Page 12 of Awakened
Luckily, no one noticed because Brandon was so animated talking to Sarah and Michael, even if he was trying to hate the latter. It turned out the two guys were scarily similar. Michael appeared to be the human version of Brandon—chatty, friendly, and hilarious.
The two were having so much fun together that by the time we grabbed a beer at Atomic Cowboy, they were halfway in love with each other. Sarah grumbled to me that they wouldn’t miss us if we left.
So, we did.
The guys got home two hours later, and after a “quiet” back and forth, Michael got the floor since Brandon was on the couch.
My alarm went off far too soon the next morning, but Brandon had to get back for a study group. As we hugged goodbye, I started to cry.
“Oh, Les, come on. It’s not like you’re going to be gone forever. You’re only a few hours away.”
I scoffed, and he rocked us side to side.
“Listen. Emily is already planning a visit in two weeks. Pack business allowing, I’ll tag along.” He squeezed me even tighter.
I didn’t know how to tell him I planned on never coming back. I wasn’t ready for Brandon and the rest of the pack to know their gamma had checked out.
“You would do that for me?” I batted my eyelashes and grinned, knowing what a three-plus-hour car ride with Emily would be like for Brandon. “You’re a sweetheart. Now get out of here before I make you stay forever.”
Brandon laughed, patted my head, and got in the truck. I watched as he drove around the corner and out of view.
Sarah came out carrying two cups of coffee, and we sat on the stoop. “How you doin’, lady?”
“Not great.” I took a sip and burned my mouth. Grimacing, I said, “Thanks again for taking my sorry ass in. I don’t know what I would’ve done otherwise.”
“You probably would’ve stayed drunk 24/7, gotten fired, and slept with half the pack.”
I laughed, picturing her extreme predictions. Sarah had a flare for the dramatic. It was more likely that I would have been drunk and locked in my house for the rest of eternity.
“But you’re welcome.” She blew on her coffee before taking a sip.
I sighed and laid my head on her shoulder. “You know, I just keep waiting for reality to hit me. It’s unbelievable how much my life has changed.” I paused to take a drink of coffee. “Friday night, Aiden was on my porch when I got home.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. What the fuck did he want?” Sarah shouted, startling an old woman walking her dog in front of the duplex.
“To tell me not to go. To tell me he loves me. To tell me his side.” I cleared my throat. My emotions were all over the place. “He was trashed. I mean, I wasn’t much better, but still.”
“Nothing happened, did it?”
“Well . . .” I hid behind my mug and took another scalding sip. Burnt tastebuds were the least I deserved for being a reckless asshole.
“Celeste! What the fuck were you thinking? You really want to pit yourself against the luna?”
I cringed away from her. “No! But I can’t say I was really thinking about long-term consequences.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, but her body relaxed.
“At least I stopped it. And I’m never going back, so it’s a moot point.” I rolled my shoulders back, trying to ease the tension there. “Just don’t tell Emily. I don’t want to cause more problems between her and her brother.”
“Shit.” Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine.”
We sat for a few minutes in a comfortable silence until Sarah quietly asked, “Are you ready to not be in the pack? Not be the gamma?”
With everything else going on, I hadn’t thought about that aspect of leaving Kirksville. While technically being a “rogue” was no biggie, I didn’t know many unaffiliated wolves. Sarah was still a member of the Blue Moon Pack, even though she moved to St. Louis. She went back once a month for the pack meeting, but other than that, she was pretty much free. I had considered doingjust that but worried what it would mean for me when Aiden became alpha.
“I’m afraid to leave Blue Moon, but I don’t see me getting over this anytime soon or Aiden letting me go easily. I need to be free not to go back to Kirksville, and this is the only way.” It wasn’t fair, but I’d quickly learned that life rarely was.
“I’ll miss training the kiddos and getting them ready to shift though. Being gamma was fun. Seth’s taking over for me, and I’m sure he’ll be great.”
