17 Chapter 17 - Bloody mouth

Ezra felt absolutely horrified standing in his room. He saw Alpha Velvate drag Rio back to his car and drive away. The rest of the pack also dispersed, and that is how the pack meeting came to an end.

Throughout this, he was in a dazed state, just floating by. A sense of guilt was seeping out of him. "Shit… why didn't I think? If I had stood and thought for a second, I would have known Rio was not at fault."

A warm hand gently patted his back. "Don't beat yourself up, kid."

"How can I not? That man is ruthless. Is it necessary to hit your kid like that?" he frowned, clenching his fist.

"Rio didn't deserve to be treated like that," his companion sighed, patting his back again. "Be a good friend to him, okay? That's what he needs the most."

"Me and him, friends? Why? He's our enemy pack. I thought you hated him?" he gazed up at his dad peculiarly.

His father massaged his brow. "I didn't know he was abused."

"Huh…?" Ezra's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"That kid looks like he's used to all the beatings. Must be used to abuse at his home. I don't like that kid, but he doesn't deserve that treatment. Not from your loved ones," his father explained before leaving the room.

This revelation didn't help with Ezra's crushing guilt. He plopped on the bed beside Claire, who had a drunk smile.

"Hey handsome," she reached out and touched his face.

"What happened in here?" he pushed her hand away.

"Oh… don't know… why is the bed shaking," she giggled.

"Fuck, Claire… I'm never allowing you to drink again." He carried her into one of the guest rooms.

"You don't even know the amount of trouble you've gotten me into," he mumbled, kicking her slightly. She just giggled and fell asleep.

Right as he exited the room, his sister stood there with her hands on her hips. "Boy, you are in so much trouble. Why did you bite him?"

"Don't want to talk about it," he pushed past her and closed the door behind him.

"You asshole," she screamed from outside.

Ezra felt like shit. He jumped into the shower and washed himself thoroughly, but there was still a lingering taste of blood in his mouth.

He brushed and brushed and brushed… the bloody taste lingered.

Sighing, he hopped out of the shower and laid on the bed like a limp starfish. His heart was still aching.

'I hate feeling like this… fuck… this is Rio we are talking about. Don't I hate him? I don't need to feel that guilty… that man deserved it after stealing so many of my girlfriends.' He turned to the side and closed his eyes.

A subtle but familiar scent was wafting from his mattress.

'What is that scent?' he buried his face in the blanket.

It was a subtle scent of pineapple.

'Who ate pineapple on my bed?' he frowned deeply.

He didn't change the sheets as the scent was quite good. He decided to just roll with it. But the next day, he woke up with a raging headache and noticeable black circles under his eyes.

Ezra was unable to sleep because of his sense of guilt. He had to face Rio today at school and… he had to apologize for his mistake.

"It's okay. I can do it. I just have to apologize to him," he hyped himself up and gave himself courage.

Right on time, Mateo drove over to his house and honked loudly as usual. Ezra ran and jumped into his car.

"Whoa, what happened to you? You look like a raccoon that just rolled out of the trash bin," Mateo remarked.

"Don't talk to me. My head is aching," Ezra replied.

Mateo cast a glance his way. "Heard you bit Rio."

Ezra groaned. "Don't remind me…"

"Why?"

"I thought he was attacking Claire…"

"Was he?"

"Yes… no… I don't know. I just saw them in a compromised position, and something snapped. My wolf went out of control. Before I could even realize it, I was biting into his flesh." He let out a loud sigh, hiding his face. "I don't know what came over me, man. That was… scary. The whole floor was bloody."

"Shit, man." Mateo patted his back.

Ezra gazed up at him. "I feel sick… I can still taste his blood in my mouth."