Helanie:
"I’m so tired," Lamar complained as he massaged Jenny’s shoulders.
"You can rest too," Jenny told him, noticing he’d been massaging her feet, arms, and shoulders for a while.
"No, this is resting. I just don’t want to go out in the woods and chase after those ugly things again," Lamar said, and I knew exactly what he ant. I felt the sa way.
There were tis I thought I might throw up. Those things were ugly and nasty, and when you killed them, they oozed a foul odor.
"Are you okay, Helanie? I noticed you gagging a lot today," Penn asked.
"Yeah, I’m just a little under the weather," I replied, not wanting to tell anyone about the pregnancy yet. Every ti I got excited, I ended up losing the baby, so the excitent felt wasted.
"How about I get you so lemonade?" he offered, getting up from the ground.
All the academy students had been doing their best to get rid of as many Zharns as possible, hoping the ssage would reach the Father. So of them had even opened different food and drink stalls.
"Can you bring so too?" Jenny asked her brother playfully.
"Yeah, yeah, I’ll get everyone food and drinks," Penn replied as he walked away.
I stretched my legs out, leaning back on my hands with my neck tilted up and my eyes on the sky. I was trying to take in as much comfort as I could before we had to go out again. But I had a feeling the brothers wouldn’t let go this ti. One of them always stayed near . I guessed they had assigned roles or sothing. Emt was mostly absent, but I knew he was doing sothing important.
"How’s he doing?" Lamar asked, and I turned my head to the left, spotting Gavin next to a hot dog stall, staring off into the distance. He’d been gone ten minutes to grab us hot dogs, and now I found him zoned out.
"He’s brutal to those things. You should’ve seen him out there," I said, rembering how he killed those Zharns like each one had personally hurt Salem.
"It’s been over a month, and he still hasn’t shown any signs of improvent. The only ti he seems alive is when he’s told we’re going out to fight the ex-Codex," Jenny said, and I nodded sadly.
There’s no set ti for healing after losing a loved one or a mate. It’s nearly impossible. Life just— changes forever.
"Life, I guess, changes forever," I murmured, thinking of my mother. Even though she had Lord McQuoid now, I could still see the longing for my father in her eyes.
"Anyway, I heard about your mother, and the announcents about your, you know, true identity. So far, everyone I’ve talked to has been really positive," Jenny said, reminding that my secret was out.
"Yeah, my pack mbers were happy. They actually like Helanie a lot," Lamar added, which gave a boost of confidence.
"I wonder what’s going on with Sydney these days," I said, zoning out again. Her father and that pack were still a mystery we needed to figure out.
"If you want, I can look into it. My father’s trying to redeem himself, so he’s been busy tracking down bad people," she offered, and I nodded.
"That would be really helpful. I just want to know if her father’s thinking about giving her the crown—and where the heck their alpha is," I muttered while clenching my jaw.
To that, Jenny only nodded. Then our eyes drifted back to the stalls, where we saw Sage and Penn standing together. The two had been especially chatty lately, especially during our fights with the Zharns.
It had been three days since the project started, and oddly enough, we were seeing a lot more of Sage than before.
"You know, your —mother-in-law really tried to screw her up," Jenny said, stuttering a little. I realized she was talking about Sage.
"Really? I never knew the truth about them hanging out," I said.
"Well, your mother-in-law told her she had a chance with Professor Emt," Jenny added, and my jaw practically hit the floor.
I knew Sage had a crush on Emt, but I didn’t know Darcy had been giving her so much hope.
"Yeah, she was dragging her along, preparing her for so supposed ritual. That’s when Sage started doing her own research. And I guess Darcy found out, or maybe she just lost interest, because she dropped her after that," Jenny said with a shrug.
But I sat up straight, clearly interested in what Sage might know about Darcy.
"How about we ask her ourselves?" Lamar suggested. He must’ve noticed how curious I was and was already planning to bring Sage over so I could question her.
"Yeah, I’d love to know," I said. Now that I was thinking about the timing, it all felt off. Darcy had not been spotted with Sage right after Azura arrived, or soti around when Azura ca back.
Was she afraid of Azura? Or did she think Emt would never give anyone else a chance now? Too many questions were running through my mind.
"Hey, Penn! Co over here—and bring your friend too!" Jenny called out.
But then her eyes rolled back slightly as Lamar started giving her a head massage. He was such a good mate, honestly. He’d been kneeling beside her for half an hour, helping ease her aches after she’d been out fighting the Zharns alongside him.
Penn returned with Sage beside him. The two sat down and laid out paper plates for all of us, filled with eggs for energy, sandwiches, and other snacks. I reached for the lemonade. Even though it was cold, I felt like I needed a few sips.
"Sage, I was just telling Helanie about you and Darcy hanging out. Would you like to tell her more about it?" Jenny said.
As soon as she brought it up, I saw Sage’s eyes widen. She tried to signal sothing to Jenny, but Jenny went on, "It’s alright. Helanie won’t mind. You can talk about her mother-in-law all you want. In fact, go ahead and bitch about her. She’s actually a real bitch."
Jenny was so confident. I figured it ca from being surrounded by amazing people—people she knew wouldn’t judge her for calling out soone awful. And honestly, they deserved every word.
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