All the snarky replies I’ve built up over the years wait on my tongue like an arsenal, ready to be used when they push me far enough. It doesn’t take much for my wolf’s rage and my own smart mouth to get there these days. The closer I get to the Dark Moon, the closer my wolf seems to be, and the thinner my self-preservation filter becomes.
Kyvain’s chair slams back so fast, it clatters to the floor with a racket of noise that draws every single set of eyes to the two of us. He stares me down like an alpha ready to attack. I should bow out. I should look away. I should lower my head to my future alpha.
Instead, my chin lifts higher.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Morganson?” Professor Reed asks slowly, his beady eyes shifting from the golden boy alpha to the outcast that I am.
Nervousness spikes through me, sending a million butterflies loose in a torrent of anxiety, while Kyvain’s furious blue eyes slice me into tiny, insignificant pieces.
“Not at all,” Kyvain finally says. It seems he physically puts thought into placing a charming smile on his lips when he looks up at our professor. “Rhys was just saying she wasn’t feeling well. Might have to go home. She might even have to skip the Dark Moon Celebration tonight. If she knew what was good for her, that is.” He holds that subtle threat over me.
I stand in the middle of the class with all eyes on me.
With a thick clearing of his throat, Professor Reed meets my lost expression. “I think he’s right. You should head home for the day. Get your rest, Miss Love.”
Calvin snickers quietly.
Bea looks up at me with big, sad eyes.
And Kyvain, he doesn’t give me a second glance now that he’s dismissed me like he owns me.
What if my entire life is like this?
What if my entire existence is one big, dreaded group project?
I’ll never survive it.
Chapter Two
The Stranger
Rhys
A cool breeze ruffles my light blonde hair, and I tuck it back as I make my way down the sidewalk toward the small two-bedroom house that barely resembles the word ‘home.’ The outside looks cozy enough with its blue door and shutters, and the yellow flowers dotting the garden on either side of the small front stoop, but I have to admit to myself that these four walls have always felt temporary.
I kick my white sneaker at the smooth pavement just outside my cottage. Mary is going to be mega pissed if she finds out I came home early. Thankfully she’s still working at the lab in town, and I won’t see her until tonight at the celebration.
If I go…
The wolf within me snarls.
I guess I might go…
Thenanother snapping of teeth.
Fucking fine, we’ll go!
A happy warmth spreads through me, and I roll my eyes at the demanding bitch.
I pull my house key from my bookbag, and when I look up, he’s there again. Stormy eyes bore into mine, searching for something I’m not sure he finds. The stranger stands at the corner of my little cottage, and it seems odd that the warm magic inside me spreads even more at the creepy sight of a strange man watching me.
Jesus, Kyvain has seriously fucked with my ability to rationally remember fight or flight in times like this.
Hesitantly, I look around at my surroundings. The elderly woman across the street, Mrs. Linskey, is tending to her roses out front. Mr. Brooks is mowing his lawn just two houses down.
This is my pack.
I’m safe here.
