That afternoon, I had my only class without either of my friend’s for eighth period Science. Afterwards, I met up with the three at the entrance to the school, and they led the way to The Zone.
It was a small building in the middle of a shopping center with people buzzing in and out the doors. There were bright colors and plenty of tables and chairs. There were teenagers everywhere, some doing homework, some just chatting, drinking iced mochaccinos and smoothies.
Tyler went up to the counter with Stella and they bought a few drinks for us.
Jack and I went and sat at an empty table that would seat five people and we began pulling out books and homework. First day and I already was swamped. I groaned in annoyance over it. “By the way, at my old school, we weren’t in the same place in most classes, so I might need some help,” I said to him while we waited for the other two to return.
“No problem,” he said.
Stella and Tyler came over and sat down at our circular table with us. “We just got smoothies,” Stella announced, passing out plastic cups of thick pink drinks.
“Awesome,” I said, smiling.
The smoothie was cold and as I sipped it through the green straw, it froze my fingertips. It tasted like strawberries and vanilla yogurt.
It wasn’t as good as the smoothies my mom would make…
I forced myself to suppress any thoughts of my parents. I couldn’t think of them in such a public place. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself. I refused to cry here and surely if I thought long enough about it, I would.
I turned my attention to my math homework and Jack who was helping me with it. Stella was tapping the eraser side of her pencil against the tabletop, which was the first annoying thing she’d done since we’d met. It was distracting.
“Stella, I love you and all, but if you don’t stop that, I’ll cram this text book down your throat,” I said, holding up my thousand page American History text book and resting my elbows on the table. She stared at me in shock and the boys started cracking up.
”Maya, dear,” Jack began, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Stella here doesn’t respond to threats of physical violence. Believe me, we’ve tried that before. She’s a border-line pacifist. And after all, she knows it’s impossible to not love her too much to hurt her. Isn’t that right, Stell?”
Stella giggled and nodded. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing as well. “Stella, you are driving me insane! You’re a werewolf who’s a non-violent veggie-head! We’re a predatory species!” I realized I was speaking almost loud enough for the people at the next table to hear me.
“By the way, speaking of lack of violence and Stella being weird,” Jack said, quieting his voice a bit, “Tonight we have training,” he reminded me.
I nodded, “Thanks.
Tyler looked at him, confused. “What does that have to do with Stella being weird? Or a lack of violence…”
Jack laughed. “It doesn’t. I just felt like saying that.”
Stella huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. “I’m not the only weird one here, oh sir tidy-whitey-head.”
I looked at Jack, who Stella was glaring at, and saw him turn red.
“I don’t want to know,” I decided, shaking my head.
“Good, ‘cause I’m not going there again,” Jack said relieved. “So anyway, one plus one equals two, right?”
I stared at him confused at his question. “Five,” I said, laughing to myself as he actually wrote that on his math homework.
“So, training,” I began but then trailed off as I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I sniffed subtly and sat up straight on instinct. I heard a ding ring out through the shop above the discussions of all the teenagers in the room. My head jerked, forcing my eyes to look at the door.
Connor walked in, alone, a black back pack slung over his shoulder. The bronzy tint in his hair stood out under the florescent lighting, his golden eyes the color of honey looked warmer somehow than they had on Saturday, but still sent a shiver down my spine.
“Maya? Maya are you alright,” Stella asked, grabbing my wrist. I looked her in the eyes and saw sincere worry.
I shook my head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… got my sense of smell back,” I guess.
She smiled. “That’s good! But a little weird that it was so sudden.”
I shook my head again. “No, I think it’s been coming back all day, I just… hadn’t noticed it….” I looked at Connor again and saw him sit at a computer alone. “I have to go do something really quick,” I managed to say, my mind in chaos, rising from my seat.
Without another word, I stepped away with surprising ease and grace in my step. I hadn’t walked without small stumbles since I had gone into my wolf shock. I smiled, satisfied.
I sat down in the chair in front of the computer next to him and nudged his shoulder lightly. “Hey, Connor,” I softly said, trying to get his attention.
He sighed and took his headphones off of his ear. He slowly rolled his head to glare at me. “What do you want?”
The hostility in his voice shook me, putting me on my nerves for a split second before I regained control over my instincts. “So sorry to bug you,” I said, finding bitterness in my own voice, “But thank you for Saturday… when you caught me at the pack house,” I explained, my tone softening ever so slightly, adding some gratitude.
He shrugged indifferently. “Whatever. Don’t mention it.”
I nodded, standing up, but my sandal caught on a screw in my stool and I was tripped up, sending me flailing my arms, nearly falling on my face. Suddenly I felt hands around my waist, helping me stay up.
“Do I really have to stop you from falling every time Isee you?” His voice wasn’t playful, but rather negative and annoyed.
“So sorry to be such a burden,” I shot back scowling. I was beginning to hate him.
“Doesn’t matter,” he frowned, looking away, stepping away slowly. “You’ll be gone soon.” He turned away.
“What’s that supposed to mean,” I called after him.
He stopped in his tracks and turned back around. “Pretty soon you’ll find your mate and you’ll be out of all our hair for good.” He injected a venomous tone when he said the word mate. “They don’t let you stay in the circle pack if your mate isn’t in it. They know you’ll leave eventually to be with them.”
I frowned. “Well I’m here for now. And as far as I’m concerned, I’m here to stay.”
Furiously, I stalked away, grabbing my stuff back from the table and shot Stella a pleading look, and without a word, she stood up and led me out the door.
[A/N: Short chapter, I know. So sorry! But I’m so happy about how every time I refresh my news feed, I have more votes or comments, or this book is in yet another reading list! Today has been a good wattpad day for me! I’ve also decided to turn this into a book series, in which a lot more than just romance will happen. Who’s excited? Please vote and comment! If you do, I will be your devoted servant!]
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Werewolf"Happy birthday! You're present; your parents are dead!" This is how Maya ends her seventeenth birthday; with the cops at her front porch when she returns from her surprise birthday party. In grief, she runs away, unable to bare the guilt. She w...
