Behind the Lines

Landon clutches his shirt in agony, right above where his heart is, and falls to his knees to the ground. He screams in agony, as if someone took his heart out of his chest. Oh wait, I did. Sounds of anguish pierce the sky as well as my heart. It hurts me to say that as much as it hurt him, maybe even worse, but I did not feel guilty about saying what I said. His pain is my pain, and even though I rejected him, our wolves will still be connected for as long as we live.

It is not like those stories where you reject your wolf and you can do whatever the hell you want after. No, we are very much connected and will be until one of us dies. I want to scream with him. The pain in his heart is identical to the pain in mine. I do everything in my favor to stay where I am standing and not run over to Landon and give in to this mating. It is hard, but possible. Tears pool behind my eyes, and I blink repeatedly to keep them in. I take a few small steps backward, debating whether or not to stay here and wait for his pain to stop, or to go and let him handle him alone.

I choose the latter and turn slowly on my heels, my heart breaking with each step I take. My slow walk turns into a full on sprint towards the pack house, trying to escape the scene with each step I take. I attempt to dodge all of the tree branches and roots but with my tears running down my cheeks at full force, it is very hard to see much of anything— everything is such a blur. But nonetheless, I make it back the pack house with just a few scratches and bumps.

I sit on the steps of the porch, trying to gain back my composure again. I take deep breaths in an out, still feeling the stinging pain in my heart brought upon by Landon’s wolf. He must be hurting so bad. It is rarely heard of, in the supernatural world, of a mate rejecting an alpha. Sure, alphas reject their mates all the time, but never the other way around. Werewolves kill for the position of Luna. And I threw it away just like that. Not that I wanted it in the first place.

I could only imagine the feeling of absolute loneliness Landon is going through. He would never be able to describe the pain in words, because no one would be able to connect with him.

“Journey!” Rob’s voice booms in my head.
“Yes?” I say in my head.

“I need you to switch spots with Landon. He is not feeling too good,” Rob explains with weariness in his voice.

“Gotcha,” I answer, getting up from the porch patio and walking over to Landon’s post.

Walking slowly this time, I surround myself in my thoughts, ignoring the aching pain, though duller than before. Once again, I dodge trees, vines protruding from the ground, and stray branches. Fifteen minutes later, I reach the spot I rejected Landon not too long ago. There he sits, his back facing me, looking at the half moon in the distance, dimly illuminated the night sky. I approach him from the side, taking a quick look at his face.

Devastation. There is only that one word that can describe his expression and aura. Tears roll down his eyes and his hands clutch his broken heart. He does not notice me here yet, lost in his own thoughts of self-pity and regret.

I clear my throat once to gain his attention. His head snaps over to mine, but he quickly looks away in heartbreak, quickly wiping his tears and getting up from his spot on the ground. Without any words he stalks off into the forest, leaving the premises, probably going into the pack house.

With a quick, dejected sigh, I turn myself to face the moon. I look over all the trees once, glancing to see if any predators are lurking at this time of night. Once assured that nothing haunts the territory, I take a seat on a rock, facing the half moon Landon was once looking at. I can see the craters perfectly, looking like blemishes on a face. The light reflecting off of it aluminates only a little of the trees and nature—looking sad as if it has no reason to live for. No color adorns the moon, as if someone sucked the life out of it, leaving it hanging on a string for everyone on Earth to see its depression.

The mood is somber all around. No wind blows on the trees and plants, making the world seem lifeless and boring—almost as if there is nothing to live for. There are no owls or bats or raccoons or skunks lurking around looking for their midnight snacks. It seems as if someone put the world on pause and I am the only person that is able to move.

Almost too soon and sudden, the Sun peeks out in the distance, too shy to fully show itself. It radiates colors so pretty and bright—breathtakingly beautiful. Its pink and purple and orange and yellow seem to mingle together yet remain individuals in their own way. Each color bursts with a new perspective in life, so positive and confident, that it mends my broken heart and leaves me with newfound confidence and authority.

The Sun so powerful in portraying its message leaves me breathless on this new outlook on life. No longer do my surroundings seem so desolate and no longer do I feel so destitute. With the Sun rising higher and higher into the horizon, life seems to fill in the once barren land. Birds start to fly out of their nests and squirrels start to scourge around for their breakfast. The slight breezes shake the leaves and branches of the trees and make my brown locks caress my face and shoulders, radiating warmth.

The peace is short lived as I am ordered to come back to the pack house. Sighing deeply, I get off of my mount and take a look longingly back at the sun that has taken its position as the king of the skies. Turning my back to the king, I take my time to walk back home, prolonging what it will bring to me. But whatever it will bring, I will take it with open arms and an open mind. I will hear what they want to say and talk what they want to hear. But no longer will I be pushed around. Let them think what they want to think. I have a new life and a new family. And without my old ones, I can live.

I take my twenty minute long journey home and turn it into thirty. I get lost in my own thoughts and the beauty of nature. Whenever time permits, I’ll have to come back here and take pictures, one of my most favorite hobbies.

Nonetheless, I reach the pack house, now more packed than ever. Children buzz around the yard, mingling with new and old friends. Teens run away from each other, attempting to avoid the lame pranks their friends have thought of. Men sit on the porch, talking about sports and cars, drinking their cup of morning coffee. Women are inside the enormous kitchen, helping each other make breakfast while others start to make lunch. I know my group will be in their beds right now, talking through the cans and strings that we set up a couple weeks ago. We were bored and we saw the little children doing such. So taking their influence, we set up our own gigantic web of strings, connecting to each room.

I walk up to the third floor and am immediately am bombarded with questions. Violet, which is the most calm out of all, grabs my arm and pulls me into the closest room, which happens to be Bryn’s. Spreading about the room, we all find a seat on the bed, floor, or the limited number of chairs. Violet deliberately puts me on the bed and sits next to me, along with Piper and Riley who squeeze on the bed, so I can be the center of attention.

“Okay, spill,” commands Violet.

“Spill what?” I say, confused as ever.

“Your mate is Landon, is he not?” questions Riley.

“Um, yeah.” I blush and start playing with my fingers.

“And yet he came in the house last night looking as broken as ever. Werewolves only look that broken and dejected if they are rejected. Did you reject Landon, Journey?” Violet asks.

“Yes.”

“Why did you? No one ever rejects an alpha,” Piper states.

“I have my reasons to.”

“Like?” Xavier pushes.

“Like how some stuff is just not your business,” I retort.

“Journey, we are your friends. We just want to help,” Mason butts in.

“I know you want to help, but there is nothing you guys can do to help me.”

“Journey, you need to accept him as your mate. Landon is already devastated about losing his father; he doesn’t need to lose you as a mate. How will he bring his pack in order if he is so broken himself,” Violet reasons. She has a point, but so do I.

“He will have to do it. He is an alpha. He has more strength than a regular wolf, Violet. I can’t forget what he did to me. He didn’t own up to his mistakes. What kind of alpha is he if he can’t even confess his mistakes to his pack? His job is to protect and love his members. Not ruin them and frame them for his mistakes. I will not be that scapegoat for the rest of my life,” I argue, tears stinging my eyes.

“Whoa, calm down girl. We are on your side. Don’t worry. We just wanted to know why you rejected him and that was the only way. Sorry if we made you upset,” Violet reassures, hugging me tight.

“You guys are so mean,” I huff, hugging back Violet.

“Yeah, we know. But you wouldn’t tell us if we didn’t push you.”

“I love you guys.”

“Oh no, boys. Let’s leave before the girls start to cry and share their feelings,” Kyle panics, getting up from his spot on the floor and running out of the room with Caleb, Johnston, Xavier, Mason, Gavin, Bryn, and Blaine right behind him.

We all roll our eyes and chuckle at their childlessness.

“You’ll be okay, right?” Violet asks seriously.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I made this decision. And if Landon confesses his mistake, maybe I will think to forgive him, but he still has tons of work to do after he confesses. I won’t forgive him because he owned up. I’ll forgive him when he learns that he needs to protect everyone in his pack. I may have been severely bullied and outcast, but there were still others that had a hard time. Maybe not as much as me, but they deserve to be happy. Landon needs to learn how to bring his pack members together and united. Like how everyone here is friends with everyone and gets along and cares for each other. He needs to start caring for others before I let him care for me. He needs to learn how to be a proper alpha and put himself last,” I explain.

“Fair enough,” Riley agrees.

“This is why you’re a black wolf. You understand people and know how to fix their deficiencies,” Violet says.

“Enough of this shit, we need to prank the boys!” Piper yells in excitement, a look of pure evil reflecting off her eyes and bad ideas coursing through her veins. Yet, we all agree to do. You know what they say… you only live once!

“What do you have in mind?” Riley smirks, getting excited.

“Well…. I was thinking...”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ready?” Piper asks.

“Ready,” Violet, Riley and I confirm.

“Let’s do it,” and with that command, we follow Piper out of the hallway stealthily like ninjas on a mission. We might as well be with our all black attire and black ski masks.

“Diet coke,” Piper commands.

“Diet coke,” Violet hands over.

“Mentos,” Piper demands.

“Mentos,” Riley hands over.

“Okay, now, Journey put the mentos in the diet coke quickly and I will close it up. The guys are having a game night and they always have coke. We have to work quickly if we want to get all the bottles to spray on them. Riley and Violet, set up the hidden cameras in every corner of the room so we get their reaction,” Piper summarizes.

I take some mentos out of the packet while Piper opens the bottle. I quickly stuff it in and she closes it abruptly. We do the same to the next three bottles of diet coke. As quick as went in, we came out, and just in time. Running up the set of stairs, the boys enter the game room from the other hallway as we escape. Guffawing and yelling, the boys interact with themselves, setting everything up and assorting the snacks.

The girls and I all run up to Piper’s room where Piper set up her television so we can see their reaction while it is happening. Bubbling with excitement, we start giggling manically, taking off our ski masks.

And the action begins.

Gavin goes to the soda first, asking others if they want it. Everyone says yes and goes over to the table to pour their own glass of coke. The first four boys, who get to the table, including Gavin, pick up their own bottle of coke, knowing they will all get finished soon. They all open it at the same time.

It is hilarious. Coke spews everywhere, covering their shocked faces with the sticky liquid. We burst out laughing, choking on air. The four boys, Gavin, Xavier, Justin, and Bryn, who opened the bottles, now search the floors frantically, looking for the caps they dropped when they were caught by surprise.

We all look at all the other monitors that we placed around the house to see if anyone else heard the commotion. And to no shock, they did.

While the girls continue watching the story unfold, my eyes land on the top right monitor screen, which was the playroom in the attic. People from the other pack, including my brothers and parents, sit down somewhere, while Landon stays at the top of the room, the one spot where I can see his expression, and everyone else’s expression clearly, as well.

As quick as I can, I wander out of the room, for which the girls pay no attention to. I walk up the stairs quietly so no one upstairs hears me. I want to hear what Landon is doing and coming up with.

Right on time, I stay on the top of the stairs where I can perfectly hear what is going on. Landon clears his throat and begins.

“Quiet down everyone,” and they all acquiesce before he starts again. “I have lied to you all gravely, and it is killing me on the inside. I am afraid if I don’t tell you; I cannot live peacefully and resume my duties as alpha. I don’t care what you think about me after, but I know when I tell you, I can fully put my devotion to this pack and work hard to try and be the best.” He pauses and takes a breath, the only sound in the room. He clears his throat again before finishing.

“I am the reason Olivia killed herself. Not Journey, she had nothing to do with it.”

A collective gasp sounds across the room, including mine. I cannot believe he confessed….