CHAPTER 354: 354-SOUTH NEEDS US

Clementine:

The storm was quite bad. We could barely see past the passage, and beyond that there were only dust particles.

I spent the rest of my day sitting at the window, looking outside and thinking about what my old squad mates might be doing.

When the dinner was served by the lurkers, who struggled to keep themselves steady in the strong wind, everyone began returning to their beds.

After about an hour of lying down with my eyes closed and trying to sleep, I shifted in my bed and tossed around, feeling a strange void inside me.

I knew I was missing Ian. When I snapped my eyes open, realizing I could not fall asleep, I noticed someone else who was awake as well.

Joshua. He was sitting up in his bed, positioned so he could look out the window beside him.

I sat up and watched him.

I wore an oversized sweater with shorts, and my curly hair was messily falling around my shoulders and back.

Pushing a few strands behind me, I got up from my bed and wandered to Joshua’s, my arms folded over my chest.

"Do you need company?" I asked.

"Oh fuck off," he replied with a wave of his hand.

I sighed, and as I turned to step away, a hand caught mine.

I had not really noticed until then, but his grasp was rough around my wrist.

I looked down at how perfectly his fingers wrapped around it.

He let go after that, and I understood he did want company.

I climbed into his bed and sat on the opposite side of him, looking out the window.

"Do you think there will be another storm after this one?" I wondered, staring into nothing.

"I think the storm will never end," he remarked.

He released a deep breath before adding, "You miss him," he murmured.

I had not expected him to remember what I had said a few hours earlier.

"So he is the one you like most?" he asked, and I nodded.

"So you chose him?" he questioned again, and I nodded once more.

"Is he the one who left the mark on your neck?" he pointed out, gesturing toward the faded spot.

I touched it and groaned.

"No," I replied. I noticed Joshua starting to frown, likely waiting for an explanation.

The marks don’t really go away, especially marks from your mates.

But since this one was from Zian, who wasn’t my mate, it had begun to fade away.

"You miss Suki?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Well, you miss someone when you forget about them, and I never forgot about her," he replied, making me feel genuinely bad for him.

I had watched his life spiral after she died and then one by one, his squadmates were dead too.

"You know, I was never asked to come to the North," He continued to share, and I listened quietly.

"I volunteered," he explained. As soon as he said that, I realized what he was going to say next.

"For Suki?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Well, yeah. My father had written her name down, and my best friend’s name as well, so they could control me. They did not want Suki with me. So, to defeat them and still stay with my lover, my mate, I volunteered. But it is all in the past now." Joshua released a short laugh.

I noticed how he avoided meeting my eyes, and I could tell why. Maybe he was hiding his pain or the tears.

"So after you lost your friend and everyone else, especially Suki, did you expect your father to take you back?" I wondered, watching him frown at me.

"I mean, Oriana said that before her father died, he told her he offered something to the academy and managed to convince them to release her. Unless that was a lie," I added, remembering her words.

"Oh, that," Joshua replied.

"Well, I did not know her father was going to do that, but of course it was far-fetched. Even the universe would not let it happen." He let out a brief laugh before continuing.

"First of all, it is not easy for them to let us go, Clementine. We know far too much. And second, if someone wants to take their child back, they have to give up the entire pack. They have to give up their crown, and someone completely new takes over by the academy’s orders, a hired alpha. And I do not think anyone is foolish enough to do that. No one would lose their crown for one child."

Joshua finished, and I was shocked. I had not known there were terms involved to be able to take a crusader out of the academy.

"You know the lurkers are orphans, right?" I mentioned. Once again, I watched him narrow his eyes at me.

"How many things do you know, Clementine?" he asked in a more playful way. "So I was right about you. All this time, while you were going to the north and back and forth, you were also doing your investigations. How did you do it?" he wondered, his tone almost complimentary.

"Well, I am not sure. But why do you want to go back?" I questioned.

"I am just wondering what power the shadow earth eater holds."

As soon as he changed the subject to the shadow eater, I realized that was why he wanted to go back.

"Joshua, that is suicide. You cannot expect anything good to come from something evil like a shadow earth eater. You saw what happened to Oriana," I told him, trying to convince him out of any reckless plans he might be forming.

"I am not talking about going there for the shadow eater. I am just curious. What did you think? What do you think Oriana wished for?" he asked.

I was confused myself. Why did he want to know what she wished for in front of the shadow earth eater?

"Whatever she did, it did not end well," I replied, and he nodded.

"Maybe she said she wanted all your mates to fall for her," he suggested.

I shook my head.

"That cannot be. She did not know I was mated to all of them at that time," I replied.

"I am not a genius, but," I began, noticing him raise an eyebrow. "Fine, I am a little genius," I corrected, and he laughed under his breath.

"But I think she asked for the male members of the black squad to fall for her. Something like that."

When I said that, Joshua clicked his tongue and nodded.

We were still sitting near the window when we saw a group of lurkers rush past it toward our dorm room. Joshua and I shifted upright in the bed, looking at each other before turning toward the door.

The door slammed open and the lurkers barged in, causing both of us to jump to our feet to defend the sleeping squad members.

The way they rushed in with guns in their hands gave us a very bad feeling about what they planned to do.

The first thought that crossed my mind was that maybe they were going to end us.

Maybe this was their way of wiping out the troublesome crusaders and bringing in a new batch.

Maybe it was an execution. All of these possibilities ran through my head.

And I could tell Joshua felt the same because he looked ready to fight back.

Just as we stood there, confused, the arrival of Ms. Lenora startled us even more.

She hurried inside looking anxious, and after glancing at us, she focused on the sleeping members.

"Wake them up," she instructed.

Her voice sounded more worried than threatening.

"But why?" I asked.

"Just wake them up. We need the crusaders right now," she urged, and I realized they were not here to kill us.

At least not now.

One by one, we started waking the crusaders.

Joshua stepped over and woke Sebastian.

The three of them sat up, rubbing their eyes in confusion, and the moment they noticed the lurkers, I could already tell their mood had soured.

"I know it is your resting time, but there is an emergency and we need our crusaders to help us," she repeated, this time directing it toward the red squad members.

"What emergency?" I asked.

"The storm and the rain have gotten out of hand. Some of the smaller packs in the south are facing a serious flooding threat. We need you to go there and help," Ms. Lenora explained.

Joshua and I exchanged a glance before he scratched the back of his neck.

"What do you want us to do? Go and swallow all the water?" he questioned.

The way Ms. Lenora rubbed her hands together told me it was bad news.

"We want you to kill the water monster."

The moment she said it, I felt as if she had struck me with a silver bullet.