In the final mile of the hike, the last blood-red sun descended just beyond the horizon, the air crisp and refreshing. Brent's cell buzzed, and he took it out to read the notification.
"Oh my- Bruh! She texted me back!" He exclaimed.
"Who?" Ethan asked.
Brent stood stock-still, phone held out, looking at it like it was the ninth wonder of the world. "The waitress... Look!"
Understanding dawned on Ethan. Eri had teased the Afro-Canadian earlier until the truth had come out: Brent had finally found the courage to message some girl on their journey here.
He unlocked the cell and thrust it in Ethan's face, his eyes still wide with shock. "What do I-"
He never got to finish that question because Eri zipped in and snatched the phone away, cackling as his fingers flew over the screen.
"Hi ... sexy ... mama," he read out as he typed.
Brent lunged for his cell. "Hey!"
The shorter boy shuffled out of the Afro-Canadian's clutches. "What ... that ... mouth ... do?"
Ethan burst out laughing at the look of horror on Brent's face. And when the other guy sprang after Eri, he stepped forward just so that his body collided with Brent's, blocking him.
"You jerks!"
Brent struggled to retrieve the phone while Ethan did his best to hamper his movement. Aside from teasing Cody and recently Emily, he had not had so much fun in a while. He forgot himself, and his rich tones boomed through the forest as their horseplay continued.
Even Emily and her new admirer could not help but giggle at the poor guy's attempts to retrieve his phone and salvage any chance he had with his crush.
Engrossed in the vigorous game, Ethan forgot all about his injured rib, as well as Dr. Kim's sage advice to not engage in strenuous activity.
But he got a sharp reminder by the time they sat down for dinner at the main hall. Even a little twist of his torso had him grimacing. Which meant he could not join the fireside games that were held after the meal.
He sat on a log laughing at the abominable charades students enacted to their baffled teammates. Some were so bewildering that their partner's angry criticisms were justified.
Despite the chatter swirling around him, he could hear the crackle of the logs in the bonfire that the coordinators had built. The fire pit was in the center of the circular driveway, safely away from any troublesome trees and half a football field away from where he sat.
His nose picked out the smoking woods of maple and pine cones, and a nippy breeze brushed his heated skin, raising the fine hairs on his nape. Every movement stood out clearly to him, like it was the middle of the day. He glanced at the nearly-full moon crawling towards the zenith.
Ethan did not want to think about the torment he would go through during tomorrow's heat flush.
As a pre-moon Lycan, his body's sensitivity only heightened around this time of the month. He could already feel the pull of Luna and his body buzzed, energized. As if he could run for hours, despite the ten-mile hike he had just finished.
He prodded the area around his injured rib. It had dimmed to a dull ache, and he hardly winced.
Ethan scanned the crowd for his companions. Brent and Eri had gone to grab more food, yet they were nowhere near the buffet table. Emily and her new admirer were there though, loading up on drinks and snacks. Going by the sparkle in her eyes and how often she laughed at whatever the pretty boy said, Ethan guessed that he had lost his friend for the remainder of this evening.
YOU ARE READING
Blooded Mate
Fantasy[[MATURE CONTENT]] Pack, family, mate. Loyalty, respect, honor. These are the words that form the foundation of the wolf society. At six years old, Ethan had to choose between his Alpha title and his survival on the night of his father's death. As a...
