Moon Dancer - Hidden Wolf 1

Ryker

The day moves at a turtle pace and I can feel the scowl on my face getting more prominent as the seconds tick by. We were only on our 3rd class of the day.

I stared through the glass test tubes at our teacher, Ms. Rell. She had crazy frizzy red hair and round glasses as thick as our history textbook. I was convinced she was secretly plotting to blow us all up as she poured the red liquid into the bubbling beaker.

At this point, I would take such a fate.

Not only was I bored, but Ares was bouncing his knee on the stool next to mine. It was hella distracting. His anxiety was a constant thrum through the pack bond. It had only worsened since our first class.

I spared a glance at the red-headed girl. She had her elbow propped up on the table and her cheek was squished against her fist. I had never met Grayson before this morning, but Jagger seemed to know her well.

Well enough that after History, Jagger had shoved Ares up against the wall. "I get that you had a pissy summer." He had growled quietly. "But you can't talk to Gray like that. If you come on too strong, she will stop talking to me too."

Since then, Ares' anxiety had doubled and Grayson remained reserved. If she was usually this quiet, I'm not surprised that we'd never met before. It is hard for a quiet person to become friends with a quiet person.

Not that I was known for making friends.

We could all tell that Ares hadn't meant anything by his question, but Ares was just one of those people that was naturally intense. Even though Jagger kept poking and pushing for a reaction, Grayson remained silent. I felt my scowl deepen. She had kind of shut down.

Finley sat next to Grayson, trying to balance a pen on his fingertip. I didn't miss the way he kept glancing at Grayson, as if he was checking on her.

I pushed my mind against Ares, letting him know I wanted to talk.

Soft blue eyes turned toward me. He raised his eyebrow in question.

I sighed. "If you feel bad, you could always apologize. It's not that weird for a human to say-"

"I didn't do anything worth apologizing for." Ares said angrily at me.

I rested my head in my hands and met his glare. "You came off a little hostile."

His nostrils flared. "It's not my fault she is so feeble and weak."

I narrowed my eyes and sharply turned my head. If he was going to act like an absolute ass, he could suffer alone. I could feel the frustration and anxiety spike through the pack bond and I blocked off my mind, so he couldn't mindlink me again.

Finley looked over with an arched eyebrow and I gave a subtle shake of my head. He rolled his eyes and went back to his pen.

Sometimes it was just easier to let Ares be his antisocial brooding self.

The bell rang and everyone started moving at once. The cafeteria would be swarming with students and everyone was in a hurry to have a little free time before afternoon classes.

I sauntered out the door, Jagger following close behind me. When there was a little distance between us and Ares and Finn, Jagger bumped my shoulder with his. "What did he say?" Jagger asked nonchalantly.

His feelings through the bond betrayed him.

"He was just saying that apologizing isn't worth it because she's weak." I said in a low voice.

Jagger bristled as we walked side by side.

I eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you treat her like that?"