The school day had been surprisingly uneventful up until lunch. Sebastian, Edmund and Luke had opted to sit in the parking lot to eat instead of the cafeteria, which had far too many sounds and smells for the two werewolves to deal with. Sebastian looked at their little group and wondered how odd they would seem to outsiders.

Luke was practically drowning in his borrowed tee-shirt. They’d been lucky enough to find some jeans that Sebastian had grown out of to go with it. Edmund’s ensemble, which he’d borrowed from Sebastian’s closet last night after destroying his own earlier in the fight, was better fitting, but defiantly tighter. Ed had broader shoulders than Seb, so the shirt he had borrowed was clung tightly to his frame, and was paired with a pair of dark grey sweatpants. Sebastian was the only one who was wearing clothes that actually fit him, and for some reason that seemed hilarious to him.

He didn’t get to share the joke with his companions though, since both of their attention was turned towards the school doors. He followed their gaze and saw M there, as inexpressive as ever.

“Why’s she walking over here?” Edmund muttered.

Sebastian shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t like the cafeteria either?”

“She doesn’t, but the pack usually hangs out on the soccer field.” Luke stated.

“Which is on the opposite side of the school.” Edmund notes, Sebastian can practically see the growl he’s restraining the closer M gets.

She came to a stop around three meters from them. Noting the obvious tension in her brother and Ed. Sebastian decided to hop out of the truck bed, much to Edmund’s dismay if the half-whine he made was anything to go off.

“Did you need something?”

M glanced at the other two then focused all of her attention on Seb. “I have Luke’s things in my car.”

“Oh, okay. Where’s that?”

She pointed to a dark-blue jeep parked not too far from the truck. Edmund jumped out of the truck and walked beside Sebastian to the indicated vehicle. Luke had opted to stay where he was, awkwardly nibbling on his sandwich.

M opened the boot to reveal four large boxes. Seb found himself frowning at the idea that all of Luke’s possessions could fit into a mere four boxes. Sebastian took one, Edmund took two, and M took the last one. All four were deposited in the back of Edmund’s truck and M stood there awkwardly for a moment.

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She glanced at Luke again, and this time Sebastian swore he saw sadness in her eyes, before she promptly turned away and retreated into the school.

Seb frowned deeper. “Well, that was...”

“Awkward as hell?” Edmund supplied. “Is she always like that?”

Luke was still looking at the school doors when Sebastian turned around to look at him. “Not- not really. She became closed off mostly after m- after father did what he did.”

Sebastian nodded. “How did she take it?”

Luke sighed. “I don’t know. Like I said, she closed herself off. Even before... that night, she was getting more and more distant. She’s always been under some pressure as our father’s heir, especially after I presented as an omega. Sometimes I wondered if she resented me for that.”

Edmund gave the younger teen a comforting side hug. “I don’t think she would, unless she was a total bitch.”

Luke let out a half-shocked laugh at that and Sebastian shook his head. “You can’t just call the kid’s sister a bitch, man.”

“I said she was a bitch if she resented him.”

Sebastian shrugged. You want to check that all your stuff is here?

Luke nodded and opened the first box. It had his clothes inside. The second box had some books and a laptop bag, with an old laptop inside of it that Luke seemed particularly happy to see. The third box was shoes and more clothes. The contents of the last box however had Luke looking confused.

“These aren’t my things...”

“What are they then?” Sebastian inquired, peeking from the other side of the box.

There were books and photo albums and old CDs. Sebastian frowned in confusion then looked up at Luke and saw an expression of joy and sadness mixed together.

“Luke?”

He looked up with watery eyes. “It’s my mom’s stuff.”

Oh.

Sebastian and Edmund looked at each other, both out of their depth for what to do in this situation. Seb decided to go with his gut and moved to hug Luke, who promptly began to cry into his shoulder. Edmund came beside them and rubbed comforting circles into the younger boy’s back.

They must really look odd now. Three boys in the back of a truck with a bunch of boxes, one crying their eyes out while the other two did their best to comfort him. Sebastian realised however that he didn’t really care what anyone else saw, because he just wanted to take care of both his friends. They were a weird group, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Unbeknownst to the group, Morgan was standing by one classroom window watching them interact. Her heart ached to see her brother upset. She knew though that she couldn’t be the one to comfort him. She was amazed that Edmund, young as he was, seemed to be acting perfectly on instinct as their alpha. And Sebastian, well, Morgan wasn’t sure what to think of him. She wondered if he knew yet, but remembering the text conversation she’d seen on Luke’s phone, she decided he probably didn’t.

They were all in for quite the adventure. But just from observing this small moment, Morgan was sure they’d survive it. Hell, it would just make them stronger. But she couldn’t help questioning her own strength. Would she be able to get out of this alive?

She physically shook herself and turned away from the window. She needed to get back to the field before the others thought something was up...