15 FEBRUARY, MONDAY, AFTER SCHOOL
I packed my bag and got up to leave when the bell rang. Marcus and Henry were talking to Janice. She looked really flustered while her friends looked on excitedly. From the look on her face, I think Marcus wasn't going to have a problem getting a keyboardist for his band.
Krystal and the cool girls ambushed me when I passed their desks to take a photo together. "I'm posting this on my channel." Krystal told me, "It's definitely going to bring in views."
I wasn't allowed to appear on social media or something right? I mean, Dad ordered a cease communication on me, but Krystal wasn't part of our pack... So was that okay? Maybe one picture was fine.
Then Jasmine chased up to me and wanted a photo too. I guess two pictures were okay. Anyway, I realized after this that I wasn't very good at saying no to my friends.
I got to the student foyer in hopes of getting into my car quickly and getting out of here. But Priya jumped me and wanted to take a photo together with me, "I can't believe my favorite junior is the Alpha Princess!"
So I was her favorite junior again? I was too relieved that she wasn't angry with me anymore to say no.
"Priya!" Bra came over, "I told you to wait for me in your class. Oh, hi Sam."
"Hi Bra." I said.
And where there was Bra, there was Matt and Jules. I smiled the moment I saw them, it's been a while since we talked.
"Hi Sam." Jules said.
"Better not take photos with anyone Sam." Matt said, "It's all going to be all over the internet by tomorrow."
"Somebody is a celebrity now." Jules grinned, "Wait, take a photo with us."
"I just told her not to!" Matt protested, but Jules and Bra flanked him and he ended up smiling.
I did too. For old times sake. Because I suddenly remembered the last hurrah. I'd never ride the train home with these guys again.
"Nice." Jules said when he saw the photo Priya helped us take on his phone, "I'll forward it to you guys too."
Matt didn't look all that pleased, his smile was now replaced by a worried frown, "Once this gets out, its going to get hairy here."
"Hairy for you." Jules corrected, still grinning away.
"Hairy Matt." Bra added.
Priya laughed and caught sight of her friends, "Okay, bye! I'm going to go show off."
Matt growled a little, "Is no one listening to me?"
Jules tried to reason with him, "Look, Matt, everyone's taking photos. With Yuunie on the ball, there's no stopping it. The reporters will be in crashing down our school gates by tomorrow morning."
For some reason, I felt like this was partly my fault.
"I'll just give them the directions to Gate City." Matt smirked. Did Matt think this was my fault too? omo.
"Yeah, but everyone knows the security in Green Packlands is like iron clad." Jules shrugged, "There's a reason why Sam could be kept out of the media for so long."
"Whoa... yeah, man." Bra nodded, "Green Packland security with those demon warriors, even vamps don't try crossing those lines."
Vamps and reporters were quite different creatures though.
"I heard they decimated the entire rogue population around Silver Mountain in three days." Jules added, "It was like a massacre!"
No it wasn't. They were all tried under the Gold Packland's laws and blah blah blah.
"Yeah, and now this side of Gold Packlands has all the rogues..." Matt sighed.
"And reporters too." Bra reminded him.
Rogues and reporters were quite different creatures too.
Matt sighed again. It felt like all his coolness was melting away layer by layer.
"The top 3 pests for security patrols - vamps, rogues, and paparazzi." Bra nodded sagely from the depth of of warrior experience, "Its always one or the other."
"You forgot hunters." Jules said.
They also didn't include snow storms, but that could be just a Night Leaf thing too.
Matt just frowned. He didn't looked consoled in anyway. In fact, he looked like Bra just reminded him of bigger problems in his life.
Sometimes I forget that these guys were wolves with their own packs and responsibilities.
Henry and Marcus arrived at the student foyer looking pleased.
"Hi Sam, its on. Janice and Liam had agreed to join our band. Make sure your guards show up for practices." Henry ordered.
I flared at that, "You want them in your band, you ask them yourself."
"I'll text Harvey or Ki." Marcus quickly stepped in to prevent another face off.
"Alpha Henry, congrats on your upcoming inauguration." Matt greeted with a polite bow.
"What inauguration?" I asked.
"His Official Alpha Inauguration." Marcus said, "Its this Saturday, should I send you a reminder?"
"Don't bother, Marc. Her betas will get her there." Henry had a lot of confidence in my betas.
"That's it!" Jules exclaimed, "'Matt, ask Harv."
"Ask Harv what?" Matt asked.
"Ask if Night Leaf could provide some additional security for the school from tomorrow?" Jules asked on Matt's behalf.
"Wait, what?" Matt was still catching up.
"If Night Leaf could spare some warriors, they should be able to keep the reporters in line." Jules reasoned.
"Don't you have your own warriors?" I asked.
"Yes, but not enough." Jules explained, "And just regular ones, not demons, the warriors here don't scare the reporters at all."
"Yeah," Bra got excited, "Sam, bring your demon warriors. Scare the crap out of everyone."
"Including OUR own students." Matt shook his head, "We have rogues studying here. And vamps too."
"Even weak warriors like me would crap my pants to see them." Bra enthused.
And then Bra asked me, "Is it true, Sam? Night Leaf has raised a demon army and a death god?"
A what now?
"Shh..." Jules hit Bra with the back of his hand, "It's just a rumor... and even if it were true, its not something she can tell an outsider."
"What death god?" Marcus asked.
"A black wolf in a cape that can resurrect the dead, and then kill again, over and over again..." Bra said in a scary story voice, "He travels with the demon warriors, and your fate would be a hundred times worse than death if you met him in the night."
Omo. Wth was that story? Where did it come from?
"It's just a rumor floating among the rogues these days." Jules tried to brush it off, "No one really believes it."
"I believe it." Bra said with a shudder, "Who knows what goes on down there, deep in the Green Packlands. Their secret 'medical research', underground demon army, death god..."
"Shut up, Bra." Jules said then. He looked at me.
Bra seemed to realize that I was there - or rather, that I was from the Green Packlands, maybe he forgot I was the alpha there?
"Oh, sorry." Bra apologized, "But I meant that as a compliment."
In what way was that a compliment? But I laughed and waved it off, "It's pretty funny to hear it like that."
"What? So its true?" Bra asked.
I shook my head, "You can't believe everything you read or hear, Bra."
"I knew it was just a rumor." Jules nodded, satisfied.
"Yes, but there is no smoke without a fire." Henry smirked, "I'm sure you know that much, Beta."
Jules stopped smiling.
"They're just rumors, until they are on the news." Matt said wryly.
I'm not sure about human and vampire news networks, but the new on the LNC were also rumors.
"I don't believe the death god bit, though." Marcus said. So the demon army bit was realistic sounding to you?
"Yeah, but who knows what goes on behind Gate City in the dark of night." Henry looked like he was enjoying this. How dare he made it sound like there was something!
I flared at him but was distracted by the arrival of a white merc convertible.
{Mate!}
"Oh, yeah, Sam." Jules remembered as we watched the white Merc pulled up further into the porch so the other cars to continue passing through,"Congrats on your engagement."
Huh? Oh, yeah, the news mentioned it. So by Matt's definition, it wasn't just a rumor anymore.
Meanwhile, the death god had just stepped out of his car, but because he was dressed in a navy blue suit and crisp white shirt opened up at the collar, when he ran his hand through his tousled hair, he didn't inspire any fear. Maybe a few sighs and camera clicks.
Mate's car was joined by four uniformed warriors... specifically, Neil, Jax, Fluffy, and EJ. It was pretty obvious because they were pulling up their bikes from the side where they had parked it earlier, and were not yet in their helmets.
"What the - those two are the new transfer students!" Jules recognized them immediately. EJ and Fluffy's appearance had caused quite a stir today among the student population.
Matt shrugged, "Yeah."
"They look stronk." Bra commented on the side, "Do all Green Packland wolves come with pretty faces?"
"What the hell, Bra?" Jules laughed at that.
Did Bra not see Neil's permanently crumpled face? Hahaha.
"I mean, Priya asked." Bra quickly dissociated himself with the notion, "You know how she is..."
"It's the water." I joked.
Matt raised a brow at that. Jules laughed, "You should bottle that for sale."
Now Henry's brow raised.
"No." I said before he had any ideas about making money.
Henry shrugged and then waved to Bell, "Hey, James! Over here!"
I watched as Mate nodded coolly and walked over, Fluffy and EJ on his heels. Neil and Jax waited by the car.
"Hey, Hen." Mate offered his hand and they did one of those guy hand grabbing greetings, "Congrats on your inauguration."
"Thanks. Thanks." Hen seemed very pleased.
This was a big deal. Like I said, wolves didn't casually shake hands or hold hands... especially not Alpha wolves, so to shake hands and look happy this publicly signaled a pretty strong friendship. These two guys got along. I guess it wasn't surprising. Business intel was Henry's holy grail and Mate had the Midas touch. It's like peanut butter and jelly. They belonged together.
The quiet clicking of cameras carried on merrily. We had phones now, so technically, you could turn the sound off, but no one cared to be discrete about it at all.
Bell didn't seem to notice at all. He reached out to put his hand on the small of my back, then with his other hand, he picked up a lock of hair and brought it to his lips before letting it slip off his hand. And then he smiled. The very perfect smile that made him look handsome x100.
Oh wow, and oh no, at the same time.
Oh wow, he was smiling at me. And oh no, my heart... my heart just jumped right out to him. Not that I did anything else, I was frozen on the spot, I'm not sure if it were from losing my heart suddenly, or the awareness of many cameras around me. But, oh wow, and oh no.
I never knew I was the type who would be so weak against a pretty face.