Chapter 114: 114-The Alpha Who Ran Away
Clementine:
I took a deep breath and walked out of the booth, sitting on the bench and glancing around the road to make sure the lurkers weren’t coming back. Ian said they’d take some time, so I believed him. He knew this place like the back of his hand, and I’d noticed how attentive he’d been these past days, always catching details and writing them down while we were just playing mate-mate.
"You’re angry because of the things he said," Mint quickly called out my irritation.
The moon was right above us. It was half, thankfully, because every full moon that I felt the mate bond with them annoyed me even more. The phone booth stood on the corner of the road in the strangest way. It was orange, with glass everywhere else. Small, only two or three people could fit inside. I watched Ian dial the number, focusing on him instead of my own issues.
"Do you really trust what he said?" Mint finally pulled me back to reality.
"What do you mean? What would he gain out of—" I stopped, realizing he gained pleasure from other people’s misery.
"Listen, they must have said those things when they were angry with you. Or who knows, maybe they didn’t say anything at all," Mint argued.
I shook my head. "No. First thing in the morning, I’m confronting them about this. I don’t care if they question me. I don’t trust them enough to let it go. Let’s just say trust was never the biggest part of our relationship, whether it was love, friendship, or even the bully thing I had with Haiden. They have to earn it. I’m not going in blind. If they’re honest, there shouldn’t be a problem explaining themselves. It’s not like I’m charging in guns blazing. When someone tells you something, you should be able to ask your spouse or partner about it. At least that much communication should be there."
I glared away, in the opposite direction of the phone booth.
"Fine, I get your point," she conceded.
"No, seriously, Mint. Isn’t that what Yorick and Troy did? They heard things and then punished me. Instead of asking, ’Hey, we heard this about you, do you want to explain?’ I would’ve loved that. At least let me know someone’s saying something, even if you don’t believe it, so I can avoid the person starting rumors about me."
I was annoyed, angry even. I kept rubbing my palms. Then I looked back at the phone booth. It was empty. Ian was nowhere in sight.
Panic hit my nerves. I got to my feet and ran toward the booth, as if I’d find him hiding inside. I could see the whole booth from far away because of how brightly it was lit. For some reason, they had a bulb glowing even when nobody was using it. I looked around. He wasn’t there. My chest tightened, and I rushed back toward the main dorm rooms.
"We should not have come with him," I muttered to Mint, gritting my teeth.
"Or maybe we should have kept our eye on him," Mint replied, and I frowned at her. I was making sure I didn’t trip and waste time.
"You were the one distracting me—talking about our mates and that ex–best friend of ours. Or, let me correct myself, defending those assholes."
I snapped back at her, and she grunted even louder, just to prove she could match me.
Then I reached the door. I darted inside and started shaking the alphas.
"Troy! Yorick! Haiden!" I grabbed Troy’s arm first, shook Yorick’s leg, then patted Haiden’s shoulder. The way they jolted awake surprised me, they were quick and alert.
"What is it?" Troy asked, yawning and stretching. My eyes caught his muscles. He was ripped, and since he was only in his white shorts, I got a good look. Back when we were friends, he’d rarely take his shirt off, but I knew he’d been hitting the gym. I hadn’t realized just how buff he’d gotten.
Haiden sat up with one eye closed, the other barely open, lips pouted from sleep. He was built more solid, with thicker muscle, while Troy had sharp muscle cuts.
Then Yorick. As soon as he tossed the blanket aside, I saw his abs, just as impressive. His skin was tanned, probably from spending hours outside. The muscles popped even more when he planted his fists on the mattress, making his shoulders, biceps, and triceps look unreal.
I shook myself back to reality. I should be focusing on the douchebag who ran away.
"What is it? Are you okay?" Yorick asked, clearing his throat.
"Ian ran away," I said, watching their eyes widen.
Yorick started to grin and quickly covered his mouth to hide his laughter. Troy looked up, pretended to pray like he was thanking the moon goddess, then shrugged.
"So, are we celebrating now? We can celebrate tomorrow," Troy said, making it clear they didn’t care about him.
"I was with him when he did."
The moment I added that, their smiles and over-dramatic expressions vanished. They just stared at me, unblinking.
"I mean, I helped him to the phone booth—," I was talking when I got interrupted.
"There’s a phone booth?" Troy cut in.
My stomach sank. I hadn’t expected them to be happy, but I should’ve known they’d be pissed.
"You went out with him," Yorick said, emphasizing the part that bothered them most.
"Listen, can we talk about it later? I opened the booth for him, we went inside, he talked to someone, and when I looked up from the ground, he was gone." I tried to keep it simple, but they still didn’t seem to care.
"So? It doesn’t matter. You didn’t help him run away. And since he’s gone, nobody can blame you," Haiden said with a shrug.
"Probably right. But I just don’t know. Listen, can we at least look for him? He can’t run from this place. If he’s trying to cross the border, he’ll end up dead." I told them, my agitation growing. They didn’t share it. Every time I warned them something bad could happen to Ian, they just shrugged.
"Fine. You all sit there and be cocky like Ian, while I go find my squadmate, whether I like him or not." I was louder this time. Before they could argue, I rushed past them to the door.
"Clementine, listen—" Haiden called, but I ignored him, hitting the ground running again.
This time I headed toward the booth’s direction. I heard the others following. They must’ve been quick about it, because they’d only thrown on sweaters, while Troy wore just a jacket with nothing underneath. I had no idea how that flimsy, unzipped thing was supposed to keep his naked torso warm.
"And why do you keep thinking about naked bodies?" Mint asked, calling me out.