Change my name to Candy

"Yesterday, after everybody left my dad's office, Mr. Thorne came to visit my dad. I guess there's nothing weird about that since they're best friends, my father served as his Beta for decades while he was still Alpha, but somehow I had a bad feeling about it. Or maybe I was still just pissed at my father for putting his hands on you. I don't know, but whatever it was, I decided to listen in on them. I slipped into the broom closet next to his office where the wall's thinner."

Corbin's chest heaves as his breath hitches. "F, I heard him tell my dad that you're his second chance mate," he says. His breathing gets heavier, his chest rising and falling fast. "It's bullshit, F. How can he find a second chance mate when his true mate was still alive? The bastard! It's a load of bullshit, and I heard my father agree with him. They agreed that you're his mate yesterday afternoon, and last night, last night his mate died!"

He grabs my arms and grips them tightly. "I can't let them touch you, F. I can't let my father lay a hand on you again or you'll be dead. I can't let that old swine lay a hand on you either." His voice breaks and he shakes his head. "They must have done something to her. They must have. I can feel it in my gut. If they killed her, what would they do to you?"

I gently pull my hands out of his grip, wrap my arms around his middle instead, and lay my cheek against his chest. His body is taut and stiff, his heart hammering fast beneath my ear. This must be so hard for Corbin. I don't know why I'm so calm right now. I think I'll start to freak out eventually, but I have to make sure Corbin is calmed first before I let myself lose it.

After a while, I feel his body start to loosen as he wraps his arms around me and buries his face in my hair. His heartbeat slowly returns close to normal. "I don't want you to go," he whispers into my hair, "but I can't keep you safe here. I hate that I can't protect you, F."

"That's okay, C. That's okay," I tell him, even though my head is spinning. I don't have any money. Where would I even go? How do I get out of here? I know they wouldn't have let me leave before, but now that one of them has claimed me as his mate, it'll be impossible.

I let Corbin go once I'm sure he's calmed enough. We both sit cross-legged on the grass, facing each other, just like we used to when we were younger.

"I love you as much as I love Clara, maybe more. I just lost Nana, and now I'm about to lose you too." I see his Adam's apple bob as he swallows hard. "Life sucks."

I just nod. How am I going to survive out there? It's a scary world, but the thought of being marked by Mr. Thorne and trapped here forever is scarier.

I can't go to WVU like I planned. It'll be the first place they look for me once they realize I'm gone. I have to get as far away as possible, somewhere they can't trace my scent.

I'll need a job. Who's going to hire me? I'd have to head South. Maybe I'll go to Vegas and become a showgirl. Maybe I'll move to Texas and waitress at some seedy bar. "I might have to work the streets or something and change my name to Candy." No offense to any Candy out there, but if I have to work the streets, that's the name I want.

"Why do you have to work the streets and change your name to Candy?" Corbin asks, staring at me oddly for almost a minute.

"Well, a girl's gotta eat. Duh!"

Corbin sighs. "You're not going to sell your body, F. I won't let you," he says. "You've got such a wild imagination." He shakes his head, the faintest hint of a smile cracking through. "Don't worry, I already have it all figured out."

"Where would I even go, C? I have nowhere to go. I have no money. Even if I did, I know they'd find me the second I tried enrolling at the University like I planned."

"No, the University's out of the question now. You have to go far away. As far as you can, so nobody can trace your scent. Here, this is where you're going," he says, pulling a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handing it to me.

It's an acceptance letter from a small college in California. I remember leaving that letter in my old room at Nana's house. It was just wishful thinking on my part when I applied. I dreamed of going somewhere far away, somewhere nobody knew me. But back then Nana was still alive, and I never had any real intention of putting that much distance between us.

"But I emailed the college weeks ago telling them I wasn't coming. I think they'd have given my spot to somebody else by now."

"Yeah, but Caleb's out there, and he knows somebody who can fix that."

"Caleb?" My mouth hangs open. Caleb is Corbin's older brother. He was supposed to take over the Beta title from his father when he turned twenty one, six years ago, but he left the pack before that could happen. I heard he had a massive fight with his father and Mr. Thorne, who was still Alpha back then. I was twelve when he left, and I don't know much beyond what everybody around me used to say about him.

Caleb was known as a troublemaker. Always rebelling against his father. Always doing exactly what he wasn't supposed to. Mixing with the wrong crowd. Fighting. Everyone said he was bad news. Nobody knew where he went. Well, apparently, Corbin does.

"I didn't know you were still in touch with him."

"Yeah, he reached out to me two years ago and gave me his number, just for emergencies," Corbin answers. "This qualifies as an emergency. They're holding the burning moon gathering tonight. Get ready to leave around eight, when everybody's occupied out there."

I know exactly what's going to happen. There'll be a big gathering under the moonlight, the body burned on a pyre out in the clearing in the woods, about half a mile from the pack house. Then everybody will shift into their wolves, howl at the moon, and go for a run to pay their last respects, this time to old Judith Thorne. I was there for Nana's. I just stood off to the side by myself while everybody else phased and ran.

"Here, take his number. Call him as soon as you get there. And take some money too. I know it's not much, but it'll get you started."

I stare at the piece of paper and a thick roll of fifty dollar notes in my hand. There must be over a thousand dollars in there. "I can't take this money, C. This is your money."

"Precisely. It's my money, so I can do whatever I want with it, and I want you to have it," he says. "Just take it, F. Stop arguing with me. You can't afford to be too proud right now. You're going to need it."

I stare at the money again. I know he's right. "Thanks, C," I tell him.

"Hey, F?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I never defended you when they made fun of you and bullied you. I'm, I'm such a coward." He looks down at the ground, not meeting my eyes. It must be hard for him to admit that.

"That's okay, C," I answer truthfully. I never expected anybody to fight my battles for me.

"For what it's worth, I'm proud of you, F. You never backed down. You didn't deserve any of it, and you're so strong," he says. "Go out there and have a good life, F. Don't ever look back."

Yes, I have nothing else here. I don't think I'll be coming back. The only person I'd miss is Corbin. Tears start to well up in my eyes, but I tip my chin up and smile anyway.

"I'll pay you back, C. One day I'll pay your money back." I don't know if that's even possible, but it feels good to say it. It makes me feel like I'll get to see him again.

"You are so much like Nana, F."

"Really???" I smile up at him. A couple of tears fall onto my cheek, and I wipe them away quickly. That's the biggest compliment anybody could've ever given me. My Nana was awesome!

My Nana had just lost her beloved mate when her daughter dropped an unwanted newborn baby on her doorstep, one she hadn't even bothered to name. My Nana took the baby in anyway. She named it after her mate, Freya Hayes. Yes, she named me after my late grandfather. She could have rolled over in grief after suffering a loss like that, but instead she got up and gave the baby a name and a home. That's how awesome my Nana was.

"Yeah," says Corbin, his eyes soft. "Strong, stubborn, kind, and completely coocoo."

"I love you too, C. I love you too."