesn’t help the frustration I’m feeling about just about everything. Mates, wolves, The Collective, and everything else.
Ally tries to stay positive and insists on doubling our training time whenever we hit a wall but that’s starting to be impossible. While I know Rachel inches forward, I’m tapped. And I know Ally is too even though she tries to hide it. There’s not much else we can prepare, and now it’s all about the anxiety of this battle that could happen at any moment.
“Give it!” Ally tries to take the remote from Nick and they’re being so saccharine sweet I’m sick.
“Well,” I say, stretching loudly, “that’s my cue.”
Ally glances at me with red cheeks but Nick is totally focused on keeping the remote control just out of Ally’s reach. He teases her like that all the time.
It’s different and playful compared to Jake and Rachel. My teeth clench involuntarily. It’s even harder to watch them.
I would never call Jake playful. Not even with his mate. His supposed mate. The guy is ever serious and the way he looks at Rachel is with this raw focus. Like he’s a puppy looking at a ribeye steak. She teases him and floats about in her usual playful Rachel way, but he doesn’t banter or tease. His facial expressions remain serious and the most he’ll do is smile a little.
I shudder thinking about it. Smiles look totally unnatural on that guy.
I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that they’re mates. They don’t seem to have any fun. Shouldn't being with your mate be exhilarating? Shouldn’t he look like he’s having a good time? I know I would be. But she’s not mine. No one is.
When we came back from saving Nick’s behind I thought about opening up to Evan about all this. I mean he had this look on his face I’m familiar with - loneliness - but something about it wasn’t quite the same. I wondered at the time if it’s because he had a mate and rejected her, so maybe he regrets the decision when he sees his best friends with their mates? I really don’t know. The guy can be almost as quiet as Jake sometimes. At least he can be funny sometimes.
I lie down in my bed and send another tiny wish to my Goddess. Maybe I could have someone too? I’ve lost everyone. My parents, my grandma - sometimes myself. I would love harder than anyone - if I could just have a chance.

Ally~
I wake up as Nick starts to sneak out of my room. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sleep without him by my side again. I’m way too used to it now. He smiles at me sadly and leaves. Totally stealthy, I strain to hear him move about but I can’t hear a thing. I know he’s going to the garage for a couple hours before coming around to the front door again.
My heart aches for him. I know he’s happy here with me and I love it too. But we both know the reason why he can’t go home. My sweet, noble, caring mate has been cast out by his family. And while Jake asked him to come back so they could work something out, my Gamma-brained guy refused using logical reason. He doesn’t want to cause anymore splits in the pack, not before we destroy The Collective. And Jake couldn’t argue because that’s what he and Rachel had agreed on too. That and, figuring out a way to explain to her mom what she was, what Jake was, and who they were to each other. While Jake really wanted to mark her, they knew his wolf was way too dominant not to go full Alpha after that - mating, almost never being apart, and all that. So they wait.
Nick has asked me if I would let him mark me. And while I want him to, I want to wait. With everything that we were keeping secret before, and now with his excommunication from his parents - I just don’t want to keep driving a knife between him and his family. Nick’s a future Gamma and with that comes prestige and ceremony. Getting marked for us, if I had been a werewolf, would mean a whole ceremony and party. I still want that for him. I know how important that is for a ranked wolf.
I get lost in my empathetically picked up pain when I feel my heartbeat get crazy fast. I sit straight up and feel like I’m going to be sick. My amulet is scalding hot and I try to remove it but it burns my fingers. The searing pain makes my eyes water and I don’t notice but suddenly Nick is there and he’s holding my head saying something - yelling something I can’t hear. I hear my mom’s voice but it’s muffled. I keep flailing to take my amulet off and Nick is there trying to help me but it won’t budge. At last I accidentally touch the stone itself and relief comes as everything goes dark.

Rachel~
“It’s time,” I hear from nowhere at all.
The voice wakes me up and I stir, blinking at the morning light coming in through my window.
“It’s time,” the voice says again. “Tonight.”
This time I recognized it. The Archangel Aurora. Her words send a shiver through me.
My phone vibrates next to me.
“Are you okay? What’s going on?” Jake’s voice asks, his voice layered with Aamon’s.
I clear my throat and say, “Aurora. She spoke to me. It’s tonight Jake.”
He makes some sound I can’t hear and then says quickly, “I want to come get you but - another part of me wants you far away from all this.”
I know what he’s talking about. It’s a big part of his wolf, wanting to hide me away and protect me.
“Love,” I inhale and exhale slowly. “I know. But I’m ready for this. We’re ready for this. If you stay by my side, we win. I… know what will happen if I’m not there, remember?”
A small whine comes through the phone.
“Okay,” he says, so small. “I’m coming right now.”

I half expected him to arrive as Aamon, but he used his head enough to come in a car. He walked up to my front door, rang the bell, said a few nice things to my mom, and then we left together.
We drive in silence for a bit, my hand in his.
“I feel like I just lied to your mom,” he says.
I squeeze his hand. “I know. Me too. But we can’t risk upsetting her right now. We’ll talk to her tomorrow, or the next day. We can tell her everything once they’re gone.”
He nods and we continue on.

We arrive and Jake tries to rush around to open my door for me, I’m a little too quick for that and he looks grumpy.
“What is it?” I ask him dryly.
“Nothing,” he huffs.
I walk after him and we nod to some guards. While I’m not exactly a welcomed VIP here, Jake spoke to his pack already and let them know the attack was coming tonight. He’s got commitments from some warriors of other packs and they should all be getting here within the next hour or two.
I wait with him outside as he gives out orders and talks to people a few feet from me. My job is to wait here for Ally and go around with her once she’s here to strengthen the protection wards.
I briefly see Nick’s mom and she sneers at me but doesn’t say a word, just moves along into the packhouse. A second later I see Evan and I openly wave at him, happy to see a familiar face. He jogs over and nods to Jake before he joins me at a picnic bench.
“I’m so sorry for all of that,” he gestures with his head towards the little crowd of werewolves watching us.
I shrug. “As long as they let me help. I’m just doing what I can. We’ll worry about the rest tomorrow.”
His face scowls and I see his teeth come out. I look over and see another crowd dissipating from closeby. His eyes lose focus and I wait as he links someone. When he’s present again his face is totally sour.
“Disrespectful little-” he starts and stops himself, looking at me. “Sorry.”
“I don’t need to know. I already know everything they are probably saying. I’m fine, Evan. You don’t have to protect me,” I tell him, sighing.
“You’re my Luna, I will always protect you. No matter who is the attacker,” he says with conviction.
Something flashes across his eyes and without realizing it I pull on some of Ally’s magic that I’ve stored. I can’t say I can read auras very well, but his feelings hit me clearly.
Sadness. Loneliness.
“Is it… do you regret rejecting her?” I ask him.
His eyes widened in shock. “I haven't reje-” He stops again, eyes panicked like he’s said something he shouldn’t have.
“Ev? What is it?” I ask him again, not understanding what he seems to be saying.
His head jolts to the side and he’s loudly yelling, “Hey there guys!”
I look over to see Ally, Nick, and Kyle headed our way. I open my mouth to say something but Evan quickly rushes off towards them.
“Everything alright?” Jake asks me from a few steps away.
I watched Evan go, weighing what I had felt from him.
“I’m not sure.”