Thoreau - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

"Well, look who it is. The little retard," the first boy smirked at me. "The one Arch and Wayne took pity on."
"Your 'boyfriends' ditch you already?" Another boy made funny motions with his fingers when he said boyfriends and I wondered what that meant. "I'm surprised they lasted this long pretending they like you."
"They aren't pretending! They do like me!" I said and showed them my angry face, but I was getting scared now.
I was out here all alone, and Mama and Papa told me over and over never to be alone.
Plus, I talked back, and that never ended well for me.
"It was a prank, dummy," the third boy snickered. "They just want to dump you in front of everyone."
"You're so slow!" the fourth one said with a laugh. "No one likes you. Why would anyone like a retard?"
The retard part didn't bother me. Mommy Daddy made sure I knew it was true, but the rest made me feel sick in my tummy.
No one likes me? My eyes widened and filled with tears. Wayne and Arch are just pranking me?
"I bet they only pretended as long as they have because you give good head," laughed the fifth boy. "Do you, retard? Do you suck them off every night?"
"His tight little ass is probably a good bang, too, if you're into that," the first one said with a snort.
I didn't understand half of what they were saying, but I knew it wasn't nice.
"Leave me alone!" I stood up and shouted, wanting them to just go away.
"Are you getting in my face, fuckard?" The second boy narrowed his eyes at me as his hand shot out and grabbed the front of my t-shirt.
I tried to 'member what I'd learned in my self-defense lesson with luna, but I froze just like Gamma Rube warned us might happen. Buzzing filled my ears, my vision turned white around the edges and my heart and lungs went crazy. I couldn't do anything as the boy tightened his fist in my shirt, yanked me around, and threw me to the ground.
The rough gravel I landed on scraped my back where my shirt rode up, and I bit my bottom lip to hold back a gasp of surprise. It didn't hurt, or at least not nearly as much being whipped with a belt, but everything was happening so fast!
As I tried to get back to my feet, the sixth boy, who hadn't said a word so far, drove his foot into my ribs. This time I did gasp in pain, and that seemed to be a sign for the others because they all started kicking me and yelling mean things.
Why are they doing this to me? I whimpered as I curled up and covered my head with my arms. I didn't do anything for them to treat me like this! I don't even know them!
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Bubble's voice was a deafening boom with Chime Karma underscoring it, and the kicking and insults stopped as fierce growls and dull thuds took their place.
Peeking through my elbows, I saw Bubble, Arch, and Wayne tackle those mean boys to the ground, and the nine of them quickly became a human fight ball.
Before I could see anything more, though, a pair of hands picked me up and carried me off. I didn't bother to struggle because I knew it was useless. I was too small and weak at the best of times, and now my whole body hurt and I was shaking really hard.
"Hang on, little man."
That was Bridger's voice on my left side, so I guessed it was 'lijah carrying me. He ran to Coach's office, which was empty now except for Spring, who was pacing back and forth. Someone had taken him out of his disguise, and a little sob slipped out of my mouth when I saw my wolf waiting for me.
As 'lijah sat me down on the floor, I shoved my thumb in my mouth, wrapped my free arm around Spring's neck, and shoved my face in his fur, wishing I could hide there forever.
Archer
"Dude, come on!" Wayne pounded on the changing stall door. "You're taking forever!"
"Says the one who took ten minutes fixing his fluff!" I snorted.
"Hey, perfection takes time! And I can't help it that you keep your hair cut so short, there's nothing to style."
"You also took so long changing, Reau took off to find Kon," I shot back. "What's to style about a t-shirt and shorts?"
"Just hurry up," he whined. "I want to see our baby and squeeze him!"
I smirked as I grabbed my duffle bag and Reau's. I wanted to squeeze our baby, too. He was a great cuddler, like a little koala, and once he gained a bit more weight and wasn't so bony, the struggle not to carry him everywhere was going to get real.
Who are you fooling? Firth scoffed. You already want to carry him around everywhere!
True enough, I admitted with a little smile.
Heading for the door, Wayne and I stopped to say goodbye to Bridger and Elijah.
"What are you two going to do now?" I asked as we did our bro handshakes.
"Heading home to see my baby girl!" Bridger grinned, which was rare enough, but his eyes were shining brightly, too, and nothing but happiness colored his voice.
"Going to learn how to bathe her today," Elijah added, his lips flicking up at the corners. "Bet we get water everywhere."
"I'm more worried that we'll lose her in the bubbles. She's so freaking tiny!" Bridger laughed, which was something I hadn't heard from him in a long time.
And I was glad for my friend, who'd suffered so much in recent years. His mom, dad, two older sisters, and two younger brothers all died in the sickness, and he'd had to move in with his great-grandma. Not that he didn't love her, but she was old and feeble, nothing like his active parents and close-knit siblings.
Then his girlfriend, who he believed was going to be his mate, ghosted him after her father took a delta position at Cold Moon. That tore the heart out of him, and he went wild as his pain ate him from the inside out.
Except Brynn hadn't ghosted him. She'd been lying in a coma since March, and no one here knew it.
No one here knew she was growing Bridger's pup in her belly, either, until Alpha Kayvon Quake showed up at the alpha offices with a brand-new baby girl.
Unfortunately, Brynn never woke up and died just hours after the baby was born. I knew Bridge was still processing that loss, but his little pup - as well as the Prices and Dr. York - were all helping him stay stable and deal with his emotions instead of funneling them into angry outbursts.
"I can't wait to meet her!" Wayne clapped Bridger on the back. "Once our new little brother gets here, he can be her friend and regular play date since they'll be so close in age."
"Hell, no!" Bridger scowled. "My baby girl ain't going to hang out with boys period, let alone one of your hellion brothers!"
"Hey, this one might not be so bad," Wayne protested.
I snickered and Elijah smirked. We knew the likelihood of that. Both Nathan and Evie's mischief genes ran strong.
All four of us left the locker room together, Wayne and I headed for Coach's office and Bridger and Elijah toward the exit, when we heard someone yelling from the open gym doors. It sounded like it was coming from the bleachers right outside, and a terrible suspicion made my stomach clench.
Without hesitation, I dropped the duffle bags and ran toward Coach's office only to see Coach opening the door and looking for the source of the yelling.
"Reau with you?" I called out as I ran up to him.
"No, I thought he was with you."
"What the hell?" Wayne demanded, pounding up to us. "He's supposed to be with Kon and Spring!"
"No, I left him with you!" Kon pushed Coach out of the doorway to scowl at us.
"Find him now; figure it out later," Coach barked as his eyes darted around the empty gym. "Bridge, take Spring's collar and vest off in case the boy needs his wolf. Eli—"
Tuning out his orders, I headed toward the ruckus that was getting louder outside the gym and my gut twisted because I knew - I freaking knew! - Reau was involved in whatever was happening out there.
And, as usual, my gut was right.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Kon bellowed as he, Wayne, and I rounded the bleachers and saw our baby curled up on the ground with six human boys standing in a ring around him, screaming insults and kicking him.
Red.
Red stole my vision, stole my hearing, stole my mind. Red flooded my whole body until I could taste it.
I'd lost my temper a fair few times in my life, but this? Whatever this was, I had no control over it.
None.
Zero.
Zilch.
Nada.
No part of my brain was involved as I hurled myself into those bastards and took as many down with me as I could. Grabbing one boy's shirt, I slammed my fist into his face, drew back my arm, and did it again and again and again until my knuckles split and his blood splattered my face.
Kill them! Firth demanded. Kill them all!
I probably would have, too, if Coach didn't stop me. Although he didn't have ranked blood, he had a lot of moon power, more than enough to control us younger wolves, except for Beta Ty and Gamma Landry, which was the whole reason our older brothers wanted him teaching at the human school. If a shifter cut loose, Coach was physically strong enough to contain him and dominant enough to command his wolf to stand down. Even humans listened to him without a second thought.
Good thing for these human jerks.
Otherwise, they'd be dead.
Grabbing us by the backs of our necks, Coach pinned me and Wayne against the brick wall of the gym and ordered the boys to go to the locker room and stay there until he came to deal with them.
"Reau needs you more than you need to kill them!" Coach growled in our ears as the humans limped away. "Get your shit together, calm down, and go check on your boy while I sort out those assholes! Goddess, now I got to call parents, which is going to make me late for dinner with my new mate, and oh, my fuck! Who's going to tell Beta Em and Gelo about this?!"
His huge hand tightened around our necks with every word, then banged our foreheads into the rough brick with that last sentence, which might have been accidental or might not have been. After all, no one wanted to be the one to give Beta Beast and the Angel of Death bad news about their precious baby.
"We'll handle it, Coach," I gritted out against the pain.
Dude! Wayne groaned. Gelo really will shoot us this time!
He's our boy, our responsibility, I linked him back. Facing his parents with bad news is going to be part of that from time to time.
I know, but it bites!
Then it bites. I shrugged.
"All right, but I'd advise you to tell them sooner rather than later," Coach said as he released us. "Before they hear it through the pack grapevine."
"We will," I assured him as I rubbed the back of my neck. If he'd squeezed any tighter, I would have needed Firth to heal a few fractured vertebrae.
"Where's Kon?" Wayne muttered as we turned around, and I knew why he asked.
If that stupid dragon had let Reau come outside on his own, we were going to beat his tail from here to home.
"My office. Bridge linked Chime Karma that Reau needed healing." Coach narrowed his eyes at us. "Don't start any shit with him until you know the whole story."
Wayne nodded, but I was too worried about our baby to care about Kon. Not only was Reau injured, but also probably terrified, and who knew what was going through his mind after all the mean words those little dicks screamed at him!
Snagging Wayne by the elbow, I pulled him along as I sprinted toward Coach's office and prayed our baby boy could forgive us for failing to keep him safe.
Arch? Wayne linked me as we ran.
Yeah?
Why didn't he link us for help? His voice quavered and I knew his anxiety was flaring up.
He probably panicked and forgot, I told him, then tried to help him calm down by adding, Just be glad he didn't panic enough to use his skunk ring! Imagine Coach trying to explain that to human parents!
Pfft. Nobody questions him when he's wearing his resting bitch face, and when isn't he?
Hopefully when he's mating Sophie, I smirked.
And Wayne snickered, which was what I intended.
I already knew I'd have one upset boy on my hands when we found Reau. I didn't need two of them.