“You could challenge him to a duel, like way back in the day,” Tiago said. “I can be your second.”
Aiden looked at his plate, wondering if he could get his appetite back before lunch was over.
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea. I could slap him with a glove and tell him I demand satisfaction.”
Tiago laughed.
“I think Conner is all talk.” Hanna still hadn’t let go of his hand. “If he gets in another fight, it’s a two-week suspension at least, and his parents are already mad at him. He’s stupid, but he’s not that stupid.”
Aiden could only hope she was right.
* * *
The scent of green things and dirt filled the snow-covered gravel pit. Dylan took another breath. Even after a full day, Aiden’s magic lingered. The smell of jungle cat was there too, but fainter. Did Tiago shift when they were out here, or was he drawing on his magic to dodge whatever Aiden was throwing at him?
Jealousy bubbled in Dylan’s stomach. Aiden still wouldn’t practice with him, not even when he promised to only do small spells, or just block without using any other magic. Tiago had taken his place. Aiden was tutoring the werejaguar too, using up time that Aiden could have been coming over to Dylan’s house to play games or watch movies.
Dylan walked around the pit, finding the spot where they’d trained yesterday, the snow disturbed with footprints and other marks. Not much snow remained, melting during the warm days. The official start of spring had been weeks ago, but winter lingered, especially in the woods around his house. The pit would be free of snow in a few more days, but it might be another month before it was gone from the shady parts of the forest.
The footprints had doubled in size due to the melting, making it look like giants had fought here. Aiden had chosen the far ends of the pit rather than the center where Dylan did most of his venting. Probably trying to be as far away from where Dylan used magic as possible.
With a growl, Dylan let out a stream of fire. He couldn’t be mad at Aiden, and he shouldn’t be jealous of Tiago. This was all his fault. Aiden kept saying he forgave him, that they were still friends, but Aiden was still slipping away.
Tiago was an all right guy, maybe even a friend. And Hanna, he supposed she could be a friend too. The four of them ate lunch together every day now, more people than he’d spent time with since his earliest days of school. One best friend and two sort-of friends, and yet there were times Dylan felt more alone than ever.
Would things get better? Would Aiden stop being so afraid of magic and go back to training with him? Could they have matches in gym again? When they talked about it, Aiden said he was getting better, but that day Hanna joined them again and Conner had come over, Aiden had gone so pale Dylan had thought he might faint.
Ugh, he wished Aiden would just get over it. Wished Aiden would punch Conner in his smug asshole face. Then Dylan would finish the job and the werewolf would cringe and whine every time they passed in the hallway. No more of this posturing and threatening. Dylan didn’t even need his magic to kick Conner’s ass. He just needed to get him somewhere that adults wouldn’t break them up before they really got started.
Somewhere poor Aiden wouldn’t see them so he wouldn’t freak out.
Dylan stared down at the footprints for another moment before heading for the middle of the pit where he still had a bunch of scraps from his dad’s workshop piled up. With a flick of his hand, he set it on fire and made the flames dance. It helped a little, but fire wasn’t enough these days.
He thought of the dreams where he burned down a city. Guilt curled around him. Those were the dreams, the desires that had given Morgan a foothold. The dark fae had lured him with his heart’s desire, and as wrong as he knew it was, Dylan still wanted that.
The darkness in him, the dragon in him, wanted that epic destruction. Dylan looked down at his hands. There was another thing in those dreams. He’d been in dragon form, something he’d never been able to do for real. He’d tried it before but had given up in frustration.
Why not try again? He’d gotten more powerful over the past several months. It was something he was too embarrassed to try in front of Aiden, so why not look on the bright side? Since Aiden wasn’t here, this was the perfect time to try out shape-shifting.
I’ll probably fail. Dylan shook his head and told that voice to shut up. If he could do this, it would be amazing. Being able to fly would be awesome. Sure, he had to stay in Shadow Valley, but no one could stop him from flying inside the borders.
Dylan looked up at the clear night sky, a little smile tugging at his lips. He had to try. It might take a while, but eventually he’d get it.
“So,” he muttered to himself, looking back down at his hands. “Let’s start out with claws, and we can work our way up to wings.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
They were in the middle of dinner when the knock came. Dad answered the door. “Mr. Johnson, good to see you again. Please come in.”
Aiden tried to push back the nervousness. Every one of these visits since the incident in the woods made him feel like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Aiden had always been a good kid, and he didn’t like being involved in something so bad. He hated hiding it, lying about it. But he had to for Dylan’s sake, and that part of it he didn’t regret.
“Hello, Aiden.”
“Hi, Mr. Johnson.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Dad offered.
“Water would be fine. Thank you.” Mr. Johnson took a seat at the table. “How are things going, Aiden?”
“Better.” That was the truth, although progress was slow. He’d had a talk with Ms. Yang about his grade, and they’d discussed what he thought was fair. Not participating in matches meant he couldn’t get an A, as that was a large part of class. Not a B either. Currently he was earning a C plus, and although such a low grade made him a little ill, he knew it wasn’t fair to expect more.
“That’s good. So the counseling is helping?”
Aiden nodded. “And I’m training with Tiago outside class.”
Mr. Johnson’s eyes widened a little. “Really?”
“Yeah. He dodges my spells. Not that I’m using anything too strong or dangerous. He can’t block like the kids in gym class. He’s just sort of a moving target.” Aiden got the image of a shooting game at a fair with little yellow ducks to knock down. Only he pictured jaguars interspersed with the ducks. He glanced down and held back a laugh.
“Interesting,” Mr. Johnson said, then thanked Aiden’s dad when he set a glass of water in front of him. “How is Tiago doing?”
“Good. He’s making a lot of progress with his reading. He’s struggling with class, but he told me he’s not failing any of them.” Aiden felt a glow of pride for how much he’d helped Tiago. The boy still got frustrated and embarrassed, but training at the pit seemed to help him see it as an exchange. And Aiden certainly didn’t mind the excuse to spend more time with him.
“I knew you’d be a good tutor. Is he giving you any trouble? You sound like you’re getting along.”
“We are.” Aiden wished they could get along even better… No, that was stupid. Tiago couldn’t be into boys. It was just a stupid, hopeless crush. “No trouble at all. He has this… aura of toughness, but he hasn’t gotten into any fights and he doesn’t pick on anybody.” Which was good, because Aiden couldn’t stand bullies. He wouldn’t be helping Tiago if the boy picked on the other kids. “He even gets along with Dylan.”
Aiden was a little surprised Dylan hadn’t asked Tiago over to play video games. Maybe he didn’t like Tiago that much, or maybe he was stuck on the idea that Aiden was his only friend. As much as it made Aiden feel special, he would rather Dylan had more friends.
“Well, that’s interesting. I was worried there might be problems between them.” Mr. Johnson took a sip and lowered his voice. “I confess that was one of the reasons I asked you to help Tiago settle in. I was hoping you would act as a buffer between him
and Dylan.”
That made Aiden wonder yet again why Tiago was the way he was. “What’s up with Tiago? Why did he surrender to the wardens? He says his parents didn’t come with him, so where are they? What happened to them?” Aiden pressed his lips together. Maybe he shouldn’t be asking.
“When he’s ready, if he’s ready, Tiago will tell you himself.”
Aiden sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be asking you for his personal information.”
Mr. Johnson smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with being curious. So how is Dylan? Are his grades improving?” He chuckled. “I’d ask him myself, but it’s so much easier asking you.”
Aiden laughed too. “I bet. He’s doing good. Way better than last semester. I knew he was smarter than he let on, he just didn’t apply himself.” He winced internally. That made him sound like a parent.
“Mm-hm.” Mr. Johnson took another sip of his water. “No fights? No… problems?”
Aiden knew what he was asking. His parents had gone into the living room, but he knew they could overhear them so he had to be careful. Good thing he didn’t really have anything to say. “No. Conner keeps trying to start fights, but the hall monitors are watching now.” He wished he could trust that the adults would handle everything, but at least he knew they were taking things more seriously.
Had Mr. Johnson said something to them? Or was it the principal’s idea?
“Good. Is there anything you want to discuss in private?” he asked in a low voice.
Aiden thought about it, but the things that were troubling him were things Mr. Johnson couldn’t help with. How to stop Dylan from feeling so much guilt, what to do about his crush on Tiago, whether he wanted to date Hanna again. “No.”
Mr. Johnson finished his glass of water and stood. “All right. I’ll see you next month.”
Yes, he had been coming once a month. Were monthly visits going to be a regular thing now? Was it because the warden didn’t trust Dylan, or did he not trust either of them?
* * *
When the phone rang, Hanna tensed. Her father answered, and when she heard his first angry question, she knew her fears had been confirmed. From upstairs she couldn’t make out everything, but she heard enough to know. She glanced at the window, having a momentary fantasy of jumping out and running.
To where? Anywhere, just away.
Footfalls thudded up the stairs, both her parents coming up to yell at her. Her father pushed open the door, he and Mother glaring with a hint of yellow in their eyes. “That was Conner’s father. He said Conner saw you with that fae boy at lunch. We told you to stay away from him.”
Hanna hugged her stomach and looked at the floor. She thought about lying, saying Conner made that up because he was mad and wanted to get her in trouble. But the other werewolves in the pack would back him up, and her parents didn’t look ready to take her word over theirs.
When she didn’t say anything, her mother prompted her. “Hanna.”
Dominant energy rolled through the room. She hated this, being so weak and helpless. “I just sat with him, that’s all.” It was hardly more than a whisper.
They came into the room. She wasn’t afraid of them hurting her, not like Conner had. They’d spanked her when she was little, but not for years now.
“I will not have my daughter dating a fae or anything else.” Her mother sighed and said in a gentler tone, “I know this is hard, but we need to stay with our own kind.”
Why? But she didn’t dare ask. She didn’t want another lecture. “We’re not dating. I broke up with him, like I said I would. We’re just friends.”
“And we’re supposed to believe that after you already went sneaking around with him?” her father asked.
Hanna thought of the misery of the past several weeks, and before that, what things had been like with Conner. Suddenly it was all too much and she couldn’t stop the tears. She expected the sadness, but was surprised to find she was angry too. “What am I supposed to do? Be alone all the time? I don’t have a pack at school anymore. Or do you want me to get back together with Conner?” She looked up, meeting her mother’s gaze for just a moment. “Would you be happier if I had a boyfriend that hit me?”
“No,” her parents said at the same time. “Of course not,” her father added. “You never should have let him do that.”
“You should have left him the first time he put his hands on you,” her mother said.
Her father growled. “You should have kicked his ass.”
It was great to know she was such a failure. “I’m not like you.” She wiped at the tears, smearing them all over her cheeks.
Her mother sighed. “You can’t let people treat you like that.”
“Aiden didn’t treat me like that.” Hanna’s voice was soft again as she stared at the floor. Dylan didn’t either. The most feared boy in school had been nicer to her than her own boyfriend.
“Just because he’s nice to you and Conner was an abusive asshole doesn’t mean we’re going to allow you to date outside your kind,” her father said.
With a surge of anger, Hanna got to her feet, hands clenched at her sides. “I promised I’d break up with him and I did. You never said I couldn’t be friends with him. That… that’s too unfair!” Arguing with them made nervous sweat break out on her body, but she also felt a little thrill. She was so tired of people treating her like she was weak. No… she was tired of being weak.
“Conner can tattle on me all he wants. I’m going to stay friends with Aiden, and eat with him at lunch, and if you really think dating him is so horrible then I won’t. And you’ll just have to believe me.”
Her father’s eyes narrowed, brown irises bleeding into yellow again. “If you lie to us about this, you’ll be sorry.”
Her anger faded and she sank back down on the edge of the bed. “Yes, sir.”
After another glare, her parents left, not quite slamming the door behind them. Hanna stared at it, wondering if she’d just won an argument with her mother and father.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The temperature was near freezing, and Dylan’s breath fogged in the air. The breeze carried the scent of spring and dampness. Everything was wet with melted snow. He walked through the woods, over the partly frozen, partly muddy ground. He knew the way out here well enough that he hardly had to think about the path.
Ahead, the small clearing opened up. Where the snow was gone he could see the symbols burned into the earth. Would grass grow and cover them up? And if it did, would the remnants of the spell linger, a scar that couldn’t be seen?
Dylan wondered if Aiden’s scar had healed yet. They dressed together before gym, but Aiden did it so fast Dylan couldn’t get a good look at his chest. A few times he’d been tempted to ask, but if it was still there it would just make Dylan feel worse.
Walking to the nearest symbol, he kicked at it, smearing the lines. He wished he could go back, take back what he’d done. Not only had he released a dark fae into the world, to do who-knew-what, but more importantly he’d hurt Aiden. Scarred him much deeper than just his body. Aiden was broken, so scared of magic that it made him faint.
So scared of Dylan that he couldn’t even watch him have matches from behind the protection of the wards.
Dylan had been willing to give up friendship for freedom. He’d been so stupid.
At the time he’d known it was dangerous to make deals with fae, that Morgan had planned to kill the wardens. But Dylan didn’t care. Or at least, he thought he didn’t. Morgan had known exactly how to get to him, what to say and what to offer. Lurking around in Dylan’s dreams had certainly given him an advantage.
What was Morgan doing now? No one had mentioned any wardens getting killed, so had he lied about that? Or were the wardens keeping it quiet? It wouldn’t be the first time they’d hidden something from the people of Shadow Valley.
The symbol was now a muddy mess and he moved on to the next one. He wished he knew how to make things right, how to fix Aiden.
If Aiden could practice with him again, have matches again, then being stuck here just might be bearable. Right now his friend was with Tiago at the pit. Again.
Dylan need to blow off steam, but he had to be careful here. As wet as the forest was, it would still burn if he set it on fire. There were still a few scorched trees in the backyard from when he was younger. Mom had been there to get things under control. How much of the woods would burn before she could stop it?
The dark desire rose up. Trees on fire. Cities on fire. Dylan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. All this thinking was bad. He needed a distraction.
Well, there was something he could do that didn’t involve fire. Stripping off his jacket, he dropped it on a snowbank to keep it out of the mud. After a moment of thought, he took off his shirt too. His dragon side kept him from getting too cold, but the freezing air hitting his bare skin still sent a shiver through him.
Dylan shifted his feet and looked down at his hands. The smell of burning rose up around him as he pulled hard on his magic. It wasn’t easy, but it was getting a little less hard every time he tried. His right hand spasmed and claws shot from the tips of his fingers. He gasped, sucking in air. It didn’t hurt, but it felt weird. Red skin bloomed on the backs of both hands and spread, tingling as it went.
Now his left hand tensed and sprouted claws. The red skin darkened and thickened, turning to scales and growing hot enough to be uncomfortable. Dylan reminded himself to breathe. The changes went just past his wrists and he paused, admiring the talons his hands had become.
It only took a few minutes for the transformation to start now. He wanted to show Aiden… no. What if it sent him into a panic? A bitter ache filled Dylan. The one person he wanted to share this with was terrified of his magic. Dylan hadn’t told anyone, not even his mom, about his successful transformations.
His skin started to fade back to white and he shook his head. Time to push on.
The 7 Bad Habits of Slightly Troubled Monsters Page 10
