Wolfish Affection (UNDERGOING HUGE AMOUNTS OF EDITING)

Wolfish Affection - Chapters 8-10

Eight - Taylor

Why did I leave?

Why did I leave her?

Why did I ask if she had to go to school?

Why did I fall in love with this girl?

Nine - Frances

I stood frozen in the kitchen after Taylor's abrupt departure until I looked at the clock and decided that I needed to move. I didn't bother with attempting to eat human food, I had been through enough already this morning. Plus, I wouldn't need to eat for another week, possibly two, if I was lucky. I closed my eyes, trying to remember the exact hue of Taylor's eyes. Just like Tyson Ritters'. A single tear leaked out of the corner of my right eye. I smeared it away, mentally kicking myself for being so weak.

"Weakling." I muttered to myself.

I took a deep breath and headed out to my car, not bothering to say goodbye to Sapphire.

My car's so cool. It's a metallic green VW beetle. Leather seats, radio/CD player, air conditioning. It's also easy to find in a car park.

The moment I turned off the engine, the door opened and Ruby climbed in. She's the exact opposite of me in terms of appearance: her blonde hair in a cute pixie crop and blue eyes that made my heart ache and long for Taylor.

"I hate September." Ruby whined.

"Really?" I asked. "I love it."

"You would. Your hair doesn't frizz!"

We both laughed and climbed out of my car. I locked it, put the keys in my bag and fell into step with Ruby. Sophie was waiting for us by our lockers, her eyes red as if she'd been crying.

She smiled weakly. "Hey guys. Fran, has Jack -" She stopped speaking the moment I shook my head. Big, fat tears fell from her eyes so I put my arm around her slender shoulders. Ruby did the same.

"Soph, I know that this is hard on you. Hell, it's hard on us all. But we've gotta stay strong. For Jack."

At that point, Heidi Stand and Annie Cape strutted up to us and started laughing at Sophie's tears.

"Crying again Sophie?" Heidi asked harsly.

"No change there then!" Annie cackled.

I was fuming with anger. "Go. Away." I snarled. "You have no idea what she's going through." My anger must've scared them, because they walked off.

By the end of my second period maths class, I realised I'd made no notes at all during my last two lessons. My mind had been with Taylor the whole time.

Ten - Taylor

I'd left Fran's house three hours ago and I still hadn't gone home. Why? Because I didn't have the guts to face Nick. He'd be so mad.

But I went back anyway, just wanting to talk to Jack. Except this time, Jack wasn't waiting for me. Nick was. And he was angry. Very angry.

"Taylor, how could you do that?!" Nick exploded.

"I don't know...maybe because I care about her!" I snapped angrily. "Packs are meant to be like a family, and right now, we're not acting like one!" That shut Nick up.

"What about your family Taylor? 'Cause I can break your head open if you want me to!" Nick taunted.

I wanted to tear his head from his shoulders. But I couldn't. I was just a weak human, not a wolf. I stalked past Nick, heading for the house.

"At least I left my family, not the other way around." I muttered, just loud enough for Nick to hear. He roared in rage, but I was already running.

My room in Nick's house was alright. The wall were painted a sickly green, the carpet's old and faded, with spiders scuttling about in the corners. And I loved it, it was my own. I stared at the picture on my bedside table. It was me, my mom and my dad, standing by the pond in our back garden. Those were the times before the Dark Days. Before my dad started drinking. That was the only picture of my real family that I had.

I felt bad for bringing up Nick's family, because we were all messed up in our own way. I abandoned my family, Nick's family abandoned him and Jack left his. It was almost comforting to know that we free-fell into this insanity together.

There was a soft knock at my door. "Go away." I growled.

The door opened and Jack walked in. He sat down next to me on my bed.

"What part of go away do you not understand Jack?"

"Oh, none of it." Jack sighed airily. "What happened last night?"

I retold my story, giving all the details up until this morning, where I paused. "We...Uh...She had to get to school, so I left."

Jack raised an eyebrow, which reminded me painfully of Fran. It was clear that he wasn't convinced by my lie. He got up to leave.

"Wait." I said, and Jack turned around to face me. "What gave me away?"

"Oh, I dunno," Jack sighed, rolling his green eyes. "How about this: you weren't in the house or garden, you weren't a wolf and you certainly weren't dead." Jack turned around and left the room.

"Nice talking to you Jack." I muttered darkly to the carpet.

I fell backwards onto my bed, so my head hung off the edge. I repositioned myself, putting my head on my pillow and pulling my feet onto the mattress. I closed my eyes and despite having a full night's sleep the night before, I fell asleep.

There was another soft tap on my door. I sat up sharply, roused from my slumber. I checked the clock. It was half three. I had been asleep for four and a half hours. I stared at the carpet, not caring that my hair was sticking up in all directions. All I wanted to do was hide the fact that I'd been asleep.

"No." I snarled, not looking up from the carpet. Nick opened the door and stood nervously in the doorway.

"Come for another fight?" I sighed , standing up and staring him straight in the eyes.

It was Nick's turn to sigh. "No. I'm sorry Taylor, I really am. You were right, We're meant to be a family and we're not acting like one. It was the right thing, seeing her." He guestured vaugely and walked out. I heard his footsteps heading downstairs.

It was the right thing, seeing her.

Nick's voice echoed in my head.

Suddenly, I knew what I had to do to make things right.

I ran downstairs and burst into the kitchen, where Nick was chatting to Jack.

"I'm going out!" I blurted loudly, grabbing my shoes from the corner of the kitchen. Without waiting for a reply, I was out the door.