Chapter 9
Georgie
From what I can sense, this part of the forest is largely untouched by the Pack. Usually, pack members run near the pack house or training grounds, but not this far from the suburbs. The scent trails I come across from pack members are old, telling me it hasn’t been visited for a long time. This is sad because this part of the forest, which I can only see in snippets because of Pandora’s speed, is beautiful.
We run for about an hour before Pandora stops in front of a large fallen log in the middle of the forest. I’m still in pack lands, but the place is eerily quiet despite the birds twittering in the trees and the gentle rustling of the leaves and flowers scattered amongst the trees.
I shift back into my human form and dress before sitting on the log to think. The log sits in a small clearing with the sun hitting it, and it’s surprisingly warm. I take my lunch out of my bag and eat the sandwich I made while I take in the sights and smells around me.
When I was little, Dad would take me camping in the forest. It was our daddy-daughter time, and the memory of this makes me smile. My Dad has been the Commanding Delta of our Pack for as long as I can remember, a sharp contrast to my mother’s musical background. He would take me camping to spend time with me and, in part, to teach me the basics of fighting, which we kept from Mum and her parents.
Camping trips meant learning to make snares, use a bow and arrow, and hunt in human form. I learnt to track by observing the environment, walking backwards from burrows and animal shelters to observe the path to get home. I learnt how to skin a rabbit and roast it over a fire. Out here, I learnt to fight with a staff, a long stick that I used to swing and jab at my opponent.
I smile at this memory, at our secret. My grandparents would have a heart attack if they knew. Which is why we didn’t tell them. My hands are considered too delicate for fighting, as obviously, I’m a music prodigy like my mother.
Pain tears through my body at that last thought. I curl into myself, holding my ribs as the pain throbs from my legs to my core and then to my stomach. No one can hear me scream out here in the forest, and I do. I’ve been restraining myself from crying out at home, but here… I let it all out.
My eyes are heavy as I peel myself off the forest floor. The light between the trees has shifted, and I’m unsure how long I’ve been here. The scent of metal rests heavily in the air, and as I slowly lift myself up, I notice a pool of blood on the ground near my head.
Touching my chin, the dry trail of blood flicks off from my fingers. I know what this means.
Once my head clears from the fog, I open my bag to fish out my phone. It’s five o’clock.
“Mum, I’m staying the night at a friend’s,” I link.
“Okay, sweetheart,” Mum links back. I lean back against the log and close my eyes. I could cry. But I won’t.
“Hungry?” I ask Pandora.
“Yup,” she replies. I strip and shift into my fur, giving control over to Pandora. Because of all the training Dad gave me growing up, finding a rabbit burrow with rabbits inside doesn’t take long. Waiting for a rabbit to come out is a different story. It’s a matter of patience and quietness. When a rabbit eventually pops his head out, we watch as he sniffs and checks his surroundings. Then, Pandora pounces and breaks the rabbit’s neck with one swift bite.
“Raw or cooked?” Pandora asks me. I don’t care, so I shrug, and she takes this as raw, biting into the small meal.
We wait for three more rabbits to pop their heads out, pouncing and breaking each one’s neck. We eat them raw before heading back for our log. Pandora asks if I want to shift back, but I figure we’ll be warmer in our fur, and I tell her as much. Pandora nods and curls against the log, hiding our face under a paw.
I was woken up again in the middle of the night to excruciating pain. Pandora took this one for me, howling in agony as she vomited our dinner on the forest floor. I shifted back into my skin, too agitated and sore to fall asleep again.
As morning rose, I found myself aching and shivering as I nestled against the log. The temperature had dropped in the early morning, but I was too tender to fetch my clothes. Unable to sleep, I smiled when the gradual light shift began to shine through the forest canopy.
It took an effort to move, and when I finally summoned the strength, I gingerly dressed and repacked my bag. Shifting back into my wolf was out of the question, so I bit my lip, trying not to cry out as I started my journey home. Each step sent a wave of discomfort rippling through my body. This pain, accompanied by my emotional anguish, haunted me with the knowledge- that my time was near.
The light hit my eyes as I emerged from the treeline, making me blink several times as I adjusted. Pausing, I looked around the area before rooting through my bag to get my cell phone. It was eleven o’clock. I don’t know when I started walking, but it felt like hours. I knew I’d be late for school but didn’t think I’d be this late. My phone had dwindled to less than thirty percent, so I quickly texted Mum, letting her know I wasn’t feeling well and had slept in. If she hadn’t been informed yet of my absence, she would soon.
Step by painstaking step, I trudged homeward, fatigue beginning to weigh heavily on me. I came inside my house from the back, using the key in the double flower pot, and plodded upstairs to my room. I felt exhausted. Kicking off my shoes was the least I could do before I crawled under my bed to fall asleep.
“Hey, mum,” I greeted when I finally went downstairs hours later.
“Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” Mum asked, coming over and checking my temperature by placing the back of her hand on my forehead.
“Better,” I admit. And this was true. I did feel better. I still felt weak, but I didn’t feel like I was at death’s door anymore.
“Are you hungry? I’m making spaghetti Bolognese for dinner,” Mum said happily.
“Why are you so happy?” I asked.
“Dad’s coming home tomorrow!” Mum grins. I smile right back at her.
“Yay!” I shout, running over to give her a hug. We jumped up and down, hugging each other like teenage fangirls. I love my Dad, and I miss him terribly.
“I know! He should be back by the time you’re back from school tomorrow. Will you be going to school tomorrow?” Mum asks, narrowing her eyes.
“Yes, mum,” I reply.
We spent the rest of the evening chatting about Dad and all the family things we hoped to do together on the weekend. It was a great evening, spending time with my mum.
I was hesitant about going to bed again that night, not only because I had slept most of the day but also because of the pain the night would bring. I tossed and turned in bed, moving from lying on my stomach and cuddling my pillow to lying on my back and staring at the ceiling.
I woke up the following morning at six, feeling surprisingly rested. Although I had woken up in the middle of the night (not from pain, mind you) and read a bit before going back to sleep, my sleep had been undisturbed.
I couldn’t help but smile as I got up from bed and walked over to the shower. Turning it on, I examined myself in the mirror. After my siesta, when I got home, I took a shower, washing the dirt off me. I had also washed my hair, but looking at myself now, I noticed I still bore some dirt on my face, near my ears and jaw. I also had a few sticks and leaves from the forest floor that I had missed when I shampooed and conditioned my hair.
I wondered if Mum had seen this. If she had, she didn’t say anything. Hopefully, she was too focused on Dad coming home to notice that her little girl didn’t look right.
I skipped down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. For the first time since I met Conner, I actually feel… happy.
“Morning, sweetpea,” Mum grins over a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” I smile back.
“Do you want a lift to school today?”
“No. I think I’ll walk,” I reply.
I meet my friends at the stairs outside D Block. Hadley is already there, laughing and talking happily away.
“Georgie!” Hadley cries when she sees me. She jumps up and gives me a hug.
“Where were you yesterday? I missed you!”
Hadley’s happiness is contagious, and I laugh at her statement.
“I missed you, too. I wasn’t feeling well,” I admit.
“Oh. Are you okay?” Tara asks, a look of concern on her face.
“Now that you’re here, I can tell you my news!” Hadley grins.
“Thank goddess, she’s been stringing us along, waiting for you!” Frances comments, rolling her eyes.
“What news?” I ask.
“I’m dating that new Delta we met last week, Conner!” Hadley gushes. I feel sick. My stomach clenches, and it’s all I can do to not keel over in pain. I hear Tara ask Hadley when she started dating him, and she admits they met up at the packhouse on Saturday and have been sleeping together ever since.
“I couldn’t see him on Sunday night, which sucked, so I snuck out of the house and met up with him last night. It’s been the best sex I’ve ever had, the things he can do with his tongue…”
“No, you didn’t,” I object. Hadley stops talking.
“What?”
“You didn’t meet up with him last night,” I state. Hadley opens and closes her mouth.
“How would you know?” Frances asks.
“Yeah, how would you know?” Hadley asks angrily. I waver, realising that I’ve just put myself on the spot.
“Well… firstly, I know your parents wouldn’t let you go out at night… let alone sneak out, and…”
Hadley narrows her eyes at me, a scowl appearing on her face.
“What would you know, Georgie? What are you, jealous?”
“No!” I protest.
“Don’t lie. Tara told me she saw Conner walk away with you the night we met him. You said nothing happened, apparently. Just because you didn’t get him doesn’t mean I can’t!”
I look over at Tara, who shrugs.
“Sorry,” she links.
“I’m dating him now. He’s mine. You’re just jealous. Well, you can stick your jealousy up your arse!” Hadley huffs. I watch as she turns around and descends the stairs. Frances looks at me and shrugs, following her.
“Sorry Georgie. I did tell her I saw you walk away with him. Not the other…” Tara tries to explain. The bell goes for class, then.
“It’s alright,” I reply, feeling stunned. Hadley usually doesn’t get angry at me like that, but I have received her wrath before.
I should have let her go with her embellishment about Conner. But I know she didn’t sleep with him last night. I would have felt it. And I didn’t. And I know she didn’t sneak out of her room. If she had, she would have been in big trouble. Her Dad is a light sleeper and would have tanned her hide.
I go to my classes and meet my friends at D Block stairs. Hadley ignores me, keeping me out of her conversation as she bitches about her teachers and the kids in her class. In the classes we have together, she purposely sits with other people. I know Hadley. I know she wants me to apologise to her. But I won’t. Not about this. Not about Conner. I also know that she’ll eventually cave and come up to me. But I won’t back down about him. He doesn’t want a serious relationship; he told me so.
I feel forlorn by the time I get home. The day was stressful with the way Hadley was treating me. When we get like this, it makes me realise our friends are more her friends than mine. Hadley is the lively one out of us two. Where I’d be happy practising my violin, she’s the one who’ll go out and dance to music.
When I get home, I walk through the gate to the back of the house to let myself in. A stronger-than-ever musky smell hits me as I walk through the door.
“Dad!” I yell, running over to my father, who is standing in the kitchen.
“Peanut!” Dad cries out, opening his arms for me to jump into. We hugged, and I let myself melt in his embrace. There is nothing like getting a hug from your Dad. Especially mine. He looks like a hard arse, but he’s really just an oversized soft teddy bear.
“Your mum won’t be home till after four; I thought we could have an early dinner,” Dad explains, indicating the vegetables he had been chopping up.
“I’m sure you do,” I smirk. When Dad comes home after his recruiting trips, we always have an early dinner, followed by Mum and Dad’s early bedtime.
“I’ll go practice. Call me when dinner is ready,” I advise Dad, turning to leave.
“Peanut?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for your first shift. How was it?”
“It was good. Granny, Pops, grandma and grandad were there. Even Hadley,” I tell him.
“I’m glad they were there. What is your wolf’s name?”
“Pandora.”
“Pandora? I like that.”
I nod, turning around and heading for my bedroom. I’m glad he hasn’t asked if I’ve found my mate yet. I grab my violin in my room and lose myself in my music.
As always, I spend more time than I intend playing. Music is a part of my soul, and playing the violin lets my soul sing.
When the smell of dinner wafts upstairs, I pack my violin away and head for the kitchen. As predicted, Mum and Dad are wrapped up in each other, kissing. I smile at them. This is what having a mate should be like. Not what I got. I hold back my emotions and clear my throat to get their attention.
“Oh, sweetheart,” mum blushes. Dad just looks at me cheekily, and I smile again.
“Is dinner ready?” I ask. Mum steps out of Dad’s hold, making him pout, and adjusts her dress, pulling it down from where it had ridden up. I chuckle when I see this, making Mum’s blush deepen.
“I’ll set the table,” I say, giving my parents space to straighten themselves before dinner.
Dad made roast pork, which is my favourite, because I love the crackling, with crispy roast potatoes and steamed vegetables. He carved the meat and served it to us before serving it himself. It was nice having him back in the house and looking after us. I miss Dad when he goes away.
“Have you met your mate yet?” Dad asks, making me almost choke on the meat I’m eating.
“No,” I cough out, making Mum laugh.
“She hasn’t. But she’s been sick. She hasn’t been eating much either,” Mum observes. I look at her, and she looks back at me knowingly.
“Really? Should we take her to the doctor? See what’s wrong?”
“I’m sure it’s just the flu or something. I learned at Sunday School that this can happen when you first shift. Something about your human and wolf side getting used to each other,” I lie. I can’t believe how smoothly that came out. I’d been practising what to say in my head in case the subject of my sudden sickness came up.
“Is that so?” Dad asks. I nod. Sunday School is held at the pack house for all pups between the ages of five and twelve. We learn everything we need to know about being a wolf and part of a pack there.
“Things have changed since I went to Sunday School,” Mum remarks.
“Maybe they taught different things there?” I suggest.
“Maybe,” Mum shrugs.
The conversation then turns to Dad’s travels to different packs within the State. He talks about the Deltas he chose, including Conner. I learned that Conner Bradford is actually from a small pack at the edge of Garden State, which is the next State over. He was their best Delta from his age group and a contender for the next Commander Delta Position. Thankfully, Dad talked about all his other recruits. Besides the young pups from Beta or Alpha lines that haven’t shifted yet (around the age of fifteen and sixteen), the other Deltas have potential in the Commander role for their Pack.
It’s interesting. Packs from nearby states line up to have my Dad train them, but the training goes to a board of the four largest packs in our State, composed of our Pack, Skarthi, Blood Moon, and Moon Crest. Often, the three packs send their fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds to Dad, but sometimes Dad takes groups of Deltas for three-month stints like this group of recruits will be doing.
This knowledge makes me stare at my food.
“Are you okay, peanut?” Dad asks. I look up at him, noticing concern in his eyes.
“Yeah, fine,” I lie. I tell myself to enjoy this meal with my parents, as it may be my last time.
“What have my girls been up to?” Dad asks, changing the subject. Mum tells him about work, and he asks me if I’ve been learning any new pieces on the violin. I admit I’ve been learning to play Rush E simply because everyone has told me it’s impossible.
“Don’t tell Granny,” Mum smirks. I nod. Granny would tell me not to bother.
“I love proving her wrong,” I admit, resulting in Dad cheering and giving me a high five.
“Hey!” Mum chastises. I love Granny, I do. She’s just stuck in her ways.
“You love fast music,” Dad observes.
“I do,” I agree. I love playing music with crescendos and fortes, music that moves and challenges the player.
“I’m going to wash up,” I state after dinner. Mum looks at me gratefully as she and Dad slowly head out of the dining room. I smile when I hear them running for their room.
