The Shadow of Stars

Two

Any hint of a snigger soon leaves the lungs of the onlookers as silence envelops the entire crowd. No, no no no no no no no this can't be happening. He must just be pulling a prank, like the stupid jock he is he probably just wants to mess with me. I wait for the punchline to fall out of Micah Holts mouth, for his entourage of wolves to follow suit and laugh at stupid ol' me sat on the floor in paint but they don't and neither does he.

Micah Holt. The Alpha's son, the schools captain, quarterback, a-lister golden boy is staring at me with eyes full of adoration and relief.

"Are you okay?" He asks, a concern different to the first time he asked, like this time his entire heart was poured into the three-worded question. A sheath of tears cover my eyes and I want nothing more than to cry out for Henry to come and rescue me from this mess but the truth is I am surrounded by strangers who are no help whatsoever.

"No no no, don't cry, don't cry," he coos, worry taking over his face before he scans his eyes over my uninjured body and turns to the crowd. "Everyone out now!" The boom of his voice startles me but it's only a split second before his team mates start escorting the onlookers from the scene, leaving only a few of us stood in the hallway.

I push my palm out flat onto the floors surface and begin to stand up, my sudden movement making his head snap towards me. I'm shaking like a leaf, stood in front of him holding my soaking wet bag of books with paint dripping from my hair onto the floor.

"Woah, steady there are you okay? Did you hit your head?" He asks and I stare at him with wide eyes, the nerve to answer him not rising up. His arm reaches out to touch me and I flinch away from it, taking two shaky steps back. The entire mood of the rest of his team members shift as they stand alert, waiting for me to make a run for it.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. This is-" his arms extend out to me in surrender and he breaths out deeply. "This is hard, I know you're scared but there is no need to be. My name's Micah, what's yours?" He asks gently but I don't see something gentle, I see a weapon honed from pure muscle standing an arms length away and many more surrounding the halls.

"I need to go home," I squeak shakily and his face falls.

"You need to- you need to go home, right okay," he nods to himself, thinking over what I have said before looking at me with a pained expression. "How about we just talk for a little bit? Then I can maybe give you a lift to your home if you'd like," he suggests and my stomach turns.

Although it is an unofficial rule in our household, getting into a car with a stranger, let alone a wolf stranger is a definite way to find yourself in a sticky situation. I need to think, I need to do something other than just stand here looking like a complete quivering mess.

"I'm human," I blurt, hoping that he'll receive my answer of no laced within the words.

"I know, I know, shit," he curses to himself before attempting to take a step closer to me again which I meet with another step back, holding the distance between us.

I lift my hands tentatively in front of me, a sign to not take another step, one that he doesn't appreciate. His brows furrow and he looks back at me through clouded eyes that switch so briefly its like he wasn't mind linking at all.

"Its getting late and I don't mean to be rude or anything but I have this, thing, that I have to be at and it's like super important, sooo," I say, cringing at the words as they fall from my mouth in a jumble of complete nerd. A language he no doubt doesn't understand.

"I'm sure it can wait," he says with a huffed laugh, looking at me like I'm crazy before running his hand through his now rugged hair, "We're mates, you know what that is don't you?" He asks, the question coming out in full seriousness. My blood runs through my veins like an icy ravine and I clench my hands into fists to stop them shaking.