Hay Creek

Chapter 8.

Kai

I stood at my locker with Lachlan, rummaging around for my gym bag. I had P.E. next, and for some reason, I'd left the bag in my main locker instead of my gym locker, which I *never* do. Everyone else was already at the gym, so we needed to hustle. I finally grabbed my bag and slammed the locker shut.

"Hey, bro, can you do me a favor?" Lachlan asked suddenly. I shot him a curious glance, waiting for him to elaborate. "I want to ask Quinn out, but I need to know if she's seeing anyone."

I raised an eyebrow. "So, you want me to ask Avery about Quinn?"

He nodded, looking hopeful. I chuckled. "Sure, no problem."

As we walked into the boys' changing room, the sharp smell of blood hit my nose, thick and unmistakable. Lachlan caught it too and growled instinctively. I motioned with two fingers for him to check the locker area while I headed toward the bathroom. Lachlan gave a quick nod, and we split up.

I hadn't even made it far into the bathroom area when I saw Isaac slumped on the floor, his dark green eyes blinking up at me, his hand pressed tightly against his chest.

I crouched down, sitting on my haunches, trying to make him feel less cornered. His eyes followed my every move, but he didn't stop me from coming closer.

"What happened to you?" I asked quietly. He shook his head, clearly avoiding the truth.

I sighed and called for Lachlan, who was by my side in seconds, his face immediately clouding with concern. "You're really messed up," Lachlan said. "But who did this to you?"

Isaac mumbled, "I'm fine."

Yeah, sure. He looked far from fine.

"I was hit by a ball. I'll be good to go in a minute," Isaac added, trying to brush it off.

A ball? Really? He must think I'm an idiot.

"Well, in that case, you won't mind me calling the coach then," I said, testing his bluff. Isaac reached out to grab me, but I stepped back quickly.

"I dare you," he growled, clearly trying to act tough. Not the best time for that.

"Why aren't you healing?" I asked, cutting through his act. "You're a shapeshifter—I can smell it. So stop pretending this is nothing."

He was in bad shape, and his wound was fresh. Even though I couldn't see it, the smell of blood was enough. What kind of alpha would let one of his pack walk around like this?

Isaac sighed and finally gave in. "I've got bandages in my bag. Can you grab them for me?"

I nodded for Lachlan to fetch them, and once we were alone, I pressed him again. "What really happened?"

Isaac hesitated, but then mumbled something about being attacked. "It's not that serious," he insisted.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Stop saying that. If it wasn't serious, you wouldn't be sitting on a gym bathroom floor, bleeding all over the place."

Lachlan returned with the bandages, and after wrapping up Isaac's chest, we made our way into the gym. Everyone was either busy with some activity or sitting on the benches. Lachlan was already heading over to where the rest of our pack was hanging out. I lingered by Isaac.

Back in the changing room, I had asked why he was attacked, and he'd mumbled something about a family fight. His stuttering made me doubt that story. Whoever had gone after him had done some real damage. I'd also asked him what kind of shapeshifter he was, and he'd told me he was a *werecoyote*. Interesting. I hadn't met one of those since I was ten—almost eight years ago.