by Holly Hook
Well, maybe Gavin is.
But he wouldn't only aim at Alan and the new wolves.
No. I can't invite him over.
Gavin backs out and away from the pond, and slowly he drives me home. The sun lowers behind the trees and the world just starts to darken with clouds during the trip home. Once he pulls up to the cabin, I see that Gia is home because the dull kitchen light is on.
"Thanks," I tell Gavin, meaning it.
"See you tomorrow?" he asks.
I get out of the truck and wave just as much to him as Marion. "See you tomorrow." I hope that's true. "Say, can you pick me up tomorrow? I understand if you can't, though."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I don't sleep much.
Drifting in and out, I hold the can of bear spray close. There's not much left in it now. I hope that my leaving school with Gavin will convince Alan that I'm not a threat. But why did he come after me to begin with? Does Valerie know about that part? I know that if she had her way, she'd buy me a plane ticket back home, but I sense that the alpha, Tyler, has all the cash, and her asking him is out of the question.
Other than walking out of here on my own, there's no real way to leave Tower. Even Gavin's truck will probably quit in the middle of the woods, leaving us stranded.
There's no way I'm doing that.
Gavin picks me up bright and early, and Marion's with him, much to my relief. I'm shocked he hasn't asked me out or made Marion walk home on her own yesterday. It's possible he's worried about those newcomers just like everyone else and doesn't want to admit it because he's a guy.
"Hey, Beckah." He offers me a warm greeting while Marion gets out of the passenger side and accepts her place in the back.
It's impossible not to be a jerk to someone in all of this. Ugh.
"Hey. Marion, you can ride in the front today, if you want," I say.
"I'm fine," she says, shooting me a knowing look from the back window.
So she knows this has to do with Tyler. Marion's figured out a lot on her own. I'm guessing she suspects some sort of gang war. At least we're on the same page. It's not as if I can lie about Tyler or just tell her that he really is cursed.
So I ride shotgun with Gavin gallantly driving us to school. I can't believe how long the walk actually is when I see it compared to a drive. When he arrives, people are already gathering in the parking lot, but I don't see Alan standing near the old bus with his new friends. Relief spreads through my chest and loosens the tension that was in there, pushing up my shoulders.
"And here we are," Gavin says. "School!"
He's almost...funny? Is this how he was before I arrived? It's no wonder he and Marion are best friends.
I get out of the truck and wait for Gavin and Marion. They join me, and we walk towards the building. Yep. No Alan today, though I see Tyler, Valerie, Cammie, and Chaz gathered near the cafeteria building. From here I can see that Tyler's black eye has faded quite a bit, and the gash down the side of his face—the claw mark—is now just a shadow of its former self. Yes. He's healing quickly, and he's standing with a far more relaxed posture as he talks to Chaz. I breathe out another sigh as we walk in tandem to go stand near the doors.
"That's weird. They're actually out today," Marion says.
"No kidding." Gavin draws close to me so that the air shifts, blocking my view of the Rose Pack.
And then his fingers brush mine. At first I think it's a mistake, but then his palm touches mine and his fingers are wrapping around my hand.
"Um..." I start.
Gavin offers me a strained smile that I don't understand. "Maybe today will be better, Beckah."
And right in front of Tyler, who happens to be facing in our direction, he leans forward and kisses me on the temple.
"Gavin?" I ask, shocked.
Across the parking lot, Tyler's face falls and the light in his eyes goes out.
* * * * *
Gavin is over the moon all day, and the worst part is, I have to feed into the deception until I know for sure what's going on with Tyler and Alan. It's my only hope not only of staying alive, but of keeping Valerie off my back.
I couldn't even tell Gavin to leave me alone or that he was violating my bodily autonomy. I didn't ask for that kiss or the handhold which he released as soon as we entered the school.
The world is confusing.
The day drags on, and Alan is absent during our classes. It's not until the final bell of the day rings that I head to my locker, determined to get out of there before the school clears out. Just in case.
"Beckah."
I jump and whirl, finding Tyler standing right there. We're the only two people in this mostly-unused hallway. Tyler's hair is messy and bags hang under his eyes as if he's been awake for days. It's the first time I've seen him in this state, though his injuries have already mostly healed.
"Tyler," I breathe. We need to talk. The four most dreaded words in the entire world dance on his face. I check the hall to make sure Marion and Gavin haven't caught up yet. "I'm doing everything I can to make sure Alan doesn't see me as a threat anymore."
Wow, that's vague. I could have at least reassured Tyler that the whole Gavin thing is fake.
Then he shocks me by drawing close. "Please tell me it's a ruse."
"A ruse?"
"A deception. A lie. Whatever." His face is inches from mine.
"I didn't ask Gavin to kiss me on the temple or hold my hand, that's for sure," I say. But I hadn't stopped it even with Alan nowhere to be found. I didn't want to upset Gavin, I want to say, but I know from experience how Tyler will react to that.
And now is not the place for him to risk a shift. Then the truth will be out.
And then Tyler's life will be over.
He says nothing which is somehow worse than anything he could have said. Hurt shines in his eyes. "Beckah, I thought we had something going on."
"We do. I was trying to convince Alan that I didn't want to be with you, and that's the lie," I say.
"But this morning? I know you don't want to be with Gavin. I can smell it."
"You can?"
Tyler nods.
"Then why are you upset?"
"Because you're trying to please everyone." Disappointment still masks Tyler's face. "Beckah, you can't make everyone happy. But I understand why you did what you did. Alan is still around and so are the new wolves so you need to be careful. We've smelled them marking their territory all around the woods. For some reason, they're not in school today, but they could be plotting their next move."
"Did they kill that Ed guy?"
Tyler swallows. "The two new guys must have."
I want to wrap my arms around Tyler and kiss him, and feel his protective arms around me, but I can't. Not here, in case someone is listening in. "I'm trying the best I can to make sure they don't attack you," I say. Yes. I am trying to make everyone happy. Tyler. Gavin. Marion. Valerie. Gia. Even Alan. But what other alternative do I have?
Tyler steps closer, training his eyes on me. "Please. Stay safe. We can't be seen together because rumors fly." He's speaking so softly that I can barely hear him.
"The Gavin thing. It was sort of Valerie's idea. To make it look like you and I broke up. I don't know where she got the idea." There. It's out.
"Well, I shouldn't be surprised. She's always been scared and I can't blame her. I'll talk to her. We can make this work, Beckah. We just have to eliminate this threat first."
He's not angry about Gavin. He's more upset about my attitude. I don't understand. It doesn't make any sense.
"Why does Valerie think a plan like this will work?" I ask. I need the truth.
And for the first time, Tyler backs away.
"Tyler?"
"I don't know. She might be playing a game of her own," he says. "Or maybe it will work. My pack can be possessive. I'll admit that. I saved them, and some of them don't want to go back."
"Go back?" I ask. "Where would they go back to?" In my gut, I know the
answer. Alan came from abuse, Tyler from overbearing parents. And the others? Tyler has never bitten anyone who didn't need it.
I gulp.
And Tyler's eyes match my mood.
"What do I have to do with this?"
"I guess they think that with you around, you'll interfere with pack matters and reveal us to the world. But I know you won't," Tyler says, so close that I can feel his breath against my ears. Slowly he takes a strand of hair and tucks it behind my ear. "I trust you, Beckah. Sure, we've only known each other for a couple of weeks, but this has been the most amazing two weeks of my life."
I can't catch my breath. "Seriously."
"I know you can't meet Valerie's demands and go back to New York." Tyler snaps his gaze to the side. "I have to go. They're getting too close. Be careful, Beckah, and do what you can to stay safe. At least, until I fix this situation."
And then with lightning speed, he runs through the emptying school and to wherever the still looming threat may be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I don't see Tyler much over the next few days, but I don't see Alan and his new friends, either. The park rangers vanish from Tower and things begin to quiet.
I keep accepting rides home from Gavin, and he's sure to park his truck in the middle of the school lot every day, something he hasn't done before. With his hunting rifles, he's supposed to be safe and park on the far side of the lot, farthest from the school. But no teachers stop him, so apparently the rule is lax. Not that it matters.
Is it so everyone can see that he might have a girlfriend?
Only I'm not his girlfriend, at least past the surface. Away from everyone else, Gavin isn't full of himself and he's funny to be around, but he switches personalities on a dime. He's like a movie director.
Gavin holds my hand in the halls, briefly each time, but we don't go farther than that. Well, hand-holding can be platonic, at least. And it cheers him up and keeps the tension away for all of us, so I'll do it. It's not that bad. Tyler tries not to eye me whenever we get remotely close, but Valerie is watching, that's for sure. I feel her glare on me whenever I'm in the classes I share with her.
She doesn't confront me again, so maybe I'm making progress. Maybe Tyler and I can start meeting again once things settle down. I hold onto that hope every day.
And when I'm not helping Gia around the cabin and gardens, or hanging with Marion and Gavin after school, I'm eyeing the flattened, dry rose in my memory book.
Did Mom really pick this from the plant that cursed Tyler? How did she not get cursed herself, if a prick from a thorn made Tyler into a werewolf? If she had been cursed, I would have found out.
I rub my finger over the dried blossom, and each time I do, a faint tingle seems to emanate from it. As if it's still full of magic.
"Who did this to you?" I ask. Since Tyler told me the story of his curse and the mystery woman, I've been eyeing every woman in town, wondering who caught Tyler in the crossfire meant for his still-unseen parents. Gia, thankfully, is not a candidate. She's twenty-three. Tyler was cursed when he was eleven, meaning Gia would have had to be still in Tower High School when he was cursed. Any sorceress with the ability to turn someone into a werewolf would have needed a lifetime of practice, right?
Besides, I can't see Gia as an angry person...most of the time. And with her busy life, she wouldn't have the time or energy to curse anyone.
Whoever did this to Tyler would have had to be angry at the Roses, probably over a property dispute. They would have been an adult. I've already figured out that there have been a lot of angry people. And exploitation. It's no wonder Tyler's parents have never appeared around town.
The weekend passes without incident. I help Gia weed the garden again, and the work gets me sore but helps me pass the time and turn my thoughts away from Alan and his new friends. The birds chirp and the garden is starting to die off in the colder weather, but we're still getting a few veggies out of it, and Gia lets me help her can stuff for the winter.
Montana winters, I'm sure, have to be brutal.
I'm not looking forward to that.
My tension has partly melted away by Monday, and my school day passes without incident. Alan remains gone, and I'm hoping that he's retreated and left town, new pack in tow. Tyler and the rest of the Rose Gang have returned to their usual meeting places. They sit in the cafeteria building before school, where no one else dares to go, but Tyler doesn't stare at me the way I hope he will.
Valerie, however, is still watching me.
Slowly she backs off as I continue to hang with Gavin and Marion, and by Tuesday her glares on my back start to lessen. Gavin continues to hold my hand in the halls, and I let him, because hey, friends do hold hands sometimes, right?
"Meet me at my locker after school," Marion tells me at lunch that day.
"Huh?" I ask.
She's got an evil grin on her face. "Just meet me there. You'll see what it is."
Gavin smiles too. And I know they're plotting something.
I cross my arms, well aware that the Rose Pack on the other side of the room should be able to hear us. "Okay. What's going on?"
But they stay vague. Tyler turns his gaze to us, but quickly goes back to his food. He whispers something to the others at his table, but nothing else tips me off.
I wish he would come back. I miss our homework sessions. And I want to see that amazing waterfall again.
When the end of the day arrives, I meet Marion at her locker and without a word, she waves me down the hallway and around the corner to a pair of musty-smelling classrooms that Gavin only showed me once. I haven't been down this way since. "Where are we going?"
"You need to unwind, Beckah," Marion says, leading me towards Gavin, who is waiting at the open doorway of the classroom on the right.
"Unwind?"
Gavin nods with a grin. Marion gets behind me and pushes me forward, towards Gavin, and I'm thinking that she's pushing me towards a date with him, maybe a full-on make out session, but just as panic rises in my chest, Gavin moves aside and allows her to shove me into the classroom.
"Welcome to the Tower High School Art Club."
"The what?" I freeze in the doorway as Gavin and Marion shift behind me. I know without looking that they're preventing me from leaving.
Big art tables stand everywhere and about a dozen people are already seated, ranging from smallish freshmen guys to senior girls that aren't quite in the cheerleader cliques. Low chatter fills the room as I scan the people, the bright, painted ceiling tiles, and the cheap abstract art prints hanging from the walls.
I'm not supposed to be here.
My shoulders rise, and Marion, as if reading my mind, pushes them down with her hands. "Your dad is not here. He doesn't have to know."
She remembers my jealousy over her fun classes. And she's right. My dad is not here, and Tyler, I know, would approve of my trying the Art Club. And yet I find myself hunting for an excuse to go off and study, to get homework done, but today our teachers have been light.
"So if I sign up—"
"We signed you up already. You're on the list. You're in. Today is our first meeting." Gavin joins Marion in pushing me into the room.
A brief spike of panic rises in me, but I'm helpless to resist. I have no choice but to let them shove me towards an empty table, and the one next to that, coincidentally, has Chaz seated alone at it.
A member of the Rose Pack is here.
Chaz exchanges a nod with me. To my shock, it's friendly. The short, dark-haired guy doesn't have that glare and contempt for me that Valerie has.
"Sit. Down," Gavin orders once we reach the table next to Chaz.
And I do. Well, I'm in. I just hope that no one figures out I'm here, and if Dad calls, I can tell him I'm studying after school.
If Dad calls. I haven't heard from him, except for the occasional text about asking if I'm keeping my grades decent. And yes, I am. Maybe I've earned a little break.
A teacher named Mr.
Bright leads the Art Club, and he tells us we're going to help decorate the cafeteria building for the Halloween dance happening in a couple of weeks, and that we need to break into groups to come up with ideas. Chaz, however, is left alone to sit in his corner when Mr. Bright quickly pairs him with three other people, who nervously turn their backs on him. I feel bad for the guy because it looks like he really wants to participate.
Will that be me if I get cursed?
I want to ask Chaz to join us, but he's already been paired and it seems Mr. Bright is the type to want to stay organized. And Marion and Gavin will give him the same treatment the others are, and will probably freak out at me. And besides, it's dangerous. Someone could still be watching and listening.
Tyler must need very good reasons to bring people into the pack.
The club passes quickly, and I hate to admit that by the end, I'm feeling relaxed and good. My group comes up with an idea for decorating the entrances to the lunch lines with cobwebs and fake spiders, along with green lights at the edges for a spooky look. I've forgotten how much I like Halloween since I haven't gotten to participate in a few years. By the end of club, my shoulders have dropped and the tension has left my body.
"See? That wasn't so bad," Marion says as we exit.
Gavin's quick to join us near the door as other people file out. "Exactly. You were having fun. We'll make the dance awesome."
Will he ask me to go? I know I'll need to say yes for multiple reasons.
Chaz leaves, and he exchanges a hopeful smile with me as he does. I offer him a wave.
So not all of the Rose Pack is against me. That's good to know. Now, if I could just see Tyler, things would feel okay.
Gavin leans against the wall, one arm on the doorframe. "Hey. Do you want to go to dinner Friday night? I know a place where me and you can sit down and have a great meal. Venison steaks. Real mashed potatoes, not that boxed stuff."
Chaz snaps his gaze back at us, and I don't miss the shock. He didn't expect this. But he continues down the hall and out of sight.
