The Scarlet Hunter

Chapter 10-1

Melanie had been around but kept her distance. Mel was one of the few Winter Moon pack members Isla hadn't talked to yet this summer.

Time to get rid of the dead weight of the past. How does that saying go? What you want to do the least, is what you need to do the most. Well, that would be to talk to her former tormentor.

Melanie usually got to training fifteen minutes early. As much as people liked to say it was because she was trying to impress Alpha Alec, everyone was trying to impress him. Being on time at least kept him from being a creep and waiting in your room for you to wake up. It was the smart thing to do.

Although Melanie had always been popular, she was not well-liked and was limited to the outskirts of the core of favored wolves. When Luna Lucy came into the picture, Melanie took advantage of the shift that ejected Isla from that core group and became one of Isla's harassers. But she still wasn't accepted by the others. The reputation of being shallow and selfish stayed with her, and Isla was willing to see if it was still deserved.

"Hey." Isla greeted the five-foot-three-inch brunette. Melanie was slight of build but looked healthier than when Isla last saw her. Her tan skin and deep brown hair had always given her an exotic look that Isla associated with a tropical island somewhere, laying in the shade of a palm tree. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail right now.

"It's been a while," Isla continued with a slight smile and warm eyes.

Melanie seemed to falter and nodded first, followed with, "Hey Isla, it has. It's good to have you back." Although she sounded guarded, she also sounded kind. "You're here for the summer?"

Isla nodded, "Yeah. One more year, and then I'll be done with my degree." If Isla didn't know any better, she'd thought she saw envy in Melanie's eyes.

"It's nice that you get to travel and live elsewhere," Melanie mused.

"My brother, he gets to go to the other pack territories. Is there anything for you to do like that?"

Melanie scoffed. "Keith helps with some of the projects on the other territories. I don't have anything like that going on."

"We should probably stretch a bit before we get started," Isla suggested and then reached forward to touch her toes. "Maybe we can catch up later if you have time. I'd love to hear what's been happening with you since I left."

Isla stood up to stretch above her head just in time to catch a dark flash of fear cross Melanie's eyes. That's odd.

Isla turned inward and used her wolf to reach out and see what Melanie could be feeling. She picked up a strong feeling of embarrassment and a noticeable amount of fear.

Isla grabbed Melanie's hand who just stared at the sign of friendship. "Shit happened," Isla said, a bit forcefully, "A lot of shit happened. But we all did what we did to survive." She squeezed Melanie's hand. "We aren't those people anymore, not really. Who the fuck cares who's popular and who's not? Look at you. Stronger than you've ever been. Confident." Her voice pleased.

One of the warriors, Xander, called everyone to attention. Isla decided to fall into the formation near Melanie instead of moving to the back where she had stood every morning since she arrived. She dropped Melanie's hand and watched her fall into formation next to her, obviously processing.

"I know you think I'm a joke," Melanie said while looking at the ground. "I don't know why you're acting like I'm the only one who needs forgiveness here." Melanie raised her head to look towards the front, like a warrior. Like the warrior she is.

There is something Isla is missing here. That fear that Mel felt wasn't because of her. But she absolutely had a point. There were many jokes towards the dark haired and previously popular she-wolf that Isla had enjoyed. If she was going to move on from her past, she also needed to let go of grudges towards others who were just trying to survive too.