Screw My Mate, I'm Going Lycan - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

My tires ate up the road as I drove aimlessly, my knuckles white on the steering wheel. Anger at Dylan and Marcus pulsed through me like a second heartbeat, and that bizarre encounter with the professor had only cranked up my migraine to nuclear levels.
When I finally stepped out at the park, the scent of freshly cut grass hit me like a time machine. Suddenly I was twelve again - back when life was simpler, back when the three of us ruled these swings and jungle gyms like kings of our own little kingdom. This had been our fortress, our hideout, the sacred ground where we'd shared every secret and scraped every knee.
And there they were - Dylan and Marcus materializing before me like ghosts from my past, their grins flashing with that same old mischief. Twenty years might as well have been twenty minutes standing there. I could practically see our younger selves playing tag between the trees.
Collapsing onto a weathered bench, I let the golden sunset paint my eyelids. Memories came flooding back - none stronger than the day they'd faced down Tommy Riggs and his goons for me. I was just a scrawny ten-year-old then, the pack's favorite punching bag after Mom and Dad... after the rogues... My throat still tightens thinking about it.
The bullies had been particularly vicious that day - something about it being my birthday, the same day my parents... Well. They'd started chanting "bad luck charm" when suddenly two human tornadoes came barreling out of nowhere.
Even now, I can see them perfectly - Dylan squaring up like some miniature action hero, his voice cracking but firm: "Back off. She's with us." Marcus had that scary-quiet look he got right before throwing punches, just growling, "Try someone who fights back."
The way those jerks had scrambled away... God, I'd never felt so protected in my life. Sitting there on that bench, the memory was so vivid I could almost reach out and...