—(Mark)—
The day before Noah's birthday, I got the green light to head up to visit them from both James and my parents. It had barely been a week since I'd last seen them in person, but I felt that missing Noah's 13th birthday wasn't something I could let happen.
My plan was simple. I would get a lift from one of the pack members and head to our territory near my parents' home. I would spend the night in the cabins where the pack lives and set up the campsite where Noah would spend the weekend with me and James.
I would have preferred it to be just me and Noah for some brotherly bonding time, but our parents made it a requirement that James be there in case I wolf out.
While James and my parents were never going to see eye to eye, they would never let Noah get hurt. James, on his part, knew it would cause me to spiral even more if I ever hurt Noah by accident because I lost control. My parents didn't want either of us hurt, plain and simple.
I would also use this time to ask James more questions about what it means to be a werewolf and the overall world of the paranormal. One of the burning questions I wanted to answer was why being bitten caused me to grow so rapidly. When I look at the other guys in the pack, they're fit, but I'm way more buff and taller—almost as big as James. I'm still smaller, but not by much.
When I heard a knock at my front door, I grabbed my duffle bag and headed for the door. It was just Scott, though, so I let it fall to the floor and invited Scott in while I waited for my ride.
"Hey Scott, I'm waiting for my ride to come, so we can't chat long," I mentioned as I walked to the kitchen island and motioned to the drinks in an offering gesture.
"Oh, that's fine. I just came over to ask if you're ready for class to start."
"I am feeling a bit nervous about attending a new school, but that's to be expected. Right now, I'm just preoccupied with making sure I have everything ready for Noah's surprise camping trip this weekend."
"His birthday is tomorrow, so I want him to believe that my showing up is a big surprise, only to wake him up the following day with his stuff packed and ready to go."
"That's awesome of you. What campground are you going to use?"
"It's private land my guardian, James, owns."
Scott looked like he wanted to ask why my brother and I have different legal guardians, but he knew I didn't want to talk about it yet. We talked a bit more before I heard the horn of a car and got a text from Lyla saying she was out front.
"That's my ride. I gotta get going, but I'll see you Monday." I walked Scott out of the house and closed the door, locking it. Scott walked with me to the car before waving goodbye.
"Already making friends, I see," Lyla teased me.
"Yeah, he's been a good friend so far," I said with a happy lilt in my tone.
after driving for a while she tentatively started to talk.
"It's great that you are starting to trust people again. I know the past few weeks have been difficult for you. Losing most of your friends like you did would make it hard for you to trust again."
I went tense for a moment. I hated the mention of any of my old friends who abandoned me after years of knowing me.
"Let's not talk about the past," I gruffly mentioned, souring my happy mood.
"You know you'll eventually have to confront those feelings you've let build up, right?"
"I KNOW!" I snapped before regaining my composure.
"I know you're my therapist, but do you really have to give me a session on the way to the territory?" I said through gritted teeth. I do like Lyla, but sometimes she presses my buttons. It's her job, but it still hurts.
"Well, you're making progress. At least two months ago, you would have let your wolf side show," she mentioned while keeping her eyes on the road.
"Thanks," I said, still in a sour mood.
"James asked me to pick you up today to see if moving you away was the right idea, you know."
"And?"
"I think it was the right choice. You've made great progress so far. More than you would have if you stayed back with the pack."
"It's easier if everyone doesn't look at you like you're a bomb waiting to go off." This caused Lyla to wince a bit.
"You know no one could have predicted you would have snapped like you did that day, right? You didn't show any signs that you were on the edge."
"That doesn't change the fact that people saw me lunge at Davis in public," I paused before continuing. "If James wasn't there, it would have been worse. After that, my friends, who had already kept me at arm's length, cut me off without saying anything to me, like I was garbage." I slouched down in the seat, my anger dissipating and replacing it with grief before going back to anger bordering on rage.
"Breathe for me, Mars."
"WHY! THEY LEFT ME! WHY SHOULDN'T I BE ANGRY?" I shouted.
"And shouting at me isn't going to change that," she calmly replied.
And just like that, I deflated and started to take deep breaths. The next few hours passed in silence. She knew that I needed time to myself. When we started to reach the road that led to the cabins, Lyla slowed down before slowly placing a hand atop mine. She is one of the few people I let make physical contact with me for a long period of time.
"James has already set up the campsite for you. The rest of the day is yours," she said. I only grunted in response.
Since everything was already taken care of, I went to James' cabin, changed into my running gear, and started running, trying to lose myself in the forest. When night arrived, I got back to the cabin, showered, and went to my room, immediately falling asleep after the amount of emotions I had experienced today. I was just tired.
–(Lyla)–
I wanted to talk with James about Mark, so I called him up for a chat. "Hey James, got a minute to talk about Mark?"
"Sure, how's he doing?" he asked.
"He's actually doing pretty well," I started. "Since moving to Beacon Hills, he's started to make new friends. He mentioned a guy named Scott, and it sounds like they're getting along great."
"That's good to hear. I was hoping a change of scenery would help," James replied.
"It definitely seems to be helping," I agreed. "Mark's opening up more and seems genuinely happier. However, he's still sensitive about his past, especially when it comes to his old friends. Mentioning them can really set him off."
"Yeah, I figured that might still be a sore spot. Has he been able to manage his anger better?" James asked, sounding concerned.
"He's getting there," I reassured him. "He's more aware of his triggers now and is better at calming himself down after an outburst. For example, during our drive to the territory, he got really upset talking about his old friends, but he managed to regain his composure after a bit."
"That's progress," James said, relieved. "How is he responding to your therapy sessions?"
"It's a mixed bag," I admitted. "He knows it's necessary but sometimes feels it's too much, especially when it gets too personal. But overall, he's handling it better than he was a couple of months ago. He's also more in control of his wolf side, which is a big improvement."
"That's good. Any concerns?" James asked, always looking out for potential issues.
"He still struggles with anger and grief over his past," I said. "It's a rollercoaster—he swings between anger and sadness pretty quickly. Also, he's still cautious about physical contact, but he's getting better. He lets me comfort him sometimes, which is progress."
"Sounds like he's on the right track. Anything specific you think we should do?" James asked, ready to help in any way.
"Keep the supportive environment going," I suggested. "Encouraging his new friendships will be really helpful. And just keep an eye on situations that might trigger him. If he can preemptively manage those, it'll be easier for him."
"Got it. Thanks for the update, Lyla. It sounds like moving him there was the right call, even if it was away from the pack," James said, sounding satisfied.
"Definitely," I agreed. "He's come a long way, and with continued support, I think he'll keep improving."
"Thanks, Lyla. I appreciate everything you're doing for him," James said warmly.
"Anytime, James," I replied, feeling good about the progress we were making.