Page 22 of Eclipse of the Pack

Jonathen nearly gave himself whiplash from his quickly he jerked his head to look at her. Ivy had doubt and confusion written all over her face. As if to say ‘These humans and their damn government’. If it was not such a serious situation, Jon would have laughed.

“That was my exact thought.” Maria said quickly. She paused to take her coffee from the waitress as she passed by. Herfingernails tapped on the cheap ceramic of the cup, making Ivy’s eye twitch lightly at the noise.

“We need to expose the factions. Expose the under the table war and everything – we have to get this out and expose them, so, the actual traitors will go to jail.”

“Yes!” Jon laughed, only to pause a moment later and look to Ivy. They had spoken at the same time, Ivy’s brow was creased in annoyance at Jon and his enthusiasm.

“No.” Ivy repeated herself. “It’s way too risky.”

“What else are we supposed to do?” Jon frowned. “This is the only option we really have right now, Ivy.”

He did not wait for him to talk over him again. He turned to Maria once again, who leaned against the table. She braced her elbows against it and stared at Jon in intense expectation.

“Tell me everything.” She Said.

27

IVY

Ivy looked at Jon, but he had his eyes trained on Maria. Before she could protest, he started telling Maria all about the conspiracy they had stumbled upon. It took Ivy a minute to come to her senses.

“We don’t know how deep it goes, but-”

“Jon!” she loudly whispered at him.

She glanced at Maria who looked at her suspiciously. It was definitely out of character for her to be so… unhinged, but she was paranoid.

She trusted Maria, but knowledge was dangerous, and she didn’t want anything to happen to her friend.

“We need allies,” he said.

Though he kept his voice calm, Ivy could see the fear in his eyes. Maria was the first friendly face they had encountered in a long time, and she understood his need to reach out.

“Ivy.” Maria’s hand went over Ivy’s. She turned to her friend who had a fierce look on her face. She was ready to fight.

“Fine.” Ivy sat back in her chair and crossed her arms while Jon finished telling Maria everything they knew.

Admittedly, they hadn’t known much, but it was enough to put a price on their heads. Ivy still didn’t believe that going to government would stop what had been set in motion.

They needed more information.

If we get it wrong, we won’t be the only people to get hurt. Millions could die, if a real war broke out.

“And that’s everything you guys know?” Jonathan and Ivy nodded.

Ivy looked down at the food Jon had ordered for her. He had just made a quick choice and got us both salads. It was a sad excuse for a salad with limp lettuce and wrinkled cherry tomatoes.

Ivy stabbed a tomato with her fork. Utter defeat settled in her body, but she held onto the small glimmer of hope that came from being next to two people she felt she could trust. It was all she had left.

“What are you going to do?” Ivy asked.

“I’ll get this information to the right people.” Maria was determined. Jon believed in the plan a lot more, and he smiled at Maria’s words. Ivy simply nodded.

“We should get moving.” Ivy stood up and threw some cash down on the table, leaving a nice tip, despite their waitress’s earlier missteps.

The three of them left the diner and headed back to their respective cars. Before getting into the car, Ivy turned to Maria.

The two friends made eye contact, and Ivy cracked a sad smile. Maria smiled back, but it was a short-lived moment.

---