His Stray

Chapter 24

5 years prior

Lucas slammed his fists into the heavy bag, each strike echoing through the training hall. Sweat dripped from his hair, stinging his eyes, but he didn’t stop. He needed the burn in his shoulders, the ache in his arms. It was the only thing drowning out the whispers that had been chasing him all day.

He caught fragments of it every time he walked past a group of kids:

“Why would he want a freak like her?”

“They say she put some kind of spell on him.”

“He’s the alpha’s son, you know. He shouldn’t be messing with strays like her.”

It was Ava’s doing, he had no doubt. Word had gotten around so fast that Celia might as well have actually stood in the middle of the lunch hall and announced it.

It wasn’t like anything had even happened. He had just given her a hug.

He threw another hard punch, the bag swinging wildly.

“Easy there, killer,” came Landon’s voice.

Lucas let out a rough breath and dropped his hands. He turned to see his brother watching him with an amused but slightly wary look. Landon tossed him a towel, which Lucas caught and scrubbed over his face.

“What’s going on with you?” Landon asked, folding his arms. “I heard Ava was telling everyone some pretty crazy stuff.”

Lucas’s jaw ticked. “Yeah, well, she’s full of shit.”

Landon tilted his head, studying him. “Some people are saying Celia bewitched you. That true?” He smirked, like it was some kind of joke.

Lucas shot him a glare. “Don’t start.”

“Alright, alright.” Landon held up his hands in surrender. Then his grin faded. “Seriously, though. What happened?”

Lucas sighed, twisting the towel in his hands slightly. “Celia was upet at school yesterday. I went to talk to her and I gave her a hug and Ava saw.” He tossed the towel away. “She made an assumption.”

Landon c****d an eyebrow. “So you don’t like Celia?”

Lucas picked at the tape around his knuckles.

“Luke?”

His chest squeezed tightly. “Yeah,” he finally admitted. “I do. More than I know what to do with. But you know how people are, especially when it comes to her. It’s already turning into a thing and nothing even happened. Dad… this pack… everyone expects me to be with someone who’s…”

“More like Ava?” Landon finished for him, one brow raised.

Lucas let out a hollow laugh. “Yeah. Someone safe. Someone easy. Celia’s… not that.”

There was a long pause. Then Landon gave a shrug that seemed casual, but his voice was softer when he spoke. “So stop worrying about everyone else. If you want her, be with her. A girl like that deserves someone who’s not afraid to show her off.”

Lucas looked at him sharply, something prickling at the back of his mind. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Landon just smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just saying. She’s special. You treat her right… or maybe I will.”

Lucas’s stomach twisted. He tried to laugh it off, but it sounded forced even to his own ears. “Yeah, alright. Like she’d ever pick you over me.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Landon said lightly. Then he clapped Lucas on the shoulder, a little too hard. “Just don’t screw it up.”

Lucas nodded, but as Landon walked off towards the lockers, something uncomfortable lodged itself in Lucas’s chest. He rubbed at it absently, then grabbed the heavy bag and steadied it again.

**

Celia sat on the edge of her bed, twisting a loose thread in her blanket around her finger until it bit into her skin. Her stomach felt hollow. It had been like that for days, ever since the whispers started.

“She’s desperate for him.”

“Must have tricked him. Used a spell or something.”

“Why would the alpha’s son be with a freak like her?”

Everywhere she went, people stared. Some with pity, some with disgust. It made her want to crawl out of her own skin.

A few tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them. She angrily wiped them away. It was stupid to cry over this. Over him. Lucas hadn't even tried to talk to her since that day under the stairs. Maybe it was all easier for him to pretend that she didn’t exist.

She was just getting ready to turn out her light when the window creaked open. Her heart jumped, then sank all at once. Lucas hauled himself through the opening, looking rumpled and out of breath.

“Lucas,” she hissed. “What are you doing? My dad will kill you if he catches you in here again.”

“I had to see you,” he said. His voice rough, his eyes scanning her face like he was starved for it.

She stood there stiffly, arms crossed over her chest.

“I’m sorry,” he said, stepping closer. “I should’ve come sooner. I just… I don’t know how to deal with all this.”

“With what?” she snapped. “With the rumors? With people seeing you with me?”

“That’s not fair.” His eyes flashed. “You know it’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it?” Her voice cracked. “Because it sure seems like you only care when no one else is watching.”

His jaw clenched. “What do you want me to do, Celia? I can’t stop people from talking. I can’t make them like you.”

Her breath caught, her whole body burning with humiliation and fury. “So that’s it? You’re embarrassed by me, just like everyone else.”

“No! Damn it, Celia, that’s not…”

She shoved past him, tears blurring her eyes. Her hand smacked into the curtain as she went, and suddenly there was a sharp pop followed by the acrid scent of smoke. Flames leapt up the thin fabric, crackling hungrily.

“Celia!” Lucas shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her pack. He grabbed the curtain rod, yanking it from the wall and throwing it down to the ground to stomp out the flames.

Footsteps thundered down the hall. The door burst open, her mother’s face pale with alarm. “What happened in here?”

Lucas straightened, breathless, the curtains still smoking under his shoes. Lenore’s eyes snapped to him, her mouth thinning into a harsh line.

“I… I got mad,” Celia stammered. “I didn’t mean to. I set the curtains on fire.”

Lenore’s eyes flicked to Celia and then back to Lucas.

“I think you should leave, Lucas,” she said coldly. “And stop coming through my daughter’s window like a stray tomcat. This has to end. There are already enough rumors about the two of you.”

Celia’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment. “Mom, it’s not like…”

Her mother held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear it. I really don’t. Lucas, go home.”

Lucas opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, then closed it again. He glanced at Celia, something pained flickering across his face, before he ducked out the window and disappeared into the night.

Celia stood trembling, hugging herself.

Her mother let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Tomorrow, I’m taking you to Dr. Meyers. We’ll get you on some birth control so we don’t have bigger problems to worry about.”

“What?” Celia gaped at her mother. “Mom, nothing is happening with Lucas. Nothing.”

Lenore looked tired, resigned. “Not yet. But it’s clear where this is heading.”

Celia felt hot all over, for a whole different reason now. Tears stung her eyes again, and she swiped them furiously. “You don’t understand anything,” she choked out.

Her mother didn’t answer, just quietly closed the door, leaving Celia alone in the dim room that still smelled faintly of burnt cloth and ashes.