Hudson turned to look at the other wolf that was taunting his pack. At first, he tried to puff out his chest to look as if he wasn’t afraid of Hudson, but as Hudson got closer and looked down at the wolf, fear took over and he started to cower.
“Would you like to challenge me instead of one of my pack members?” Hudson growled out.
The kid took a step back as he realized he was no match for the soon-to-be Alpha. He raised in hands in surrender.
“I was only doing what I was told to do,” he admitted.
“Who told you to challenge my pack members? What pack are you from?” Hudson asked.
“I’m from the crimson moon pack; it was the Alpha’s son.”
Hudson let out a menacing growl as he clenched his fists.
“You tell your Alpha that he better me this afternoon at three pm over by the crest fields,” he ordered.
The body nodded as he and his friends scrambled away from the pack.
“Owen!” he called out.
Owen was quick to walk over to his Alpha.
“Yes, Alpha?”
Hudson laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you for having my back and trying to defend the pack. I would appreciate a head next time about this. That goes for all of you. Anyone tries to challenge you or start a fight with you, you let me know immediately,” he told them.
“Yes, Alpha,” they all answered.
The pack members picked up their bags and started to disperse.
“What do you think that was all about?” Marco asked.
Hudson let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. But I am going to find out. Will you come with me to the fields this afternoon?”
Marco nudged his friends and Alpha with his elbow. “As if you had to ask.”
They continued to walk in silence for a bit.
“You know, it’s weird….” Hudson started…
Marco looked over at him.
“What?”
“Well, this would be the time that we would also have Noah and Foster having my back as well,” he explained. “But now we don’t. I’ve been so mas about the deception that I haven’t had a chance to mourn the loss of our friends.”
Marco nodded.
“I was wondering when it was going to finally hit you. Believe me, I’ve been just as upset and confused as you have. We were all close growing up—it’s not the same without them here.”
Hudson kicked at a rock on the ground.
The annoyance inside him was starting to grow again and his blood started to boil.
“I’ve got to get out of here for a while and blow off some steam. I’m going to go for a run in the forest,” he told Marco.
“You want some company?” he offered.
Hudson shook his head.
“No, I think I just need to be alone for a while. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
Marco nodded.
Hudson started to take off in a sprint as he headed for the forest. As soon as he hit the trees he pulled off his clothes and shifted. Artemis let out a howl, picked up the backpack, and took off through the forest.
*******
Amanda barely got to her first class in the nick of time. She was pulling out her notebook and pen when she heard a distant howl.
She looked up from her bag and toward the window.
That sounded a lot like Hudson’s wolf, Artemis, she thought to herself.
Her wolf became anxious and filled with concern for their mate.
Amanda pulled out her phone and sent a text to Hudson, making sure that he was okay.
She made sure to put her phone on silent before putting it back in her pocket.
Amanda shivered as she felt someone standing close to her.
Her wolf let out a soft growl.
“Well, well, look who we have here,” Amanda heard a male voice say.
Amanda sucked in a breath as she slowly raised her head and found herself looking into the cold dark eyes of the guy that taunted her at the movie theater the other night.
Amanda narrowed her eyes at the guy before she responded, “Why do you care if I’m here?”
Colson chuckled as he took the seat next to the Hybrid; an evil grin crept onto his face.
“Because I’m going to enjoy pushing your buttons and rilling up your little boyfriend,” he confided to her.
Amanda tried to cover her mouth before she let a laugh burst out.
Colson’s smile dropped and a frown remained on his face.
“What’s so funny?” he asked her.
She leaned over to him and stared him in the eyes.
“Well, for starters the fact that you think you can push my buttons and taunt me like I’m some soft little girl that is intimidated by you. And two, my boyfriend, as you like to call him, is bigger than you.”
Colon didn’t like the answer he was given. His hands clenched into fists as he continued to stare at the hybrid in front of him.
“You should be afraid of me,” he told her as his eyes went from dark chocolate to burning yellow.
Amanda continued to maintain his staredown and did not feel an ounce of fear come over her.
“You don’t scare me. So why don’t you go find another place to sit, because this pathetic little game of intimidation that you’re trying to play isn’t working,” she told him.
Colson was about to react when he heard the Professor enter the classroom.
“This isn’t over, hybrid freak,” he whispered with venom.
Amanda pretended to quiver in fear and then just smiled before turning to face the front of the classroom.
She could feel her wolf was proud of her for sticking up for herself. She was proud of herself as well. The last time she had to do that was when she met up with Hudson on the first day.
She smiled.
It seemed so long ago since all that had happened, but it had been just a few merely months. How so much had changed in so little time. She pulled out her phone to see if she had gotten a response yet from Hudson; her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the empty screen letting him know that no messages had been received.
She hoped he was okay.
She pushed her phone back into her pocket and tried to focus on the lesson, but her head wasn’t letting her focus on what was going on in front of her. She started to think about Deak and Vita.
She wished there was more she could do for them.
But what?
Give us time, her wolf told her. Magic works in its way sometimes. It will reveal to us what we need to do when the time is right. If we push too hard, nothing will come of it; her wolf explained.
Amanda felt a little relieved after she heard her wolf try to comfort her.
And my name is Willow.
Mated to my Bully (Book 1)