Escaping Wildfire
Chapter 30: Friends

Gema

I had settled into my new routine after a few days. Training in the morning, the pup class in the afternoon, and then I’d have dinner with Larkin and Rory. Larkin hadn’t been himself since Nora left, but that was understandable as he missed her. Rory had finally healed up completely but hadn’t fully moved back into her room. I think she was scared to be on her own, but I didn’t mind her presence as it made me feel less alone.

Hadley had proven a much better training partner than her sister. She was a good fighter, and she was usually smiling and happy during training, which made training more fun than before. We were pretty evenly matched which provided a bit of a challenge for me, but Noah would always be my favorite training partner.

I had taken to having lunch in the dining hall as I wanted to get to know the warriors better, and I also wanted them to see I wasn’t actually crazy like they’d seen when I had my little spat with Jasmine.

Jasmine...I missed her. Even with our age difference, she’d been my best friend since we were in diapers, and it broke my heart to see her hurting. My brother said they were getting Jasmine help and that she had been eating more now than when she first got there. I kept asking Moon Goddess to help her, and I really hoped the Goddess was doing more than just listening to my prayers up wherever she was.

“Hey, can I sit with you?” Hadley walked over to my table with her tray of food. She’d been friendlier than her sister, so I scooted over to let her sit.

“Thanks, Scarlett’s helping one of her friends with something, so I decided to just have lunch here instead of at home.”

“You two live together?”

“Yes, but really, we both still live with our parents.”

“I thought you said they’re retired?”

“They are, but they still work for the pack. Warriors can retire after 25 years of service. A lot stay on, but a few get other jobs in the pack. My dad still helps with training, but my mom helps out with the daycare. She loves kids.”

With how depraved Alpha Marek was, it always surprised me when Wildfire Pack did normal things that actually benefited their pack members.

“How long have you been a warrior?”

“Three years. I started right after high school at 18...so did Scarlett, but she’s a year older than me, so she has four.”

“Did you always know you wanted to be a warrior?” This girl had probably seen more war in her three years as a warrior than I would in my lifetime, so she intrigued me.

“Oh…I…” She stumbled over her words. “I always knew I’d be a warrior. Alpha decides each pack member's path when we’re younger, and he always had me and Scarlett down as warriors.”

“So, like, he decides who goes to college and for what?”

“Yeah,” she looked down at her plate picking at her food. I actually wasn’t all that surprised by what she said as it fit what Rory had told me as well. It looked like the topic upset Hadley, so I just went back to eating.

“Are you excited about your first pack run with us tonight? It’s your first one ever, right?”

“Yeah, it is.” Now it was my turn to shy away from the topic as I hated that my first pack run wasn't at home with Cobalt Falls.

“We usually all hang out and share a meal afterward, so it's pretty fun. We can hang out together if you like.” She gave me a genuine smile, and I agreed to meet he after the run. A part of me felt she was lonely and had befriended me because she had no one else, but I had no way of knowing if that was true.

The rest of my day went by quickly, and Larkin, Rory, and I headed down to meet the rest of the pack for our run. They told me that Alpha liked his whole family to be there as it made him look good to the other pack members but that he only ever acknowledged their mother during public occasions like this.

I could see how much they hated this, but I also saw how helpless they all were around Alpha Marek. He’d really done a number on his family.

Once the moon was up, we shifted into our wolves, and Alpha led us out followed by Luna Clarissa. Larkin and I came next with Rory after us. Beta Griffin was the only other ranked member, so he followed Rory. Larkin had told me the last Beta and Gamma tried to go against his father, so he killed them. He let Griffin step up for his father, but the Gamma died without an heir, so the spot has been empty for years.

By looking at the pack on this run, you’d never know anything was wrong with them I remembered what James had said when he helped get Nora out, and it made me wonder just how many people really liked it here.

‘Amora, you’re quiet, are you okay?’

‘I’m okay. I just wish I could be at the Falls right now. I remember seeing you there with Cosmo all the time, and I couldn’t wait for you to shift so that we could run with him.’

‘I always pictured my first pack run back home, too. My family always looked so happy during their runs and I couldn’t wait to experience that with everyone. Here, the feelings just feel forced…I wish I could go back to my room and call the guys.’

Amora just whined at that, but we kept running, knowing it would eventually be over and that the more we played along with all of this, the more freedom Alpha Marek would give us.

True to her word, Hadley came over to replace me after the run. “Hey, you want to sit together while we eat?”

“Sure, but is it okay if Rory joins us, too?”

“Yeah, come on.” She waved us over and we stood in line to get our plates. Rory gave me a worried look but I just smiled at her. “Rory, this is Hadley, one of the pack warriors in my training group.”

“Hi,” Rory said shyly as she waved. “I’m Rory.” She held her hand out for Hadley to shake.

“Yeah, I know. Everyone knows the Alpha’s daughter.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” Rory shrugged and tucked an errant piece of hair behind her ear. Hadley led us to a small table, and the three of us sat down.

“Have you two seen the new rom-com that just came out, it was so cute!”

Rory and I shared an awkward look, and Hadley seemed to catch on. “Oh, I’m sorry. I guess you wouldn’t have under the circumstances…I didn’t mean…Scarlett’s always telling me I have a big mouth." She sighed frustrated with herself.

“No, don’t worry about it. Rory and I just aren’t allowed off pack grounds, so movies are out unless we can stream them.”

Hadley smiled at my kindness. “We should have a movie night together. I love movies, but I’ve never had an actual girl's night in. They sound fun, though.”

“You’ve never had a girl’s night?”

“Now it was her turn to be embarrassed.”

“Oh, I…" She blushed, “I don’t have a lot of friends other than Scarlett, so no one to invite over…or to invite me.” She shrugged, looking down at her food to hide the blush.

“That’s okay, I’ve never had a girl’s night either…or actual friends for that matter.” Rory chimed in at the perfect time, making Hadley feel less awkward at what she’d revealed about herself. It seemed the two had more in common than one would expect.

“What if we got together on Friday and had a movie night?” I offered as I could see they both had always badly wanted to do that.

“Really?” Hadley's eyes lit up. “Are you sure, it sounds fun, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Yes, really. We can just kick Larkin out for the night. He can take Rory’s room. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Yes, okay,” Hadley practically squealed. We spent the rest of the night talking about movies and books. It turns out we all got along really well. Maybe this girl’s night thing wouldn’t be so bad at all.

I waited for Hadley downstairs so that I could lead her up to my suite as no one was allowed on the Alpha floor without one of us as an escort. She walked in right at seven, and I led her upstairs to where Rory was already waiting for us.

“Your place is so pretty.” She complimented as she looked around. “I know you didn’t say to bring anything, but I brought a few snacks for us.” She proceeded to pull out a bag of various types of candy and then two bottles of wine. “Girl’s nights always seem to have wine, so I brought wine, too.” She made a face, “I hope that’s okay?”

“I’ve never had alcohol before.” Rory looked at the bottles in Hadley's hands looking a little scared.

“I’ve never had wine either…or alcohol really, so we can try it together.” I tried to reassure Rory.

“Okay,” She nodded, “The pizza should be here soon, so let’s pick a movie.

We’d made it halfway through the movie, and things were going well, so far. The wine definitely helped to loosen all of us up.

“I can’t wait to meet my mate. I hope he’s just as sweet as the guys in this movie.” Hadley voiced her thoughts out loud. “What about you two? Or maybe just, Rory, as you already have Larkin.”

“Oh, I…I don’t know. I guess I’ve always wanted a guy who could make me laugh.” Rory covered her mouth with her hand as she got nervous with the question.

“Yeah, being able to laugh together is always good. Funny guys are awesome…what about looks, do you prefer dark or light hair?” It seemed like Hadley was having fun quizzing us on our mate preferences.

“Black hair and green eyes.” I blurted out before thinking.

“Oh…but that’s the opposite of Larkin?” Hadley furrowed her brows.

“It’s an arranged match,” Rory said before I could answer the question myself. The wine was certainly making us more chatty than usual.

“I’m sorry, I should have known that.” Hadley shook her head in embarrassment.

“It’s okay, Larkin’s a great guy. He’s just not my first choice is all.” I wasn’t sure whether to reveal my whole life to these girls, but I felt I could trust them and Amora hadn’t gotten any bad vibes from Hadley, so I didn’t worry about it.

“Who is your first choice then…” she wiggled her eyebrows at me, “maybe someone with black hair and green eyes?”

I smiled at the thought of Noah, and I was pretty sure I was blushing.

“There is someone!” Hadley teased as she waited for me to confirm.

“I had a boyfriend back home. Noah...he was our Gamma heir. We’ve known each other our whole life, but we just got together about a few weeks before I came here.”

Rory looked at me sadly, but I wasn’t sure if she was sympathizing with me or upset that I had never told her about Noah. I’d have to remember to ask later.

“So you never got to replace out if you were fated mates?” Hadley looked over at me with her eyes wide and mouth agape. I just shook my head ‘no’ at her.

“How sad…” My revelation seemed to ruin the mood, but luckily, Rory broke through the awkwardness.

“I like dark hair, too. She covered her mouth again as she blushed. I don’t know about eyes yet, but maybe brown? I just know blonde hair and blue eyes make me think of my brother.” She made a disgusted face and then giggled.

“Not me, I’m a total sucker for blue eyes…and maybe someone who’s not a warrior.”

“Really...no warriors?”

“Yeah, it’s just a scary job, always worrying about their safety during battles. I’ve worried enough about my parents and sister over the years, it’d be nice not to worry about my mate.”

“Are you okay with your mate worrying about you then?” I asked, genuinely curious about her response.

“Well…maybe my mate will end up being from a different pack, and then I won’t have to be a warrior anymore.”

“Do you not like being a warrior?” Rory asked.

“It’s all I’ve ever known,” she shrugged, “but sometimes I think about how I might have liked going to college.”

“I sometimes wish I could go to college too.” Rory looked over at the television to hide her sadness. “The credits...we were so busy talking that we missed the ending.”

We rewound the parts we missed and then spent the rest of the night talking about anything and everything, as long as it wasn’t sad. Seeing Rory and Hadley together gave me a crazy idea though. I just hope my idea works out in my favor.