Chapter 42
Enzo’s POV “Hey, Enzo!” Bastien called me over from across the exhibit. He was with a few other Alphas. I wondered if they saw me leaving the bathroom area with Lila trailing behind me. But when I turned to glance in Lila’s direction, she wasn’t there. She was smart; she must have been waiting a couple of minutes before she walked out of the bathroom. “I was just telling the guys of your efforts to find the person who poisoned my daughter,” Bastien said with a proud smile as I approached. It oddly enough made me feel good that he was praising me for something I would have done without him asking me to. It shouldn’t have mattered what Bastien thought, but for some reason, I was finding myself almost wanting his approval. Perhaps because he was the head of the committee and if I get in good with him, I can secure my future. “If that’s what you want to tell yourself,” Max teased. “I can’t thank you enough,” Bastien continued, patting me on the back of my shoulder. I nodded to him. “I wish more happened,” I confessed. “A suspension doesn’t seem like a good enough punishment.” “There’s not much we can do when Alpha Steven is her father. He funds the school, and the board is afraid to go against him,” Alpha John said, shaking his head with dismay written all over his face. Everybody has a specific role they play to make sure the kingdom runs as smoothly as possible. While Alpha Bastien is the head of the Alpha committee and oversees the decisions made for the kingdom, the board is in charge of the academy. Ê Categories Search… ¨ : © However, it’s no secret that they fear Alpha Steven, despite him only funding the school, and not
owning it. Bastien has to constantly remind him of that. But when it comes to his daughter, the board wasn’t going to take any chances.
Without Alpha Steven’s money and scholarship programs, there wouldn’t be a school. He also funds the primary schools around the kingdom, the hospitals, and multiple charities. “Karma will come around in due time,” Bastien said, eyeing me carefully. “So will good Karma for your good deed, Enzo. Let me take you out for a drink. I could use a round or two.” My frown deepened as I stared around at all the Alphas who were staring back at me. I don’t usually go out drinking with them, so it would be a weird change of events. “Come on, Enzo. Come out with us,” another Alpha said with a broad smile. “It’s a weekend and you’re still young!” I reluctantly agreed. I was sure I was going to regret this though. … Lila’s POV “You remember…” I said, sounding as defeated as I felt. Her eyes were curious as she stared around my face; she didn’t seem frightened of me but confused. “Yes,” she answered, and she said nothing more as she looked back down at her phone; almost like she was dismissing me altogether. My heart was heavy. “I heard that you didn’t…” I breathed, glancing at my feet in shame. “I lied,” she admitted; she said that so casually that for a moment, I stopped breathing. “Why would you lie?” I asked, glancing back over at her. She glanced up at me and narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t want you to get in trouble if it were truly an accident,” she said. “Was it an accident?” Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
I took a step closer to her with pleading eyes. “Of course, it was an accident, Becca. I got distracted and I—” “Electrocuted me…” She finished the sentence for me; her words were firm and cut through me like a knife. I couldn’t help but flinch. “You are a Volana wolf, and you lost control of your powers. Sarah had said you were dangerous, and you couldn’t be trusted. I didn’t believe her at the time because you were always so kind to me. But now…” her voice trailed off as she glanced back at her phone. She was using her phone as a distraction, and I couldn’t blame her for that. “I don’t know what to say,” I admitted. “I never meant to hurt you, Becca. You must believe that.” “I do,” she said, meeting my eyes. “I believe it was an accident. That’s why I’m not mad at you. But I am concerned about continuing to be your partner for this class. Now that you have these abilities, it might make things a little more complicated.” “You don’t want to be my partner anymore?” I asked. “I was thinking, since I woke up, that Sarah is gone, and her partner will need a new partner. I could always be her partner…” “What about me?” I asked. “You’d have to talk to Professor Enzo about it,” Becca said with a shrug. “I just can’t trust that this won’t happen again. The doctors say I got lucky this time. But next time… I don’t know if my body will be strong enough to keep me alive. I’m not sure I want to go through this again.” My heart was breaking from this conversation; all I wanted to do at that moment was cry, but I kept my calm and stayed silent. “This doesn’t mean I don’t want to be your friend, Lila,” she added, keeping her eyes locked on mine. “I wouldn’t mind being friends… maybe not at this moment. Maybe over time. I just need to focus on getting better first. But eventually, I would like us to be friends. I just don’t want to be your combat partner. I’m sorry…” “I don’t blame you,” I told her, forcing a small smile. “Thank you for being honest with me.” She gave me a kind smile in return and nodded her head once.
“As far as anyone knows, this was just an accident due to poor wiring with the equipment we were using. Nothing more and nothing less. This will stay between us,” she said sweetly. I was grateful for that; the last thing I needed was for everyone to think of me as a monster. I thanked her just as the nurse came into the room. She glanced at me and gave me a smile. “Hello, Miss Lila. Visiting hours will be over shortly,” she reminded me as she went over to Becca’s bed to fix her IVs and give her medication. “I was just leaving,” I assured her. I glanced at Becca one last time as she took the medication and glass of water from the nurse’s hands. “I’ll see you at school when you are well, Becca,” I said to her, giving her a half wave. She glanced at me and nodded her head, without saying anything. I sighed and left the room. … As I returned to campus, Rachel was already in our room. She was sitting on the ledge of her window, smoking a cigarette as she often did and blowing the smoke outside. She still made the room smell disgustingly like cigarette smoke though. “That’s so bad for you,” I said, grabbing a can of Lysol and spraying the room. She shrugged. “We all die eventually anyways,” she muttered. “Besides, I’m a bear, remember? We don’t have long lifespans like wolves do.” “But still,” I say, rolling my eyes. “You could have a longer lifespan if you just quick smoking.” “That’s too much work,” she chuckled, flicking the cigarette out the window before sliding her entire body inside, landing on the ground with a thud, and sealing the window shut behind her. “Did you go to see Becca yet?” “Yes,” I answered, I didn’t want to tell her what our conversation was about, so I decided to keep it brief. “She was doing well. She still doesn’t remember what happened. They don’t think she will remember, but it’s probably for the best. I don’t think it’s something she’d want to remember.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Rachel said with a shrug. “I’m glad she’s well though. Must have been scary to have that many electric bolts go through you!” With that being said, Rachel made her body quiver and shake like she was being electrocuted. I sat on my bed across the room and rolled my eyes. “That’s not funny, Rachel,” I scolded. “It’s serious. She could have died.” Rachel was still laughing but once she saw how serious my face was, she stopped. “My bad. I was just trying to make light of the situation,” she said, sitting on her own bed. We were both quiet for a long moment; probably both thinking about Becca. Soon, Rachel shot to her feet, and I could see the excitement on her face. It nearly startled me. “Do you know what we need?” Rachel asked, eyeing me carefully and excitedly. I frowned and shook my head. “A party. We need to get our minds off the shit going on! Let’s have a school dance!”