Helanie:
"Fucking put your clothes on," I hissed at her, but then I just felt like I didn’t even want to be there anymore. Everything was falling apart so badly now.
"You know what—," I sighed, "I’ll just leave." I didn’t know what I was thinking. I was so overwheld with emotions, wanting to get away one mont and then stay the next.
And that’s exactly what happened the minute I stepped out of the room.
"I’m not going to leave her in there, making out with that animal," I muttered, rolling my eyes at my own indecisiveness before storming back inside with renewed determination.
Once I was back in, I got to see their reactions.
Lamar had put on pants, while Lucy was crying on the bed—still naked, covered in sheets, her hands over her face.
"You’re really not drunk, are you?" I accused, narrowing my eyes at Lamar. It was obvious he wasn’t as wasted as he was pretending to be. In fact, he might have had only a few drinks.
"Did you know he isn’t drunk?" I asked Lucy, since I’d already confronted Lamar about it.
"She knows. I didn’t trick her or anything," Lamar muttered, his head bowed. Lately, he’d been doing that a lot—acting all cutesy as if it could fool everyone.
And honestly? It worked. He fooled Lucy.
"What were you thinking, Lamar? Do you not know she’s in a relationship? She has a mate!" My fists clenched at my sides, and he noticed, stepping back cautiously as if I could actually hurt his brick-like face.
"I know. But—hey, maybe that’s why you need to understand it wasn’t just us ssing around—" He didn’t finish his sentence because I cut him off.
"Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you two weren’t just ssing around but actually building a castle!" I snapped, nodding sarcastically to mock him.
"That’s not what I ant," he shot back, his tone defensive. "Lucy is your friend, and you know her character better than I do. She wouldn’t sleep with anyone unless she had a good reason."
That caught off guard. Coming from him, it was unexpected. I’d fully expected him to laugh in my face, mock for ruining my friend’s relationship with her mate, or worse, tarnish Lucy’s character entirely.
"Okay, you need to stop looking at like you’re going to eat alive. But trust —she is not at fault. She had a bad day, and—"
I had to raise my palm to stop him mid-sentence.
"I know her, and I’ll talk to her myself. I’d rather hear what happened directly from her than listen to you. Got it?" I snapped, my voice louder than I intended. He pouted, raising his hands in surrender.
"I understand," he muttered.
"You need to leave," I said firmly, pointing at the door.
I knew the warden might be on his rounds, but Lamar had managed to sneak out before, so I figured he’d be fine this ti, too.
"Fine, let grab my shirt and sweater. But hey, don’t be too harsh on her—it’s not her fault—" Lamar started again, trying to justify things while Lucy sat silently on the bed, her face buried in her hands.
"If I need your explanation, I’ll ask for it. Right now, I don’t. So leave!" I yelled, my finger still pointing at the door.
"Get out," I hissed, closing my eyes to steady myself. Lamar finally walked past , the force of his movent creating a slight breeze that brushed against .
The fact that he’d seed so apologetic earlier but then jumped on my friend the mont I left infuriated . Just imagining everything unraveling—and the possibility of Gavin finding out—was physically painful.
And then there was my own secret, the one I knew wouldn’t stay hidden for much longer. I was losing my mind, more than ever.
When I finally heard the door slam shut, I walked over to the bed and grabbed Lucy’s dress from the floor, tossing it toward her.
"I can’t even—" I muttered under my breath, slapping my forehead with enough force to make it sting.
"How could you—Lamar? Lucy? What about Gavin?" I stamred, unable to form a complete sentence. My hormones must’ve been ssing with . They’d break completely soon enough, if they weren’t already.
"Put on your clothes, Lucy. We need to talk." I took a deep breath and turned my face away from her.
"And take a shower," I added before stepping into the closet.
I sat on the floor inside for so reason, my hands clutching the pregnancy test I had hidden there. It was almost funny how I’d even painted over it with red nail polish I’d found on Lucy’s shelf. After finishing my little craft project, I tucked it away and sat back down, pulling my knees up to my chest and hugging them tightly.
Ti passed before I heard the closet door creak open. Lucy walked in. She’d taken a shower, but she hadn’t even bothered to dry her hair. Without a word, she sat down beside , silent.
For a few monts, neither of us spoke. Then she rested her head on my shoulder, and I leaned mine against hers.
We stayed like that for a while until she sniffled and finally broke the silence.
"I went to see Gavin," she began, her voice shaky. "He wasn’t in his room. Neither was Jenny. Her brother told they left the room together."
I listened to her full sentence and imdiately rembered my own encounter with Jenny.
"Just because they left together doesn’t an they were together," I said, raising my head from hers and turning to face her. We were still sitting on the cold floor. I recalled what Jenny had told when I found her. She’d been alone, and since she was with , she couldn’t have been with Gavin.
"Of course they’re together. They’re both missing, Helanie," she argued, her voice filled with certainty. The more she spoke, the more I felt like she was being foolish—punishing Gavin without even thinking or asking him any questions.
"They could be anywhere. In fact, I saw Jenny on the ground floor near the library," I said, trying to reason with her before she did sothing reckless like confronting Gavin about her assumptions.
"You don’t have to lie for them," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Why would I lie? I’m just telling you what I saw," I replied firmly. She needed to stop spiraling and confront Gavin calmly. The two of them needed to fix this without yelling or making rash decisions.
But honestly, I wasn’t sure how she could fix it now.
"I don’t care anymore," she said with a dismissive shrug. "He’s upset too many tis. Let him deal with the pain of heartbreak, just like I did when I felt the stinging pain of our mate bond shaking one night."
She refused to listen to reason.
But then again, how could I bla her? If she said she knew what she felt, who was I to tell her otherwise?
I didn’t even have a wolf, so I might never fully understand the intensity of what she was feeling.
"But I don’t think this was the right thing to do," I said, trying again. "What if it was just a random act of sway? What if he montarily thought about cheating on you? I’m not defending his actions, but it would be less ssy than what you did. And Lamar, of all people?"
I turned my face away as the mory of Lamar beating up and leaving for dead flashed through my mind.
She lowered her head, covering her face again.
"Are you going to tell Gavin?" I asked after a long pause. I heard her gulp, the sound loud in the tense silence.
"Did he tell he cheated on ?" she countered, raising her head and looking straight in the eye. There was so much confidence in her gaze, as if she truly believed she’d caught Gavin in the act.
In that mont, I felt utterly lost.
I was stuck between two of my friends caught in this war—the mate war. And the problem was, I wanted to believe Lucy more than ever now.
Because if she was wrong, then she had screwed up big ti. Not only would she have destroyed her own relationship, but she’d also hurt her mate by cheating on him with the one person we all despised.
"And please, I expect you not to tell him," she said, her tone throwing off completely.
I had no idea what she was planning, but whatever it was, it felt ominous. The confidence on her face when she spoke about cheating on Gavin was unsettling. The only ti she seed remotely guilty was when she made eye contact with , likely because Lamar had previously tried to kill .
"I’ll stay out of both of your business," I said, raising my hands in surrender. I had my own worries to deal with and didn’t want to be dragged into their ss.
"I’m going to sleep now. I’m tired," she said as she got up, dusting off her dress before walking out of the closet.
I was scared for her.
The ga she’d started wouldn’t end well. I couldn’t see how their relationship would survive this.
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