Warren POV
Warren purposefully ignored the little voice in the back of his mind saying that he wouldn't do it
to her. Not just because anyone deserved to have that kind of love in their life. Because very
few people did. But she was different. She wasn't scared of him. She was smart. She was also
badass. There was no way she would break. And if she wasn't scared of him, would she be
scared of Wren? It didn't seem like it. But then again, he didn't really know the girl. And he was
in control of his powers.
Wren was too, but his instincts could push him further, and, if his wolf disagreed with him, there
was nothing he could do but negotiate. He couldn't force a change, in either direction. She
would need to get both Wren's approval, and the wolf's. And she was both of their mates. She
would need to know both of them, for as much as he could tell, Wren's wolf was similar to him,
but they were separate. That was what happened with cursed werewolves, the wolf wasn't part
of them. And while it was uniquely suited to them and influenced by them, it had its own mind
and more control than the cursed had. The wolf could also take over Wren's human form.
Warren had been new to the friendship when one day, Wren had come over, acting slightly
strangely. Most people wouldn't recognize the shift in control, but Warren was adept at reading
people. He could tell it was someone else in Wren's body. When he was interrogated by the
wolf, he could clearly tell what was going on. The voice was more animalistic, as if angry, but not
quite. When the wolf took over, there was a more wild air around Wren. And it was clear the wolf
cared for the boy. Wren had confided in Warren that the wolf was one of his best friends.
Afterall, the wolf knew every part of him, could hear his every thought, and while the wolf was
not part of him, he accepted him.
There was something about that total acceptance that made Warren jealous. If he were a
werewolf, he'd actually prefer to be cursed than born. Sure, there was the possibility that the
wolf would fight him, but the wolf in his head would also know every part of him. He could never
scare the wolf away. And if he befriended the wolf, there was no greater connection than
someone that accepted every part of you, knowing your every thought and loving you
nonetheless. So while many didn't actually try to befriend the wolf, instead trying to subdue or
control it-which they inevitably failed at, as the wolf was always stronger-Warren would give
anything to have that kind of acceptance.
Except his friendship with Wren. Wren technically could curse him, but the boy would hate
himself forever. Wren loved his wolf dearly, but while he accepted the lack of control, he
wouldn't want to force the curse on anyone else. Afterall, Wren had told him it was an extremely
agonizing experience, as parts of your soul were pulled from its center and every nerve ending
was on fire. You went catatonic for anywhere from a day to forever. He wouldn't think the
potential relationship was worth the risk of death, because you may not even get the chance.
So it was only a last resort. Turning cured any terminal illness or disease or injury that the
cursed had upon infection. That was one reason it was so painful, it was the complete purge of
anything wrong with your body, the venom spreading through every cell in your body, checking
in an extremely painful way and forcing itself through every part of you and replacing whatever
was wrong, forcibly growing new cells in an extremely accelerated, painful pace.
Warren's attention was drawn back to the gym when all the yelling and jeering went silent.
Ethan, for he now had Warren's respect, at least enough to be called by his name, had the
dummy on the ground, rescued a good seven minutes before the end of the timer. It took only
three minutes for two sidekicks to beat the undefeated champions of Save the Citizen.
The two boys had greatly underestimated the nerd, mostly ignoring him in favor of going after
Sarah. Perhaps speed believed that he could get to Ethan before the boy could save the
dummy. Or perhaps they thought the slime could not climb up the device, and they'd have more
time to react. Whatever they thought, they were wrong, as Sarah took all their attention and they
were clearly angry. Because, of course, the two bullies would take offense at being beaten.
Sarah POV
That fight was fun. She had enjoyed testing herself against two opponents, especially one
almost as fast as Jetstream and another was unlimited (at least in the space they were in)
reach. Dodging wasn't the same when limbs didn't have a set length. She could see exactly how
to end the fight, her planned choreography changing depending on the future reactions shown.
She choreographed the perfect dance. And Ethan was more powerful than he had thought.
Of course, the boys stomped over and got in Ethan's face when he transformed back. She
wasn't going to let that stand.
She marched over in front of Ethan just as a punch was thrown. She caught it, absorbing the
force with as little movement as possible, seemingly halting it in place with zero effort.
"That wasn't very sportsmanlike. Upset that you weren't paying attention? Or are you more
upset because two sidekicks beat you?" she smirked at the outraged expression on the large
boy's face. Speed, of course, had thrown the punch. She looked at Lash, having foreseen he
wouldn't throw a punch. In fact, he looked contemplative, not even really seeing her, but lost in
his own thoughts. She held out her hand towards Lash for a handshake.
"You on the other hand…" his attention was drawn back to her. She smirked at him. "I'm
impressed. That was definitely a different style of fighting than I'm used to. And you're clearly
trying to figure out where you went wrong, instead of getting angry, you're learning. Perhaps you
aren't as much of an impulsive bully as most people think."
He was still staring at her hand. "It's called a handshake. You do it to acknowledge a game well
played and no ill feelings." She raised an eyebrow. "Well?" He seemed to shake himself out of
his daze.
He then smiled winningly, a real one, not just for show this time, and shook her hand. "You're
something else, you know that?" he asked.
"Yes." She paused. "I know."
Now he looked curious, perhaps she shouldn't have said that, but Lash would make a good
friend and hero, assuming he chose that path. She'd have to see where it went. Because she
couldn't read minds, nor could she see further than five minutes. Sure, people sometimes let
secrets slip, but there was much one couldn't tell just from seeing one's actions, especially if
they guarded their secrets closely.
She would know. She had quite a few secrets of her own. And quite a few regrets.