“Yeah, you’re already leaps and bounds ahead of me.”
“Thanks,” I say, and Omar places a hand on my shoulder.
“You’ll get it.”
For a moment his eyes are full of this strange intensity, like he’s trying to tell me something, but I can’t figure out what. Then he laughs and smiles that crooked smile.
“You must be hungry. Wanna get some lunch?”
Just the mention of the wordlunchand my stomach rumbles like there’s a thunderstorm brewing in my belly.
“Totally.”
“I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong,” I say as we make our way to the lunch tent. “Why was it so easy that first day?”
Omar chews the inside of his cheek and thinks for a moment before answering.
“I think it probably caught you off guard,” he says. “That was the first time you’d truly let your guard down, right?”
He’s not wrong. On that first day I felt safe, with Yoki and with Omar. I knew they were trying to help me. And while that hasn’t changed, for some reason, whenever I’ve tried to truly let my guard down over the last couple of days I’ve hesitated. I have no idea why.
“I suppose.”
“Yoki said something was blocking you. You just need to figure out what that is.”
What could be blocking me?
Back home there’s a whole bunch of reasons why I might not want to open myself up completely. There are prying wolves who want to know too much about what I’m thinking. Wolves who’d like to use that information against me. Then there are the wolves I’m closest to. But why would I be worried about letting my guard down around the wolves I care about the most? And then it hits me…is it Jasper?
The last couple of days he’s been pretty quiet. He’s been working to help build the school and getting nowhere with Tomas. I know he wants to leave, that he’s only staying for my benefit. Is that why I’m having trouble connecting? And is this blockage the same thing that’s preventing us from mind-linking?
“Earth to Max,” Omar says, waving a hand in front of my face. I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped walking. We’re standing a few paces from the entrance to the lunch tent. “You okay in there?”
“Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry. Just thinking. Ow.”
Something pinches in the back of my mind and suddenly I’m aware of a presence behind me. I spin to see who’s there but all I see is a shadow cast on the ground as whoever it was darts away behind a tent.
Weird.
“Something wrong, cuz?”
“I’m—I’m fine.”
I turn back to the tent and cast a glance across the tables. Jasper is sitting alone in the far corner, watching us.
“Oh, he’s here.” Omar has clearly spotted Jasper as well. “Listen, you know that full moon ritual I was telling you about?”
“The drum circle thing? It’s tonight, right?”
“Yeah, I should go help the gang get ready. Make sure all the drums are—drumming. But I’ll catch you round.”
“Will I see you there?”
Omar is already backing away, eager to make his exit. “Yeah, I’ll be there, I’ll be the one banging on the offbeat.”
“Great, you’ll stick out then,” I say.
“See you,” he says, then turns and jogs away.
