One Night

Chapter 218

Audrey

The bar was packed, even for a Friday night, the air thick with the scent of beer and the sound of laughter. My friends and I had chosen our usual haunt for our last hurrah-one last toast before the end. And it seemed as though every other senior at Grayspring had shown up as well.

Graduation was tomorrow, after all. And while I was terribly excited for it, it was also so, so bittersweet.

“To us!” I toasted as I raised my glass of beer, the amber liquid catching the light. “Who would have thought we’d all make it here together?”

Tina clinked her glass against mine and smirked over at Avis. “Well… Almost all of us.”

Avis’s face reddened, but Gavin nudged Tina in the ribs before Avis could say anything.

“That’s rich coming from the girl who’s only graduating tomorrow by the skin of her teeth,” he teased. Tina responded with a playful shove that almost sent him tumbling off his barstool, his drink spilling onto the already sticky floor.

Avis giggled, her blonde curls bouncing as she shook her head. “I just can’t believe it’s almost over. Where will you all go now? Hopefully not too far…”

“Goddess, don’t remind me I have to spend the summer with my parents,” Betty groaned, taking a long swig of her beer. Her usually impeccable appearance was slightly disheveled, a sign of how much we had all been celebrating tonight. “Just come home for one last summer, honey! You can save up for a nice apartment!’ Bleh.”

“Hey, I’ll take your place if you don’t want to go back,” Tina chuckled. “I’m not ready to start being an adult just yet.”

As my friends chatted, I leaned back in my chair, glancing around the bar. Edwin had stayed true to his word; if there was a bodyguard nearby, which there certainly was, then I had no idea where he or she was hiding.

Looking around, I spotted a burly older man with a leather jacket at the bar, drinking whiskey by himself; a tough-looking young woman in skinny jeans and a tank top watching a sports game on the TV; a pair of blonde twins solemnly playing a game of cards in a corner. It could have been any of them, or maybe even all of them.

Either way, it was going to take some getting used to-knowing that someone was watching me. But it was better than being hunted down by Coldclaw rogues, and besides… It made my mate happy. And it was a compromise.

But then, suddenly, another figure caught my eye. My body instinctively went on high alert as I recognized that dark hair: Linda. The sight of her was enough to send a jolt through me.

And even worse… she was headed right for our table.

“Guys…” I nudged my friends, who all fell silent and followed my gaze. “We’ve got company.”

Linda held up her hands as she approached, looking… different somehow. Gone was the haughty expression she usually wore, replaced by something that looked almost like… remorse? Her dark hair was pulled back into a neat bun, and she wore a pair of well-tailored trousers, a crisp shirt, and a pair of loafers,

“I’m not here to cause trouble,” she said, stopping a few paces away from our table. “I swear.”

Despite her words, my friends and I all remained stiff, silent. None of us knew what to do-whether we should tell her to

leave us alone, move tables to get away from her, or maybe even prepare for a good old-fashioned bar brawl.

But to my surprise, Linda pulled her shoulders back as if steeling herself for something very difficult.

“I’m here to apologize.”

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11:49 Mon, Oct 7 BB

Chapter 218

ཎྛས371%u

I blinked, caught off guard. The noise of the bar suddenly seemed to fade away. “You… What?” I blurted out, hating how stupid I sounded just then.

+5

Linda shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting between me and my friends. She looked… smaller somehow, less intimidating than I remembered. “I know it’s unexpected. But I’ve been through a lot since…” She glanced at me, and the tips of her ears reddened ever so slightly. “…Well, since everything that happened.”

“Last we heard, your parents shipped you off to boot camp,” Gavin hissed from behind clenched teeth.

Linda nodded, a flicker of something I couldn’t quite read crossing her face. “Yeah. Boot camp. It… It changed me. Opened my eyes to a lot of things.”

I felt my posture relax slightly, although I still remained wary. “Go on…”

Linda took another deep breath, her fingers twisting together nervously. “During boot camp, I was finally punished-for the first time, really-for how I treated others. It made me realize how awful I had been. And… it made me look at why I acted that way.”

She paused, swallowing hard. The vulnerability in her expression was jarring, so different from the Linda I remembered. I found my eyebrows shooting up, my beer glass suddenly feeling slippery in my hand.

“My parents… They weren’t great,” Linda continued. “Emotionally abusive, really, for my entire life. I think I just wanted to feel powerful, so I took it out on others. I know it’s not an excuse, but… it’s the truth.”

The sincerity in her voice was surprising. I’d never seen Linda look so… human.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me or anything like that,” Linda continued, her eyes meeting mine. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. But as part of my boot camp graduation, my commanding officer tasked me with apologizing to people I had hurt. And… well, you were at the top of my list, Audrey.”

My friends all turned to look at me, jaws slack. I was silent for a long moment, processing. Linda… apologizing. It felt surreal, like I was in a dream. Instinct nudged me to call her on her bluff, but when I looked into her eyes, I saw nothing but genuine remorse there.

She really had changed. I could sense it.

Finally, I said, “I appreciate your apology, Linda. I can’t say I forgive you, but… Thank you for saying it.”

Linda nodded, looking relieved. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I understand. And… congratulations, by the way. On being the shifted Silver Wolf. That’s incredible.”

I tensed at her words, remembering the ruse Edwin and I had agreed upon. Spreading rumors of my shifted status was meant to protect me from Coldclaw, but hearing it repeated back was still jarring. “Oh, um… Thank you,” I said smoothly, trying to keep my face neutral. “It’s been… quite an experience.”

Linda smiled, a genuine expression that looked foreign on her face. “I’m sure. Well, I should go. I just wanted to say my piece. I hope… I hope you all have wonderful lives.”

With that, she turned to leave. Despite myself, despite everything we had been through, I found myself jumping to my feet and calling out to her.

“Linda?” She froze and turned back, surprise evident on her face. Suddenly, I felt… shy. Like I was speaking to someone entirely new. “I hope you have a good life, too,” I managed.

We all watched as Linda disappeared into the crowd after that, looking like a completely different person from the one who had tormented me for so long. I still wasn’t sure if I was awake, or if I was back in Edwin’s bed, having a very strange dream.

There was a moment of stunned silence before Tina broke it in the most… Well, the most Tina way possible.

“Wow… Who killed Linda and replaced her with a nice person?”