We ride back in silence and I don't mind. Or at least, I feel its better than talking to him right now. I feel as if I should say something but I cant think of anything.

I get out of the car when we pull up and quickly walk into my room. Mason is sitting on my bed, hunched over, head down, and his elbows on his knees. I sit next to him. He looks startled before hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry Dove. I thought you ran off because today you weren't at school and.." I could tell from his voice he'd been crying. My heart shatters and spills all over the floor.

"It's okay Mase. It wasn't your choice. I just need some time." I comfort the guilty boy the best way I know how. By awkwardly patting him on the back in hopes that he feels better. He sits up slowly, wiping his face of tears.

"I'm sorry Dove. I totally ruined your shirt. I've just been feeling terrible all day about what happened." He apologizes and I shrug.

"I have others." I crack a smile at him and he laughs lightly.

"Yeah.. Yeah. Okay. Thanks Dove." He smiles at me and I hug him.

"Ice cream?" I stand and he nearly jumps up.

"Is that even a question?" He laughs and I unexpectably jump onto his back. He neighs like a horse and runs with me on his back through the house. A few people popped their heads out to look at us, but most people are used to this by now.

We get to the kitchen and I see the 'cooks' there. They make sure we have food for big events, and the annual pack picnic is coming up in a few days. I smile and give Pheobe a hug.

"Well hi darlin'! Can I help you with anything? Or are you here to help us again?" Though I like helping out in here, I'm on a mission to comfort Mason... And to stuff my face with ice cream.

"Sadly, not today Pheobe. I'm on an ice cream mission." Pheobe laughs and opens the freezer in the spacious but also cluttered kitchen. She pulls out two bowls and a tub of rainbow sherbet, a.k.a, my favorite. She serves us more than enough and plops two spoons in their appropriate bowls.

"Don't sweat it Darlin'. I've got quite enough help as you can see. Now have fun and dont cause too much trouble." She hands me the ice cream with a wink. I smile again and hand Mason his bowl. Pheobe calls everyone darling, but it's homely with her southern accent. She also says mom as mama, and the children giggle a little bit when she says it.

We literally flop onto the couch, careful not to spill our ice creams. Mason is sprawled across my legs and I'm laying with my head on the arm rest. Us together takes up the whole couch. Luckily its big enough so neither of us hang off the edge.

Mason grabs the remote from underneath my thigh. He flips on a random movie on Netflix.

My eyelids soon get too heavy to carry, and I move my ice cream from my stomach onto the floor.

~~

I wake up, no idea of how long I was out. Masons still knocked out on my legs, so it couldn't have been long.

'Dove! Wake up!' Sym's voice rings in my ears and I see her standing across the room. She's wearing black basketball shorts and a matching sports bra underneath a white loose cut shirt with holes and red spray paint on the front. It reads 'Reject'. Does that mean she is a reject, or that she's rejecting society?

Why does that matter right now? She probably woke you up for a reason.

True. Yeah, okay.

'What's up?' I start carefully removing Mason from my legs.

'You asked me to train you, didn't you?'

'Oh.. Right. What time is it?'

'5:30.' I fall off of the couch.

'Why are you waking me up at 5:30?!'

'Hey, I wasn't the one who asked for this, so...' I roll my eyes and stand up.

'Okay, okay, let me get ready.' She shakes her head. She motions for me to follow her. She starts talking as soon as we get outside.

"There's no need. We're going on a run to warm up. I know that you're in pretty good shape, but there's always room for improvement. After that we'll do some light sparring to see where you are. After that a core workout. I thought I'd go easy on you today so be grateful." She flashes me an award-winning smile and I attempt to smile and remember why I'm putting myself through this.

Blake.

Even at the thought of him adrenaline fills my veins and anger clouds my thoughts. I hope he gets hit by a bus, that his mother is driving. I hope that after all this I'll be able to one day dig my fingernails into his throat so he can feel just a fraction of what I felt. I hope he falls in love with me before he dies at my hands. So he can watch the one he loves most slowly kill him.

I want him to die.

I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn't notice Sym had stopped walking. The thing that brought me back to life was, well, a tree.

Sym laughs at me as I pick myself up, rubbing my forehead. I try to glare but her laugh is too contagious for me to stay mad at her.

'Thanks for the help.' I punch her lightly and she just continues laughing.

"You're welcome!" She gasps out and I smile. I roll my eyes and start stripping down for the run. Sym begins to follow my actions after her laughter falls to quiet chuckles. I shift and she stops in her tracks.

"Your wolfs eyes are so pretty!" She freaks out and starts petting me like I'm a regular dog on the street. Lisa's going insane.

Hey. I am a dog after all.

But you're a wolf. A vicious creature who sticks with the pack and hunts small animals.

Still a dog.

I think Sym finally realized what she was doing and laughs.

"Sorry. Force of habit. I see dogs and I freak out. Though technically I am one." She laughs again, more at herself this time.

'I'll keep that in mind.'

So will I.

Chill yourself.

No, I don't wanna.

You're not going to shift just to have Sym pet you.

Try me. I dare you.

Sym shifts finally and basically takes off as soon as her paws hit the ground. It's only the start and I'm already struggling to keep up.

Here we go.