Helanie:
"You all heard us. We want volunteers who think they can join us to catch the lycan," Rudy announced in his powerful voice. "You have half an hour to decide." With that, he stepped away to talk to the other senior leaders.
"This is crazy," I muttered to Lamar, who had been staring off to the side the entire ti. I followed his gaze and saw he was looking at Jenny, who stood next to her brother.
"What do you think they’re trying to do? They don’t even have a plan," I continued, but Lamar kept his eyes on Jenny, whose gaze was searching through the crowd. Her search ended when her eyes landed on us.
She smiled faintly and started walking toward us. Her brother noticed and began following her.
"I think they will get soone in trouble with the lycan," Lamar responded with his eyes showing shine for Jenny.
"Hi," Jenny greeted us, giving a hug before turning to Lamar with a small nod.
"How are you?" I asked. "Look, about what happened the other day—I hope you’ve found so peace."
I wasn’t sure what I expected, maybe for her to tell us she had rejected Rayden. Isn’t that what she had wanted all along?
"I have. He cheated, I cheated—it’s even now," she said. But the way she said it made raise an eyebrow. I was sure Lamar noticed too because he shifted his weight onto one foot.
"Have you guys seen Gavin?" Penn suddenly asked. We all turned, scanning the crowd with our eyes. Sure enough, just as Penn had ntioned, Gavin wasn’t there.
Even Sydney and Salem were standing in the corner. That was when I realized Salem had been watching us the entire ti.
"Where could he be?" Jenny asked.
"Maybe he’s too embarrassed to show up and thinks taking a one-month break will fix his reputation," Lamar scoffed, shaking his head at the events that had unfolded before Lucy’s fall.
Since Lamar brought up Gavin’s actions, Jenny looked uncomfortable too. Deep down, all of us knew she had played a big role in upsetting and manipulating Lucy as well.
"So, is anyone going to stand with the top seniors to catch the lycan?" Penn asked. He wasn’t usually this talkative, but he seed determined to spark a conversation now.
"We’re still thinking," Lamar replied, clearly showing how uneasy he felt.
"Helanie," Penn finally revealed his true intentions by calling my na.
"Can we talk?" he asked. I wasn’t sure what it would be about, but ever since his parents had shown their toxicity and hatred toward , I knew our friendship had beco fragile and complicated.
Even so, I decided to step aside to talk to him, partly because it gave Lamar and Jenny a chance to have their conversation. They had been silently communicating through their eyes, and I figured I should give them so space.
"Sure!" I agreed. As I walked away with Penn, I saw Jenny and Lamar stepping closer to each other.
"Um, I don’t even know where to start," Penn began as we moved to a quieter spot. "I’ll just be straightforward," he added, looking in the eye. "My family sucks," he blurted out, his lips pressing into a frown.
"Of all the an things you could’ve said about , I didn’t expect this," I replied dryly. "But you’re right—you suck too," I added with a shrug, though I was surprised when he chuckled softly.
"You’re cute when you’re mad," he said with a small smile. "But seriously, I’m really sorry for how my parents acted. I never thought my mother would end up being like Sydney and Salem."
Hearing that from an alpha was surprising. Alphas usually have a lot of love and pride for their families. But Penn seed to see through their toxic behavior.
It reminded of Penn himself. His stories about wearing the blue jacket and partying with Rayden had seed suspicious to .
"They treated horribly just because I spoke up against Rayden’s bullying," I told him, glancing to the side to look at Rayden, who was now standing with Sydney. The two of them together didn’t seem like a good combination at all.
I wondered what they might be talking about.
"Rayden—I never thought he’d do those things," Penn said. "For once, I even asked my sister to reject him. She had the perfect chance, but then again, she wasn’t entirely wrong. It was her choice, and she cheated on him too. They wanted to settle things by being equal."
As he ntioned Jenny’s comnt about being "equal," it clicked for —Jenny hadn’t rejected Rayden yet.
"She didn’t ask for a rejection?" I asked in shock.
"No," Penn revealed. "She didn’t tell you? She told she forgives him and wants to fix their relationship."
It felt like a punch to the gut.
"Which isn’t why I’m here," Penn said with a small smile, clearly trying to shift the focus of the conversation. But I was so angry at Jenny that I couldn’t hold it in.
"Then why are you here? To manipulate so your parents can co and yell at again, telling not to be friends with you?" My anger boiled over, and I found myself hissing at him.
"Helanie! I’m here to tell you that Rayden won’t bully you again. You have my word," he said firmly. "If he does, I’ll be the first to stand against him. And as for my parents—they’ll keep their distance from you too."
Penn leaned closer and spoke softly, but I couldn’t bring myself to trust him. His whole family was just so ssed up.
My eyes wandered over to Jenny and Lamar. Of course, Lamar had already figured out that Jenny had truly forgiven Rayden, judging by the way he was glaring at her. Jenny kept her eyes fixed on the ground while speaking to him, clearly uncomfortable.
"I’m going to sign up to catch that lycan with the top seniors," I said, my voice steady as I made my decision.
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