Chapter 32 - A tale as old as time.
Chapter 32 - A tale as old as time.
Lucy's POV
It's now Wednesday, the next day after Devlin's hearing, and things are beginning to return to (somewhat) normal.
After everyone found out that Jess is Devlin's pre-destined mate, David completely flipped out on everyone involved in the attack on our Pack's newest member, especially Baldwin. It was great.
They've all been forced to take over the night watch patrols of our borders for the remainder of the week as punishment. Personally, after seeing what they did to Devlin, I think they deserve a lot worse, especially Baldwin. David, however, has said that we need all the help we can get with the rogues about. He thinks that, with them on patrol duty, it'll allow the more important of us extra time to train. He's also said that if they step out of line again then they're out of the Pack, though, so I guess I can't be too unhappy with their sentence.
Devlin's okay overall, managing to escape with cuts and bruises but, thankfully, nothing broken. According to him he's been through a lot worse, and I don't doubt him for a second. He's currently staying at Justin's house in one of the spare rooms until he can find somewhere of his own to live, and David and Wendy have both said that he can stay for as long as he needs.
He and Jess have seemed to make a little progress after last night, although she's not really talking about it to me or Amy just yet. Amy seems a little disgruntled at that but I'm not so bothered by it, we all have our own secrets, after all. I mean, I've kissed Justin twice now and not told them about it, and I know for a fact that there's something going on between Amy and Dean that she's not telling us about, so Jess should be entitled to her own life too.
She's not here at the minute, she told us she was going out earlier but didn't say where, and I get the feeling I know exactly where she's gone. I just hope they get together soon; she and Devlin both deserve to be happy.
As for Beck, he's still staying with us until it's safer for him to go back to his cave, under my orders. If anything were to happen to him then I don't think I could survive it, he's too important to me.
"Hey." Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Glancing over from where I'm currently curled up on the sofa watching reruns of 'Gilmore Girls' I see Beck standing in the doorway, his arms crossed loosely over his chest as he leans his shoulder against the doorframe.
"Finally awake?" I reply with a grin.
It's closing in on midday now, I woke up two hours ago, but Beck had simply thrown a pillow in my face when I asked him if he wanted breakfast so I left him to it.
"No, I'm sleepwalking, genius," he replies sarcastically, moving over to sit on the sofa next to me before suddenly stating, "it's Wednesday."
"Congratulations," I say. "Who knew you had the brain capacity to count the days of the week?"
The next thing I know, I'm being shoved off the sofa and onto the floor, landing on my butt with a thud.
"Hey!" I cry out accusingly. "The hell was that for?"
"Don't mock me," he mutters, but he's unable to hide the smirk that tells me he's just kidding.
I huff and climb back onto the sofa as the end of part arrives on the TV screen, starting up five minutes worth of adverts.
"Why aren't you in school?" he asks.
"I didn't feel like going," I reply, then catch sight of the disapproving look he's giving me so quickly defend myself with, "neither did Jess or Amy."
"Yeah, well, I'm sure Jess and Amy have missed less than half of the days you have," he says.
He has a point but I'm definitely not going to admit that to him.
"You're going back in tomorrow," he then announces, causing me to raise my eyebrows in a silent challenge.
"Am I, now?" I ask. "Well, I hate to break it to you Beck, but you don't own me. I don't have to do what you tell me to."
"Well, I hate to break it to you, Shorty, but you don't own me either. I can go home anytime I want..." he replies, and I hear the silent threat in his words.
"You wouldn't..." I say.
"Want a bet?" he asks with a smug grin, knowing that he's going to win this argument.
"Really? That's the deal you want to make? I go back to school on a regular basis and you stay here and don't get yourself killed?" I ask in disbelief.
"Yup," he replies. "Sounds good to me."
"You're evil."
"I'm awesome," he states. "So, we got a deal?"
"Yeah," I sigh. "I'll go back tomorrow."
"Good," he says. "Now, are you going to spend your last day off lounging here all day or are we actually going to do something fun?"
"Like what?" I ask curiously.
"Don't know," he admits. "We could head into town?"
"Alright," I agree, taking note of the fact that he's already dressed and looks ready to go whilst I still look like I've just rolled out of bed. "Just let me go get changed, I won't be long."
With that, I head upstairs and go to my room. Quickly getting changed into some ripped skinny jeans and a black slightly off the shoulder top that Jess got me last Christmas, I can't help but feel excited for the day ahead. I can't really remember the last time me and Beck just hung out without having to worry about Pack problems.
Once I'm dressed, my hair and teeth brushed and my shoes on, I head back downstairs to find Beck still sat waiting on the sofa.
"Ready?" I ask, watching as he takes a quick glance at my outfit.
"Yeah," he says, standing up. "Let's go see what shit we can steal without anyone noticing."
I laugh at that and roll my eyes.
Only Beck.
After shouting out a quick goodbye to Amy, who's still up in her bedroom, we leave.
***
It only takes us about fifteen minutes to get to the main part of town, the part where most of the shops are.
"So," Beck speaks up as we walk along the quiet pavement. Most people are either at work or school today, so there aren't many people out and about. "How've you been holding up?"
"I'm alright, I guess," I reply, glancing in one of the shop windows. Nothing there really takes my fancy. "I'm just relieved about the way things turned out with Devlin."
"Yeah," he agrees. "I've got to say, I definitely didn't have high hopes for that meeting."
"Do you think everything's going to be okay for him now?" I ask, wanting to know Beck's honest answer.
"I don't know," he admits. "It's not going to be easy for him to be accepted as one of you. He'll get there, though, I'm sure. I mean, he's made it this far."
"Yeah..." I murmur, thinking about Jess and hoping that at least he'll have her to help him through whatever shit the Pack throws at him. I know first-hand just how hard it can be when everyone's against you.
"Seriously, though," Beck then says, nudging my arm lightly with his elbow. "Are you okay? You know, after what happened this weekend?"
"I'm fine," I lie, not really wanting to think about it.
"Okay, we both know that's a lie. There's no way anyone could be fine after something like that," he replies.
"I don't know. I mean, I was a mess on Monday," I say, cringing at the memories of my spewing spree. "I guess I just want to put it behind me."
"That might not be the smartest idea," he says, his voice careful. "At some point this entire problem is going to resurface, and I think you should probably be prepared for when it does."
"And if it doesn't?" I question. "If we manage to remove the rogue problem before the Kailen problem comes back? Then, I'll have just put myself through that stress for nothing."
"Wishful thinking for a hopeful person," he answers. "I think it'll be better in the long run if you prepare yourself for whatever's waiting around the corner."
"Wise words for a reckless person," I counteract with a small smile.
"I just want you to be safe," he replies, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans as we amble along. "If you tell yourself that there's nothing to worry about then he might catch you off-guard again."
"Hey, I'll be fine," I promise. "Besides, I have you, don't I? Nothing bad could happen to me with you around."
"Yeah," he mumbles with a small smile, still looking worried. "I guess."
"Come on," I say, wanting to lighten the mood and nudging him with my shoulder. "Let's go have some fun."
"Okay," he agrees, pushing away the negatives and throwing a smirk my way. "Where to first?"
"I don't know. Is there anything you particularly needed? Running low on any supplies?" I ask.
"I'm out of matches," he replies, a slight crease forming between his eyebrows as he thinks. "And I guess I could do with a few new T-shirts, I'm getting fed up of having to wash them so often."
"Lazy," I accuse with a grin and he nudges my shoulder in return.
"Maybe a few books as well?" he says, ignoring my statement. "I'm all out of new ones."
"Okay, let's get matches first," I say, heading over to the corner shop with him right beside me.
"You're the boss," he replies with a smirk and I just roll my eyes.
When we get to the shop I open the door, the bell tinkling above as we both enter before Beck closes it behind us. There's only three other people in the shop, the owner and to other customers.
I head over to the back of the shop, over to the few shelves that hold a few odds and ends that have no other place in the shop, such as torches and batteries.
Spotting a pile of boxes of matches sat on the middle shelf in a worn-looking box, I watch as Beck discreetly grabs two and shoves them into his pocket.
Done like a true thief.
After a few seconds of aimlessly searching around the shop to make it less suspicious, we decide to head somewhere else.
"You're such a bad influence," I say with a laugh once outside and away from the oblivious shop owner who'd been too busy on his phone to notice anything was wrong.
"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a criminal mastermind."
"You're an idiot is what you are," I correct him, shaking my head.
"And yet you still choose to hang out with me," he says, giving me that familiar cocky wink that only Beck can achieve. "I must be doing something right."
"Yeah, well, what can I say? I must be an idiot too. Come on, the bookstore's this way."
We walk for a few seconds in a comfortable silence as I try and decide which shop would be best to get some clothes from after.
Without warning he reaches out and grabs something as we're walking past the florists.
"Smooth," I laugh. "One day you'll get caught doing that and I'm going to refuse to pay for your bail."
"Oh, please, I'm not going to get caught," he replies, his voice full of nothing but confidence as we continue to walk. "Besides, who's going to miss one small rose?"
Glancing over at the red rose he's slowly spinning between his fingers, I wonder what caused him to take it.
"Since when have you been into flowers, anyway?" I ask, taking note of the way he studies the flower like it holds some kind of secret that I'm unaware of.
"Don't worry, I'm not," he replies, glancing over at me with a smirk, the flower still spinning. "It's just roses."
"Why?" I ask curiously, taking a mental note that we're only about ten minutes away from the used bookstore.
He doesn't respond, simply shrugs, and studies the rose for a few more seconds before handing it over to me. "Here."
"Thanks," I say, taking the rose carefully and running my finger once over the velvety petals, my curiosity officially piqued.
There's something Beck's not telling me.
"Seriously, though, there has to be some kind of story behind this..."
A slight smile curves his lips at this but doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"A tale as old as time," he murmurs, shoving his hands in his pockets.
A tale as old as time... I swear I've heard that somewhere before. Then, I make the connection, and my mouth literally drops in surprise.
"Did you just quote beauty and the beast?" I ask, not quite sure what to make of that.
He turns his head to look at me, a more genuine smile lighting his face as a kind of mischievous amusement shines in his eyes. "Maybe."
"Since when have you been into Disney?" I ask with a laugh, hardly believing my ears. Now this was something I never would have guessed.
"Never," Beck replies with a smile. "I just remember my mother once telling me the story when I was a kid."
"Really?" I ask curiously. Beck never really talks about his family.
"Yeah. I used to hate what I was when I was younger; I just wanted to be normal. She thought it'd cheer me up. Told me that all I needed to do was find a girl that could set me free."
That takes me by surprise slightly. Beck used to hate being a wolf? I've never heard of that before. Then again... I guess growing up as a lone wolf can't be easy. It'd be pretty, well, lonely.
"Was that when you used to live in Ireland?" I ask, wanting to make the most of Beck's opening up session, however briefly it lasts.
"Yeah," he replies slightly hesitantly. "I used to move around a lot."
"I can imagine," I murmur, shaking my head. "Must've been pretty lonely." That causes him to laugh.
"I'm a lone wolf. I was born for solitude," he reminds me.
"I guess," I reply. "So, anyway, what happened?"
"I grew up," he says simply, his voice taking on a slight tone that I can't identify. "Realised that I was never going to be anyone's Prince Charming."
"No," I murmur, smiling slightly and looking over at him. "You just became my knight in shining armour."
He stops walking suddenly, grabbing hold of my elbow and spinning me around to face him, a sudden intensity in his eyes that I hadn't been expecting.
"Lucy..." he says, still holding on to my elbow. "I - there's something I need to tell you."
"What?" I ask, giving him a quick confused smile.
"I-"
My phone rings, causing him to cut off whatever he was about to say.
"Hold on a sec," I say apologetically, grabbing my phone from my pocket and checking to see who's calling. My phone doesn't usually go off unless it's something important.
The caller ID is unknown and I choose to ignore it, pinning it down to some call centre wanting to offer me car insurance for the car I don't even own.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" I ask, turning my attention back to Beck.
"Nothing," he says after a short pause. "It's not important."
"You sure?" I ask, getting the feeling he's lying through his teeth.
Beck doesn't go all intense like that unless he has something important to say.
"Positive," he tries to assure, his smile looking too forced for my liking.
"Okay..." I reply, not really knowing what else to say. It looks like his brief sharing session is now over. "Well, then, let's go. The bookstore's not far. Good luck smuggling some out without being seen."
"You're lack of faith in me stings, Shorty. You should know by now that I don't need luck; I'm just awesome."
With that, we head for our next destination.
***
The sound of the shower starting up from down the hall hits my ears as I sit in my room, still studying the rose that now sits in a tall glass of water on my dressing table. It's closing in on eleven at night now and everyone's asleep, apart from Beck who decided to take a quick shower before bed.
We spent the entire day messing around up town before getting back in about two hours ago. It's been a good day, a really good day, and we managed to successfully snag all the items we'd intended to. I still can't shift the idea that Beck's holding back something though, whatever he'd been about to tell me earlier, and I silently curse my phone in my head. He's been acting a little off for the whole day, but not to the point that it's really noticeable.
Sighing, I rip my eyes away from the flower and quickly get changed into my pyjamas, knowing that I should probably go to bed as I'm back in school tomorrow.
Just as I'm climbing into bed, however, my phone goes off again. Glancing over at my jeans from where they sit on the floor, knowing my phone's in the front left pocket, I momentarily consider leaving it before getting up and going to grab it. The caller ID says unknown again, and I press answer and place the phone to my ear, fully prepared to blow up on the poor call worker who probably hates their job for calling so late. When the person speaks before I get the chance to, however, I freeze.
"Hello, Lucy," Kailen's voice filters through from the speaker, automatically causing every muscle in me to tense.
"Kailen," I say, not making it a question. I couldn't forget that voice even if I tried.
"Clever girl," he says, sounding somewhere between amused and extremely pissed off, confidence still radiating from his voice despite the fact that I've escaped him.
Beck was right, this isn't just going to go away. I'm an idiot for ever thinking it would.
"What do you want?" I ask, unable to keep the dread from my voice. "How did you get my number?"
"You already know what I want, Lucy," he replies, his voice now turning cold as fear ripples its way down my spine. "As for that second one, you were out for quite a while before you eventually woke up, plenty of time to get the information I needed."
Of course... this is why my phone was left in my pocket. I'm such an idiot.
"Now, Lucy, you need to listen to this very carefully because I'm only going to say this once. Are you listening?"
"Yes," I whisper, dread causing my throat to close up as I know I'm definitely not going to like whatever I'm about to hear.
"Good," he replies. "Now, I'm going to give you two days to turn yourself over to me. If you fail to do this then I will set an attack on your entire Pack, starting with Justin and your two little friends of yours, are we clear?"
A shudder ripples through my body, my mind reeling. Pictures enter my head, images of what happened to my parents, only it's not my parents this time. It's my friends. Amy, Jess, Justin, Beck, Devlin... all of them getting their throats ripped out by Kailen, all of it because of me.
"Are we clear?" Kailen asks, his voice hardening, obviously not happy about repeating himself as I momentarily zoned out through my own horror.
"Yes..." I whisper. "Yes, we're clear."
"Good. Two days Lucy, no more." He hangs up.
Two days... two days before my friends all die unless I hand myself over to be killed.
This can't be happening.
What do I do?!
Two days...
The sound of water hitting the tiled floor from the bathroom is all I hear as I sink down onto my bed, my legs no longer able to hold me up.
What am I going to do? I need to talk to Justin... to David. Or will that just make things worse? Should I just hand myself over? It's my fault all this is happening, after all.
The sound of the shower turning off has me numbly climbing under the covers, knowing that Beck will be back here soon. Not wanting him to know the danger I've put everyone in and not knowing what to do about it, I pretend to sleep.
Five minutes later he enters the room and turns the light off before climbing into his makeshift bed on the floor, all the while only two words run through my head...
Two days.
(Hey guys!!! So... EARLY UPDATE!!! :D I know I said I wasn't going to update until after my exam but I've just had my second to last exam today, meaning I only have ONE EXAM LEFT!!! WHOOP WHOOP!!! Anyway, as I'm sure you can imagine it's been a stressful time over the past few weeks, hence saying I wasn't going to update, but I have over a week until my last exam and so I decided to take a break from revision and do something that I actually enjoy... like writing :) Anyway, after this there definitely won't be any updates until after June 2nd but that's not too far away now.
So, I hope you liked the chapter :) I know it's not the best and I'm not too keen on the end but I'm posting it anyway. What do you all think is going to happen next? ;) There's not much left to the story now, only maybe around about another ten chapters until the end, which is awesome. I've never finished a book before so this will be the first :D
So, yeah... I'm not really all that sure what to say. Thanks for reading and don't forget to Vote/Comment/Follow/Add if you enjoyed the chapter and the book so far. Until next time... byee!)
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