Not A Love Story

Stalkers and Wolfsbane

Leona's POV

I have never felt so stupid in my life. It should just be so simple to talk to a guy, right? But let me tell you, going up to an almost-stranger and asking if he has a secret life as a wolf? A little different.

So, I've basically been following him around for the past three days. I found out he is best friends with the school player, that he runs cross-country, and he loves strawberry-banana smoothies. But only frozen. Not liquid. But I'm not a stalker. Actually, never mind. I am.

Jake's POV

"She's following me!" I complain to Kate.

"Well sorry, but it's not my fault." Kate says.

I throw a handful of straw at her. "Yeah, it is!" We were working on re-constructing the haystack in the clearing after Samuel destructed it.

She shrugs. "What I mean is that it's not my problem. Why do we have to do this?" Kate gestures to the straw-strewn field. "Why can't Samuel do it? He destroyed it!"

"Ruby and Alexa knocked it down," I remind her.

"It's a pile of straw! It looks the same whatever side it's on!"

"Fine, you win," I mutter. Kate looks extremely pleased. "Listen," I say, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Can you just tell Leona to stop following me? It's cute, but Darren's teasing me to no end."

"She just wants to talk to you! You should just tell her you're a werewolf, that's what she wants to hear!"

"It's not easy, Kate!"

"You think I don't know that? It's exactly like telling Mrs. Keye."

"It's different," I protest.

"You're right. It's easier!" 

"What?"

"It's easier! Leona's mom's a werewolf, so even if she's not a shifter, she still has a right to know!"

"I don't care, it's still hard!"

Kate shakes her head pitifully. "Your problem," She mutters. 

We carry on in our slow stacking for about a half hour, but we still have more than half the pile left.

"This could be so much easier!" Kate screams in frustration. Her skin is flickering from a tanned color to a ghostly white. Her eyes flicker from a light hazel to dark blue.

"Kate." I try to keep my voice steady. I grab hold of her arm and look her in the eye. "Keep control. You can do this."

Kate takes a deep shuddery breath and her eyes slowly fade back to hazel. Her skin loses the ghostly tinge

"Kate..."

"Whatever, I can do this without shifting." She starts picking up little bits of straw and putting them on the pile.

"Kate."

 She avoids my gaze. "Lets get back to work, we don't have all day!"

"Kate."

She spins to face me. "What?!"

"You're having trouble with shifting, aren't you?"

She hangs her head like a punished toddler. "Umm... maybe a little."

"Why, what's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No, at least I don't think so." 

I study her face. No, I don't think she's lying. She looks healthy to me. "Then why can't you shift?"