#Chapter 6: Old Friends, New Experiences

"I recognized you from our photo Jessica sent in the group chat," Lucas explained as he carried me to the nurse's office. One of his hands supported my back while the other was perfectly nestled underneath my thighs. I held onto him tightly. “You could recognize me?” I asked with shock. “I mean, I don’t exactly look the same.” Lucas shook his head. “I don’t know how I didn’t notice before.” He looked down at me carefully and I felt like I was glued to his arms. “Your eyes are still the same.” “You mean a dull, boring, brown?” I joked. “Nothing about you is boring, Shana.” Lucas looked away from me and then, continued to walk forward down the hallways. I swallowed, not allowing his words to affect me as much as I wanted them to. Nothing about you is boring. “Where are you taking me?” I asked him. “The nurse’s office,” Lucas replied. “You have a nasty cut on your forehead.” I relaxed in his arms a bit. Our school nurse knew me well since I had been visiting her frequently since the start of the school year. “Oh, Hi Lucas….” Nurse Rebecca said hi to Lucas with a smile, but her eyes widened when she saw me in his arms. "Lucas!! what did you do to Shana?" she asked, quickly standing up from her desk. "He didn't do this!" I defended Lucas, looking up at him. He seemed slightly offended by Nurse Rebecca's assumption. "It was Jessica." "Can't a guy help out his friend without someone thinking I'm the one who made her bleed?" Lucas retorted, exasperated. Nurse Rebecca seemed skeptical. "You two are friends? Shana's never mentioned you before." Lucas asked, "How do you know Shana?" Nurse Rebecca sighed, "I've seen Shana more than I'd like to. No offense, Shana." "None taken," I replied. "Everyone knows Shana is wolfless. Unfortunately, the students at this school are heartless when it comes to wolfless students. Shana has been in my office almost every week because of all the bullying." "Nurse Rebecca and I have grown a friendship, haven't we?" I teased, smiling at her. She shook her head, clearly not finding the subject of my bullying amusing. “I’d prefer to see you in more normal circumstances, not when you’re coming to me because students are awful to you.” Lucas frowned as he processed Nurse Rebecca's words. "Will Shana heal slower than normal werewolves since she's wolfless? She hit her head really hard, and she probably has some bruising on her ribs." "Don't worry, Shana will be just fine," Nurse Rebecca assured him. "She heals quickly. Just because she is wolfless doesn't mean she's completely weak. Most people don't know that, though." Nurse Rebecca and Lucas also seemed familiar with each other. “What about you two? You guys are friends too, right?” I asked, genuinely curious. “The hockey team gets injured all the time, and Lucas is always a great student,” Nurse Rebecca smiled. “He might be one of my favorite students, but you didn’t hear that from me.” “Favorite?” Lucas tilted his head with a cocky smirk. “Hey, what about me?” I teased. “I said he was one of my favorites. Now, let me look at that gash on your forehead.” Nurse Rebecca examined my injuries and cleaned the blood off my face. As she took care of me, Lucas stood against the wall, silently watching. When I would look away from Nurse Rebecca and find his stare, it felt weird to know the truth of who he really is. It felt surreal to realize that he was my old best friend, Lucas. So much had changed in the last eight years. He was no longer the chubby boy who used to get bullied: he had become an Alpha, the captain of the hockey team, and earned respect. I wondered how long his loyalty to me would last. Once Nurse Rebecca finished cleaning me up, she left us in one of the medical rooms while she returned to her office. “Keep ice on your forehead for a little bit longer. I’ve bandaged your forehead so there shouldn’t be any more blood. If that happens, come see me as soon as you can.” I assured her I would follow her instructions before she left the room. Sitting on the long couch, I held an ice pack to my head, flinching when the cold became too much. Lucas took a seat in one of the chairs beside me, his gaze fixed on me. "Feeling better?" I nodded. "Thank you for helping me." He shrugged. "It's the least I could do." We shared a smile. "I can't believe it's really you," I said. "I never thought I'd see you again after I moved away." “I was surprised when I saw that photo again,” Lucas said with a smile. “Why did you come back? Did your parents magically get back to each other after all these years?” “No." I paused, taking a deep breath. "My mom passed away, so I’m living with my dad now,” I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill while saying this. Seeing Bear again made me think about all our good times together as a kid, and I couldn’t help but miss my mom. "Shana, I am so sorry." Lucas frowned. "I didn’t know that. I'm so sorry you lost her. She was the best. I remember when she used to make us chocolate chip cookies every week." I swallowed, feeling the weight of the loss. "It's been hard, especially moving back and enduring the torment here." Lucas shook his head. "I won't let anyone hurt you anymore, Shana. You have my word. And I'm sorry for what I said earlier... I've just had some terrible experiences with girls who fall for me." "No need to apologize. I understand where you're coming from," I reassured him. "What about you? How's your grandma? I miss her." Lucas smiled. "She misses you too. A lot has happened since you moved away..." I waited for him to elaborate. "...I actually don’t live with my grandma anymore.” “What?” I asked. “Why?” Lucas sighed. “When I shifted at thirteen, I turned into an Alpha wolf, and it left me very scared and confused." "I can imagine," I said, feeling confused. Everyone in Lucas’s family was an Omega. It made no sense that he shifted into an Alpha. "Yeah." Lucas shook his head. "I confronted my grandma, and she revealed the truth... My real father is Kendrick Busch." I couldn't help but gasp. The Busch family held immense power in the werewolf world. They were billionaires who had the capability of controlling a lot of people. "I'm his illegitimate son," Lucas continued. "He was probably too embarrassed to let the world know I was his until I shifted. Once I became an Alpha, he found me and decided to include me in his life. I moved out of my grandma's house and started living with him." "Wow, that's a lot to process. Now that you mention it, I remember hearing people say that you’re rich…” I said, absorbing the magnitude of his revelation. "I know," Lucas nodded. "It felt like my whole life changed overnight." I thought about how different life was for Lucas now. Sure, my own life had changed drastically since we last saw each other, but so had his. He’s a Busch now. He’s part of one of the most influential werewolf families. And I couldn’t even imagine the pressure of living with a family who is a long line of Alphas. We continued talking, catching up on the years we had been apart. "Ready to go back to class?" Lucas asked when he noticed the melted ice in my pack. I wasn’t ready to go back to class yet. I didn’t want to endure everyone’s looks and laughter. I shook my head. "No, it's fine. You go ahead. I think I'll stay here a little longer." Lucas furrowed his brows, sensing my reluctance. Then, as if he got an idea in his head, he smirked at me. "Have you ever skipped class before?" "What?" I asked, frowning. "Why do you ask?" "Do you want to go to my grandma's house?" Excitement washed over me. "When?" "Now, Shana," Lucas said, his smile widening. "Let's skip class."