Chapter Seventeen

Short A/N: I have only a few more chapters translated, and I might not update as regularly after I post them, because I want to focus my writing energy mainly on a new story I've been planning in the past year. It all depends which I prioritize every day, so yeah. That's it :)

When the end of the last training week came, I stood before the mirror stark naked and studied my reflection. I’d lost a total of thirteen pounds, and it showed; my thighs were less thick, muscles showed on my abdomen, and I had much more defined biceps. My butt and boobs didn’t lose any fats, though, and I still had a belly pouch, but to my relief I still looked like myself, even if I had marks all over my body from the drastic change.

I felt nothing when I saw how much my body changed. No sense of accomplishment, no horror. I was… numb.

Pulling on clothes, I got out of the bathroom and saw Sally waiting for me. Fred had ordered her to take me shopping, since I needed clothes that could actually fit me instead of being held by some sort of a band, and of course Sally agreed - after all, she was still a Guard, still under his command, whatever the nature of her relationship with Fred was.

It felt like a knife in my chest whenever I saw Sally. She was so beautiful, and she was also very kind. It would’ve been so much better if she was bitchy like Samantha and Cora, but no. She had to be good-hearted. When we drove to the mall down in the city, she made a friendly small-talk and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, which was a nice break from the usual treatment I got from her comrades.

When we arrived the mall, we went to the biggest clothes shop and started to pick up pants and shirts. “I’ll wait for you outside,” she said when we reached the fitting room section, and I nodded.

I’d never liked shopping. Whenever I needed new clothes, I always just picked up something, checked as quickly as possible to see if it fitted or not, and fled the store. This time, however, the process was much longer; Sally had a sense for fashion, it appeared, and she told me what looked good on me or not whenever I tried on something (she did so kindly, but it was still a little annoying). I also listened to her, because if I was already buying new clothes, they’d better look good, and she knew what she was talking about.

It’d taken us four hours to buy a whole new garderobe, and at the end Sally took me to a coffee shop to cheer me up, since shopping always made me particularly moody. After we ordered our coffees, I couldn’t help but ask her, “Why are you so nice to me?”

She seemed adorably confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because werewolves, especially your Guard friends, aren’t nice to humans, and more so where I’m concerned,” I stated.

She understood, if her little sad smile was any indication. “But you’re not exactly a human, are you?”

I couldn’t argue with that, but - “Yet still, they’re not nice to me.”

She shrugged. “I believe in what the Alpha believes, that you should be kind to humans no matter our differences. And besides, I don’t dislike you.”

It seemed I wouldn’t get a complete straight answer from her so I shut up. Meanwhile, the waiter came with our coffees and blatantly stared at Sally. He lingered a little longer than was acceptable, before he seemed to brave-up and scribbled his number on a napkin and put in front of Sally. He left, and a blush rose to Sally’s cheeks when I looked at her inquisitively. “I’m with Fred. I don’t plan on cheating.”

I studied her, ignoring the twinge in my chest. “Are you really with him?” I asked, truly curious. I was still in the dark about what type of relationship they had exactly.

She avoided my gaze. “We’re… He’s… It’s complicated,” she sighed. “He knows I love him but he… doesn’t feel the same way.”

To say I didn’t expect such an open and honest answer would be an understatement. But what she told me wasn’t new, because anyone with a pair of eyes could see that. “So why are you with him?” I asked, my voice serious, and when she seemed torn, I forced myself to add, “I mean, if it were me, I wouldn’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love me back. I would’ve wrecked me, and I would’ve broken up with him and find someone else who could reciprocate my feelings.”

I expected her to say “It’s none of your business!” or something along these lines, but instead she let out a weak chuckle. “If only I could let him go…” she murmured, more to herself than me, and I decided to drop it.

After a few minutes of silence, in which we sipped our coffees, Sally suddenly perked up and waved over at someone. I turned around to see Greg and Brom stopping near our table, holding shopping bags. “Hey,” Greg said with a careful smile, his dark eyes moving from Sally to me and back, “what are you doing here, Ashworth?”

“There’s no need to be so formal, O’Brien,” Sally laughed. “We’ve just finished shopping. Fred’s orders.”

“I see,” Greg said, his smile softening at the sight of Sally smiling. “If so, is that alright if we join you?”

“Of course!” Sally said, widening her smile, and turned to look at me. “It’s alright, right, Angela?”

“Um, s-sure,” I mumbled.

After the two sat down with us, Sally asked, “So what are you doing here?”

“Buying things,” Greg said with that careful smile of his. “After all, we’re living at the college now, too.” Like all of the Alpha’s helpers and convoy, Brom and Greg resided in the college. I knew they were living in the boys dormitory with Jason, now that Strider moved in with Apollo, Fred and me.

“What did you buy?” Sally inquired, making a conversation.

“New sheets,” it was Brom who answered, and I believe it was the first I heard his voice. It was a voice that belonged in the radio, it was so deep. “Jason ruined the last one after one messy night too many…” he smirked.

I choked down a surprised laugh. “I’d rather not know,” I murmured.

Greg glanced at me. “We would’ve preferred not knowing, too,” he said.

“But Jason isn’t very, um, conspicuous about his business,” Brom was fully grinning now, and I found myself chuckling along with SAlly.

“He fits to be Strider’s friend,” Sally smiled. I agreed; the two were the same type of stupid assholes.

“Yes Strider’s best pals are Apollo and Fred,” Greg grinned.

“It’s kind of surprising, I have to say,” I spoke, and flushed slightly when the three werewolves turned their eyes to me. “I mean, I thought Strider was a mere Guard - which is admirable, I guess, because I’ve never heard of a twenty-year-old werewolf getting this title before - but on the other hand, he’s also best friends with Apollo, who’s thousands of years old, and the Alpha of the Millennium…” I wandered off, seeing as Sally avoided my gaze again, and Greg and Brom exchanged meaningful glances.

“There are still things you can’t know about, Wayne,” Brom said softly.

“But we can tell you that Strider is a far cry from being a mere Guard,” Greg added.

Sally, who felt the tension in the air too, smiled a blindingly. “Anyway!” she said, her voice a little too high-pitched. “Tell me a bit about Adria and Louis - I thought they were coming to visit…?”

After an hour of small talk, Sally and I said goodbye to Greg and Brom and went back to college. When we were in my room, we folded the new clothes neatly in the closet, and to my sadness, threw away the old ones. Sally left when we finished, and I went to take a shower.

I tried not to think too much about what Greg and Brom said about Strider, or about Sally and Fred, and so while I showered, I sang my favorite songs, and studied my new muscles as though I was a professional bodybuilder. When I was done, I put on my flowery pajama, braided my wet hair, and left the bathroom with a wide smile on my face, feeling actually good for the first time in a very long while.

But my smile dropped at once when I saw Strider was in the room. And he wasn’t just there, tapping away on his iPad, or texting on his phone; no, he was doing something far more extraordinary; he was sitting on the floor with his back to the entrance door, his elbows leaning on his knees and his face buried in his hands.

It’d taken me a few moments of staring to realize his shoulders were slightly shaking.

Strider was crying.