Forbidden

Chapter 4

4

I pulled my cap lower down over my ears and scribbled in the margin of my note-book. The metal spiral binding pressed harshly against my skin as I etched doodle after doodle over and under the blue lines.

The music I was listening to on my iPod marched into my eardrums, with a thick under bass and catchy lyrics. I found myself humming as I scribbled deeper and deeper into the margin of my book with my pencil.

Someone took the seat beside me.

I looked up to find Liam .

He looked a bit out of place with his barely combed hair, holey gray T-shirt and jeans. His Converse sneakers were dirty with mud and there was paint on the toes.

My heart started to flutter in my chest, like a caged bird.

Stop it Misha.

I returned to scribbling in the margin, only to find I’d written his name over and over in my cursive lettering, and surrounded it by plump hearts. Quickly, I tore the sheet of paper out of the book, balled it up and stuffed it into my pocket as Ms. Hanover entered the classroom.

I quickly pressed pause and stuffed my headphones into my pocket.

While the teacher spewed on about something or the other, I was fighting to keep my heart from exploding as I sat beside Liam. What was this? What was wrong with me?! I found myself short of breath, and slow trickles of perspiration slid down my neck. I feared I was going into cardiac arrest. That could be the only valid explanation right?

Going into shock, I slammed my head down between my arms and concentrated on my labored breaths. In, out, in out—that’s it.

“Miss Grant, are you alright?” I heard Ms. Hanover ask.

I couldn’t answer her. Everything was just too much.

“Can someone please escort Miss Grant to the nurse?” Miss Hanover said worriedly.

I felt strong arms around me, and the strangest bittersweet scent assaulting my nose. It was comforting, and my heart beat slowed somewhat. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, and let whoever it was take me where I was supposed to go.

I felt my head rest against something soft and even softer whispers hovering above me.

Something warm touched my palm and immediately, my heartbeat returned to a regular pace. But what was wrong with me? What had triggered that? Moreover, why did it now decide to abate?

I opened my eyes to find the nurse and Liam standing above me, worried expressions both pressed into the features of their faces. My eyes zeroed in on Liam, taking in the sharp curve of his chin, the attractive line of his mouth and those gorgeous gray eyes. He was taller than I’d originally thought him to be, but maybe that came from lying on the bed and viewing him from this angle. Smooth skin ran over long sinewy muscle in his lean body.

Something inside me just seemed to resonate with him. Admiration maybe? But I wondered why, when I knew that Liam was something I could never possess. Our packs were sworn enemies, and perhaps we would be for eternity. But nothing could quell what was bubbling and brewing inside my body and carving itself into my mind.

“Miss Grant?”

My eyes returned to the nurse.

She was a particularly stout woman, with pin curls and glittering ebony skin. She shone a flashlight into both my eyes and I winced at its brightness, holding up one palm to cover my eyes.

“She seems fine now,” the nurse shrugged to Liam, who was staring intently at me, as if he was trying to figure something out.

My blood boiled under his gaze.