Chapter 16 The Chatter of Gossips
1425 Words
Chapter 16
The Chatter of Gossips
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Louise
The lines to the toilets were almost as long as the line to get into the marquee. The portable stalls ran in a line; one row backed against another – one line for men, the other for women. I knew the symptoms of my illness would persist even if the pain was minimal, so I made sure to find the toilets the second we arrived. And as predicted, the nausea didn’t disappoint.
Besides, I had to change my pad. Since the last episode in the hospital, I had to do that often. That was one positive outcome of giving up my womanhood. I will no longer have a period. Not that a wolf's period was the same as a human’s. Once we reached the age when our kind came into heat, we usually got them every six months. That rule didn’t apply to me! The other reason I needed to escape was to get away from Joseph. What was his problem? Why won’t he leave me alone? The pressure from his gaze made my body feel weird, foreign to me.
“Did you see how handsome Joseph looks tonight…?” A girl in front of me cooed to the girl beside her. They both looked to be at least seventeen, with long white hair and dressed in matching light dresses with slits that revealed their legs to the thighs. “I wouldn’t mind being his mate… I would become the next Luna… Could you imagine?”
I rolled my eyes. If only they knew his looks were better than his attitude!
“There are rumours he found his mate…” The other girl said, twirling her long white hair around her thin fingers. “And he’s been seen with a girl from another pack…”
“Oh, my goddess, Lola…” The first girl covered her mouth to muffle a sarcastic chuckle. “You don’t think it’s that girl Josie-Anne was hanging around with? Maybe that’s why she was put on our table. They might announce her tonight!”
Announce Jospeh’s mate! The words made my chest burn. I lowered my face, hiding behind my fringe as I listened. Please don’t notice me…
“I doubt it, Sarai,” Lola replied, propping her hand on her hip. “If that girl was his mate, they would sit together… not on a table with us… No,” she shook her head. “This girl is probably a lowly Omega… A project of some kind for Josie-Anne. She’s always taking in strays…”
What! I gasped, then covered my mouth with my hands, hoping the two girls were too busy in their world of gossip to hear me. Is it true? Am I a project for Josie-Anne?
“True,” Sarai giggled, oblivious to my outcry. “Being a cousin to Beta Kingston has its perks…”
Oh no! Now I knew who these two gossipers were, and my heart sank. Lola and Sarai White! Beta Reece’s nieces! The two were Elosie’s teenage daughters. They were a year apart – Lola was sixteen, and Sarai was fifteen and attended Our Lady of Souls. They were so close to Matilda that the three of them were more like sisters than cousins.
Once the gossiping sisters reached the toilet stalls and hurried inside, I breathed a sigh of relief and let my shoulders relax. I wanted so much to ask them what they knew, to find out if it was true, but I had to be on my best behaviour tonight and confronting those two was far from wise.
Finally, I reached the front of the queue, and that familiar ocean breeze caught my attention. No… please don’t be him…
When a door opened and the person left, I didn’t bother to look around. Instead, I hurried into the stall, locked the door, leaned against it and caught my breath. It was tiny. You could barely fit a person inside. Everything was plastic and grey. I wanted to be out of it as soon as I could. I hurried to change my sanitiser pad. The bleeding had slowed, and I was thankful for that. Once I had disposed of it in the electronic sanitiser bin to my right, I hurried to wash my hands. I pressed my ear to the door and listened, hoping Joseph had gone. Please be gone…
After a short minute, I slowly unlocked the door and stepped onto the grass. No sooner than I was out, another girl hurried past to use the stall.
I inhaled deeply. The scent had gone. Thank the Goddess for small favours.
On the way back to the marquee, I found Jo and Raine waiting at the entrance. I threw my arms around them and held them close, soaking in their company.
“Is everything okay, Louise?” Raine asked, stepping back from me. She studied me up and down. “You’ve gone pale…”
“I-I…” I stammered, realising that I was tongue-tied. “I’m fine…”
“You’re not fine,” She crossed her arms. “Did he do something to you again?”
“No, it’s not…” I glanced from one to the other, then hugged myself. “Okay, I think he’s following me…”
“I think this is more serious than you lead us to believe,” Jo raised her thin, dark eyebrows at me. Her eyes narrowed in on me, making it difficult to keep my secret about Jospeh hidden. “Is there something we should know?”
“No!” I almost shouted, then brought my voice down. Did I need to tell them about what Joseph had said? No! It had been a lie! “I mean… Nothing more than what I’ve already told you?” Lies!
“You know what? Something is suspicious about it all…” Now, it was Jo’s turn to cross her arms. “Why did Josie-Anne take you to the front of the table? From what I can tell, those seats are for the Alpha and Beta extended families… Is there something going on we should know about?”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” I shrugged. At least, that was the truth. “Josie-Anne said that seat was perfect for a person like me...”
The girls exchanged concerned glances and then turned back to me.
“Josie-Anne knows about me…” I exhaled, and then the realisation hit me, and I sighed disappointedly. After hearing Lola and Sarai, it was the only conclusion that made sense. “I think she sat me with Doc Anderson for my safety.”
A glint of recognition flickered in their eyes.
“That makes sense,” Raine said, her shoulders relaxing as she unfurled her arms. “If I were in that position, I would have done the same thing.”
“Really?”
“Totally! That girl has psychic powers.” She wiggled her fingers in front of her. “She knows what you have, and she’s looking out for you.”
“It’s lovely of her,” Jo agreed. “And if something goes wrong, you’ll be in the right hands.”
There was a hiss from the speakers inside the marquee, and then Beta Reece’s voice boomed through the room. “Food is now being served. Please find your seats… A waiter will be with you momentarily.”
“We better head inside.” I insisted, turning on my heels.
“Okay,” they agreed, following behind me.
As I reached for my tiny bag, I froze and peered down. It was gone. I spun to face them. “Wait… It’s gone...!”
“What’s gone?” Raine asked, staring at me with wide eyes.
“My emergency bag...” I pushed past the guests, hurried out of the marquee and glanced around. “I need it. It has my medication in it!”
“We’ll help you find it,” they said in unison.
The three of us scanned the yard, using the moon’s brilliant light to guide the way. We searched the line to the toilets, and I checked the stall I had used, but it was nowhere to be found.
I could sense nausea returning. “What am I going to do?”
“I’ll go get your mum,” Raine insisted.
“And I will keep searching with you. “Jo added as she walked about with her eyes on the ground. “It can’t have gone far...”
- Writer
