POV: Jordan

Alex had fought Dalton, threw Nathan around, argued with everyone in his path, and worst of all, broke up with Steven. The memories were haunted, dark grey candles flickering in the darkness, then fizzling out. He had to see Mrs. Carter wasn't helping him, their little sessions and lies were only making his life worse. She wasn't there to help him, she was only there to use him for her own personal gain, whatever it may be.

It was a day like any other day. Light pierced through the windows of the school. Animals talked all around, unaware of the circumstances we were in. Flowers sprung up from the ground, blooming their multi colored buds and embracing the light of the sun. The days became warmer, and I found myself ditching most of my winter clothes for more breathable attire.

Now was all we had, time couldn't be bought. Too many things weighed on everyone's shoulders, mine especially. My friend was gone, replaced with some other wolf who didn't care about anything or anyone. He wanted us gone from his life forever, and as much as I wanted to leave him in his own misery, I knew there were other factors contributing to the mess he created. I couldn't just leave him, I couldn't just forget about all the times we spent together. I had to break down those walls of his, let heaven in. We lit the whole world, before we blew it up.

I glanced around the room, spotting Alex just as he finished another session with Mrs. Carter. It hurt to see him, to see him...happy. His tail wagged behind him, a smile on his face as he waved goodbye with his claws which were getting longer each day. But even with the false happiness Mrs. Carter was giving him, there was still a deep sadness in his eyes. They were grey, dark grey all alone. There was also a tint of blue to them. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me, thinking there was still some good left inside of him. There had to be though, there had to be something in that hollow head of his.

Time slowed as he walked past me, his clean scent filling up my nose, his fingers brushing against my hand lifeless to my side. Then the clock resumed ticking, turning around to see him walking away, tail still behind him. I just couldn't understand how he had broken up with Steven, how he had destroyed what he loved so much. But then again, was that really Alex, or just some sick manifestation of Mrs. Carter's will? There was no telling, but there was always speculation.

Something in my mind clicked and I ran to the infirmary, pushing open the glass doors. Nathan was on one of the beds, rubbing his head with a tissue stuffed up his nose. "Hey Jordan," he smiled, hopping off the bed and making his way over to me. Several nurses swarmed him, but he waved them off, being a hyena who was really good at lying.

"How's your nose?" I asked, poking the slightly red tissue.

He sighed, then took it out and threw it in a nearby trash can. "It's fine. Luckily, he didn't break it. He got close though." He chuckled, running a hand through his ears. "Still, he was kinda scary, wasn't he?"

I nodded, looking off to the side. "But why did you try to fight him? You should've called me when he showed up. God knows what would've happened if I didn't show-"

"He was looking for you. He needed to release some of his anger before I was going to tell him where you were."

I sighed and rolled my eyes in frustration. "I know, but just…" my voice trailed off.

Nathan grinned, flashing his perfectly white teeth. "Better me than you."

Shoving down the feelings was bad, I knew that, but I needed to focus on the murder case. I liked Nathan, I really did.

God, I fucking loved him, and I had no idea why.

I wrapped my arms around him and his body stiffened up, his quick breaths warm on my neck.

Just because it's over doesn't mean it's really over. And if I think it over, maybe you'll come back again?

"You're kinda...squeezing me really tight," Nathan said and I backed away, laughing nervously.

"Sorry," I said, rubbing my arms. Everything felt so itchy all of a sudden, and I was beginning to think I was allergic to hyena fur, which brought a whole myriad of questions into my mind.

The nurses discharged Nathan and we left the infirmary, concluding our little reunion. We exchanged casual pleasantries, asking each other about our day and anything else we could think of, just something instead of Alex. We both knew something was wrong, we both knew the blood found at the crime scene had to match Mrs. Carter. The one thing we were unsure about, was how we were going to tell Alex. No doubt Mrs. Carter probably already told him everything.

"I wish I could just be a fly on the wall," I said.

"You mean during Alex's sessions?" Nathan said, his hand reaching the audiovisual room door and opening it wide.

We stopped, staring into the once dark abyss now filled with light...and police officers. They were throwing papers all around the room, searching underneath the couches and scribbling things down on their notepads. Dalton was in the back corner, arms crossed, looking bored out of his mind. I grabbed Nathan's hand, the only comfort I could seem to find, and walked over to Dalton. He greeted us with a smile, uncrossing his arms and walking closer to us.

"Hey," he said. "Good to see you."

I let go of Nathan's hand. "What the hell is going on?" I took another look around the room, the officers talking in low whispers and pointing at me.

Dalton sighed. "Apparently, a really important file is missing. I have no idea why they're looking here, Mr. Parker is over there if you want to talk to him." He pointed to where Mr. Parker was standing in a circle with other officers as they talked among themselves.

"I do," I said, faking a sense of confidence.

Nathan grabbed my shoulder, whispering in my ear. "Remember what he is." I nodded, took a deep breath, and made my way over to Mr. Parker. Pushing through the crowd filled with dogs, he caught my glare, narrowing his eyes, turning on his heel and walking away from the crowd which began to disperse.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I said, blocking off his path. A poor decision on my part, but I had to show him I was still angry. He needed to know I meant business this time...well, I always meant business. But this time was different, this time it was personal.

He gently placed his hand on my back and escorted me to the side of the room, far away from everyone else. He leaned in close, I could almost feel his warm breath against my face. "Listen, I'm only telling you this because your suspicions of Mrs. Carter might be correct. And as much as you seem to hate me, which I understand why, I'm not going to take credit for it." He took a deep breath, Nathan was watching carefully. "Last night, a file was stolen, one of utmost importance."

I crossed my arms, skeptical. "Ok, and how is this relevant to the men destroying my audiovisual room?"

His jaw tensed, claws tightening around the clipboard in his hand. "Because that file is the only evidence we have to use against Mrs. Carter."

"And I'm the only animal who knows you're a hybrid." The truth was out, I didn't even know my hands were shaking.

A surprised expression slowly appeared on his face as his mouth opened slightly. Then he shut it, teeth clicking into place, and shook his head. "I don't care how you found that out, it doesn't matter right now. What does matter, is that the only piece of evidence we have, and the file within it, is gone!" he said through gritted teeth. "This may not bother you at all, but my job is on the line here!"

So all you care about is your job?

Nathan came to my side, hand brushing against mine. He looked directly at Mr. Parker, a slight glimmer in his eye. "If I may, I believe I have some information about the animal who may have stolen the file." He took his glasses off his face, cleaning them with his shirt and placing them back on his head. They were taped together after Alex had broken them. Needless to say, Nathan's parents weren't too happy to hear his glasses had been destroyed.

Mr. Parker seemed interested, but brushed Nathan off as another kid in it for the fame and glory.

"I assure you," Nathan said in the most assertive voice he could. "This animal is...quite connected to the case...personally." Mr. Parker rolled his eyes, but obliged Nathan's attempt at a formal statement. "Last night, I think it was around midnight, although I'm not too sure. I had this hunch that something was going to happen, couldn't tell you what, but I figured it was something. So I snuck out of the infirmary, and then it occurred to me, I wasn't the only one sneaking around the school. So, given the positions of the cameras and the lackadaisical placement of the guards, I assumed whoever was sneaking around knew the school well enough to not be caught."

"Just get to the damn point," Mr. Parker sneered.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "I followed this animal to your office where the files are kept. Now, I couldn't see exactly who it was, it was pretty dark."

Mr. Parker snarled. "Don't you have night vision like the rest of us?"

Nathan tapped his glasses. "Yes, although I'm vision impaired. Anyways, whoever it was must be closely connected to Mrs. Carter." He breathed deeply, closing his eyes then flickering them back open. "That only leaves one animal. Alex."

I scoffed, confused at Nathan's comment. "You can't seriously think it was Alex, can you?"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "He's the only animal close enough to Mrs. Carter, and this doesn't seem like something he wouldn't do, given the circumstances. Perhaps he's trying to clear her name or maybe he's-

Mr. Parker cut him off. "Yesterday, Alex came to my office asking about Mrs. Carter, stating he was with her during the predation incident. I called him out on his bullshit and he left after saying…" his eyes went low, and his phone rang. From the very quick glimpse of it, the name of the caller was Steven. He picked it up and sighed, holding up a finger as he walked away from us.

I turned my attention to Nathan, punching him in the shoulder. "What do you mean you think it's Alex! He couldn't have done that!"

Nathan sighed and rubbed his arm. "He's the only animal, and I was there when the animal took the file. Well, I left before they could find me, but still. Who else would it be? Who else could it be?"

I didn't want to believe it was Alex. There was no way it could've been him. He may have been an idiot, and a jerk, and an asshole. But thinking of him sneaking into a place to destroy something that had to be true? It just...it just didn't feel right.

"Jordan," Nathan said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "There really isn't anybody else."

I wanted to cry right there on the spot, the feeling washed over me like a tsunami. "I know," I said. "Why can't our lives just be normal?"

Mr. Parker came back, clearly he was crying from his red puffy eyes and the constant sniffles. "We're doing a search around the whole school," he said, placing his clipboard down and rubbing his temples. "I'll make sure they clean up after they're done."

Nathan chimed in. "If what we're thinking is true, there might not be a file to look for to begin with. If I were in," he coughed into his sleeve, "Alex's situation, the most logical thing I would think of would be to burn the file, leaving nothing behind."

"But if it was Alex," I said with a slight twinge of hope in my chest, "then that means this only proves our theory of Mrs. Carter being the suspect." I quickly turned my head to Mr. Parker. "What was on the file to begin with?" There was excitement rushing through my body, finally getting to the bottom of a cold case. If I could just convince the police Alex was under Mrs. Carter's influence, then there wouldn't have been any repercussions for his actions. I wouldn't let anything happen to him, despite everything he had done. It wasn't his fault, it was all Mrs. Carter. It had always been Mrs. Carter.

Nathan shook his head. "He can't tell us that, it's classified information. But, if I'm guessing correctly, it points to Mrs. Carter, and something about DNA? Maybe blood?"

Mr. Parker's eyes narrowed. "Yes, DNA and blood. How...how did you know?"

Nathan flicked his ears and shrugged his shoulders. "Just a hunch a guess." He tapped his head. "There's a reason why I'm in the most advanced classes in this school. If you wanted somebody to help you out on the investigation, your best animal would be me. Dalton's got the meat to take down anyone, sure. But me? Well, there really isn't anyone in this school smarter than me."

Ok Nathan, don't go around making yourself a target.

Mr. Parker huffed, mumbling underneath his breath about Dalton versus Nathan.

"So what do we do now?" I asked, looking around the room, at the mess thrown my way. The police officers weren't going to clean up the audiovisual room, but they also weren't going to clean up the mess Alex had gotten himself into. That was my job, to fix the animal which had been broken for so long. Changing was hard, especially if your upbringing was terrible. Sure his dad tried his damn hardest to be there for his son, but the sins of the past would always affect Alex, always putting him in emotional turmoil and making him an easy target.

"Right now?" Mr. Parker said. "Right now we confront Alex. Right now, we put an end to this murder mystery."

But before Mr. Parker could lead the charge out of the audiovisual room, I grabbed his police uniform, pulling him towards me in a fit of strength I didn't even know I had. Too many things rested on my shoulders, rested upon me to fix. If the police got involved with Alex again, I feared what the outcome would be.

Confidence rose in my throat, pushing down the fears, pushing down the anxieties and tremors. "I'll talk to him. I'll convince him." Mr. Parker tried to object, but Nathan tilted his head in just the right way, almost as if he was saying, "are you gonna try and stop her? Cause I sure as hell ain't."

Mr. Parker sighed, ordering the police officers to stay in the audiovisual room as I made my way out. Dalton waved me on, Nathan held the same amount of confidence I had. His chin was raised, shoulders at the perfect angle.

This is my job. This is my duty.

I scoured the school, desperate to find Alex in any room sulking about the terrible deed he did. If he even did it at all. He had to have done it, it had to have been him. There were no other suspects as to who destroyed the file. Mrs. Carter couldn't have done it because that put too much liability on her, made the police force hold the magnifying glass just a bit closer. But to think Alex had done it? My best friend, the wolf I loved for so long, the animal which had caused me so many problems but had shown me so much kindness, how could it have been him?

Pacing around the school brought the thoughts of long since past. Finding Alex drenched in blood in the bathroom to my right only caused the pain in my heart to flourish like the spring flowers. The pressure climbed with each step, with each pounding heartbeat, with each pass of some place that held so many memories, now tainted with actions of the present. Each corner presented a new problem, my mind's eye picturing Alex in a dark room, pondering his actions.

Was I just dreaming for so long?

Was Alex really the animal I thought he was?

Gravity hurt, he made everything so sweet. So was I falling from cloud nine? Was I crashing from the high?

I had to let go, I had to keep myself together, for Alex, for Nathan, for Dalton, for Brittney, for Steven, for Emma. I had to be the animal everyone could go to, I had to be the one who rumbled the thunder for animals who couldn't do it themselves. I tried seeing the bright side, but to be ignorant meant I had to be blind.

Alex was the one I loved, he was the one I cared for, he was the one I'd kill for. So to see him doing something that wasn't him, hurt me in a way I couldn't explain. No matter how much I trekked through the school looking for him, the pain in my heart only increased. The pressure in my lungs filled to the point where I was choking on air, falling to the floor and using a door handle for support. But I had to keep going, I had to find him, I had to save him, I had to fix him.

There wasn't a lions den to be born out of, there would be no story for Alex and I if I couldn't find him. So I had to find him, he needed to be saved, even if he didn't want to be saved. He was stupid, stubborn, compassionate, hilarious, egotistical, selfish, and important. He mattered to me more than any other animal would, more than Dad, more than Mom, more than Steven, more than Brittney, more than Dalton, and more than Emma.

Emma, what do I do?

The crying came up, the sick sounds in my throat as I cried into my hands, running through the hallways, animals staring at me with confused expressions. Tears streamed down my face, heart burning, bursting with pain and pressure. Lungs forced themselves closed, blocking off air, blocking me off from everything. My vision began to darken, my body becoming unresponsive as my brain filled with T.V. static.

But I had to keep pushing on, I needed to find Alex.

Or was it too late?

Was this the end?

Would we ever be the same?

Castles crumbled, walls broke, and I couldn't hold on any longer.

I broke into one of the bathrooms, closing the door behind me and locking it. I tried to regain my breath as I wept over one of the sinks, laughing at myself for being stupid, for thinking I was emotionally stable enough to do anything. Tears left their stains on my fur, wetting it, puffy red eyes staring back at me with the same pain and sadness my own body held.

"Emma," I said, staring into the mirror, my white and black fur cursing me forever. "Emma, what do I do? How...how do I stop this pain?" My hand clenched over my heart which seemed to rip and tear, being put through a paper shredder. Tiny pieces landed onto the floor, tiny scraps floating to the bottomless pit that was my body.

My body slumped to the floor, laying my head back on the cool tiled walls, legs sprawled out in front of me. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing, couldn't stop the pain in my body. Was it attacking itself? Was it finally done with the pain I put it through, trying to just end it all together?

"What do I do?" I said, looking up into the fluorescent lights above me which flickered on and off. "He was the one real thing I'd ever known, and now he's gone. And...and...it's all my fault. I wasn't there to stop it, I wasn't there to prevent it."

What do I do?

I pulled my knees close, crying into them as my heart broke in two. Memories flashed in my mind, which only made everything worse. Alex laying on a hospital bed, beeps and the sounds of machines all around us. The night where I confessed my love to him on a breezy hill in the darkness, looking over to the lights of the city.

I remembered it all too well.

My legs forced themselves up, the pain in my heart staggering each step I took towards the door. I needed to get out, I needed to find Alex. Closing the door behind me and keeping a steady pace through the halls made me feel a little bit better, but it didn't solve everything. Each door I opened was filled with nothing, each corner I rounded revealed nothing. My mind was set on one thing, to find Alex, and it was going to do whatever it could to get me there, even if it meant I tore myself apart.

It was raining outside, a light sprinkle, clouds blocking out the sun. Animals all around were wearing different colored raincoats, laughing as they splashed in puddles and danced in the rain. Everyone was happy, nobody knew the struggles beneath my skin as I walked through the rain, pelting my fur, each drop stinging, hiding the tears on my face.

And there he was, underneath the shade of an oak tree, bending from its large branches. Rain dripped onto him from the leaves, his fur a dark mass of grey and white. His eyes looked down towards the ground which became muddy from the rain, each distinct raindrop hitting the muddy puddles with ease.

The rain became harsher as my feet found themselves at his doorstep. His eyes glanced up to meet mine, saying words the mouth couldn't speak. And I listened, sitting next to him, quietly watching as the rain poured onto us, our fur becoming wetter by the second. My heart was racing, but my legs were still. Raindrops pelted my face, blinking from their abruptness, grateful as they masked my tears.

We didn't need to speak, we didn't need to look at each other. We just sat in the rain, its cleansing waters washing away our sins. It splattered against the muddy puddles, thumping against the large oak tree, soaking into our clothes.

My voice held no power in it, held nothing in it to remind myself it was my voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Alex let out a long, drawn out sigh, his gaze staying low to the ground. "I don't quite know how to say how I feel."

"That's ok." I scooted closer to him, our legs touching.

"Jordan?" he asked. "Am...am I a bad animal, for what I did?"

My foot kicked the muddy ground. "No, you're not a bad animal."

He placed his hands in his lap. "I guess I'm going to get arrested then. I guess this is it." He added a chuckle at the end. "You know, it's funny. All this time I thought I was happy, that everything was just…"

"Perfect," I said.

Thunder crashed in the distance, lightning cracking, lighting up the dark grey sky.

Alex grabbed my hand, holding it tightly. It was warm and wet, rain dripping off our fur, another clash of thunder overhead. "For once, I just thought," he sighed, "I just thought I could be happy, I just thought my life could be normal for once."

I tightened my grip around his hand. "You are normal," I said, not even convincing myself. "You're just as normal as anyone else is."

He shook his head, ears folded over. "I'm not normal...I'll never be normal. Nothing changed, when I was with her, nothing at all. It was all just...words I wanted to hear, things that I wanted to be said. I guess that's all I ever wanted, and she gave it to me." He turned his head, facing away from me. "Then I went and fucked it all up."

"You did," I said. "You screwed up big time." I nudged his shoulder with mine. "But that doesn't mean I still don't love you."

"I'm sure the police want to talk to me," he said.

"They do, but I told them I would do it." I took out my phone, pressing the record button.

Alex closed his eyes knowing what he needed to do. "I, Alex Kingston, broke into Officer Parkers office and burned the file containing information about Mrs. Carter being the suspect." He choked on his words. "She-she ate the rabbit." He started to cry into his hands. I wanted to comfort him, but there was no comforting what had just happened.

I blinked back tears. "Fuck," I said, taking my phone and throwing it on the ground, smashing the screen with my foot. Then I smashed it again, destroying it into tiny little pieces.

He looked up. "What...what are you doing?"

"I'm your friend first," I said, rain splattering onto the cracked screen.

"But that's the evidence."

"I know." I tried to smile, but my lips wouldn't make one. "We don't need it, they already know you did it."

This won't go back to normal, if it ever was.

"I broke up with Steven, I told his dad about our relationship," he said, his hands shaking as he looked at them. "How-how could I do that?" He looked up at me, his eyes holding pain and tears. "What is wrong with me!"

I pulled away his shaking hands, placing them in mine. "A lot of things are wrong with you. You're scared, you're broken." I sighed, looking towards the ground. "I know you told his dad about your relationship, I know you broke up with him. But you know what? He still loves you, Steven still loves you. And I still love you."

He forced his hands out of my grasp. "You shouldn't, I should just be left alone to rot in hell forever. I don't deserve anything you've given me."

"Doesn't mean I'm going to stop." I pulled him closer to me as he cried onto my shoulder. "It was a perfect illusion, Alex. Mrs. Carter played her best hand, and that just so happened to be you." The rain came down harder, flooding the grassy field behind us. "You were vulnerable, you were broken, and she chose you. Not everything is your fault."

I've got a hundred thrown out speeches I almost said to you.

"I've ruined everything," he said. "It only took two months for me to ruin everything. What happens when there's more time between it? What happens when...I don't have somebody to tell me I'm-"

"It's not the end of the world, Alex. You're here, I'm here. Your life doesn't end here, we still have the rest of our lives ahead of us. You'll always have somebody by your side because I will always be there for you, even when you think you've destroyed it completely. The things I said were out of anger, but I never meant them."

His voice cracked to life, barely audible from the rumbles of thunder. "I-I don't know if I meant them or not. I don't know if I was being serious or not. I'm scared, Jordan. I'm terrified."

"I know," I said, scratching the wet fur on his head. "I know."

"You guys tried to warn me, tried to tell me someone was wrong. But I didn't listen! I just let everything happen to me and I ruined everything because of it!" He sobbed louder, hands trembling, legs shaking. "I shouldn't...I shouldn't be allowed to live-"

"No," I said, "you're just as worthy for life as anyone else. The things you went through, the trauma you've endured. None of it means you don't deserve life just as the next animal. You are worthy of it. You got dealt a bad hand, and this is the part in your life where you feel like everything is shit, because everything is shit. But this isn't the first page, this isn't where the storyline ends."

"What if this is where it's supposed to end? What if this is it?"

Mr. Parker and a couple other officers trickled out of the front door of the school, their faces solemn and understanding as their heads turned to Alex and I. Their lips moved as they talked to one another, pointing fingers and murmuring, attempting to hear each other over the crackles of lightning.

"You're not the bad guy, Alex. "All of your friends forgive you, despite what you may think. I still love you, Steven still loves you, your parents still love you. The officers over there? They're not here to take you to jail, they're not here to tell you how shitty you've been, how fucked up your mind is. That's not their job." I needed to say it, like ripping off a band aid. "You were manipulated Alex, you were manipulated to the worst of it." I sighed as he cried again. "You fell hard with an open heart."

Mr. Parker's boots stomped through the muddy puddles, his figure growing ever closer. Alex paid no attention to him, crying into my shoulder as more rain came down.

I'd rather be dry, but at least he's alive.

Mr. Parker finally reached the wooden bench we were sitting on. He took his hands and placed them on Alex's shoulder, turning his attention to him. The fear in Alex's eyes was immense, like an herbivore about to be devoured. Then Mr. Parker said, "God, you've been through so much shit. What you said about Steven...it doesn't matter. I hope you know that." He knelt down, his blue uniform getting darker as the rain poured on him. "I just want you to know, none of this was your fault, there was no stopping any of this. What you did...well let's just say we don't know how we lost the report, ok?" He smiled, sincere coming from a German shepherd hybrid. More thunder clashed overhead. "Let's get back inside and get you dry. There's a couple animals who are worried about you." He glanced behind him, Steven standing behind the glass doors, Dalton and Nathan to his sides.