The Lightning Wolf Chronicles Novel

Chapter 55: I Love You, Sister Evelyn's POV "I'll go to the ball for you," I said, squeezing Nadia's hand. "You're the only one who's actually respected my choices. I'll play nice, but don't blame me if someone pushes my buttons." "This is why I love you!" Nadia threw her arms around me. "Always there when it counts." We walked together toward my father's house, with Nadia constantly checking over her shoulder. "Sure you don't want me to come in with you?" she asked as we reached the yard. "Go," I nudged her away. "Milo's waiting.

I can handle myself." Once she was out of sight, I slipped in through the back door and headed up to my room. This space that used to feel like a prison had somehow become my sanctuary - the one place I could escape all those complicated expectations. After finishing homework, I lost myself in a book until darkness swallowed the room. A soft knock interrupted the silence. "Evie," Elliot's voice drifted through the door. "I brought food. It's outside your door if you want it." I stayed quiet, waiting. "Look," his voice softened, "I'm not here to lecture you. You have every right to be pissed.

Just... don't shut everyone out, okay?" He paused. "Milo and I have patrol duty, and everyone's taking shifts. We'll give you space, but I miss you, little sis." The hallway fell silent for a beat. 'I love you, sister. Always will be, no matter what happens." His footsteps faded down the hall. I lay on my bed, feeling a tear slide down my cheek. They cared about me to prove I wasn't just someone who needed constant protection. - I knew that. But I needed When I was sure he'd gone, I opened the door and grabbed the food. The hot chocolate was still warm, and the sandwiches simple but good.

I ate slowly, not from hunger, but because I wanted him to see I'd accepted his peace offering. After finishing, I left the empty plate outside my door and crawled back into bed. Morning arrived with that fresh scent of dew that only the earliest risers ever notice. I got dressed and considered my usual window escape route, but decided to use the front door instead. I nearly crashed into Lucian the second I stepped outside. 1/3 18:21 Sat, Jan 10 Chapter 55: I Love You, Sister "Whoa, sorry! He steadied me with a quick smile.

"Heading to patrol?" The early light caught his tired face, those blue-green eyes still bright despite the dark circles underneath them. His patrol shift had clearly been rough. "Yeah, I nodded, keeping my voice neutral. Need me to...?" he started. "I'm good, I cut him off. 'Going alone." His face fell for a second before he forced another smile. "See you at school then." He hesitated. 'Whatever happens, we're all here waiting for you to come back." Something warm flickered in my chest, but I just nodded and walked past him.

The scent of Silver Pines hit me that mixture of pine and damp earth that always felt like home. I quickened my pace toward the patrol meeting point. Thomas was already waiting when I arrived ten minutes early. "Morning, Evie. Figured you'd be early." As I opened my mouth to greet him, Thomas shifted, revealing someone standing behind him. "There's been a change of plans. Chloe stood there looking half-asleep, her heavy makeup smudged, wearing a neon yellow tracksuit that practically glowed against the forest backdrop. She looked like someone had dragged her straight out of bed.

What's she doing here? my wolf asked cautiously. No idea, but it can't be good, I replied. She hasn't even awakened her wolf yet." "Where do we start?" I asked Thomas directly, purposely ignoring Chloe. "Boundary patrol today," Thomas explained. "Since Chloe hasn't shifted yet, we'll stay in human form. I'll patrol while showing you both what to watch for." 'Have you talked to the Alpha King?' Chloe chimed in, her voice painfully high-pitched. "He stays at the pack house. We talk sometimes," I answered, deliberately vague. Thomas gave me a curious look.

He knew I normally loved discussing strategy with him and couldn't figure out why I'd suddenly clammed up. But I wasn't about to show off any real skills in front of Chloe. She only showed up to training to get close to the guys she couldn't care less about actually being a warrior. "We'll take one of seven possible routes today," Thomas continued. "This keeps our patterns unpredictable while still covering the whole territory." 2/3 18:21 Sat, Jan 10 Chapter 55: I Love You, Sister : We started jogging along the boundary, Thomas quietly explaining tracking techniques as we moved.

A 75 'Patrol serves several key purposes," he said. "First, we leave our scent as territorial markers to warn outsiders. Even though water surrounds most of Polaris City, the land connections need constant watching." "Second, we create overlapping patrol routes to minimize blind spots. Makes it harder for intruders to hide. Watch for damaged vegetation too broken branches might mean someone passed through. Almost no small animals here since they avoid wolf territories." Not even an hour in, Chloe started whining: "My legs hurt! I'm starving! When does this end?" I rolled my eyes.

It wasn't even , and patrol lasted until after nine. If she kept this up, even my patience would snap. "I didn't know we'd be running the whole time," she continued. "Delta Griffin said my partner would be a Gamma. I thought he meant someone else." She glanced nervously at Thomas, suddenly realizing how that sounded. "What exactly did you think patrol meant?" I couldn't help asking. "What did you expect to do with Thomas? We're protecting boundaries and preventing intrusions." Thomas suppressed a smile while Chloe pouted. "Not this!" she huffed.

"I thought we'd sit in some monitoring room watching camera feeds. Acacia's dad promised Zoey and I would get high-ranking warriors he arranged. He said they'd do the real work and we'd just observe." "Since when," I turned to Thomas, "can we make demands about patrol duties?" Then back to Chloe: "You never planned to actually help, did you?" She flinched. Thomas gave me a warning look - I'd almost crossed a line, but I could tell he understood my point.

This made it clear that if Chloe was here, Acacia was probably clinging to one of the triplets, with Zoey assigned to Elliot or someone else. They were putting pack security at risk just to get close to the boys! Did they not understand how serious things were? "At least you've got genuine experts," Thomas said calmly to Chloe. "Evelyn's outperformed everyone in her tests. We've got miles to go, so you'll need to power through. We can't send you back mid-patrol- everyone works in teams, including me.

I'll report this misunderstanding to Griffin when we're done." With that, he turned and continued jogging. I followed closely, realizing this situation was probably worse than I'd imagined. Comments ∞ 1 Write Comments SHARE 3/3 18:21 Sat, Jan 10 The Lightning Wolf Chronicles admin