"You chased him away?" he had to admit, she was strong. Her golden eyes beamed into him as she opened her mouth again.
"Just like I used to chase you away. Come on," she headed for the door and Jason slowly followed her.
He was shocked as he was led through the school and he picked up on so many scents! He blinked as Eliza pressed a button to a door and it opened, revealing a tiny square room inside. "What's that?"
"You've never heard of an elevator?" she questioned and he shook his head. He delicately stepped inside the looked around, confusion sweeping over him. He felt his fear grow as the doors automatically closed and Eliza pressed another button on the side. He yelped as it shuddered and he backed into the corner. Eliza giggled quietly to herself and he tried to remember how to breathe as the entire room moved! "Calm down, pup," she smiled. "It's an easier way of going up stairs. It's an electronic mechanism built by humans to get places faster."
"But… the floor moves," he frowned and yelped again when the room pulled to a shuddering stop. With a loud ding, the doors opened and he dashed out of the elevator. He looked over his shoulder as Eliza calmly walked out with a smile on her face.
"For such an aggressive pup, that was cute," she commented.
He tried asking what she meant but she directed him to another room. After knocking, she walked right in and signaled for Jason to follow. He stepped in cautiously, hoping this room wasn't going to move. He blinked when he saw an elderly man with one gold eye and one blue eyes. With a quick sniff, Jason recognized him as a werewolf. He was somehow not surprised when he saw Storm standing next to the desk with his arms crossed.
"So you're the reason my students have been picked off," the old man said, staring at Jason. "Eliza tells me you left them."
"Yes… Sir," Jason mumbled, bowing his head to the higher power.
"You have respect for such a young pup," he observed. "I am Headmaster Smith, and I know all about you and your vampire friends. Tell me, why did you leave them?"
"I didn't want to kill anymore," Jason shrugged. "I know now that it was wrong."
"Liar!" Storm scoffed.
"Oh, shove a chew toy in your mouth!" Eliza scowled at him. Storm snorted and looked away.
The headmaster looked deep in thought and Jason risked a glance up at him. "What do you plan on doing now?"
"Leave, I guess," Jason frowned. "Find a new home."
"Why not stay here?" the headmaster offered and Jason's body rippled with shock. "We can help you adapt to normal life."
"But… I've killed people from here… Why would you let me stay?" the green-eyed boy blinked.
"Exactly!" Storm spoke up. "Send him on his way. Let him make it on his own-"
"There are many werewolves in this school," the headmaster interrupted. "Refugees, if you will. They've all come here because they have run away from the life they once knew. What other choice do you have?"
Jason considered that and he glanced at Storm, turning his gaze back to the headmaster. "I would be honored. I promise I won't hurt anyone anymore."
The elderly man smiled and nodded. "Good. Classes start on Monday. I will have people looking out for you to make sure you find your way around."
"Thank you so much," Jason was surprised by their generosity. Why would they allow him to join the place where people were murdered because of him? He let it go and bowed his head again. Eliza led him out of the room before Storm could protest again.
*.*.*
Jason slowly opened his eyes as he woke from his dream and he looked over to Raven who squirmed slightly, still asleep. He smiled and raised his hand, brushing her beautiful blonde hair out of her face. He felt lucky that he had her, despite her knowing who he was and what he used to be. She never judged him, and that was something he would always hold dear.
He suddenly looked up at his doorway as he heard a growl and golden eyes beamed at him. Pearly white teeth flashed and the massive head became outlined against the darkness. Jason took in the appearance of the werewolf at his bedroom door and if he didn't take a quick sniff first, he would have made a move to attack.
He breathed and delicately wriggled out of bed without waking Raven. He pulled the blanket over her body so she didn't get cold without him. The werewolf disappeared from the doorway and Jason quickly pulled on a pair of sweatpants before walking out of his room and seeing the werewolf sitting down a little further away.
"Eliza, don't do that!" he said quietly and she changed back to human form.
"Sorry," she frowned. "But I wanted to see if Raven was okay."
"She's fine," Jason told her and he leaned against the back of the couch. "I told her the full story and she's still here."
"She has a good heart," Eliza smiled. "Just like you do."
The green-eyed boy smiled in return. "I wanted to thank you."
"For what?" she blinked.
"That night when I appeared on the doorstep… It was you that insisted to take me in. Despite what Storm thought, you accepted me. I'm probably only here because of you," he looked down at the ground. "So… thank you."
Eliza let out a tiny sigh and she stepped forward, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're welcome, Jason. You've changed so much in such a short time and I'm very proud of you. And now you even have a beautiful girl that cares so much about you."
"I honestly never thought any of it was possible," he chuckled quietly.
The golden-eyed girl giggled and stepped away from him. "Make sure you never lose Raven. Even I can see that she's filled the hole in your heart."
Knowledge is the Key
Raven frowned as she sat on the basketball courts with Elaise, Gwen and Allison. Jason, Der and the other boys were playing their usual game of basketball but the mood seemed to be all but cheerful.
Raven and Elaise were handling their third day after almost being killed by vampires but they were still recovering from the shock. News had gone around the school that Sally's parents had come late at night and forced her to come home, but the car crashed into a truck and rolled down a hill, killing all of them. The entire school was devastated, mostly Anthony, but Raven, Elaise and the werewolves knew the real story; the headmaster was just making a cover so the humans didn't find out about the supernatural events, making sure it was a story where Sally still died so Anthony wouldn't believe she had just left him without saying anything at all. Something Elaise had requested. The ignorant humans were still shaken by the sudden death of Sally and Raven had seen Anthony sitting alone often, grieving the loss of the girl he loved. Raven wished she could tell him the truth but it was forbidden.
She glanced over her shoulder at the forest and a shiver ran up her spine. No girls had been taken from the school since the rescue. Raven and Elaise had refused to stay in their dorms alone so the brunette stayed with Der and Raven slept in Jason's room.
"I still can't believe it…" Gwen spoke up in a whisper and Raven turned her attention to her friend. "We never got to say goodbye to her."
Raven pursed her lips for a moment. "I know, but there was nothing any of us could have done to prevent it." She was getting better at talking about it; Jason had helped her.
"There are some things that can't be helped," Jason spoke, appearing out of the game and crouching beside Raven, swiftly kissing her cheek. "Sometimes death comes so unexpectedly that no one is truly prepared."
"We just wish Sally didn't have to leave us this way so soon," Allison frowned.
"If there was something we could have done then Sally would still be here," the green-eyed boy mumbled grimly and quickly went back to his game. Raven exchanged a glance with Elaise and they both averted their eyes, feeling their hearts heavy with grief.
"He always chooses the right words," Gwen sighed. "And to think he's just a dangerous person."
"What?" Raven's head snapped up quickly to stare at the girl.
"You haven't heard the rumors?" Gwen chewed her lip. "Jason held Katie by the throat the other day.
Elaise was there…"
Raven glanced at Elaise again and the brunette nodded sullenly. "But it wasn't his fault! Katie wasn't saying nice things and everyone knows he has a temper. He deeply regrets it. I bet Brittany is just saying other things to make it sound so much worse."
"That's true," Allison admitted. "But he definitely looks like someone that could be a psycho killer… Raven, aren't you the least bit worried about it?"
"I trust him with my life," Raven snorted and looked at Jason, noticing him already setting his gaze on her with a halfhearted smile. He was definitely listening in on their conversation and wasn't liking it.
"Speak of the bitch herself," Elaise scowled and the girls looked up to see Brittany strolling over with her underlings. Katie looked scared to approach but Brittany looked like she was gloating over a victory.
The girls got to their feet and Elaise crossed her arms. "What brings you here?"
Raven looked to Jason again and he was well aware of Brittany's presence. It was then that Raven could finally see how much he really did want to avoid this girl. Brittany raised her chin and the blonde girl guessed what kind of smug remark was going to come next.
"Ickie's boyfriend harmed Katie," Brittany snickered.
"It's Raven," Elaise corrected her. "And so? What about it?"
"Katie would like a full apology," the black haired girl said, ignoring Elaise's comment.
Raven found no fault with that and before she could call Jason over, he was already at her side. "Very well," he dipped his head respectfully. "Katie, I deeply apologize for my actions and I hope I did not harm you severely."
Before Katie could say anything, Brittany spoke again. "I also believe she deserves an apologetic kiss after what you did."
"What?" Raven couldn't help but growl. "No! She deserved what she got and Jason even has the heart to say sorry for something that wasn't his fault. There is no way he's going to kiss her."
Brittany took a step forward and came face to face with the blonde. "And what makes you think you can call the shots, pumpkin?" she smiled. "Or have you lost your fighting spirit after I busted your lip?"
"Jason would rather choke and die than kiss that thing!" Raven spat in Brittany's face and the girl jerked back, hissing as she wiped it off. "And if you want a fight then you'll get one!" Raven was tired of this girl and she was going to punch her in the face repeatedly until Brittany got the message to leave her alone!
"Then let's fight!" Brittany swung the first punch but Raven felt ready for it. A little too ready.
With a perfectly timed reaction, Raven caught Brittany's fist, twisted it with a quick snap and retaliated with her own punch, right-hooking Brittany in the stomach. The black haired girl doubled over and Raven tried to hit her again but Jason snatched her by the waist, lifted her into the air and dragged her back, kicking wildly and throwing her arms out, behind Elaise's quick line of defense with Gwen and Allison, putting themselves in the middle of it all.
Jason put Raven on her feet but held her waist as she tried to go for Brittany again. "Raven!" he growled and she froze for a moment, her heart racing as water put out her fiery temper. "Stop."
"Why should I?" Raven challenged him and his eyes flashed with something she couldn't identify. "I'm sick of her shit!"
"I know," he breathed and gently rested his forehead against hers. "But this isn't the right way to go about it. You're scaring me."
That put out her still-burning coals and she looked over to Brittany who was glaring at Elaise. Mandy and Katie stood in the background, not sure what to do as their leader took the stand. Raven turned to Jason. "I'm sorry."
"Take a few deep breaths," he whispered.
She obeyed slowly and closed her eyes. This wasn't the first time her temper had risen. Yesterday, Raven had snapped at Mr. McDowell for saying something about the way she solved her Math work. Brittany had chosen to skip that day and luckily Jason had been there to calm her like he was now. Even worse was the day before that when Raven snarled at Miss Peterson for criticizing her carefully sculpted clay figure. No matter what she did, everyone seemed to think it wasn't good enough!
"Keep breathing," Jason told her and she quickly picked up that she was growling again. She took a deep breath and let it all fill her head until she felt dizzy.
Brittany made her look up and the black haired girl glared at Raven. "You stole my man!"
"What?" Raven mumbled, less angry now and Jason released her. "You and Jason never-"
"I'm not talking about Jason," Brittany spat, glaring at the green-eyed boy. "I've seen the way Kyle looks at you!"
Raven instinctively moved closer to Jason. "I want nothing to do with him!"
"Bullshit," Brittany scoffed. "You would give anything to have everyone's attention on you."
"Back the fuck off!" Elaise hissed at Brittany. "Raven has Jason. She doesn't want Kyle."
"Then why is he chasing after her?" Brittany challenged.
"Because he wants her," Eliza appeared behind Brittany. "Besides, Beth, it's not a good idea for you to go after someone like Kyle. He's different from you."
"Says you," Brittany sneered and Raven saw that Jake and his friends had come with Eliza. They walked passed Elaise until they stood in front of Jason.
"We saw what happened," Jake said quietly. "She okay?"
"I don't know," Jason frowned and Raven hugged him around the waist, burying her face in his shirt.
"Brittany let's just go," Katie urged Brittany and Mandy reached forward, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her back.
"You didn't get your kiss," Brittany objected.
"I don't want it," Katie told her and shot a scared glance up at Jason.
"I truly am sorry," Jason dipped his head to her. Katie nodded once and she helped Mandy drag Brittany away. The green-eyed boy looked down at Raven. "Are you alright?"
Raven couldn't find her voice. She shrugged and felt his strong arms wrap around her. She looked up when Elaise spoke her name. "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" Raven managed to stumble.
"Rich, you've never been that angry before," Elaise whispered. "I know you can be but you've never been this bad."
Raven had to blink a couple of times to keep herself under control. She admitted that Elaise was right; this wasn't like Raven at all. She frowned. "I don't know what's wrong."
"I think I know," Jake spoke up and everyone looked at him. Elaise quickly glanced at Allison and Gwen but Jake already seemed to recognize their human presence. "Meet me at my dorm after classes."
The bell rang and Raven sighed. "I have Music."
Eliza turned to Lupo. "You have class with her, right?"
Lupo quickly nodded and Jason bent down, kissing Raven's forehead, letting her pick up her bag before he allowed Jake's friend to lead her away to class. Raven glanced back at them but Jason was already gone. She walked in to music with Lupo and sat beside him, glad for the company.
"Are you calm now?" he whispered to her as they sat at the desks together, waiting for the teacher as students filed into the room.
"Yes," Raven dipped her head. "I just don't know what happened. As soon as Brittany started talking I felt…"
"What?" he blinked at her, slowly reaching over and placing his hand over hers. "You can tell me."
"I wanted to hit her," Raven clenched her hands and Lupo flinched. "And I didn't want to stop until she couldn't move…"
Lupo was quiet for a few moments and Raven turned her head to him. "It'll be okay," he said at last. "If Jake knows what it is then maybe we can fix it."
"Why would you go through all this trouble for me?" the blonde frowned.
"You're Jason's girl," he smiled warmly. "You're protected and owned by our kind now."
"Is that a good thing?" she mumbled.
"Of course it is," he chuckled and they looked up as the teacher walked in. Raven grumbled as the role was marked and they were forced to do a bit of theory work. She was bored soon enough and n
early snarled at her teacher but it was Lupo's hand squeezing hers that surprisingly kept her mouth shut.
When they were free to go practice on the instruments, Lupo grabbed an acoustic guitar and asked Raven to join him outside. Clearly the werewolves were taking no chances at risking her life by leaving her alone at any given time.
The music room was a separate building on the opposite side of the school, far away from the oval but still close to the forest. It was a small building and Lupo led Raven away and they sat down on the grass. They put their bags beside them and Raven faced Jake's friend. She took in the light color of his eyes and almost mistook them for silver instead of gray. She had never seen someone with gray eyes before.
Silent World Page 33
