The last four weeks had been unbelievable. Ryan Dickens, the star quarterback and practically royalty in our Blood Moon Wolf Pack, had started walking me to class. Every morning, there he was, offering a kind smile and easy conversation. It felt impossible. Me, Erica Moore, the girl with a brain that always seemed to separate me from everyone else, suddenly attracting the attention of Mr. Popular himself. Especially since his last girlfriend practically came with a built-in cheerleader uniform.
The rumors, of course, started like a summer breeze, then grew into a full-blown storm. Was it a mate bond? Ryan turning eighteen a month ago kicked off his Alpha training, and my own eighteenth birthday was just two weeks away. A tiny, hopeful voice chirped in my chest.
Just yesterday, the usual taunts from Carly and her posse escalated. As I rounded a corner, slamming into a wall of lockers, Carly's voice assualted my ears. I panicked, looking for an escape route in the hallway.
Too late!
"Well, well, if it isn't the future Alpha's little pet. Looking a little lost, Moore?" A chorus of giggles followed. My cheeks burned with a sting of humiliation, my books scattering across the cold linoleum floor. I scrambled to gather them, heart hammering against my ribs, willing myself invisible.
"Hey," I mumbled.
The locker door slammed shut with a bang, making me jump. Ryan, who had just walked around the corner, his smile faltering slightly at the scene, offered a hesitant, "Hey, Erica."
"Just checking in on Erica, here," Carly purred, batting her eyelashes at him with practiced innocence.
"Uh, yeah," Ryan stammered, glancing between me and Carly. "We were just heading to class, right Erica?"
I managed a weak nod, desperately clutching my books tighter.
"Great," Carly chirped, sounding somewhat like a subtle threat. "See you after practice, Taylor," she added, winking suggestively before sauntering away, her posse trailing behind like a pack of giggling wolves.
After practice? What was happening after practice? I itched to question Ryan, but I restrained myself. I might as well not blow this blooming relationship, or whatever interest Ryan had taking in me, with a stubborn sprout of jealousy. He might get upset if I question him about it, or would he not? My mind was at war about whether to ask him or not.
To ask him, or not to?
While I was having the mind debate, Ryan and I stood in silence for a while.
"Thanks," I finally managed. I wondered for a moment whether he actually deserved my appreciation. Technically, he didn't stop Carly. I guess his presence repelled further bullying, but how much longer could he hold her?
"No problem," Ryan mumbled, his gaze distant. "See you after class, I guess." He turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the echoing hallway.
I hated that he had to leave so soon. I was getting so used to having him around me. I loved having his attention, but beneath all this new attention, the truth of my life remained. Years of bullying, a kind of torture my own family seemed okay with, had left their mark. My brother, Jasper, soon to be the Gamma, wasn't exactly an innocent bystander either. Graduation was my only escape plan, it was the only chance I stood to having a new life outside of this present pack.
The third bell went off. I knew what that meant. My heart leaped in my chest. Cafeteria. It wasn't just Cafeteria that got me so excited. Well, it was one of the few things I looked forward to in school, but it was way more than that. Cafeteria equalled, I would be leaving class. Cafeteria equalled, I would be having lunch. And the best part, Cafeteria equalled Ryan! I would be having lunch with Ryan. A very obvious smile infested the landscape of my face, dimples holing at my cheeks.
I jolted off my seat and headed for the Cafeteria.