Chapter Twenty-Three: Pete Dickinson is A Massive Asshole

Chapter Twenty-Three: Pete Dickinson is A Massive Asshole


The bright light from the overhead bulb welcomed Ember back into consciousness. She squinted as the ray of light hit her eyes. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being tackled and beaten to a pulp by Lyra.

She flickered her eyes open and adjusted them to the light. “Hi, Ember! You’re awake”, her mother’s voice lolled.

“Mom?”, she called back, adjusting backwards so that she was sitting up and facing her mom. “Where am I? What happened?”

“You don’t remember anything?” Mrs Doyle asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. Ember remembered everything about the fight with Lyra, but was too ashamed to admit that, so she shook her head in the negative. “Just vaguely”, she lied.

Mrs Doyle gave her a weak smile and replied. “You were so eager to jump right back into school activities that you lost your footing and fell down”

Wait, had that been what happened? Ember stared at her mother, confusion lining every inch of her face. “Really?”, she asked.

Mrs Doyle flashed her an equally confused look. “Yeah, you fell. Banged up your head and some parts of your face real bad”, she said, reaching over and pulling hair away from Ember’s face. “Pete found you and brought you right back home”

Damn it! Pete had been the one who stopped Lyra’s vicious attack on Ember. He had also been the one who brought her back home. Ember was torn between feeling confused and being grateful. First, Pete had totally ignored her in the hallway and then, he had saved her from Lyra’s fury and even lied to her mom for her sake?

She gulped, the words were heavy on her tongue when she asked. “Was… was that all? Did he say anything to you?”

Mrs Doyle knew that Ember was referring to the night of the mating. She shook her head in the negative. “Nothing. He only said you were lucky that he found you when he did. Who knows what would have happened?”, she asked, the worry she felt was etched on her face.

“Nothing would have happened, mom. You forget that I’m a werewolf with supernatural healing abilities. I would have eventually healed up”, Ember replied. 

A look of pity flashed in Mrs Doyle’s eyes. “You are back to being a Beta now, Ember. Your abilities are just like a baby learning to walk. You have to be careful with everything you do”, she paused, looking deep into Ember’s eyes so that the intensity of her words could be felt. “You are just as fragile as the humans now. One wrong move and you can put your life at great risk”

Ember huffed because her mom was right. It had totally skipped her mind that she had been demoted to a Beta. She was back to being an even easier prey for bullies to pick on.

“Thank you for your concern, mom but I can take care of myself” Ember said. Her voice held a false conviction because she could fool her mom but not herself. The fight with Lyra earlier was beyond proof that she couldn’t take care of herself. If anything, she had a target on her back now. She had dared to go toe-to-toe with one of Juno’s friends.

She knew beyond any doubt that she was fucked. Her first day back in school and she had made Juno’s gang to dislike her even more than they already did.

Mrs Doyle gave her a small smile and patted her back gently. “I’m sure that you can take care of yourself, my brave girl”. She got up and made to leave the room, “Can I get you anything to eat?”

Food was the last thing on Ember’s mind. She could count up a hundred other things on her mind before she got to food. She shook her head slightly. She replied, “No, mom. Thanks again”

Mrs Doyle gave her a small, reassuring smile and left Ember to wallow in the pit she had dug for herself.


The Next Day..

Ember made her way to the Lycan Academy even after her mom had tried to persuade her not to. Mrs Doyle felt it was a bad idea for Ember to go right back to school after her alleged fall.

Ember had managed to convince her mom that she could handle herself, but now as she walked down the hallway, she didn’t feel so sure about that anymore. She felt small in the face of the stares that she was getting.

Everyone was looking at her like she was some freak accident ghost. She ignored the stares that she was getting and kept on moving, her eyes scanning everywhere for him.

She turned a corner and yet there was no sign of Pete. Where the hell was he? She needed to talk to him even if it obviously seemed like he didn’t want the same thing.

Pete’s long blonde hair was the first thing that caught Ember’s eyes and she sighed in relief. He stood with his back to her direction, laughing and talking with a bunch of other werewolf guys.

She steadied her breath before strutting over to him. She tapped on his shoulder gently and Pete turned to look at her. When he saw that it was Ember, he gave her the cold shoulder, turning away from her to continue his conversation.

This sent a shot of hurt and anger up Ember’s throat. She took a deep breath and called out. “Hey, Pete”. Once again, he ignored her, talking loudly over her voice.

“Pete!”, she practically shouted and spun him around until he was facing her. The laughter and chattering from his friends halted abruptly.

“What do you want, Ember?” He asked her. Signaling to her bruised face, he added. “Have you come to get yourself another round of ass whooping?”

The laughter from his friends echoed in Ember’s head like the sound of different chiming bells.

“I came to say thank you”, she simply said, ignoring his obvious jab at her. “For what?” Pete asked, feigning obliviousness.

Ember rolled her eyes, saying. “For yesterday? Saving me from the claws of Lyra?”. Pete scoffed, shooting her a look of disdain. “You must be mistaken, Ember”

The silence that followed was louder than the sound of Ember’s heart beating wildly in her chest. This was Pete, her best friend and now he was talking to her like she was nothing short of a stranger.

“What the hell has gotten into you, Pete?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “You sound so… different”

Pete scoffed loudly. “Ember, don’t you think you need to go do something else? Like running away from your mating circle?”, he asked with a sardonic laugh.

“I’m sorry, Pete. I have tried to apologize but just keep shutting me out!” Ember shouted at him. By now, a small crowd had gathered and they were enjoying the show.

“You can take your apology and shove it right up your butt. I have no use for it ”, Pete told her matter of factly. 

“Why did you save me, then?” Ember asked, her tone a mix of hurt and anger. “You should have let Lyra beat me to death”

Pete was sufficiently fed up with Ember’s drama. “You know what’s funny about you, Ember? You think you’re some kind of saint who can do no wrong. You are the one who ran away on our mating night and yet I am the one to blame for that? Typical Ember”, he spat, his words a venom to Ember’s ears.

“And by the way, the only reason I saved you from Lyra was just so that I would be the one to end you myself”, he added and strutted off angrily.

Ember’s head dropped in great embarrassment. All she wanted was to straighten things out with him and now, everything had completely blown out of proportion. Pete Dickinson was such a massive asshole!