Call of Shadows - Book 1

Chapter 2

*Edited*

Lauren

I hated this. Being the new kid halfway through the semester. In a town this small everyone knew everyone and a new kid was fresh meat. The New Kid title came with all sorts of shit I didn't want; the introductions by teachers, the stares, the over kind people, all of it was a nightmare. The only relief I had was that I knew two people; my cousin, Sarah and a neighbor, Jenna. Why did I have to switch schools? I questioned for the millionth time cursing under my breath.

Jenna looked up at me - she had picked a spot in the sun to sit out for lunch despite my rejections to sit inside or somewhere where there weren't people around. I looked around seeing the classic groups formed on campus, jocks, nerds, music, but then a particular group caught my eye.

They stood out, but not in a bad way. For a minute I just stared, until I realized it wasn't the group that had caught my eye but one person in particular. There was a girl in the middle who seemed to radiate with a soft white light. I couldn't pull my eyes from her she was beautiful. I started when Jenna spoke.

"Those are the Wolfs. Yes, their last name is Wolf. They live with their entire family in a small house on the edge of town where the woods start and the open plains end. Don't get caught up in them, Lauren, they're dangerous." Jenna said, noticing my gaze. My eyes reluctantly wandered back and we continued to talk.

"What's so dangerous about them?" I asked, still trying hard to not stare at the girl. Sarah leaned in like she was afraid to be heard by them even though they were across campus.

"There's too many rumors to really know the truth. Some people say that they are in a cult, others say they're felons in Witness Protection. Drug dealers, murderers, and assassins have come up too." I snorted at the last option but Sarah threw me a look. "I'm not kidding, there's something going on with the Wolfs." Rolling my eyes I went back to eating, tuning out Sarah's conspiracy theories. My eyes kept darting back to the girl sitting on the other side of the campus, my brain silently praying she'd come over and talk to me.

Lauren seriously what the hell are you thinking? She doesn't even know you! I silently yelled, but of course as I kicked myself my eyes darted back over to her, this time however, she wasn't sitting where she had been. I quickly scanned the area but couldn't see her anywhere. For reasons beyond my knowledge my heart fell.

"Uh oh, the assassin is coming our way." The girl I had been staring at was walking over to us, eyes focused on me. Unlike my friends I didn't feel scared or uncomfortable as she got ever closer...maybe even part of me wanted to speak with her. Sure, she was well built muscles rippling under her shirt, but there was a kind of grace to her. My heart began to beat faster as she approached, waiting for her to stand in front of me. I continued to ignore the whispers coming from the others. Just as she walked up to my table and I was ready for her to stop, she kept walking...walking past me. The drum of my heart began to fade and the rush of energy I had felt was lost.

"Thank god." Jenna said exhaling a long breath.

"Maybe she was trying to see if we'd be good slaves or something." Sarah said, her whole body shaking. I rounded on her.

"Oh come on you two, I thought you were better than this! Taking stock in conspiracy theories. Ridiculous! They are no different then us and you know it." Both looked at me with shock unable to respond. I took a deep breath. I had no clue why I had just exploded about some girl I never met. My head was spinning in confusion. By the looks of it my friends were just as confused about it as I was.

The rest of the day all I could think of what the mysterious girl I had seen at lunch. For all I tried I couldn't get the thought of her out of my mind. It was utterly frustrating. I found myself searching the hallways for her, but she never popped up again. As the last bell rang and I walked out the doors of the school I noticed the Wolf's were gathered in the corner of the cafeteria talking amongst themselves but the girl was not with them.

Many times I thought I saw them glance over at me, however as soon as I turned my head they had gone back to their conversations. Part of me felt drawn to ask them where she had gone, but the other part screamed caution. Finally I pulled myself to walk away from the school and back to my house. As I left, I felt the Wolf's eyes following me as I walked out of the building, and I still couldn't shake the feeling there was something more to them then what the rumors had said about them.