First Shift (The Wolves of Rock Falls Book 1)

by AJ Skelly

  “Promise?” I chewed my bottom lip.

  “Promise.” He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear and I shivered. “Go shower, and I’ll make you coffee.”

  “Okay. Coffee is good. Coffee helps everything.”

  ****

  Thirty minutes later, I was showered, dressed, and had my makeup on. My hair was still up in a towel, but I could fix it in a bit. Sam probably wanted to shower before school, too. Red infused my cheeks as I realized what a bathroom hog I was. I wasn’t used to sharing space in the mornings.

  “Sorry I took so long,” I called as I exited to the aroma of fresh brewed coffee.

  “That’s okay. I don’t take long. And we’ve got plenty of time before we need to head out.” He nodded toward the table. “Although, a package came for you while you were in the bathroom,” he said with a wink.

  On the table was a square shoebox with a huge red ribbon tied on top. My mouth fell open. Inside I found a brand-new pair of my favorite shoes. Replacements of the leopard ballet flats that had been ripped to shreds in the woods when my paws shot through them. Tears sprang to my eyes at the thoughtfulness behind the gesture.

  “Sam.” I swallowed thickly. “How did you—?”

  “Rachel helped,” he confessed with a smile.

  I couldn’t believe it. Without another thought I crossed the distance between us and gave him a hug. His hands slid around my waist as his arms encircled me. It sent shivers up my spine and prickled goose flesh over my arms. Quickly, I stepped back.

  “Thank you,” I told him, meaning it down to my core. He beamed.

  “You’re welcome.”

  ****

  Not long after, we were out the door. New leopard spotted ballets completed my ensemble of skinny jeans and long black sweater. The closer we got to the school, the more my heart rate increased.

  “Meg, relax. I can smell the tension coming off you.”

  “Sam, this is such a bad idea. What if I change? What if she gets overwhelmed? What do I do?” My voice moved up about an octave. “What if I hurt someone?”

  He reached over and took my hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

  “What’s your wolf doing right now?”

  I took a deep, calming breath. “She’s sitting obediently. But probably only because you’re right here.” Wolf snorted. Maybe I wasn’t giving her enough credit.

  “Megan, you’re the dominant half. You are in charge. She knows that. The moon is waning tonight. You should be fine until nightfall.” He squeezed my hand again.

  I blew out a breath, my gut twisting up in more tangled knots at my next words. “Will…will you calm her?”

  His eyebrows raised.

  “Of course. Between every class if you want.” He grinned, and I could have sworn there was a mischievous twinkle hiding in his eyes. “We are supposed to be dating, after all.”

  “Right. We decided to start dating the night you took me home from the game. We’ve secretly been crushing on each other for weeks. Any other details I need to add to the cover story?”

  His face tightened. “That’s the gist of things. Just try to be more convincing about it. Maybe try not to look like you swallowed roadkill,” he said sourly.

  A nervous giggle escaped. It was the anxiety. I was so laughing inappropriately.

  “Sorry. I’ll try to be convincing in between making sure a massive wild wolf doesn’t erupt out of my skin and wipe out the senior class.”

  “That’s the spirit,” he retorted dryly.

  There wasn’t time for more banter as we pulled into the parking lot, and Sam whipped into his usual spot near the back of the lot. I was grateful we were at the back. It would give me longer to adjust to the new smells and sounds before actually getting into the school building. We were early enough I could take things slowly. Sam put the car in park and turned off the engine. I sat, staring straight ahead, trying to take deep breaths. You can do this! I told myself. Wolf nodded encouragingly. Snakes writhed in my gut.

  “Meg?”

  I turned to Sam, the whole whites of my eyes probably showing like those of a terrified horse.

  He took my face in his hands. Wolf curled up in a ball of fur and basked at his touch. “Listen to me. You are going to be fine. I will meet you after every class. I’ll hold your hand in the hallway. I’ll make sure she’s quiet in between every period. If you need me, use the link. I will come.”

  “Promise?” I whispered, dazed, but mesmerized by the darker flecks of blue surrounding his irises.

  “Promise. I will come. Every time.”

  I took a shaky breath as his eyes dipped to my lips and back to mine before he carefully dropped his head down and pressed his lips against mine. Wolf was already quiet, but I didn’t mind the extra precaution. Some niggling thought at the back of my brain wondered what it would be like to really kiss Sam Wolfe. I immediately banished the rebel thought.

  He pulled back, watching my face. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply through my nose, steeling my resolve.

  “Okay. Let’s do this.” I texted Rachel to let her know we were coming in. I knew having her with me would help me stay calm. She had play practice before school but promised she’d meet me when I got there. My phone dinged. She was waiting by the doors.

  Crisp air met my nose as I shut the car door and leaned against it for a minute, trying to get my sensory bearings. I could smell the food in the cafeteria, and there was a definite stink of unwashed bodies coming from the gym as the doors were opened with the entrance of students.

  Sam took my hand. “Ready?”

  “Nope.” We walked toward the front entrance.

  ****

  Eyes followed our progress across the chilly parking lot. We were early, but not so early that other students weren’t coming in, too. Every eye trained to our linked hands as we shuffled to the door. I hadn’t thought to check who might have witnessed Sam calming the wolf. Heat raced to my cheeks as I thought about Brody flirting with me last week. I was pretty sure he had been planning to ask me out, though I wasn’t sure if I’d have said yes. Walking across the lot with my hand linked in Sam’s was going to get the gossips going.

  Sam was one of the it guys. He was gorgeous, nice, and everybody liked him. He was popular, even though he didn’t do sports, and he didn’t date much that I knew of. I knew a lot of girls had pined after him most of high school. My skin crawled as I felt more and more attention drawn our way. Wolf’s hackles prickled, uncomfortable with all the stares. I didn’t dare let go of Sam’s hand. I had it gripped in a death vice.

  “Relax. This is just school. You’ve done this your whole life.”

  “I hadn’t counted on being the new school attraction.”

  “Oh.” His mouth tipped up in a goofy grin. “It’ll be old news by second period.”

  A flash of red caught my eye as Rachel bounded out the doors to us.

  “Hey!” she said with far too much enthusiasm. Having her there made me sag with relief.

  ****

  First period was history. I loved history. True to his word, Sam walked me to the door of my class, but I couldn’t make myself let go of his hand. I probably looked like a whiny, clingy girlfriend, but I really couldn’t help it.

  Before I could say anything, Sam leaned down to whisper in my ear, “You can do this.” His lips grazed my ear and practically put Wolf in a stupor. He was right. I had to do this. I could do this. I would do this.

  “Okay.” Quick breath. “I’ll see you after class.”

  “I’ll be here. Let me know if you need anything.” A quick nod and I forced myself to let go of his hand and go into the classroom. Rachel followed me in and sat at our table, thumping the seat beside her.

  After all she’d experienced this weekend, she appeared no worse for wear. She wasn’t nearly as fazed at learning of the existence of werewolves as I was. I hesitated a moment before sinking into the chair.

  The bell rang for class to start, and within the minute, Mr. Steidm
an was beginning his lecture of the colonization of India. Before I realized it, I was drawn into the facts and stories of the lecture, letting myself absorb the information, letting Wolf fall to the background.

  When the bell rang for class to dismiss, I was surprised when I discovered that Wolf was dozing as I shoved my notebook back in my backpack. Sam was waiting by the door.

  “That went much better than I imagined it would,” I whispered. He smiled as he wove our fingers together.

  “I knew you could do it.” His confidence was warming.

  Rachel smirked. “You’re a natural.” She grinned. I rolled my eyes.

  Sam had requested my schedule yesterday and steered me toward French. Rachel split at the end of the hallway on her way to Speech. She waved and gave me a thumbs-up with a wink. “To the ends of the earth!”

  I nodded.

  Before I realized what he was doing, Sam swung us into a blind spot behind a stand of lockers and quickly put his mouth to mine again. I nearly squeaked in protest, taken off guard, but quickly stilled. Wolf smiled lazily, raising her head from her nap. Sam pulled back, and she dropped back to sleep. He grinned down.

  “After French?”

  I nodded, took a breath, and went into the room. Chemicals burned my nose as the synthetic sickly-sweet strawberry of Madame’s air freshener slapped me in the face. I nearly gagged and started breathing through my mouth.

  Once the chemical odor burned away all the hairs in my nostrils, it became a dull scent in the background. Madame ran us through some verb conjugation and some new vocabulary words. It wasn’t hard work, but it was enough to keep my mind engaged.

  Another class down, and I was starting to think that maybe this wasn’t going to be such a disaster. If only I’d been right.

  Sam met me again and walked me to Calculus. He confirmed things went well in French.

  “Cindy is in Calculus with you. She’s not as dominant as you, but she can help.” He smiled and pressed his lips to my cheek while I held perfectly still. My face went red as two freshmen girls tittered as they observed our awkward affection. I rolled my eyes and went into the classroom before I could overhear anything else.

  There was a sub today, and the first new curl of unease bloomed in my belly. I took my usual seat and got out my book and notebook, studiously laying out my pencil while biting my lip. The sub took roll and then pointed to a section on the board that had our assignment for the day. I was pleased when I realized what had been assigned were problems that I’d already worked through on my own for practice to make sure I was understanding the concept.

  I took out my papers and reviewed what I’d done, correcting one problem that I realized I’d messed up. But after that, the class was quiet. Since the work was done, I pulled out a novel from my backpack. I hadn’t touched it in over a week with all the excitement but thought I might be able to enjoy a couple of quiet moments.

  Things went well for a few minutes. Then the scratching of pencils became louder. And Anthony Perkins sat behind me. Breathing loudly through his mouth. I blinked hard a few times and tried to get back into my book. But it was no use. The mouth breathing sounded louder and louder, the pencils scratching on paper were a deafening drum. Wolf started pacing. We were becoming increasingly agitated together. She was holding it in, and I was holding it together, but suddenly, her limbs started shaking.

  Sam! There is a mouth breather in here, and we’re both about to have a fit!

  Suddenly, a noise startled us from our rapid heartbeats. Cindy dramatically clutched her belly as she stood up from her desk.

  “I think I need to go to the nurse,” she stammered.

  Wolf nudged me into action. “Here, let me help you,” I offered quickly.

  The sub raised an eyebrow then noted Cindy’s pale face. He nodded us toward the door.

  I nearly bolted the both of us from the classroom, panting in relief when the quiet of the hallway surrounded us.

  Cindy stood up straight and winked at me. “You okay?”

  “Much better now. Thanks. Are you okay? I’m guessing you’re not actually having the mother of all stomachaches?”

  “All part of helping each other out.” She grinned again as we walked to the nurse’s office. Sam met us halfway down the hall.

  He looked me up and down, and Wolf was immediately soothed. I had to admit, I felt better having him in my sight, too. It was like he was the leader, and I was the follower, and I knew he would take care of everything, so long as he was there. Wolf and I sighed collectively.

  “Mouth breather, huh?” he said, a gentle smile on his face.

  “Anthony Perkins is going to have to get over his cold before I can go back to Calculus.” He and Cindy chuckled.

  “It was kinda loud,” Cindy said. “Even I was getting a little annoyed, and I’ve had years more practice at this than you have,” she said sympathetically. I gave her a weak smile.

  “Thanks.”

  Wolf had settled back down, trying to be obedient, and happy with Sam near us.

  We got Cindy to the nurse’s office where she lay down until her stomachache miraculously passed. Sam claimed a headache and totally charmed the nurse.

  ****

  The week progressed well. There were only a few incidents where I felt uncomfortable enough to need Sam’s help. He dutifully played his boyfriend part, walking me to each class, holding my hand, quieting the wolf when she needed it. We ran each evening, and I was slowly starting to acclimate. I still didn’t like most of it, but it was tolerable. Grandpa and I talked every evening, and it was a huge influence on my comfort levels about living away from home. At school, Sam and I were still a hot item. Brody had not been pleased, I could tell, but Sam had assured me that in the locker room Brody didn’t speak well of the girls he dated, so maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t gone out with him.

  Friday at lunch we all sat down at our usual table. Our circle of friends hadn’t changed much, just reorganized our table since Sam always sat beside me now.

  “You guys, we need to go catch a movie tomorrow. We all said we’d go to The Fifth Day. It’s supposed to be epic, and it’s finally out,” Jeremy called from down the table while his girlfriend nodded her agreement.

  She asked, “Rachel, weren’t you the one telling me about the new trailer they released for it?”

  “Yes! The effects are supposed to be cutting edge.”

  “And Eric Dayton plays the jailer. Did you catch him in Dusty Road?” Luke chimed. He was a drama nerd along with Rachel.

  Rachel’s eyes glittered as the conversation continued. I knew she wanted to watch it. It was fantasy, adventure, action, and a love story all rolled into one if the trailers were to be believed. It was on my definitely-want-to-watch list, but I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out with the need to burst into fur. A little sigh escaped. Rachel’s expression fell. She wouldn’t go without me, and that made guilt slosh in my belly.

  A chorus of agreement circled the table. Sam squeezed my hand, his eyebrow raised. I widened my eyes at him. Had he lost his mind? I couldn’t go to the movies Saturday night or any night.

  “Do you want to go?”

  “Don’t we, um, have plans Saturday night?”

  His blue eyes twinkled at me, and I tamped down the urge to glare at him. “Sure, but what about a matinee?” I raised my eyebrows. I hadn’t thought about that. Would it be done early enough that I could survive without alerting all of Rock Falls to the wolves that lived there? I glanced at Rachel. Her face lit up, all hopeful. I gave Sam an unsure shrug.

  “Hey, Megan and I have plans tomorrow night. Can we do an early matinee?”

  Since it came from Sam, it was well received, and before lunch was over, the whole group of us had plans to meet at the theater for the three o’clock matinee of The Fifth Day. Rachel was ecstatic.

  “This is going to be awesome.” She grinned at me, grabbing my hand as she trotted out of the lunchroom. “Maybe we can sneak away for a few minutes,
and you can finally let me know what’s really going on. This is so unfair.” She rolled her eyes for dramatic flair. “Sam would have to have supersonic ears.”

  I laughed a little, but uneasiness still wriggled in my middle.

  ****

  It was a relief when the week ended, and Saturday morning passed uneventfully. I worked on my English essay, and we did some calculus together. Sam was a whiz at numbers. I wasn’t any slouch at it, but I had to confess that it was nice to work on it together. We had settled into a rhythm by the end of the week, and it was gratifying that our first “normal” Saturday together since I became a werewolf wasn’t awkward or too weird without school to keep us on our semi-established routine.

  The washer dinged, and I got up from the table to change the laundry.

  “Do you want to go for a quick run before we go to the theater today?” Sam offered as I tried not to blush when a pair of my lacy underwear fell from the washer on its way to the dryer.

  “Probably. I’m still a little nervous about going anywhere this close to dark.”

  “I know. You’ll be fine. I’ll be there right with you. Besides, going for a quick run now should help wear her out.” Sam gently teased, not missing the fallen underwear. Mercifully, he said nothing else.

  “What time do you want to leave for the movie?” I squeaked as I flung the offending garment into the dryer.

  “Probably about two. Movie starts at three, that gives us time to get there and get settled and whatever.”

  I appreciated that Sam was always punctual. It reminded me of Grandpa. Shaking my head, I stopped that line of thought. Comparing Sam to Grandpa and finding more things they had in common was not going to help my staying-human cause.

  “Do you have any other laundry you’re planning to do?”

  “No, I’m good after this.”

  “All right. Why don’t I throw some of my stuff in and then we can go for a run. Sound good?”

  “Sounds good.”

  I watched as Sam crammed whites, darks, and a few colors into the washer and wondered if he’d have anything that remained the same color by the time it came out.