CHAPTER 274: CHAPTER 274 - SOME BOMBS, ONCE DROPPED, TAKE TIME TO EXPLODE

Knowing that I could theoretically ’trim’ the video down... but not knowing how small I need to make it... and also remembering the time I did try to use the phone software to do such a task - and it took forever because I agonized over the perfect start and end moments?

Vrika, I’m stumped. What do I- oh, right. Thanks.

Down flat on the ground in my mindscape, the wolf huffs and slings its paws over its snout. As if it doesn’t want to look at me. I should appreciate one less pair of eyes on me with my sudden ’miss’, but it kind of ticks me off!

Tapping rapidly, the phone begins to ring as I stick it up to my ear. When it keeps going for a while, I frown and pull it away from my face to look and make sure I called the right person.

"Derek, lets just get out of here before-"

I ignore the little plea because I hear the ring stop and a click on the speaker. The voice I needed to hear finally comes out from the other line.

"Citra, what’s up?"

"A favor. The last video I just took. Get it to Kyrie immediately, please."

"...Is it a dirty video? We’re kind of in public, so-"

"Claire, are you going to help or not?!"

Hissing at the phone before I hang up, I’m sure I am ruining all my previous attempt to intimidate them. At least, I believed that until I realize that the one who had remained defiant this whole time has paled and stepped ten feet away from where he was.

Confused expression is now on the blonde’s face and maybe even something like dread? Well, I guess it is one thing to be bandying around the well known Alpha’s name - and quite another to be using her ’attack dog’ Assistant’s.

In any case, with him finally out of range of doing something stupid, I turned my attention to Zoé instead. Crouching down to help her collect the books they’d scattered on the luckily dry concrete.

"Are you hurt? Stomach okay?"

"I’m... I’m fine."

She responded quietly to my gentle tone, though her hands were still shaking slightly. I really hope that is from nerves and suppressing herself from getting in a fight and not because she saw my face like that!

"Thank you. You didn’t have to... get in the middle of this."

"Yes, I did. Do we have to have a conversation about the responsibilities of adults again? I don’t really want to talk about that every single time we meet."

I handed her a textbook on ’calculus’, grimacing at it as if it were any of the boring, mind burning treatises that the tutors would make me try and understand. And the next thing I say, I am not quite sure I mean the situation she went through or this field of study.

"...No one should have to deal with that nonsense."

All in all, it took less time than the length of the video I took by far. Not to pick everything up, but for phones to begin ringing. Harsh, angry ringtones that made the poor older boys flinch - turn green - and answer immediately with cracked tones.

"Hello? What? How did- yes, mom... but-"

I started walking for the furthest book. I’d thought about commanding them to go get it instead, but it seems like this will be a while. For I can hear the increasingly loud voice even from several yards away, in bits and pieces, screaming at the dark haired boy.

"-WHAT WERE YOU THINKING-"

"-EMBARRASSING THE ENTIRE FAMILY-"

"-YOUR FATHER IS GOING TO-"

Bravado had completely evaporated by the time I walked back with the kicked book in hand. Their attempt to explain themselves to what sounded like very angry mothers was less amusing and fulfilling than I wanted.

However, I guess when you have a chain of command, you use it. No sense in the Alpha wasting her time personally calling them when those more directly responsible will do.

Zoé had trailed away from all of that and over toward where I had been when this all started. Probably following the scent I’d left. I caught up to her reaching down with a napkin to pick up my dropped food.

"You’re not planning on eating that, are you?"

"...What? No, I just..."

Turning toward a direction and pointing to a trash can over that way, I see she intended to clean up the bit of organic littering. Not that I actually thought she was going to eat it herself! But I did worry she was going to try and give it back to me.

Because I’m pretty sure that humans and werewolves here in this world would frown on me... eating it. Even if it feels like a waste. It was only on the ground like three or four minutes...

I caught up to the girl as she reached the receptacle and dropped my poor lost food. An arm slid around her shoulders from the side and a little behind as I hung in something like a hug.

"You don’t have to take things like that silently. Tell me if you have any more issues like this, alright?"

She nodded and some more of the tension left her shoulders just about the same time as my phone went off with a message. I pulled out my phone, not bothering to step away from the girl who could clearly use the caring attention.

BK: [Delivered. Also recorded the boss lady’s response to it for you. Enjoy.]

The preview thumbnail showed Kyrie in the back seat of what looked like her SUV - or a very similar one. I tapped play without thinking and the video opened, showing Kyrie’s profile just before the exact moment she processed what her assistant must have sent to her phone.

Her eyes began radiating into bright orange. Her jaw setting firm. And the look over at the woman who was recording... with deadly calm, but not at the camera itself, makes me think my ’helper’ has just turned on her phone and propped it by her own leg or something.

"I see. And you have their names already I hope? Put me through to both sets of parents. Conference call. Now."

My eyebrow raises as I push the face of an overly energetic Vrika off of my own shoulder in my mindscape... as it tried watching the representation of the phone I held in my hand here the same way I was doing in reality.

There’s no way she got to a ’good part’ in this amount of time. Not with how quickly the parents called their kids. Did she just immediately see them use the word ’outsiders’ and get this upset?!