“You’re already too skinny.” She pushed the plate back in my direction. “And from the way you are wolfing down those eggs, I’m guessing your blood sugar is low, too.”
“Mom.” My voice was stern. “We aren’t having this argument again. I get plenty of protein without meat from my green smoothies.”
She pulled the plate back and made a face. Green smoothies didn’t impress her. “At least you eat eggs.”
True. I loved eggs and shoved a few more mouthfuls between my lips to prove it. “Where are Cammie and Sarah? Aren’t they hungry?”
The thought of sharing the food made my stomach hurt. I wanted it all. And to my disgust, the bacon still looked too good to resist.
“The girls bailed on me. Something about Jill doing their hair before the bus came,” she said it in a rush of repressed emotion.
Pulling my eyes from the bacon, I focused on my aunt, thankful for the distraction. “Oh.”
I didn’t blame them for running. Sarah and Cammie didn’t really know what to do or say when their mom was moody. Sarah coped with her mom’s bouts of depression by ignoring them, but poor little Cammie always blamed them on something she did. Honestly, there were many times I didn’t even know what to say.
Aunt Lily’s sour expression returned. “What happened to spending quality time with your mom?”
My tongue knotted, unable to come up with a reply.
“Nothing’s been the same since…” She swallowed hard and averted her misty eyes.
It was hard for her to say his name. Uncle Stan was the jokester that had held this family together. She tried to fill those shoes, but his death had left huge holes in all our lives.
“Mom.” I held my hand out across the small, square table, and she squeezed it.
Clearing her throat, she said, “I’d better go, long shift today.”
Quickly draining the last of her Roman Chamomile tea, she kissed my forehead on her way out of the kitchen. I frowned at the spotless plate she left on the table. She hadn’t eaten anything. My stomach sank, and the front door shut with a resounding thud behind her.
I let out a sad sigh, realizing this should have been her day off. She was picking up extra shifts on her days off. I hated seeing her so tired, but she wouldn’t listen to me. After Uncle Stan died, she renewed her RN license and buried her emotional issues under the demands of her job. She couldn’t handle homeschooling us anymore, too many memories. But what I still didn’t understand was why she moved us to Cody. She’d had a good job at the hospital in Charleston that paid more than here, and we’d been adapting to public school. She must have needed Grandma close.
Everything seemed fine until last September when Aunt Lily pulled all three of us from school and locked us in our old apartment for a week. We were forced to stay inside and forbidden to even look out the window. Her odd behavior scared us into obedience. She’d flinch at every noise. I’d been about to call the police and report a stalker or call the mental hospital and have her committed, but Grandma and the moving van came before I had a chance. We were so relieved when we reached Cody, and she started acting semi-normal again.
With no one to witness my gluttony, I didn’t refrain from scarfing down another plate of eggs. The nagging ache in my gut still wasn’t satisfied, so I dished up a third helping of eggs, knowing I might regret it later. It felt like I was eating air. I couldn’t seem to sedate the hunger clawing at my insides. Forking more into my salivating mouth, I didn’t even chew before swallowing. I was pretty sure my stomach couldn’t hold another bite, yet my brain insisted I was still starving. I shook my head. This was insane! I squeezed my eyes closed and clamped my hands together. I wasn’t eating another bite. Maybe if I fed the rest to Beast, the temptation to indulge would subside.
Scraping what was left onto a cookie sheet, I looked at the pitiful amount. This wasn’t going to be enough to feed a wolf. I walked over to the fridge and pulled out the left over beef stew. Adding it to the eggs and bacon, I tried not to look at the chunks of beef. I carried the mound of food back to my room, savoring the enticing smell the whole way. Something was seriously wrong with me.
No sooner had I opened the door to my room than the wolf’s sharp teeth snapped up the meal before licking the cookie sheet clean. Instantly, my intense hunger abated, and I sighed. But only moments later, the eggs bubbled back into my mouth. I scanned the room in panic. With arms folded tightly around my abdomen, I dropped to my knees and heaved up the clumps of sulfuric eggs into the wastebasket by my bed. Wiping my mouth on an old shirt, I turned on the wolf.
“What the heck was that?”
The wolf cocked his head to one side as if wondering the same thing.
I cradled my head for a moment in my hands. This freaky wolf bond was scaring me more and more. I’d never overeaten like that before. Now I was turning in to a bulimic binge eater. My whole life was spiraling out of control, and it was all his fault.
“You did this to me!”
He arched a bushy brow as if asking, What did I do?
“Don’t give me that innocent look! I felt like I was starving even after three platefuls of food. Then the moment you eat, it goes away, and I hurl. And what’s up with the pain I felt last night when you changed forms?”
The wolf sat on his haunches as if he suddenly realized the answer. But, he obviously wasn’t talking. I growled in frustration. Could this stupid bond thing get any weirder?
I tied off the trash bag with its smelly contents and threw it out my window, leaving it open a crack in an attempt to eradicate the rotten egg smell. The wolf hadn’t moved, but he followed my movements with his eyes.
“Don’t just sit there! Change back. We need to talk,” I demanded.
The wolf looked sadly at me and shook his head.
“What do you mean, no?”
Frustration crept into his eyes, before he scanned the room. Finding the object he wanted, he padded over to my shelf where his nose touched a sculpted decorative plate of silver dolphins jumping out of a wind tossed ocean. A huge moon framed the dolphins in a mystic arch of grace.
“Is that supposed to explain something?” I huffed, annoyed.
His silver eyes frosted over before he jutted his nose again at the souvenir Chel’s parents brought back from Costa Rica. They’d bought one for each of us, proud of the pact we made to save endangered animals and their habitats. Grumpily, I took a closer look. What dolphins etched into a large moon was supposed to symbolize was beyond—
“The moon!”
He gave a small wolfish nod, and I dropped to the bed as things clicked into place.
“You mean you can’t change unless it’s night?”
Again he nodded, his eyes twinkling with some form of approval, like he was glad I wasn’t as dumb as he feared.
“Tonight, then.” Glancing at the clock, I shot up to standing. “7:45? Crap!”
Running to the bathroom, I threw on my previously chosen outfit, hastily brushed my teeth and braided my dark-brown hair. With no time to apply mascara, I grabbed my bag and ran out the front door, unwilling to risk a tardy for the second day in a row. Detention was not an option with a werewolf sidekick.
Moisture clung to the cool air as gray clouds loomed ominously overhead. Hopping into my rusty, white van, I revved the sputtering engine to life. I shifted it into gear and pulled away from the curb, but only rolled a few feet when a jolt slammed me into the back of my seat. My foot hit the brake. I gasped as pain exploded through me like shrapnel. I fumbled to put the van in reverse and sighed as the pain ebbed.
Stupid. How could I forget!
Throwing the shifter into park, I hopped out of the van. Glad I left my bedroom window open, I ran to it just as the wolf sprang out, tackling me. His heavy body pressed me into the ground, teeth clenched in a snarl. I flinched from the anger rolling off him. He growled, lowering his eyes to glare into mine.
“I…can’t…breathe.” I struggled to talk.
He snorted at me,
but eased his weight off me. Air rushed back into my lungs, but I was still trapped under his body.
“Come on, get off. I’m sorry, okay.”
With slow deliberate steps he allowed me to stand. I didn’t dare look him in the eyes, embarrassed by my stupidity. Closing the window the best I could from the outside, I popped the screen back in.
Snatching the bag of vomit, I sprinted to the trashcan before flinging the back door open for the giant wolf to jump in. He hissed, like a cat dunked in water, before leaping into the vehicle. I couldn’t imagine any wild animal liked feeling trapped inside an old pile of tin.
Pulling into my usual place on the farthest side of City Park from Cody High, I turned to the wolf lying miserably on the thinly carpeted floor. What was I going to do with him? Frustration poured over me when I couldn’t derive a brilliant plan, or any plan for that matter. And he couldn’t speak to help me out. There was no way they would let me take him inside the building—he wouldn’t pass as a service dog in training. The only option left was to hope the bond would stretch enough to get to class with the wolf slinking around the outside foliage.
“School’s starting. Try not to be seen,” I finally said, and jumped out of the driver’s side. Scanning the school grounds for anyone paying attention, I quickly threw open the back doors when the coast was clear. Beast dashed straight into the bushes. If someone saw him, I hoped they’d pass him off as my dog, but he was so enormous up close that I had a hard time thinking of him as anyone’s pet, not to mention the fact that he turned human at night. Ugh! This was going to be a long day.
Crossing the park, with Beast lurking in the shrubbery, I noticed Chel pacing the sidewalk, and I quickened my step. She didn’t see me coming from the side.
“What’s up?” My voice was anxious as I waited for her to answer. She spun towards me.
“Tay,” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. Pulling back, she took in my disheveled appearance. “You look awful!”
That was one thing I liked about Chel, she was blunt and outspoken. I always knew where I stood with her, but this morning, for once, I wished she would just lie.
“Gee, thanks. It’s good to see you, too.” My voice dripped with annoyance. She ignored my grumpy response.
“I texted and called you last night like twenty times.”
Oh, crap, my phone!
I swung my bag around to dig out my cell. Flipping the phone open, I stared at the screen displaying thirteen text messages and nine missed calls. All of the texts were from Chel, but only six of the nine missed calls were from her. The other three were from Grandma Jonas. She was probably on another of her camping expeditions painting wolves. She did that a lot, usually less in the winter, but even sleeping in snow caves couldn’t keep Grandma from her wolves. If she was gone for more than a weekend, she called me to house-sit. Chel cleared her throat, demanding a response, so I consented to listen to the messages later.
“Why didn’t you answer?” Chel finished.
“Sorry, crazy night.” I felt Beast’s eyes on me from across the street where he hid.
“You should’ve gotten me off the stage. I’d have put him in his place.” Her lips thinned to a hard line.
Kyle! I’d forgotten all about him and quickly scanned the lawn. I should’ve been in class by now and suddenly felt vulnerable to a Kyle attack.
“You were busy.”
“He’s such a jerk! Maybe I’ll start some juicy rumor about him and the cheer captain. I can’t believe I actually liked him before you moved here. I’m so glad—”
The school bell rang, cutting Chel off. I already knew how that speech would’ve ended. I’d heard the spiel time and time again. She could lie to herself if she wanted, but in the end I knew she still had a soft spot for Kyle’s sculpted body. We all did.
“We’re going to be late.” She took several steps toward the large, glass doors of the school’s entrance before turning a quizzical brow at my rooted stance. “Aren’t you coming?”
“I’ll catch up in a minute.” I’d tried to follow her, but the tightness in the bond persuaded me back to my original spot.
“You want me to stay? Just in case Kyle—”
“No!” I hadn’t meant to yell, but I needed her to leave or else I’d never make it to class. “You go on. You don’t want detention again.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Detention’s cool. There are some pretty hot guys in there.”
I had to get Beast across the street without anyone seeing, and Chel wasn’t cooperating.
“What about your play?” I asked, and she looked at me curiously. “Wouldn’t you lose your part if you have to spend practice in detention?”
Chagrin warped her face. “Man, I didn’t think of that. I’ve got to go.”
Chel sprinted through the school entrance, and I turned in time to see a dark streak zoom across the asphalt and into the shrubs lining the brick walls of the school. I caught my breath. Dang, he’s fast. The rustle of leaves brought my eyes to the two silvery ones belonging to Beast as he peered through the dense foliage.
“All right, here we go.” It was time to see how far I could stretch this bond we shared.
CHAPTER 16—Spies and Rumors
Luck was on my side. I sagged into my seat right as the tardy bell rang: a miracle. It was a good thing the classroom was close to the school’s front entrance. As it was, Mrs. Lannic’s sharp gaze had followed me the whole way to my seat, crumbling the unused tardy slip in disappointment.
Chel leaned over to whisper at me. “I’m going to do it.”
My eyebrow rose in confusion and she continued. “I’m going to start that rumor. He needs a good slap in the face, and Lacy’s got a strong arm.”
Lacy was the cheer captain, and even though I didn’t want to hurt her, I smiled at the image of Kyle with a red welt across his face.
“Chel you’re not that cruel, but I appreciate the thought.” I smiled at my friend’s protective nature.
“But I could be.” She smiled deviously as she drummed out a devious plan with her manicured nails on the desk.
Thankfully, class started before she could voice her thoughts again. I listened half-heartily to Mrs. Lannic’s lecture, distracted by the itchy ache in my stomach. How could he be hungry again? I just fed him! Well, he’d just have to wait.
Before I knew it, the bell rang to excuse us from class. I hastily grabbed my stuff and was out of my seat before Chel had a chance to load her backpack. I knew she’d understand my hasty departure. It was the next class period that brought me into Kyle’s direct path if I didn’t sprint down the hallway. I felt the gnawing bond-induced pain in my gut as I strayed too far away from Beast.
“Not, now! I’m so close.” I could see my destination. History was just three yards away, if only I could get there.
My breathing was labored as the pain increased. A few straggling sophomores glanced at me. I didn’t need to make a scene, so I tried to paste a smile on my pained face. It must have looked goofy enough to believe because they turned away without noticing my next wince.
I stumbled backwards, but the pain didn’t ebb. I tried going forward, but that resulted in more pain. I nearly growled in frustration.
“Where are you, stupid wolf,” I hissed under my breath.
I stepped toward the outside wall and the throb started to fade. The closer I got to the bricks the less pain I felt. Reaching the wall, I practically hugged it with relief.
“Hey Tay.” Kyle’s voice purred behind me. I silently prayed the ground would gape open and swallow me and my misery.
“Sorry if I came on a little strong yesterday. Sometimes I just can’t control myself around such beau—”
Since the ground wasn’t granting my wish, I turned to face Kyle and tell him once and for all to back off. He breathed in sharply, his eyes appraising my disheveled appearance. My face was flushed from pain, and sweat dewed my forehead.
“Whoa, Tay,” he exclaimed, backing away a
s if I was contagious. “You look…you look…” He couldn’t supply the word and then seemed to come to a conclusion. “Did you catch the flu or something?”
I almost told him to piss off, but his last question sounded brilliant.
“Yeah, it sucks. If I didn’t have a test in AP I would be in bed,” I lied.
“Just get over it soon,” he said, bolting for his chemistry class.
If it were anyone else, I’d have been annoyed by his apparent lack of compassion, but Kyle’s retreating form was the most glorious sight of my day.
With Kyle avoiding me like the plague, I could concentrate harder on working around this stupid bond.
The bell chimed.
“Crap!” I was late to history.
Inching my way down the wall, I gave Beast time to feel where I needed to go. Slowly, I managed to make it and slithered into the sea-blue, plastic chair. Mr. Hans dimmed the lights and started the interactive Smart Board without even glancing at me. Miracle number three.
The rest of school blurred into a never-ending guessing game, where the wrong choices sent stabbing heat through my body. Even lunch sucked. I couldn’t make it to the lunchroom—situated in the middle of the school, far from any external walls—and had no desire to climb into my van with a distraught Beast. So I skipped lunch and sat on a bench outside, holding my queasy abdomen. I should’ve brought a snack for him, if only to keep his pain from inside me. Silently cursing him, I glared at the thick bushes surrounding the school, knowing Beast was crouched in the thick of it.
When the last bell finally chimed, it couldn’t have sounded sweeter. I wanted to just hole myself up in my room and recover from the tortures of the day. And to complicate matters further, the gnawing hunger from my lupine shadow was almost unbearable. This time, I would feed him first.
By the time I reached my locker, Chel was anxiously awaiting my arrival. She was nearly glowing with excitement.
“Did Emily mysteriously contract a terminal illness and you got her part as Lily Belle?” I teased.
“What?” she asked startled.
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