Chapter 419: Faye Calls Princess

The gang had finally pulled together enough courage to speak up, laying out an apology to Haley that was long overdue.

Haley stood near the couch, her hands tucked tight into her sweater pockets as she tried to process every word they said.

Before she could form a sentence, the front door clicked open and shut. Her sister stepped into the house, her eyes sweeping over the crowd gathered in the front room. Sasha and Faye moved toward her, trying to start a quick conversation, but the girl didn’t say a single word. She kept her chin up, brushed past them without making eye contact, and walked straight into her bedroom, letting the door slam shut behind her.

That left Haley standing in the living room with the rest of her friends.

Malo didn’t waste any time. He stepped into Haley’s space, his hands hovering nervously at his sides as he began begging her for forgiveness. He went over every terrible thing he had blurted out, his voice low and pleading as he tried to fix the mess he had made.

Meanwhile

Bambi was in the van babysitting her Sire’s pups. She leaned over them, softly humming a series of simple lullabies to keep the babies sleeping soundly.

Inside Haley’s house, Faye’s phone buzzed in her hand. She slid the screen open and pressed it to her ear, listening to Guru’s raspy voice on the other end. He told her straight up that her girlfriend wouldn’t be coming home that night.

Faye’s eyebrows pulled together instantly. A surge of anger flared up in her chest at his blunt tone, and she opened her mouth to snap back at him. But as Guru went on, describing how Princess had completely passed out cold over a dumb, ridiculous fear, the tension in Faye’s shoulders melted away.

She let out a sudden snort, which turned into full-blown laughter echoing off the walls. She shook her head, laughing right into the receiver at the image of her tough Alpha keeling over.

Since Princess was stuck out of town for the night, the gang decided to call it a day and sleep over at the gym.

Malo and his little sister tagged along, rolling out spare sleeping bags on the padded floor.

By morning, the group moved around the gym, sweeping up trash, stacking weights back on their racks, and tidying up the training area.

Faye pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Princess’s number. It rang twice before cutting straight to a dull automated tone. The call wasn’t going through. She tapped the screen, switched over to Guru’s contact, and dialed his line instead. It just rang until it went to voicemail.

Faye gripped her phone tighter, a knot forming in her stomach. She stared at the blank screen, convinced that Guru had probably taken Princess’s phone hostage just to mess with her head.

She shoved her phone into her pocket and turned toward the exit, fully ready to jump into the van and drive out to track her girlfriend down herself.

But then,

Haley and her sister, Jessie, were walking up the concrete steps, looking for Faye.

Sasha stepped up from behind the front desk, waving Haley over toward a quiet corner of the gym so the two of them could finally talk through their own issues in peace.

That left Faye standing near the main entrance with Jessie.

Before Faye could even open her mouth to ask what was going on, Jessie dropped straight to her knees on the floor right in front of her. She bowed her head, her voice shaking as she began begging for forgiveness for the attempted murder her late girlfriend had tried to pull off.

Jessie looked up, her eyes wide as she admitted that she had no idea Faye was the actual Moon Wolf, the figure everyone in their circle worshipped.

Faye held up her hands, shaking her head as she tried to deny the title, telling her she had it all wrong.

But Jessie wasn’t listening. She had already made up her mind, her jaw set firm.

Her sister had told her everything, including Sasha being her first Beta..

Jessie clasped her hands together, offering Faye complete control over the community. She wanted Faye to step up and rule them now that the two most important leaders were completely out of the picture. Yuki had left the cult for reasons nobody could figure out, and Don was dead.

Faye looked down at Jessie kneeling on the floor. She gave a slow nod, telling her she would think about it just to keep the peace. But deep down, she already saw right through them. She knew their real motive for wanting the Moon Wolf at the head of their community.

They wanted to hunt, hate, and slaughter every single Alpha out there.

That was a bloody path Faye had zero interest in joining.

After cleaning, the group packed up their bags and headed off to school, keeping their heads down through classes. As soon as the bell rang, they walked right back to the gym to open up shop and run things as usual.

They spent the rest of the evening going through their routine, discussing how they would find the next beast.

Later that night, the energy in the gym shifted.

Faye sat on the rubber mats, folding her arms across her stomach as a sharp, agonizing cramp twisted deep in her guts. A heavy wave of dread washed over her, making her heart hammer against her ribs. Her wolf instinct was screaming at her, a deep, visceral gut feeling that Princess was in serious danger somewhere out there.

She pulled out her phone and began dialing Princess’s number over and over again, refusing to put it down.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the line connected with a soft click. Princess’s soft voice came through the speaker.

"Hey, babe. I have been meaning to call you before your call came through," Princess said.

Faye squeezed the phone so hard the plastic creaked. "You have to be fucking kidding me, right? What does it take you to pick up your calls? I’ve been worried sick. I was about to drop the pups at Eriko’s house and hit the road."

"Baby, I’m so sorry for stressing you," Princess murmured, her tone gentle and exhausted. "I swear I was going to call, but your psycho father had me hostage, and this witch tried to kill me and..."

"What? A witch tried to do what?"

Faye’s brain went completely blank to everything else Princess was saying. The background noise vanished. The only thing echoing in her ears was the fact that someone had just tried to put her girlfriend in the ground. That was why her stomach had been tying itself in knots all evening, their mate bond was flaring up, pulling at her nervous system.

"But it’s fine now. I’m fine now, okay?" Princess said quickly, trying to calm her down through the speaker.

Faye’s breath coming out in sharp, shallow bursts. "Princess, listen to me now. Stop whatever you’re doing over there and just come back home. I’m not going to rest until I see your face."

"Babe..."

"I said come home now. Do you hear me?"

There was a short pause on the other end of the line. "Yes, babe. I’ll be coming right away."

Princess couldn’t find the strength to argue with her Omega. When Faye laid down a direct order like that, Princess could only yield and listen to her commands.

Faye’s shoulders finally dropped, the tight anger in her chest melting back into relief. "Good. I love you, Pancake."

"I love you too... I’m hanging up."

"Don’t hang up," Faye whined, pouting her lips as her voice turned soft and childish. "You didn’t call my name. Call me by my name first, then you can hang up."

Princess let out a low sigh over the line. "I love you too, Cotton candy... my one and only lollipop."

Faye grinned from ear to ear. "I love you too, my favorite Popsicle. Hmm... kisses."

Faye pressed her lips directly against the screen, making a loud kissing noise before the two of them finally disconnected the call.

Faye sat there for a second, a bright smile plastered across her face as she stared down at the dark phone screen. She slowly lifted her head.

The entire gym had gone dead quiet.

Every single person in the room was staring at her with wide eyes and open mouths, completely frozen by the sickeningly sweet display they had just been forced to watch.

The gang was sitting in a tight circle on the wrestling mat, surrounded by empty cardboard boxes as they ate slices of pizza.

Faye blinked at them, shoving her phone into her back pocket. "What? Do you guys have girlfriends? I’m in love with my Alpha girlfriend. Don’t act surprised. It’s what lovers do."

Haley wiped her hands on a napkin and turned her head toward Sasha. "Sasha, let’s head home and do what lovers do."

"Sure darling," Sasha nodded smoothly, reaching into the box to grab another slice of crust.

The two girls pushed themselves up from the floor.

"Good night, everyone," they called out over their shoulders.

Sasha leaned down, picked up Haley’s school bag, and slung it over her shoulder as the two of them walked out the door together.

Bambi stretched her arms over her head, letting out a small yawn. "Well, I promised Kiara I would be home before she gets back, so good night, Sire. Good night, little sires, Charlie, and MG."

She picked up her work bag, patted the pups on their heads, and headed out into the night.

That left Malo, Faye, and the five little pups scattered across the gym floor.

Malo leaned back against a gym bench, a massive, teasing grin spreading across his face as he looked at his best friend. "Well, I have no girlfriend or boyfriend, so we’re going to wait for your Pancake." He let out a loud laugh, clutching his stomach.

Faye grabbed the nearest empty pizza box off the floor and slammed it right against the side of his head.

"I can’t wait for you to start dating," Faye snapped, her eyes narrowing as Malo kept laughing at her. "I swear I’m going to mock and taunt you every single day of your dating life."

Malo wiped a tear from his eye, shaking his head. "Too bad. My soulmate doesn’t exist in this world. Hahaha... Your best friend is going to be single forever."

Faye just shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she sat down on the mat among the pups, settling in to wait for her girlfriend to drive up and pick them up.