by Belle Harper
He looked down to Josh as I helped him stand, and Raff didn’t say anything as I led Josh into my room and closed the door gently behind me. I didn’t lock it; Josh might not be able to get out if I did. But I felt… safe, especially with Raff on the other side of the hall. Somehow, I just knew in my gut, that he was safe. I was protected.
Josh curled up on the floor, but he couldn’t sleep down there. He could share my bed. It was a single, but there was plenty of room. I picked him up and he sleepily crawled in. I followed behind and covered us with the sheet, and I fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
Something happened between Friday and Monday, and I didn’t know what it was. Everything seemed the same when I got off the bus. But Ranger was back, and he didn’t seem to get the memo that no one was speaking to me still.
“Hey, Alexis. Can I call you Lexi?”
I looked at him, blinked twice as if I had all the time in the world to answer him, and replied in the most bored voice I could, “No, fuck off.” This didn’t seem to stop him. He was not going to give up as he kept pace along with me on my walk to class. I slipped into my classroom, and he kept on walking toward his class like it was nothing.
It was a pity because the guy was hot, and he knew it. My brain said, “stay away” but, my body said, “touch me.” It was frustrating, but I knew I was smart enough to avoid him—which was easier said than done. Lunchtime came and I went to the cafeteria and grabbed a bottle of water and a salad wrap. They had pizza, which I was dying to have a slice of, but I needed something I could eat and walk with because there was no way I was eating in there.
“Alexis, come sit here. I saved you a spot.” I turned and saw Ranger with a huge dopey grin on his face. The rest of the guys on the table all watched me from afar, but none so closely as Maverick. He didn’t like me. I didn’t know why and yeah, I would be lying if I said I didn’t care. I did care and that was unusual for me. I turned on my heel and left the loud room as quickly as I entered and slammed right into Galen… I mean, Mr. Donovani.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I looked behind me. I could hear the door open from the cafeteria and saw Ranger step out and look to his left then slowly spun to face me. My teacher, the most beautiful male specimen I have ever seen, was still holding my shoulder where he caught me.
“Oh, what do we have here?” Ranger drawled as he stepped toward us and cocked his head like he caught us being inappropriate. I stepped back and put some space between Mr. Donovani and me. But even with the distance, I could feel my body sway toward his like it wanted to be touched by him again.
“Ranger, what are you doing?” Mr. Donovani asked as Ranger started heading toward us. One hand was in his jean pocket, which made his saunter look so sexy. When he got closer, I could smell him. He smelled amazing for a guy, almost like wildflowers, which seemed like an unusual smell for a guy.
“I was just seeing where Lexi was off to. I just didn’t expect her to be running into your arms. But then again, I guess someone has to feel sorry for you… Galen.”
My jaw dropped and Ranger flicked his green eyes to me. What the hell. Mr. Donovani was our teacher and he talked to him like that? Ranger had no respect for him, I could see that clearly.
“My name is Alexis, not Lexi, and where I go is none of your business.”
I didn’t want to stand around and listen to this shit anymore. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, the weight was becoming unbearable standing here listening to this. I turned and walked away as if I knew where I was going. I didn’t, but anywhere away from there was better.
I found a little alcove between two classrooms. I dropped my bag and hid. I opened my wrap and took a bite, and then I heard footsteps. I tried to be silent by holding my breath. It might just be a student going to their locker. When a dark shadow cast down on me, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Let’s go to my office.” I looked up to see Mr. Donovani with a gentle smile on his face as he looked down at me. I knew I looked pathetic. I didn’t move, I wasn’t going to his office.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
When he got that I wasn’t moving, he crouched down on the balls of his feet and placed his hand on top of my bag. “Alexis, I’m offering you my office so you can eat lunch. You can eat in there, away from guys like Ranger.”
I shrugged like I didn’t care. He pulled my bag up and tossed it over his shoulder like it weighed nothing, and I stood. Grateful that I wasn’t carrying it, I followed him in silence to his office. I guess this would be a good time to mention the whole needing to change out of his class thing.
The office was larger than I thought. He didn’t have to share with another teacher and the walls were lined with bookshelves. So many books, some very dusty and it tickled my nose, it was so heavy in the air. His desk was placed close the only window in the room, which looked over the back of the school where the national forest was maybe a football field away from the main building.
“Please, take a seat.” He pointed to a wooden chair in front of his desk as he placed my bag beside it. He rounded the desk to the other side and took a seat on his leather chair, its squeaked slightly. He spun and looked out the window. My stomach rumbled so I quickly started on my wrap again. The fresh tomato was so good.
“You can come here anytime you need to, Alexis. You can come eat lunch here every day. I keep the door unlocked, so even if I’m not here, you are more than welcome to come in and eat. Or if you need some space.”
I swallowed and looked up and found he was watching me. His hazel eyes caught in the light, so beautiful. I need to snap out of it, my teacher was not beautiful. I nodded as they turned from beautiful to dark instantly.
“If you have any problems you come straight to me.” The words were spoken strangely. But he held my gaze, it was intense until I waved my hand in the air and he snapped out of it.
“I can handle myself. And no offense, but you are like super young for a teacher and the students here,” one in particular, at least, “don’t respect you. I don’t know what good it would do coming to you. I can take care of myself; I don’t need some teacher to look after me.” I took another bite as he sat back. I didn’t blink, I refused to. His eyes didn’t leave mine until he spun his chair to look out the window again. When I finished eating the silence in the small room was charged but he finally turned, a small smile on his face as he seemed to study me. I just gave him my best death stare, which I think made him smile more.
The bell rang and it couldn’t have come sooner. I got up and threw my wrapper into the waste basket. I dragged my bag up off the floor and swung it over my shoulder. I jerked the door open and his voice caused me to freeze.
“I might look young… but I’m an old soul, Alexis.”
Chapter Twelve
Ranger
God, I hated Galen, that fucking pretentious prick. I was banned from school last week after he told my father what had gone down. I wasn’t doing anything wrong—I did the same to all the girls at school. I just wanted to flirt a little… Okay, a lot because God, she smelled so good. And yeah, she was driving all the shifters here a little crazy.
But that rogue wolf had messed with the wrong pack when he scented himself with her. Alexis didn’t smell like him, not really, only her clothes did.
I knew he had done that to make a claim on her as if the hundred-plus shifters at school weren’t going to have a problem with that. She lived in Kiba territory, and he was not Pack Kiba so it set my wolf off bad.
I was a little… volatile at times. My wolf was easily provoked. Whereas Maverick was very much in charge of when he shifted.
Galen watched from his little office window as I challenged Rafferty in the forest that day she first came here. Maverick stood by and watched us. He wasn’t happy with me taking matters into my own hands. He wanted me to wait until our father, the Alpha of pack Kiba had spoken to us over this rogue scum. And that was what made my father angry—that I challenged Rafferty over his fake claim on Alexis. He
said that was not what an Alpha would have done, and I was alpha-born. One day I could be Alpha of Pack Kiba, but not after I challenge my older brothers for it. Jett, Lyell, and Nash had more a claim than me and I had no intentions of being an Alpha. I wanted to have fun, and I knew growing up with my father as Alpha that he didn’t have fun. Ever!
I had known about her. I knew this strange girl was coming here. We were warned, but I wasn’t prepared. None of the shifters were. Like, come on, Jack, warn us a little sooner that she was stunning, stubborn, and smelled like mine! Only problem was, all the wolves here felt the same pull to her.
I knew she wasn’t a shifter… well, not yet anyway. She had this amazing scent. It was mixed with like a bonfire, smoke, and marshmallows. There was no way to describe such a beautiful smell. She didn’t like me, but she was turned on by me, that I could smell. I could work with that. Soon, she will be falling into my arms and I could call her mine. And scum can fuck off from the scum pack he was from.
She wasn’t turned on by some of the other shifters. Like Parker Tolson. He was a Kenneally and had been trying to make the point that since she was a foster, her living on Kiba land didn’t count that she was ours. My father disagreed. She was ours.
Their packs took fosters or lone wolves in just like ours—they could have been lucky and have her sent to their pack. But she was sent to our pack. She was here because Galen was a Kiba Vampire. He worked for us, and his vampire connection in Seattle gave Alexis to Jack and Grayson.
So for that one reason only, I liked having Galen around. But also, because taunting him was fun. That was why I took world history. You didn’t ever see another shifter in his class. Vampires had a smell that was not pleasant to a shifter and the same went for him. He told me that I stunk like wet dog after I told him he smelled like the ass of a two-dollar hooker.
It wasn’t true, he didn’t smell like that, but it was an unpleasant smell, hard to describe. Like his scent warned me away from him, whereas it did the opposite to humans. I made sure to bug him extra when I was in class by sitting as close to the front as I could.
“Don’t, I can see it in your eyes.” I turned slowly and winked at my twin brother, Maverick, ignoring his warning as I made my way to class. World history never was as good as it was today. I could see her lined up with all the humans. But even if I couldn’t see her, I would have been able to smell her from here. Especially since she smelled like scum again today. That fucker better not have touched her.
I knew she ignored me at lunch and pretty much ran from me, but she can’t get away from me here.
She looked up as she saw me approach, her face shut down of any emotion. I gave her my biggest sexy grin that worked on all the girls here. One in front of her giggled and waved shyly to me, but I ignored her as I moved to where Alexis stood.
“Alexis, we didn’t get to finish our conversation earlier.” She turned those amber eyes on me, they were like flames and I was the moth.
“We were not having a conversation, nor will we ever. Go to the back of the line.” She jerked her thumb behind her, and I glanced back there. Ugh, Olivia was watching me from the end of the line, her eyes narrowed at me. Yeah, no way was I going near her. We might have hook up at parties in the past but that was to just an itch to scratch, and she knew that.
She had become a little crazy lately, wanting more. I had broken it off with her, but it looked like she still didn’t get the memo. I scanned back to the guy standing behind Alexis and growled lowly as I put my palm on his chest and shoved him back and took his place in the line. She made a sound that told me she wasn’t happy with what I had just done. But I wasn’t finished with her.
Her scent was so strong being this close. I was glad Galen was an uptight prick who had left the classroom locked. It was like he set this all up just for me. I took some of her silky, golden brown hair that was laying against her bag and ran my fingers through it. So soft. I brought it to my nose and inhaled the smell.
Her head jerked forward, and her silky strands fell from my fingers. She turned her face, no longer annoyed but very angry.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you touching my hair?”
I shrugged. There was nothing wrong with me. No, all my body parts were working—and one part in particular was working very hard. “It was so soft I wanted to pat it.”
Fuck, I had no idea why I said that. It was like she was scrambling my brain; all my funny, flirty jokes just left and were replaced with nothing. Her eyes widened and she made a huffing sound as she turned back around. She pulled all her hair to the front and held it in her hand so I couldn’t touch it.
“So where are you from?” I asked, trying my best to recover from such a dumb comment. I straightened up and readjusted myself in my jeans. No answer.
“Okay… How about you ask me a question and I will answer, then I ask you one and you answer?”
She turned around, her smile slightly wicked looking. But it looked like she was going to play my game. Hell yeah, this was so much further than any of the other shifters had gotten with her. I had seen her on the first day with her snarky comments. And well, yes, I was supposed to leave her alone. She was off-limits to all of us, but since my father was the Alpha, I could always get away with a little more.
“Were you dropped on your head as a baby?”
I heard the guy I had shoved make a snorting sound. Alexis titled her head and raised her brows. Holy shit, she was a smartass and sexy.
I think I have found the one.
Chapter Thirteen
Lexi
I was pissed off at myself that I got distracted by Mr. Donovani at lunch that I forgot to mention the class change. I walked home again after school; it was nice way to clear my mind. Maybe his class wasn’t so bad… if I can pass it, then why not.
Raff walked with me. We hadn’t spoken a word to each other all weekend. And the only words we did speak to each other really were last Friday when he had told me to “fuck off.”
I knew he didn’t mean it in that way. He was hard to read, and I guess I liked that about him. He wasn’t fake, he didn’t put on a show like the others did. Even just his presence made me feel safe, like I didn’t always have to be on guard. I could relax a little.
A shiny black Range Rover sat out the front when we got to the house. I saw Raff hesitate, so I stopped also. Does he know what this was?
“What is it?” I asked. Were they taking him back? Was he being moved to another foster home? No, they can’t do that.
He gave me a small smile that I guess meant “don’t worry about me.” But how could I not? Now I was worried. I know we weren’t friends as such, but I felt like we had a bond. I didn’t want him to leave. When Raff walked to the door and opened it, I quickly ran in after him. I could hear talking and when I looked into the living room, I could see an older man, maybe in his fifties, was seated beside the cop who picked me up in Port Angeles. Fuck.
“Here they are, come on in and say hello to our… um the mayor of Kiba. This is Alaric Lovell, and you have met his son, Nash, already.” Jack gestured to both men who stood.
Raff looked at the carpet and didn’t say anything. Yeah, he had the right idea.
“It’s nice to meet you both. I have heard so much about you from my sons.” I saw how uncomfortable Raff was and the tension in the room was unbearable. I wanted to leave.
“Raff, you haven’t been to see me yet. I had asked many times for you to come but I have yet to see you.”
Okay, that was creepy. Why the hell does some mayor need to see a foster kid? And Alaric seemed scary—he was really tall and build like brick wall. He towered over Raff; it was really intimidating to watch and I couldn’t stand it.
“Leave him alone. Can’t you see your scaring him.” His green eyes flashed to mine, and then I could see it. Ranger and Maverick looking back at me. Lovell. Well, I guess this makes sense why they act the way they do. The cop, Nash came over and placed a hand on his father’s shoulder.
“Father, take a seat. He is here now.” Nash watched me as his father returned to his seat. Jack and Grayson were running around getting some more cups and homemade lemonade.
Alaric pointed to the floor in front of him. “Sit, boy.”
My mouth popped open and I couldn’t believe this guy thought he could treat a person like this. Raff started to move forward, and I grabbed his hand to stop him. All eyes were on me.
“Excuse me, we might be fosters, or scum in your eyes, but that is not how you treat someone. He is not a dog, and he is not going to just sit like a good boy.”
I think everyone’s mouths dropped open. Alaric’s jaw twitched. Nash’s eyes gleamed, and I could see the hint of a smile on his lips. He was amused, but Jack looked really worried. Shit. Was he the guy who gave them the extra money to take in fosters and help them? Did I just bite the hand that fed us here? Well, fuck him if he was. He was about to learn a lesson here today.
I loosened my hold on Raff’s hand, but he held on. He was holding my hand and my heart skipped a beat. The room was silent as I looked up to Raff. His eyes were closed and his head hung low. His silver hair was slightly messed, and I wanted nothing but to put it back into place, the way I know he likes it. I squeezed his hand and his eyes opened and flashed to mine. I thought he was going to say something when his lips parted, but his tongue darted out to wet them. I could feel myself getting turned on. I didn’t even think that licking your lips was a sexy thing but it turns out that was, and it was hot.
Someone cleared their throat. My eyes flicked back to the men who were now standing in the room, watching us. Fuck them. I pulled on Raff’s hand and he followed me without question. He didn’t let go of my hand and when I led him into my room, he didn’t protest. I slammed the door and locked it for good measure.
