SOREN P.O.V.

There's something wrong with Liam. It's just something I've noticed for the past few days. He's been keeping to himself lately. The others have noticed too, but dare not say anything. This is the way it's always been since we were kids. Whenever Liam ran into some difficulty, we wouldn't try to help. He ordered us not to because he said he could fix the issue on his own. He always did, of course. It would never take him long, but this time, it's taking a while. There have only ever been two situations that he's struggled through. Still to this day, the guys never knew if he got over the first one. They don't know if he's doing alright with the second one. I know for a fact he didn't, and he hasn't. As much as he puts on this strong front, I know he hurts and struggles on the inside. 

Seriously, just because you're an alpha doesn't mean you aren't allowed to have feelings or be vulnerable. I guess that's the thing. Alphas can't appear weak. Not to their pack. Not to their family. Not to their friends. No one. A harsh reality that any alpha has to carry on his back. Will this situation end up like the first? My thoughts drift to the one person who clouds Liam's mind. 

Rosalia. 

It has to be her. Ever since the school year started, he hasn't been the same when it comes to her. He went from not caring about her existence to checking to see if she's alright with any free chance given. Some would say that's a complete 360, but I know there's more to it than that. It has to be the mate bond finally kicking in. How he held back this long, I have no idea. When you find your mate, you're supposed to want to be with them all the time. Liam has set a personal record for being separate from your mate. 

It's the middle of the afternoon as the twins get ready to play some volleyball. They're setting up the net to make sure it stays firm in the ground. It's not much of a game if it's just the two of them. I sit on the stairs behind the cabin we all stay in as I hear them bicker on who they want on their team. I hear my name mentioned a few times, but jokes on them. I'm not playing. The door behind me opens, and I turn to see Alan and, surprisingly, Liam come out in shorts and T-shirts. Well, at least the game will be even. 

"You managed to get him out of his room?" 

Alan grins, "I told you, all you had to do was let me work my magic," Liam rolls his eyes, "More like annoyed the hell out of me until I couldn't stand you anymore," 

"Still worked though," 

I cross my arms, "So are you done moping around?" 

Liam takes a seat by me and looks ahead, "I wasn't moping around," 

A sigh escapes my lips. "Liam you may as well have been having a pity party for the last 4 days. I've never seen you go out the cabin door until now." 

"He has a point bro, and you wouldn't talk to us. Is this another one of those moments again?" 

Liam stays quiet for a little while, and I can see on Alan's face that he feels like he shouldn't have asked. I look at Liam expecting to see him get angry or do one of those deadly glares before he starts the harsh scolding. However, when he opens his mouth, the opposite comes out, "No...I just needed time to sort my thoughts out is all." 

I blink. Alan blinks. Silence. Liam looks up and tilts his head. "What?" 

"You...didn't get mad at Alan?"

"You're not gonna command me to not ask stupid questions? Hell, there is something wrong!" 

Now it's Liam's turn to sigh as he runs a hand through his gold locks. "Alan, you're such a fucking moron,"

Well if he didn't get mad at Alan's question, perhaps I can take a chance as well. "Does this mean we can ask you about what's been going on? All games aside, we've been worried about you. You didn't say a word. You just...locked yourself in and kept us out." 

He stares out into the open, "I just needed some time to get myself together. Honestly, I'm not pleased with the way I am. So I want to change." 

Alan sits down beside Liam so he's in the middle of us. "What brought this on?" 

"Is it...Rosalia?" There. I asked the big question. Go big or go home as some tend to use that phrase. 

"Yeah..." 

For a few minutes, no one speaks. It's not that speaking about Rosalia is a bad thing, just a lot of bad things come to mind when she's brought up. The bad things that have been done to her. What we've done to her. We had no right to treat her the way we did. I can say for all of us, we had no real reason. Liam gave the order, and we listened. I'm sure Liam regrets it all. It must hurt to know that his mate hurt physically and emotionally. I'm not sure what she feels right now. Although we've been friendlier towards her, there's a distance in the way she acts. The day we cornered her for answers, she was really scared of us. We scared her into thinking she was going to go through another case of bullying. Since childhood, we've let anyone get away with anything to do with Rosalia. The outcast of Solar Moon. We still haven't apologized for that, but we don't want to scare her again or bring up old memories for her. We still should though. 

It shouldn't have been that way when she did nothing wrong. ," That day you ran when we were walking to our cabins the first day here. Did something happen?" 

"She got lost and her anxiety was going crazy, so I went to get her...but some bastard had already brought her to her cabin," 

"Who?" Alan asked curiously. 

"Don't know. Some rancid bastard who got handsy with her before I arrived," Liam's expression darkened into deep anger quickly. 

"He touched her?" I asked alarmed; Liam turned his narrow gaze to me, "Not in that way, I don't think. He was already gone by the time I walked up. His scent was all over her. I wanted to find him and rip him apart." 

You shouldn't touch another wolf's mate. A piece of advice. Never mess with an Alpha's mate. They take it more seriously than the average male wolf, and sometimes they throw reason out the window and go for the kill. Liam's aura is deadly at the moment, so let's change the subject. 

"Hey, don't sweat the little things, man. Are you gonna talk with Rose anytime soon?" Alan nudges Liam's shoulder.

"I told you not to call her that. Her name's Rosalia." Liam flicks Alan on the forehead. 

"Ouch!" Alan pouts rubbing the spot that turns red in an instant. "You did it too hard, and why can't I call her Rose?!" 

"No. You just bruise too easily, and because I said so," 

As the two keep bickering back and forth on the nickname, I think it's safe to say that Liam needed these few days to get himself situated. Alan and I can tell he knows what to do. Liam always figures things out, so I think he'll be okay. 

Liam stands up and stretches, "I'm gonna change, and do what's right. For her. That's my promise." 

We don't say anything. There's nothing that needs to be said because we're all thinking somewhere along the same line. 

A change? Hell yeah. I can get on board with that. Alan can agree with the idea. I know the twins can as well. Rosalia doesn't deserve the mistreatment anymore. We won't allow it. I think Liam needed to talk with us, just to let it all out there. He has an objective, and he won't stop until he reaches his goal. We'll be there every step of the way to aid him. That's our promise. 

"Hey! The net's set up!" Zach calls out. 

"Hope you ass clowns are ready to lose. Us versus you guys!" Cody seems excited for someone who's playing against Liam. Alan grins as he heads over, "In your dreams dick tip! We're gonna smoke you!" 

Honestly. These guys use the most vulgar language I've ever heard in my life. I don't know why I'm friends with them sometimes. Liam looks down at me, "Let's go. You're on the twin's team," 

"You do know it would be 3 against 2 right?" 

"Are you doubting my skills or do you have none?" Ah, this bastard. I can admit that may have been asshole-ish but smooth. Fine. One game.

I rise onto my feet and look directly into his eyes, "Let's play." 

~

ROSALIA'S P.O.V. 

Today's the day. I've waited an entire week for this and dreaded it at the same time. It's time for all wolves to take the exam. After this, we'll be on our way back home and have to wait for the results. Do I wanna take this test? No. Do I wanna pass? Yes. I can't have it both ways, unfortunately, but I can do my best. Before making it to the test area, Liam and the guys wished me luck. I guess the guys and I are being cordial with each other, and I think I'm okay with that. I'm not sure where Liam and I stand. He's being considerate to say I'll pass like I did the first time. Nevertheless, I accept his kind words. Even Mom and Dad gave me a call to help ease my worries and it makes me feel better. I guess I needed that more than ever. 

As I take my seat, I make sure I have all my materials needed. I'm all set, and now it's up to my faith to help me through this. When the test is handed out and the timer starts, the only sounds that can be heard are pencils connecting to paper. 

~

I close my suitcase after packing the last bit of my clothes and zip it shut. Everything's packed and ready to go. Elemental Falls was an amazing place to venture out to. I got to see different environments that I've never seen before as well as other species, and there were so many. The world is a lot bigger than one can imagine. There are a few things I won't miss, but it's still a little sad to leave it all behind. However, I'm ready to go back. It's been a week since we arrived, and I can't wait to go back home. I know mom and dad will be happy to see me since all week long I received text message after text message every night stating they couldn't wait until the test was over and I could come back. I guess that's what happens when you're an only child. You are your parent's only pride and joy. I missed them way more after the events that took place while being here. While part of me feels comfort knowing I can heal with being with my family, another part feels that I can't rely on my parents to be there for me forever. I need to learn how to handle situations myself. 

However, I won't worry about that now. As I leave the cabin and make my way towards the group, I take one last look around me.

"I hope I can visit more beautiful places like this one someday." 

It's time to return home where things will go back to normal. 

At least that's what I thought.