Chapter 205: 205-And When Full Moon Rises
Clementine:
I noticed Troy watching my face a little too anxiously. Meanwhile, the others were already walking toward the station, entering through the broken area and sitting on the benches. I was still a little behind, near the big wall where the station stood. Before I could take more steps, Troy grabbed my hand and pulled me back.
"What are you doing?" I complained.
Since everyone was focused on comforting those who had lost loved ones, I guess they didn’t see us. My squad mates probably noticed, but it was too late. Troy had already dragged me back into the woods.
"Ouch, what are you doing?" I groaned, slapping his hand off my arm.
"Transition, come on," he insisted once he let me go.
"No," I groaned, glaring at him.
"You’re gonna fucking lose your wolf if you don’t. Wait, you already transitioned once," he said, pointing at my arm.
My arm was healed because I’d briefly let Mint out to fix it when I tried going after Ian.
"So that means you can transition," Troy added.
I shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to tell him I couldn’t transition in front of him.
"What’s the matter? If you can transition once, you can transition again. It’ll help you. We don’t know how far the train is before it comes back. And why would you even want to go to the hospital when you can just transition and be fine?" he pressed.
His veins stood out as he spoke. I sighed and met his eyes.
"Why the hell do you even care, Troy? Am I not the one who spread rumors about you? Why don’t you just call me a bad friend and stop caring?" I said. He looked almost upset that I suggested it.
"Well, let’s just say I care, okay?" he muttered.
I shook my head again. I wasn’t going to let him act like he cared when I knew the truth. He didn’t care about me. He thought I betrayed him. So why was he suddenly changing and showing so much concern? It didn’t make sense.
"I’m not gonna transition, okay?" I said, stepping back and almost turning to leave. But the pain stopped me.
"And you can’t even fucking take a few steps without falling to your knees," he growled, grabbing my arm and turning me around.
"If you lose too much blood, you won’t be able to transition and heal. So just do it now before it gets worse." He tried to make me understand, but once again I shook my head.
He held my arms, gave me a small shake, and stared into my eyes. I put my hands on his chest for support. As I was about to protest and remind him I didn’t want his care or anyone else’s, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
He went silent too, no longer insisting. At the same time, pain spread through my chest, and my heartbeat began to match his. I knew what was happening.
"No," I gasped, trying to break free, but he held me tight, eyes wide, still staring at my face.
"No, no, no, no, no," I cried, struggling to get out of his arms, but he was too strong.
I looked up and saw the full moon above us, glowing red. Then, in a soft and helpless tone, my wolf whispered,
’Mate.’
I instantly stepped back from Troy, shook my head, and pressed my hands to my head. It was devastating and made no sense. When I looked up, Troy looked more happy than upset, and I could tell my reaction was what bothered him. I narrowed my eyes at him, almost as if I were judging him, and he shrugged.
"I don’t understand why you look like this is the worst news you could ever get," he asked politely, not shocked or worried.
"Do you not understand what that means, Troy?" I asked, almost in disbelief. Did none of them care enough to be worried? Shouldn’t they at least look for answers instead of wearing those weird smiles? It made no sense. For me to be mated to all four of them should have made them feel something at least.
"I don’t understand what is so upsetting to you," he repeated, and I dug my fingers into my hair.
"Okay, calm down, Clementine. It’s not the worst thing that could happen to someone," he said, grunting because I didn’t mirror his reaction.
"Is that how you reacted when you felt the mate bond with Yorick and Haiden, or is it just me?" he asked, almost in disbelief.
I took a deep breath to steady myself, faced him, and nodded while breathing slowly.
"Really? You’re going to ask me that?" I hissed. "Why don’t you tell me why you’re suddenly feeling some sort of way? Am I not the one you betrayed? Am I not the girl who loved gossip, and then you made her life a living hell? Have you forgotten everything?" I complained.
"Why are we talking about the past? I thought we’d grown up. The fact that you ask why I’m not angry makes me think you wanted our friendship to be scarred," he began to ramble when he had no answer.
"Okay, fine. Let’s just say I did it all to scar our friendship," I retorted. "What makes you think we have a hope now? Why are you suddenly not affected by our past beef?" I asked, hands on my waist. If it was honestly that easy for him to get past it, why didn’t he? Why did he put me through so much stress? It didn’t make sense.
I waited for him to tell me what exactly was going through his head.
"All I know is that I have forgiven you," he said. "That proves more about how I care about you than how you cared about me. Even after everything, when we were put in the same room again, I remembered I had a crush on you. So please don’t ask why I’m not angry with you. I can’t help myself."
His voice broke as he explained his feelings, and I began to calm down. He looked away, hands on his waist, then added, "It is weird that you are mated to all three of us, but I’m not going to cry about it. You already know my feelings for you." He looked back at me with more confidence.
It didn’t take long before we realized we were not alone. A heavy breath and a sigh from the side drew our attention, and we watched Yorick and Haiden standing there with their eyes wide open.