The White Wolf (2020)

Chapter Eighteen

SYDNEY

After deciding on a plan for Saturday, Jaycen and Sydney made their way back to his car and he drove her back home. He told her to check the windows in her room, and that he and his father had some of their packmates roaming the perimeter of her home, and to text him if she needed anything.

From the doorway, Sydney waved him goodbye and Rachel joined her waving over her shoulder, whispering about how handsome and well spoken Jay was. Flustered, she tried shoeing her sister away and as Rachael continued to try and say something as Sydney bound up the stairs to her room.

On the second floor she pulled out her phone finally getting a chance to check it thoroughly after having missed it for a few days and it needing to charge. Sydney mentally noted that she needed to think up a new password since Jay had memorized it.

Entering her room, Sydney wasn't surprised to see a few texts from Mat, but his most recent text 'I'm coming to see you,' combined with the male form sitting in her window nook, a window that overlooked the driveway, completely threw her.

"Mat! What are you doing here?" Sydney asked, startled holding her hand close to her chest.

Turning his attention away from the window and his warm brown eyes fell on Sydney. "Yeah, it seems you were busy. I volunteered to help watch over you and your family. Figured you and them could use a friendly face." He looked unconvienced in his own words as he turned back towards the window.

Shame rose in her, knowing that he had seen Sydney and Jay pull up together at almost ten o'clock at night. She concluded it was because of their argument earlier combined with avoiding him yet spending free time with someone she'd barely talked to before yesterday.

"I appreciate it Mat, it's been a crazy past few days."

He nodded wordlessly, and Sydney wasn't sure quite what to do in her own room. Normally her and him would be joking and laughing, talking about journalism, critiquing Rachael' newest baked creation, or making plans to hang out with Meg and Emmery.

"Hey, listen," she summoned, "I know things have been off between us ever since the night you and Jay save me, but I don't want things to change between us. You've been my best friend forever, and despite not really having a say in coming into this world, I want you to know you can talk to me, and that I want you by my side through all of this."

It was then that Mat finally gave her a small smile, his eyes not as dull and upset as they had been recently, but something else brewed in them.

Hope and despair.

"I think it's time I tell you why I wanted you to stay away from him."

Despite her nervousness at whatever it was Mat was about to reveal, Sydney relished that her best friend was finally going to confide in her. Crossing her room, she went and crawled onto her bed. She pulled her legs close and tucked her feet underneath the blanket.

"Of course," She said, settled.

His eyes ghosted over her form before resting on her face, "I am sure either he's told you or you've heard from him before, but I'm one of the packs omega." Sydney nodded but he seemed to know she had questions as to what that meant, "It means in the grand scheme of the werewolf hierarchy, I'm at the bottom of the bottom. I'm not sure what all he told you but werewolves came to be as punishment by God."

Sydney spoke up in a soft voice, "He mentioned that it was Nature deciding a way to correct humans by pairing them with a wolf, he said Nature selected a group of families to punish specifically."

Mat huffed humorlessly simultatiously rolling his eyes, "Yeah, Nature, God, a powerful witch, I don't give a fucking damn, but something decided our families were the worst of the worst, and wanted them to be made into monsters...even so, some of us have it rougher than the others."